# Home made Micarta



## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hey guys,

This weekends project besides cleaning the car is to try and make some home made micarta... Should be interesting & yes it's because I've been watch YouTube again, too many great ideas on there there will never be enough time to try the all! But I'm going to attempt as many as I can!

This first attempt I'm keeping it cheap and simple, I've got some coloured normal printer paper & I'm making a press from ply boards and bolts instead of using millions of clamps to compress the boards. Fibreglass resin I'm able to borrow from a friend who's been making car shells for his kids RC cars

I've chosen my colours red & black from my fav catapult weirder Dennis the menace! For the guys in the US google the beano, our guy doesn't wear dungarees. Lol

Hoping to make a board about 3/4" (19mm) thick... Most guys on YouTube only make thin scales but see how it goes, will probably need a longer curing time.

If anyone else has tried this I'd love some more advice

Cheers guys, more pics to follow


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

I wish you the best of luck. Just wondering what kind if of jig or clamping are you going to be useing.

Cheers

BC-Slinger


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I was thinking like a flower press, but beefed up

So two piece of 18mm ply bolted around the edges to provide the clamping force, if needs be a single G-clamp in the centre.

Ive cut the ply out & I'm going to "acquire" the bolts and washers 2moro from work

I'll upload some pics Saturday once I've got it in full swing


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## BC-Slinger (Jan 6, 2013)

Awesome sounds good. Looking forward to seeing your results.


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

Quick input here.. Using the fiber resin is great if you have 8 arms! I struggle to get 20 layers of Denim covered up in resin pressed and repeated! There must be 100 pieces of paper there! I used colored card the florescent type and the paper kind of "soggies" up without sticking great... Let me know how you manage! my paper attempts have always been awful I just stick to material it has the thickness factor


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I was thinking that might be a problem, I thought instead of dipping it in the resin as people do with the material (as canvas and cloth doesn't tear easily when wet) I'd use a sponge/paint brush dunked into the resin and give the paper a good coat with that only doing the top face, letting the bottom of the sheet soak from the piece below.

So it would go; waxed paper > resin > paper > resin > paper > repeat lots & lots > wrap > press > cure

Hopefully that should speed up the process & stop me tearing the sheets as I go.

If I try it again I do plan on getting thicker construction/sugar paper instead or try canvas


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## Gardengroove (Feb 13, 2012)

Perhaps a stupid question, but why not using regular wood glue instead?

Cheers, Simon

Edit: I just recognized how much glue you would need for such many layers... Probably the resin is the better choice for cost effectiveness


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Gardengroove said:


> Perhaps a stupid question, but why not using regular wood glue instead?
> 
> Cheers, Simon


Most videos online use fibreglass resin or epoxy resin, but I've just googled it & a guy has done it with wood glue & said it turned out ok... I might have to experiment & give ago aswell

Thanks for the idea


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

Jolli4688 said:


> I was thinking that might be a problem, I thought instead of dipping it in the resin as people do with the material (as canvas and cloth doesn't tear easily when wet) I'd use a sponge/paint brush dunked into the resin and give the paper a good coat with that only doing the top face, letting the bottom of the sheet soak from the piece below.
> 
> So it would go; waxed paper > resin > paper > resin > paper > repeat lots & lots > wrap > press > cure
> 
> ...


 Good luck with the sub 20 min open time  please record! Its fun yet frustrating realizing that the slab you thing is over 2" presses flat to 4mm he he ... and paintbrush


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

20 minutes... No problem *GULP*

We'll see about recording it, not tried posting vids online before although there will be plenty of pics!


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## Bighaze51 (Sep 30, 2013)

Good luck on his one! I've been contemplating making some micarta myself. I'm interested to see how this turns out.


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

The choice of paper is important. I have found that the kind that has colour on one side only is useless. Ordinary printer paper is also pretty useless. Many modern papers are waxed or polished or have various resin-unfriendly substances in them.

My best success has been with black cartridge paper (210gsm craft paper - black all the way through), not sure what it is called in other countries.... and some thick orange (all the way through) craft/printer card. I think it was called parchment card (parchment textured paper rather than actual parchment). It soaks up the resin properly rather than just the surface.

