How hard is it to "sculpt" micarta?

Dennis in MA

Dennis in MA

Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
6,860
And what would I use?

I'm getting in a user FSH with mags. Am considering smoothing out the grippies and making it more like the proto handle.

I'd prefer to stay AWAY from power tools or I'll slice the thing in half. LOL I'm thinking some aggressive cuts of sandpaper. Am I insane? Is this do-able? Can I rebuild him? Bigger, stronger, faster?

(If this works, I'm gonna have at my blu/black mag CGFBM as well. I think that would look killer.)

Thanks, knife-modifier-folk!
 
Micarta sands about like pine. It's not hard, but it will take some time. Start with 60 grit and move up until you get a good working smoothness. I like to work mine up to about a 400 grit finish and then go over it with 0000 steel wool-a smooth finish but not slick.
 
Landar15 said:
Micarta sands about like pine. It's not hard, but it will take some time. Start with 60 grit and move up until you get a good working smoothness. I like to work mine up to about a 400 grit finish and then go over it with 0000 steel wool-a smooth finish but not slick.
Click to expand...

And watch out for the dust -- at least wear a mask.

Most small debris from composites are hazardous to say the least.
 
Yeah, just hand sand it. You could use a dremel, but it will move it VERY fast.

Also, be careful and wear some breathing protection - micarta dust is dangerous from what i hear...
 
You could also use a drill attachment. Drills normally rotate slower than dremels. Hand sanding works nicel too and less particilates being thrown up into the air. And watch the dust as stated above.
 
Micarta dust is bad but CF and G10 will kill ya PDQ. Hell, even some of the exotic hardwoods are carcinogenic.
 
When using micarta, I have the shop vac hose running close by to help suck up some of that dust. I, too, still use a mask.

Keep us informed on your progress.
 
Bugger I have hand sanded micarta a couple of times with no protection. I will wear a mask in the future..
 
Thanks for sharing that imagery, Tom. LOL

Looks like 60-400 and then some stolen-wool. I can't wait!
 
I hand sanded the mag handles on my FBMLE smooth and it is incredible feeling in the hand now...still has the mag bumps but smaller contours now.

It actually sanded really fast...
 
Sanding micarta goes very quickly especially when using power tools. If you are planning on doing it by hand then I would suggest starting off at least with 60grit. 36 is better and faster. With Linen or Canvas I usually just stop at around 120 or even 80 grit. I prefer the rougher finish for better grip and it allows the more porous canvas to absorb the sweat from my hands.

If you have a drill press then just put a drum attachment to it and go to town. It will go much faster this way.

Profiling with a belt sander will probably take less than 5mins. Using a drum on a drill press will probably be 10mins. Doing it by hand???? God knows how long ;) Actually a 1/4 sheet electric or orbital hand sander will probably make life much easier than doing it by hand.
 
Hmmm. Hadn't thought the drum-kit to my drill press. I think I'll give it a whirl by-hand to get the feel of how fast it sands. Not in a real rush. Plus I gotta wait for the knife to get here. LOL
 
If you don't want to use power tools, you can carve micarta with a knife. I carved down some problem spots on my Battle Mistress and on my Ratmandu with my Active Duty and it cut through the micarta like it was hard cheese. I haven't tried it with any other knives, but micarta is no match for INFI!
 
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