homemade micarta...help

[Awesom-o-4000]

I just received my brand new bk 15 and decieded that it needed some new grips. I made up some homemade micarta out of some old bdu's and dcu's plus a little fiberglass resin. With the easy part done I am just figuring out how much of a pain they are to shape. Apart from the toxic dust, my belt sander with 36 grit hardly removes any material. So my question is is there any easier way to remove material and shape it or do I just have to suck it up take the slow route?

 

[bdmicarta]

My belt sander eats that stuff up fast!

You can use a band saw, scroll saw or something similar for the rough shaping, I think some people even use wood rasps.

 

[jarodmichael]

I used a sawzall, and then belt sander until it was flush, then put in a vice (with wood protectors from the vice teeth) and cut a band of 80 grit and went to rounding the scales until they were the shape i liked.

 

[CamH_16]

My prefered way is a dremel. But your right, micarta is tough stuff and takes a while.

 

[Greybush]

Would a dremel knock out the rough shaping as well?

 

[Greybush]

ha! nevermind....thanks for the answer Cam!

 

[thrillbilly]

Wood rasps work well on micarta, I also discovered the Drum sander attachment for my drill press worked well (since I dont have a belt sander ATM). I use a Skilsaw or Table saw to cut my handle blanks (rectangles) and then a table scroll saw to cut out rough shape.

 

[CamH_16]

ha! nevermind....thanks for the answer Cam!

Thanks, But I actually use a bench grinder for the rough shaping.

 

[Awesom-o-4000]

thanks for the ideas guys, it is coming along now