Good old newsprint is probably a good option too, as it has the least fancy treatments of all. And cheap/free.

If you're cashed up, silk paper would be excellent. Craft and art shops have it.

With regard to the resin, You may be aware that the open time can be extended in various ways. Cooling, more or less hardener/catalyst, retarder solvents, pouring out into a flat tray etc.

Making a 3/4" thick board is going to mean that the first few sheets you lay down will be insulated and will start to heat themselves up as they cure, thus speeding everything up. It's probably best to lay up 4 thinner stacks first and then lay them onto each other, so that you don't have one fat stack going crazy before you've finished it.

Regards pressing - as long as the paper is fresh and flat, you won't need much pressure. Too much pressure will squeeze too much resin out.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for the tips ash, I think I will try doing the stacks in sections and leave them to one side while I do the others, hopefully it will stop them curing before I'm ready.

I will look out for the thicker paper next time too =)


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## TxTickPkr (Aug 5, 2013)

Gee whizz Jolli, I believe the guys have missed the big question. If yall's UK version of Dennis The Mennace doesn't wear drawers, how does he carry his bean flip? I shudder to imagine the possibilities. :-0 Cheers and good luck with the project.


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## TxTickPkr (Aug 5, 2013)

Ash made a great point. I once made a sailboat in the Texas heat. The resin working time can be greatly increased by placing your resin pot in a bowl of ice and water and use about 1/2 the hardner. Might even help to put your clamp boards in the freezer overnight.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I might have to try that TxTickPkr, although I don't think the weather will be as much of a problem here in the UK as much as it would be in Texas, especially looking at the clouds today!


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## Sharker (Sep 15, 2013)

if you use Fiberglass resin, then you not need very high pressure, otherwise, it is squeezed out from between the layers


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## Metropolicity (Aug 22, 2013)

Heat will help speed it up, get yourself a room heater and sit it a safe distance away (in your garage I hope!) every once and while rotate your press so it gets heat from all sides.

It'll help cure the resin, regardless of type.


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## TSM (Oct 8, 2013)

Jolli4688 said:


> Gardengroove said:
> 
> 
> > Perhaps a stupid question, but why not using regular wood glue instead?
> ...


I was actually going to do the same thing except with black and green construction paper pressed to .25" (a little over 6 mm) for laminating and palm swells. I don't like messing with fiberglass resins - too messy and too much worrying if it's going to set up before I finish. I think I might have seen the same thing about wood glue and it made sense to me to go that way. I hope to have something to show for it by Monday. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

TSM said:


> Jolli4688 said:
> 
> 
> > Gardengroove said:
> ...


Sounds good, the colours sound like they will really pop, would like to see how yours turns out. hopefully I'll have some pics up Monday too


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## Greavous (Sep 29, 2013)

Ive been watching those videos too and feel some layup work coming on sooner vs. later.

my background with fiberglass is pretty extensive and ive made some fine projects over the years with glass. The majority of the video makers i saw had trouble with clamps/clamping the layers once that time came. I believe the name of one of the guys was Guycarta and he made his press out of formica counter top cutouts given to him by the local counter top maker. If you haven't seen his setup you might gain some from watching a few of his how-to's as he does layup some nice and uniform slabs of the stuff.

My thought/idea was to make my press with depth adjusters at the corners. These could be something as simple as drywall screws driven into plywood to a uniform depth to bolts run into threaded inserts or even wood scraps cut to a common thickness. The idea being to place your wet layup on a flat surface and then place the top pressing cover on it and squeeze it down to the stops and let it kick off. Doing something along these lines would yield a non-tapered uniform thinkness finished slab. The guys on the vids seem to over clamp one side and then wind up with something which needs grinding flat before it becomes usable.

