How to sand micarta handle slabs?

[Midwest Firecraft]

I used the search function and found info on g-10 which might be the same. Can you leave the slabs on? Done by hand, or can you use a dremel with sanding drum?

 

[AZTimT]

Yes and yes. The method used should be determined by the amount of material you desire to remove and how smooth the final result is intended to be. Slow and easy trial and error is your best teacher here.

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

Yes and yes. The method used should be determined by the amount of material you desire to remove and how smooth the final result is intended to be. Slow and easy trial and error is your best teacher here.

Thank you sir! That is all I needed to move forward. I will start with 400 grit and go from there.

 

[Snakebreaker]

I recently did one of my TG's. Just tape off the ceracote and have at it. I used 60 grit.

Came out great.

20180125_125323.jpg
Snakebreaker
LINK
DIRECT
FORUM
ALT
HTML

 

[NJBillK]

Wooden dowels help for accurate removal of material. Using these you can apply pressure right where you want, and the diameter that you want to carve.

For rounding corners, smoothing seams, and angles, a soft backing works well. Think along the lines of dense leather, or compressed cardboard of varying amounts of layers (this will adjust the cushion effect).

Most local machine shops, paint shops, and other mechanical manufacturing businesses should be able to point you in the direction of a media blast cabinet. This will abrade the resin, while not damaging the fibers all that much, leaving them more proud, and leaving a cleaner end result when left at a low grit (400-600 grit) finish.

That being said, I personally have brought black canvas micarta up to 5k grit for a traditional folder that I made scales for.
Most canvas micarta will have better grip when wet, and this goes for low or high polished slabs alike.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I've done it with my 1x30 grinder. Go slow. I usually use higher grit belt, that is not new. Keeps me from screwing it up too fast.

Also have sanded by hand.

 

[Leonardo63]

I've done a couple and for me, a combination of 2 things.
First, I have the Onion Work Sharp - That little feller is an awesome little belt sander and really flexible belts that follow the contours fantastic combined with the variable speeds is a great tool. I did my first one with it and came out great.
The other, I recently added a rotating vice to my bench and a box of various grits of 1" wide "turners mesh" for shaping by hand. Clamp the blade so it's horizontal and make dust!
For me, the Work Sharp was the sht! Easy to control the removal just doing a smoothing job and with the various grit belts I don't think it took an hour the first time being cautious not wanting to screw it up and a bit nervous to be honest LOL!

On the other hand, you can't argue with Snakebreakers results! That's beautiful.

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

I recently did one of my TG's. Just tape off the ceracote and have at it. I used 60 grit.

Came out great.

20180125_125323.jpg
Snakebreaker
LINK
DIRECT
FORUM
ALT
HTML

That is what I am going for, stunning!

Wooden dowels help for accurate removal of material. Using these you can apply pressure right where you want, and the diameter that you want to carve.

For rounding corners, smoothing seams, and angles, a soft backing works well. Think along the lines of dense leather, or compressed cardboard of varying amounts of layers (this will adjust the cushion effect).

Most local machine shops, paint shops, and other mechanical manufacturing businesses should be able to point you in the direction of a media blast cabinet. This will abrade the resin, while not damaging the fibers all that much, leaving them more proud, and leaving a cleaner end result when left at a low grit (400-600 grit) finish.

That being said, I personally have brought black canvas micarta up to 5k grit for a traditional folder that I made scales for.
Most canvas micarta will have better grip when wet, and this goes for low or high polished slabs alike.

The dowels are a great idea, thinking of going the hand route so as to minimize mistakes first time.

I've done a couple and for me, a combination of 2 things.
First, I have the Onion Work Sharp - That little feller is an awesome little belt sander and really flexible belts that follow the contours fantastic combined with the variable speeds is a great tool. I did my first one with it and came out great.
The other, I recently added a rotating vice to my bench and a box of various grits of 1" wide "turners mesh" for shaping by hand. Clamp the blade so it's horizontal and make dust!
For me, the Work Sharp was the sht! Easy to control the removal just doing a smoothing job and with the various grit belts I don't think it took an hour the first time being cautious not wanting to screw it up and a bit nervous to be honest LOL!

On the other hand, you can't argue with Snakebreakers results! That's beautiful.

I gave my dad a Work Sharp for Christmas two years ago that he has never used, maybe I can reallocate it for this purpose!

 

[NJBillK]

That is what I am going for, stunning!


The dowels are a great idea, thinking of going the hand route so as to minimize mistakes first time.


I gave my dad a Work Sharp for Christmas two years ago that he has never used, maybe I can reallocate it for this purpose!

Careful, micarta can burn, sort of. This would be mitigated by having a variable speedand lighter pressure.

The heat built from powered sanding can burn the fibers and resin, making them discolored.

Hand sanding goes quick enough that I wouldn't worry about needing a powered solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

If you were hogging and roughing .25"-.5" slabs, then sure. But otherwise, I hand sand most of my handles, micarta included.

 

[zombieassassin]

I smoothed by hand using 60-120 grit with a leather backing around a 1"dowel

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

Well boys, I gave it an honest attempt at about an hour with 80 and 120 grit on a 1 inch dowl and gave up. 5 minutes on the dremel and this is what I game up with. Not as happy with color, but very happy with texture.

 

[NJBillK]

Nice work.
What did you find to be the easier parts?
Did any spots cause any concern or give you any hiccups?

I have been toying with the idea of sanding my scales smooth. If I do decide to do it, it won't be until I have most of my other mods done, as I will have to refit my kydex.

 

[Snakebreaker]

Rit Dye those scales black and it will look AMAZING!!!

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

Nice work.
What did you find to be the easier parts?
Did any spots cause any concern or give you any hiccups?

It was difficult in between the rivets in the valley of the handle. I will not contradict the advice to do it by hand, but after an hour I switched to the Dremel on low speed and found it much easier to evenly sand. After spraying with WD-40, them a couple coats of mineral oil I'm pretty happy with the results. Camera sucks, but it looks pretty good in person.

 

[Midwest Firecraft]

Really enjoying and learning a lot from these mini mods. I found that on black canvas a 120 grit final finish brings out the best color. I used 800 grit and it had smooth solid black portions. I took it back to 120 grit and I really like it. I also like the green canvas with boiled linseed oil. Thank you for all the advise. As a side note I found that a 3 inch piece of a leather belt with sandpaper cut to the shape work really well for the finishing work. Using my wife's camera to try and get a little better color out.

 

[NJBillK]

Just a few quick shots to show the maroon micarta when sanded to 2k-ish. I only rounded the back corner, because I wanted to lessen a hot spot. The higher polish helps with this.