micarta press

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ryanv403

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Im looking for advide on building a micarta press. If anybody could tell me how to make one i would greatly appreciate it. Im wanting to make sheets of micarta, about 10" x 12" also if there is somewhere that i could just buy one that would work too. Thanks for any help!
 
A couple of pieces of 3/4 inch plywood and some 2 by 4's with some good clamps, Viola, a Micarta press! Turn the 2 by 4's on edge for extra lateral strength. You could make a frame of 2 by 4's for each side and then they would be easier to handle. Get some good clamps to clamp er down good and tight.

Blessings,

Omar
 
I was going to say that actual phenolic resin-based Micarta is made using extremely high pressures and temperature - using large hydraulic presses.

If you are talking about making a cloth/epoxy laminate, then something as easy as a couple of 2x6s and some C-clamps will work. I never use any fancy equipment for this because I tend to get resin smeared over anything. I've ruined a couple of C-clamps accidentally this way...

TedP
 
Just dont clamp it TOO hard. I use a vice, but it can be easy to clamp it too tightly which can force too much of the resin out of your material.

I've both made and bought micarta. The stuff I make is great, the only time I prefer store bought is when I don't use a colored spacer. Store bought comes 100% perfectly flat. Home made would probably be fine anyway, but it's cheap and easy to just buy it. I usually have a thin layer of resin on the outside of my outter cloth layer so grinding that off and using a (store bought) thin spacer material helps.

Ask if you have any more questions. :)
 
Thanks for this thread. I've been thinking about starting to make this stuff, too. I look forward to others' input.
 
Might search on 'vacuum bagging' (there does seem to be some mention of it in threads here on the forums). Seems to be a popular method for making laminates of any type (woodworkers sometimes make veneers this way). The layers of material and resin are enclosed in an air-tight plastic bag (maybe between a couple of reinforced sheets of plywood or similar, to keep everything flat), and the air drawn out of the bag with a vacuum. The atmospheric pressure provides the clamping pressure, and is more evenly distributed across the whole surface of the material. Also seen some commentary that says this is a good method for minimizing air bubbles in the laminate, which makes perfect sense.

I haven't done this, but it may be worth looking into.


David
 
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Try a google image search for "veneer press." You'll find a variety of designs but for a 10" x 12" press, you can rather easily make one up from plywood. Popular Woodworking had an article on one that is modeled after an old bookbinder's press that ought to work well. Good luck.
 
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