Making Micarta

bjr

bjr

Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Messages
181
This is a tired subject, I appologize. Can someone point me in the direction of a good micarta making thread? I tried the search function, but you know how that goes...Some of you guys do some great work, I want to give it a shot. Thanks.
 
there is still a lot of guessing game in making it Pm (or email) me and i ll try to get info on how i do it (im no good at putting info on paper , or the net for that matter)
 
I'm sorry, I should have clarified. I have read the Ariel Salavererria page on the subject. I was looking to supplement this with some other approaches. Thanks for the help.
 
What are you questions? I think all of us that make micarta use more or less the same process that Ariel does. Just with some slight variations depending on what equipment each person has. I use c-clamps instead of a press for example. Gives good control over the amount of resin let in a piece.
 
I use three kinds of epoxy System Three, Dow Chemical D.E.R 24, Envirotex Lite (thanks Butch). I am about to start putting out Burl/rag looking stuff made with polyurethane glue also. Which one I use depends on what I am making. If I am doing something with paper I use the Envirotex because it comes out crystal clear. Paper is bad about getting dark spots if you use epoxy that dries dark. I use the other with cloth and it just depend on what exactly the knife maker is looking for. The System Three stuff comes out a bit harder then the DER 24 but I use two post cure heating cycles and it really helps the toughness and hardness of all three. It is more expensive to use epoxy but I think that it is worth it. If you just want to try it out then go get a $10 can of polyester resin from Walmart grab some old jeans and press some stuff up. If you really like it and want to make some better quality stuff then get some more expensive epoxy. Be prepared nothing that we can tell you online or over the phone will cover all the little things that come up. You really just have to do it a few times and work out the bugs in the best way that works for you. Like butcher-block said above you can email me or just ask away here. Good luck man
 
Thanks Mark. You and Butch have been extremely helpful. I'll keep you posted.
 
mark email sent
also bjr keep us updated and dont mind tring new epoxy or ways for patterens thats how we have got this far
mark has help me out more then a few times and i hope i have helped him out its all learnign but no matter you always end up trashing some of the work getting it right
butch
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top