Burlap micarta

[dirtyphil]

I’ve never tried making it. I think I’m ready. Got all my supplies. I was wondering if dye will be absorbed into the burlap (very light oatmeal color). Was also wondering if anyone wants to show off homemade micarta and maybe a diy press....thanks, Phil

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

There is no homemade micarta. There are homemade laminates that are often called things like Mycarta. Micarta is a registered trademark and is a phenolic laminate. You can't make phenolic laminates at home.

That said, many people have made laminates using burlap. The resin will be absorbed into the fibers, so any dye in the resin will be in the fibers.
Use the best and hardest grade resin you can get. Use a slow set hardener. I recommend West System 105 resin and 206 or 207 hardener.

 

[AVigil]

Contact Polymer composites in Ontario Californian and he can set you up with a high impact resin for the process you need.

You can make it so strong beating it with a hammer will not dent or chip.

 

[Lieblad]

There are homemade laminates that are often called things like Mycarta.

Or "moicarta" if you live in France or east Canada.

You can't make phenolic laminates at home.

I disagree.
Its really not worth the effort, but done fairly easily.
Really easy if one has good chemistry understanding.
But it uses dangerous chemicals and fair effort to set up the equipment.