# First Crack at a Metal Micarta Sandwich



## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

Well I have reached the end of this tunnel. It was a super fun experiment and I think it turned out darn good for a first stab at this. I merged a few of my favorite slingers that I have used as of late (mainly the chalice and mutant ninja). This bad boy is a mossy oak tee shirt and a old pair of black denim jeans. Aluminum core donated by my dear friend Charles and pinned with some brass rod I picked up at Canadian Tire for a few bucks and I have a life time supply now. :naughty:

Micarta was a lot easier to make then I thought but working the finish is a task not to take lightly(I need power tools  ). the aluminum was very easy to shape and work a solid bond to the micarta. The pins are a little over kill but makes a bullet proof fastening to the frame so even rough abuse wont damage it.

This sucker will be my new every day carrier, enjoy.


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Wow!


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

That turned out very well indeed! That thing must be virtually indestructible. You could probably drive over it with a tank and not hurt it. I am really looking forward to seeing it "in the flesh", as it were.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## SlingDaddy (Sep 24, 2012)

Lovely work. Been waiting months to do something similar, but just can't get the time


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## AnTrAxX (Jul 18, 2012)

That looks like one solid Slingshot 

Perfectly pocketable, nice one.

Came out great for a first try with those materials...i bet (hope) we will see more!


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## bullseyeben! (Apr 24, 2011)

Man you come a long way in bloody little time! That's pretty sweet mate, I think youve got a good design there, and finished it well! Thumbs up!


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

:wub: :wub: :wub:


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

Lookin good man, saw the preview in Ole Charles' video the other day. Came out real nice man. Good job. Nice to have such a tough mother slinger.


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

Great looking shooter! Wonderful work!


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## Chepo69 (May 1, 2010)

Muy compacta y portable ademas de fuerte aspecto. Excelente amigo!


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## Mr.Teh (Feb 28, 2012)

To build as quickly like you, i need five helpers next to me :lol:

as always in the best quality, good work !!


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## Adirondack Kyle (Aug 20, 2012)

Wow, very impressive! I gotta get my hands on some aluminium! Everything you do is awesome bro!!


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm thinking...YUP! :thumbsup:


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Nice work! That would be my choice for EDC, too. :bowdown:


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## primitive power slingshot (Apr 5, 2013)

BOY O BOY IS THAT ONE MEAN LOOKING SLINGER. GREAT JOB. I WANT TO DO THIS SO BAD BUT WITH THE HORRIBLE SINUS PROBLEMS I HAVE I CAN GET BY WITH SANDING NATURAL MATERIALS MUCH LESS TOXIC CHEMICAL DUST. MY HATS OFF TO YOU BC.


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## Saderath (Jan 1, 2013)

Awesome!


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## slingingjaymie (Apr 19, 2013)

Interesting. I cannot quite figure out the search feature so pardon me here... I get either post hits with the word micarta or thread titles.

That said, I only found this thread when searching. Based on the previous posts you used an epoxy with denim and cloth to make the skins you then epoxied and pinned to the aluminum frame?

Impressive work, looks great. Unique and appears to fit the grip nicely. Bet it is a blast to fire. =>


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

slingingjaymie said:


> Interesting. I cannot quite figure out the search feature so pardon me here... I get either post hits with the word micarta or thread titles.
> 
> That said, I only found this thread when searching. Based on the previous posts you used an epoxy with denim and cloth to make the skins you then epoxied and pinned to the aluminum frame?
> 
> Impressive work, looks great. Unique and appears to fit the grip nicely. Bet it is a blast to fire. =>


Yep I used a high quality epoxy 'industrial formalizations' was the company name. I made the skins first by layering a bunch of my materials and soaked them in the epoxy then proceded to make a quick little micarta jig to make sure I am producing a even micarta. Nothing is worse then having uneven micarta unless that is whats your going for. After that was made I already had my aluminum core cut and ready to go in the middle of the sandwich I then epoxied those together let them full cure.

I went over to Charles's place to get the pin holes preped due to I do not have a drill press and wanted those suckers as straight as I could get them(Again thankyou very much my friend I am delighted with this frame). I had my pins prepped and roughed up a little to help them stick, then filled the holes up with epoxy and covered the pins in it. Gave them a nice tap in cause I like the pins fitting tight no sloppy edges, then left it to fully cure. I ground the pins down to flush after with a belt sander then all the sanding on the frame is hand done the way I like to work. All sounds fast but took me weeks of pecking away at it after work a little each day.

If you guys would like a build log of these things let me know I will be crafting a apple wood and micarta sandwich with my brother soon made with the same wood as in this thred http://slingshotforum.com/topic/23241-spalted-apple-pfs/.