A couple comments on fiberglass layup would include.... more resin is not better. more resin makes a weak part actually. The ideal condition would be the cloth/material would be uniformly moistened throughout and any excess resin rolled or pressed away. In the case of micarta, i would think that the more resin in your slab the less clarity between layers. Another thing to keep in mind is that the hardener (MEKP) and polyester resin react exothermically and given the just right conditions fires have started due to the heat created by a mass of resin.

good luck and show us what you came up with when the time comes!


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I've been watching his vids too, he makes some wicked stuff.

For this first attempt I've tried to keep things simple so I've made a quick flower press to apply the pressure, hopefully with the bolts where they are being evenly spaced I should avoid too much tapering. I've got a big surface area to keep everything level.

Here's a quick peek before I get started with the resin.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Ok so I've just tightened the screws on my first attempt @ home made micarta so it's down to a waiting gam now

But unfortunately it didn't go all to plan :-(

I barely got through the slab I wanted to create, so lessen for next time less hardener, the box said 3 drops per 10ml & I had just over 100ml in the tub so I put in about 30-40 drops. I think next time I will have to do a few less.

I wouldn't have got much further anyway as I ran out of resin, the stuff I was using was borrowed and was the last in the bottle so I can't complain, I got through 2 & a bits worth of layers. So I know I need about just over 50ml of resin per layer to finish the rest off.

My jig, well bigger holes are required in the top and bottom plate for the bolts to make them easier to assemble, & screw down. also I need to do some thing to stop the saturated sheets moving about as I am painting the resin on there. I may have to make a removable holder to place the sheets once done.

I didn't get many pics of the job (I fact I forgot entirely) or the video, sorry BCluxor, but I'll have pics up 2moro evening of the (part) finished slab


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## Metropolicity (Aug 22, 2013)

Jolli4688 said:


> I've been watching his vids too, he makes some wicked stuff.
> 
> For this first attempt I've tried to keep things simple so I've made a quick flower press to apply the pressure, hopefully with the bolts where they are being evenly spaced I should avoid too much tapering. I've got a big surface area to keep everything level.
> 
> Here's a quick peek before I get started with the resin.


That's a great press!

I've used stacked washers before to get even board compression, used them as a spacer and used 1/4" carriage bolts. The spacers are only 1/32" thick so removing or adding one or two would allow for more or less compression.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I'd need a lot of washers for that lol, but it would be a great way of keeping the thickness uniform all over. I was thinking of grabbing some nylon rod from work to cut some spacers for next time.

I'm also thinking that if I get a bigger container I'm going to try dunking entire layers to speed it up instead of painting the resin on a sheet at a time. As long as I'm careful it should work... He says with fingers crossed lol


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

Its a rush getting it to go smooth.. I really recommend fabric next time it just "sticks" easier layer by layer.

My last batch was just 8 "layers" (6MM) thick just could not get enough material covered in resin before it was setting... still bulletproof regardless..


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## ash (Apr 23, 2013)

You just need an extra nut on each bolt to set your height (under the top plate). That way you could also adjust the height during pressing if need be.

Small foam rollers are a good option for fast application of resin.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

ash said:


> You just need an extra nut on each bolt to set your height (under the top plate). That way you could also adjust the height during pressing if need be.
> 
> Small foam rollers are a good option for fast application of resin.


That would be easier then my idea lol

Few more hours & I can see how well this first batch turned out


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## Metropolicity (Aug 22, 2013)

Looking forward to it!


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Ok guys it's been 24 hours so here's my finished micarta.

It's come out at about 8mm. So no where near what I wanted but, besides the the resin going gooey before I got there I ran out of resin anyway :-(

But for a first go I'm happy with it. I'll be getting full can of resin on order shortly to finish of the other sheets and laminated the two together to give me the slab depth I was originally after, I think I will also make up another quick press so I can do two sheets at once. Which should help again.

There lots of things I need to do next time I've learnt from this attempt but I think it's a good start


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## Greavous (Sep 29, 2013)

there are two kinds of polyester resin, one has wax and the other does not. The waxed resin is what you find when purchasing resin from an auto parts store or the like. The wax is there to help the resin dry to a non tacky finish. This is fine but in order to continue bonding additional layers to that dry/hardened surface you will need to first grind off the top surface in order for the next layers to bond. Unwaxed resin will always retain a tacky feeling even after a full cure. The intent being additional layup work can happen without adding a grinding set first. So, if you are going to make more and bond them into one thicker piece you will need to sand/grind off the wax film layer first. Just some FYI which could cause you failure in the future if you arent careful.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up =)

Just about to order my next load of resin.


