Making 'micarta'

L

Lo/Rez

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Feb 10, 2013
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I bought some resin and black linen to make come handle scales. Has anyone ever added some metal dust (from grinding 410 stainless) to the resin? I was wondering what it would look like with a bit mixed in with the black linen.
 
LOL. You talked me into it. I'm just hoping that I don't wreck my first batch of scales, hence the post.
 
On problem with adding grinding dust is it isn't all metal. A large part is abrasive materials. Additionally, the metal is not HTed, so it will oxidize on contact with air and acidic moisture ... like hands. This may tend to stain the users hand.

Another issue is particle size. The powders used in resin casting are much finer.

Many metallic powders are available for adding to resins. These are sold by the resin casting companies like Inlace.
http://inlaceonline.com/text/products/metallic-dusts.html
 
True Stacy. What about if he used swarf created from using a file instead? It wouldn't address the oxidizing problem but you would have a much higher concentration of metal flakes with minimal junk material.
 
It just sounds like the wrong stuff for impregnating in something I will be holding in my hand. File shavings are really sharp little critters. Look a some under a microscope.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
On problem with adding grinding dust is it isn't all metal. A large part is abrasive materials. Additionally, the metal is not HTed, so it will oxidize on contact with air and acidic moisture ... like hands. This may tend to stain the users hand.

Another issue is particle size. The powders used in resin casting are much finer.

Many metallic powders are available for adding to resins. These are sold by the resin casting companies like Inlace.
http://inlaceonline.com/text/products/metallic-dusts.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I will shelve the idea until I can obtain the proper material to add to the resin.
 
Lieblad said:
One could make it up, perhaps those stainless kitchen scouring pads & epoxy resin.
Maybe steel wool,,, steel wool layered with cloth fabric, dryer lint, etc. etc..
The ideas are endless...

Btw, grinder swarf contains abrasive as mentioned, Its metallic content is also burnt & oxidised by the extreme heat of friction.
Not saying that would be a bad thing. At any rate an interesting ingredient
Click to expand...

This is an interesting idea. I think it would need the cloth/fiber to retain strength, but I'm not sure.
 
I cut off a piece of stainless scrub pad and unraveled it.

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Then I cut it into pieces.

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I should be able to make scales for 4 folders if this works out.

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The main ingredients with a wax paper covered board that I will lay them out on.

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All layered up.

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I clamped it up between my quench plates (covered in wax paper) and used a caliper to measure the 4 corners so it should be pretty flat and consistent when it's done. It will sit outside till the stink is off of it.

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Instead of mixing the stainless in with the resin I sprinkled it between the 2nd and 3rd last layers of linen. If it doesn't look good it will go to the inside and I can still use the material (hopefully).
 
I'm thinking just use some type of glitter... according to the huge amount of it all over my daughter's room it can look like almost any size and colour of metalflake. I'm gonna try it out and call it "hookers floor" pattern
 
rustyrazor said:
I'm thinking just use some type of glitter... according to the huge amount of it all over my daughter's room it can look like almost any size and colour of metalflake. I'm gonna try it out and call it "hookers floor" pattern
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'd call it that when the inspiration was my daughter's room. However, we banned glitter from the house for the first 10 years of my daughter's life and it was absolutely the right call. Now we joke to our friends that have toddlers that we're going to put together the craft pack. Twelve pack of glitter in plastic bags, six pack of super glue in squeeze tubes and a rainbow pack of 12 sharpies. Imagine your five year old opening up that birthday present!!!!

Hope it works out! I've never seen an epoxy operation of that scale be that clean and contained, so you may be able to pull this off.
 
The material didn't turn out too bad. The metal doesn't do anything for me so I doubt that I will be doing it again.

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Try it again with the InLace powders or flakes that Stacy suggested. Kudos for trying your idea. Whether it turned out as you would have hoped or not you still learned something which is a win.
 
And without something with more "pizazz" black paper micarta is so cheap to buy anyway I wouldn't bother. Make something cool like the one that someone did with a poncho or a sarape or something.
 
It's linen micarta and I like the looks of it and am making it for some liner locks I have going. I will be doing a camo style for some fixed blade hunters, but that's down the road.
 
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