Thanks guys for all the wonderful comments I love being a member here and seeing all the awesome experiences and builds that come about from here.

Cheers

Matt (BC-Slinger)


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

On a side note to the weird design in the handle if anyone was wondering is a large M that has it on both sides and is my initials.

Cheers

BC-Slinger


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## worserabbit (Apr 16, 2012)

Stunning


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## BrokenPins (Feb 10, 2013)

BC, you are some kind of craftsman. Great work as always!


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

BrokenPins said:


> BC, you are some kind of craftsman. Great work as always!


Thanks a lot buddy this was one satisfying build to see the finished product. 

Cheers

BC-Slinger


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## stej (Jan 16, 2013)

You did a great job! It's a little bit large to put into a pocket, but for this beauty I wouldn't mind taking even a suitcase with me


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## Mister Magpie (Apr 10, 2013)

Great job. Have fun with the trial run this weekend.


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## slingingjaymie (Apr 19, 2013)

Impressive!! Thank you for the wonderful response! So if I follow... you used a jig(multiplex?) And a few clamps. You had a base mold and a top plate. You presoaked your fibers then layered them for desired pattern and even filling. Then, you clamped(C clamps?) The top plate into the mold to squeeze excess resin out. Next, you heated the micarta to a relative low temperature(oven)?

Similar to the process used for bake cure carbon fiber?

After you had the initial micarta you hand sanded it to fit. Ending with a final coat for gloss and seal, correct?

Looks gorgeous. Thank you so much for the informative responses. Everyone on this forum is so nice. I like it very much. Great wealth of knowledge. Wonderful for the beginning hobbyist!

Great work.


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

slingingjaymie said:


> Impressive!! Thank you for the wonderful response! So if I follow... you used a jig(multiplex?) And a few clamps. You had a base mold and a top plate. You presoaked your fibers then layered them for desired pattern and even filling. Then, you clamped(C clamps?) The top plate into the mold to squeeze excess resin out. Next, you heated the micarta to a relative low temperature(oven)?
> 
> Similar to the process used for bake cure carbon fiber?
> 
> ...


No problem at all. I may just make a video of myself making it for the next project I do with micarta. A big tip is to get a epoxy that has a slow curing hardener. That way you are not rushed to finish your micarta and have to race against the clock. It does take a long time to cure but oh well the results are wonderful.

As for the jig it is a simple 3 pieces of multi-plex I believe was a old shelf. It is a top piece,bottom piece and a side wall to prevent slipping of your material especially if you are making paper micarta.

I will try to get a slinging video of this beast after work today and maybe snap a pic of the simple jig i tossed together in about 3 minutes. I would suggest using clamps for the even pressure,but I used a bunch of free weights I had kicking around for working out.

Cheers

BC-Slinger


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## mr. green (Nov 3, 2012)

So much talent, BC. It's gorgeous. We have great weather coming up. let us know how it shoots.


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

mr. green said:


> So much talent, BC. It's gorgeous. We have great weather coming up. let us know how it shoots.


I will do better and show how it slings with a video and I got a quick video for the user that was asking about the micarta setup.

The slinging vid: 




Micarta setup :


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## slingingjaymie (Apr 19, 2013)

Nice! Impressive. Thank you very much. Shoots pretty nice. Cannot wait to see your next build. Keep "slingun"! Great work BC. Brass really makes a great offset. Looks about indestructible. =>


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## mr. green (Nov 3, 2012)

Thank you for sharing, BC. It's about time we have some good weather.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Good info, Matt. Thanks for posting the shoot and the build sketch.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Fury (Jan 26, 2013)

Very cool Matt I can not wait to see this thing up close to inspect it a little further. :naughty:


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

that is a real kick a55 shooter :twocents: :shocked:


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

nice shootin', you have an interesting shooting style : ) thanks for taking the time to post up for all to see. thats an awesome slinger!


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Charles said:


> You could probably drive over it with a tank and not hurt it.


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

All Buns Glazing said:


> Charles said:
> 
> 
> > You could probably drive over it with a tank and not hurt it.


I just happened to be driving my tank through my living room tonight so i snapped a quick pic for ya.


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## MissLace (Feb 13, 2013)

So amazing to see this now that it's done. The pictures do not do this piece justice, in person it looks about a billion times cooler. Glad to see all that hard work come to fruition =D


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

Really digging this frame even at a good distance it drives nails.






Cheers

BC-Slinger


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Good shooting, Matt!!!

Cheers ..... Charles


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## funkysod (May 2, 2013)

Very nice! I am truly impressed.


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