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## TSM (Oct 8, 2013)

Yours turned out a lot better than mine with the wood glue/construction paper. After 48 hours, I have a 1/4" piece of soggy cardboard. Still pressing, still drying, still hoping I can salvage this.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

AH.... oh hrmmmm

Only thing I can think may help is putting it somewhere warm, dry with very little moisture in the air =/

how much wood glue did you use?


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## TSM (Oct 8, 2013)

Jolli4688 said:


> AH.... oh hrmmmm
> 
> Only thing I can think may help is putting it somewhere warm, dry with very little moisture in the air =/
> 
> how much wood glue did you use?


like, all of it.

Srsly though, I did use ENTIRELY too much glue. It will probably sit in that vise til Wed. or Thurs., weather permitting.


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

Thats alot of glue lol

You'll have to upload a pic once you take it out the vice, will be interesting to see it dry, instead of paper mache.

its all a learning curve I've got a few ideas for my next attempt. I've already made a few changes to my press, to make it easier to release the top plate once its all done.

Or whether next time make a big batch of resin and let the sheets all soak in that for a few mins before pulling them out and laying them out or making more batches up as I run out, or the batch reaches the end of its working time. I don't know whether that would effect the over all strength of the block then?

can any one answer that question? =/


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## amm1266 (Mar 27, 2013)

I may have to try this out ...


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## Greavous (Sep 29, 2013)

I wouldnt bother soaking for any length of time, time is of the essence once the hardener is mixed in. One method to prevent the resin from hardening too quickly is to mix in the hardener and then pour the resin in a container which spreads out the resin. If the resin is in a confined mass it will kick off faster due to the thermal buildup. Im a bit confused as to why your last slab took so long to cure out. Typically, something like this should be able to come out of the press within 15 minutes or so. Hour tops.

Another tip which has already been offered was to layup thin batches and then stack them up just before going into the press. This will keep that thermal mass low and prevent sudden curing. I think Ill do exactly that when I make some.


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## TSM (Oct 8, 2013)

Jolli4688 said:


> Thats alot of glue lol
> 
> You'll have to upload a pic once you take it out the vice, will be interesting to see it dry, instead of paper mache.
> 
> ...


Yeah I took a few pics of my process, but none of them are pretty. More like a cautionary tale of "how not micarta" or "limp paper sandwich".


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## Jolli4688 (Aug 18, 2013)

I was using a square tub to pour the resin into rather then a paper cup so it spread out more and kept cooler longer, I also left the slab in the press for 24 hours as most videos I have watched on making say 24hours so I was playing it safe in that regard.

The problem I had with the resin & timing was not the slab the slab was fine being left, it was the resin in the tub which started to turn to jelly & clumping. But I had pretty much run out of resin when I got to this stage so didn't get much further.

I'm thinking instead of letting it soak for any length of time, to just plunge the stack of paper in the resin container and then cover it to just over the top oft he stack. Then pulling the pages out as I go, I think if I'm efficient I should be able to coat the top layer as I pull the sheets out to lay flat. But this is only and idea.

I also plan on attempting the laying out of stacked layers.


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

i made a few what i do is get all of the stuff your useing cut to the same size make it thicker than you want when wet its going to compact sew or safty pin one of the ends use a throw away cake pan and rubber gloves mix resin and hardner use more than you need open up fabric pour some on flip the fabric like a page in a book keep pouring it on be sure that all of the fabric is saturated if not you will have a soft spot and you dont want that have two waxed pieces of card board and to boards put the waxed board then the ply wood board and clamp let dry if you use burlap it will come out very good some fabric wont absorb as well and if you want color dye the burlap waxed board makes it where you can get your board free if you just use wood it wont come off.


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