# Micarta Press



## CanH8r

Hi all,

Here's a quick vid on my micarta press... I feel it is a very important aspect to consider if you want to make your own micarta.


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## Charles

This is very informative. If you give me permission, I will move it down to the tutorials section.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## leon13

Thanks and nice to se your tutorial 
Cheers


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## CanH8r

Charles said:


> This is very informative. If you give me permission, I will move it down to the tutorials section.
> 
> Cheers ..... Charles


Sure Charels. You may move it


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## Greavous

Good video! My press is very similar to yours but made out of formica covered plywood. I liked the polycarbonate clear concept the moment you brought up being able to detect bubbles trapped in the samich! Certainly going to incorporate the transparent idea into my next press. My press has two raised edges to align my layup and confine it when the top goes on. I also cut stops that I insert into the fenced edges which serve as limiters for the finished thickness once the clamps go on. This way you dont over compress or get a tapered slab.

One other thing I do which seems to deviate from all the other videos on this subject is I skip the wax paper or plastic wrap all together. Ive build an insane number of fiberglass parts in my time. From swimming pools and shower stalls to waterpark slides, boats and corvette parts. The one thing all of these have in common is you simply wax your mold surfaces before you layup the parts. That layer of wax paper or plastic wrap just adds imperfections to what can be a perfect finished surface due to wrinkles and folds in the barrier. In order for wax to work you need to be applying it to a smooth, non porous surface. You might get away with waxing a fairly smooth plywood surface but you will still end up with a wood grain pattern on the surface. Just saying that if you want to skip a bunch of sanding out blemishes, dont cast them into your slab to start with.


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## CanH8r

Greavous said:


> Good video! My press is very similar to yours but made out of formica covered plywood. I liked the polycarbonate clear concept the moment you brought up being able to detect bubbles trapped in the samich! Certainly going to incorporate the transparent idea into my next press. My press has two raised edges to align my layup and confine it when the top goes on. I also cut stops that I insert into the fenced edges which serve as limiters for the finished thickness once the clamps go on. This way you dont over compress or get a tapered slab.
> 
> One other thing I do which seems to deviate from all the other videos on this subject is I skip the wax paper or plastic wrap all together. Ive build an insane number of fiberglass parts in my time. From swimming pools and shower stalls to waterpark slides, boats and corvette parts. The one thing all of these have in common is you simply wax your mold surfaces before you layup the parts. That layer of wax paper or plastic wrap just adds imperfections to what can be a perfect finished surface due to wrinkles and folds in the barrier. In order for wax to work you need to be applying it to a smooth, non porous surface. You might get away with waxing a fairly smooth plywood surface but you will still end up with a wood grain pattern on the surface. Just saying that if you want to skip a bunch of sanding out blemishes, dont cast them into your slab to start with.


Thanks Greaveous! May have to try wax. Ehh....do you think surfboard wax would work?


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## Greavous

I use regular old car wax when make the stuff. Im not too sure if surfboard wax would be what you want. Isnt the idea of surfboard wax to add some tack to the board so you dont slip off so easily? Not too many surfboards in south central Texas so you need to make that call. Go with car wax if in doubt as I know it works just fine.


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## CanH8r

Greavous said:


> I use regular old car wax when make the stuff. Im not too sure if surfboard wax would be what you want. Isnt the idea of surfboard wax to add some tack to the board so you dont slip off so easily? Not too many surfboards in south central Texas so you need to make that call. Go with car wax if in doubt as I know it works just fine.


Bahaha... You are correct about surf wax lol! I was just thinking about what I had lying around. I do have car was handy also though. Thanks again.


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## carboncopy

Thank you for the great tutorial!


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## e~shot

Cool thanks for sharing. If you don't mind pls change the video title on YouTube to "Micarta Press", it's easy to search.

BTW, I make micarat mainly for palm swells, so here is my press

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​This one made without press and it get rolled. ​


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## CanH8r

e~shot said:


> Cool thanks for sharing. If you don't mind pls change the video title on YouTube to "Micarta Press", it's easy to search.
> 
> BTW, I make micarat mainly for palm swells, so here is my press
> 
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> 
> ​This one made without press and it get rolled. ​


Hey e-shot,

I changed the name...errr actually added a title lol per your request lol. It took me a while to figure out how to change the title before I realized I never made a title lol. Not very savvy with the computer stuff. You've got a cool press there. Have one similar. As you said you can only do palm swells or a pfs with it. If you make I wider one, you can make a micarta core or scales for a full slingshot. It's good to have different press' for different ocassions. Obviously from your bottom picture you have realized the importance of a good press too lol.


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## Mr.Teh

Thanks for the info, good with the clear poly !


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## BlackBob

Nice tutorial thanks for sharing.


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