How To Make Micarta | A DIY guide to what its really like to make this stuff

what can i say? awesome video. your description and direction were clear. i think the press that you came up with is the way to go when you dont have the means to go drop on a real press!! since im 4 years after the fact maybe youll have a video on some easier ways to shape some micarta scales... great video though, thanks.....

Excellent !!!!!! thank you.

Philadelphia? Jersey?

Maybe use a channel-iron that fits snugly in the screw-press, to keep the thickness uniform across the length of the press? I would like to make wider blocks of micarta, to experiment with various hand-gun stocks...

I got too fat for my Jeans 👖 so i will make knive handels out of them lol

You started on the difficult level with burlap and nylon webbing. It is a lot easier when using something with a tighter weave like t shirts or a cotton sheet. I used visqueen for release and tshirts for the micarta when I did it. Dont try to contain the excess, spread a piece of visqueen out to catch it. Make the pieces significantly larger than what you need. I made a 1 ft x 1 ft square and sandwiched between 2 pieces of 2 ft x 2 ft plywood. I screwed the plywood together making sure that the threads only engaged 1 side. Also added a concrete block in the center. You want low viscosity resin. The more resin you squeeze out the better the micarta. If you want to revisit this subject I believe it was nighthawking light here on you tube who showed how to make carbon graphite out of t shirts. It might have been one of the other science channels though. I never got around to trying to make carbon graphite scales, I would definitely watch a video on it. Oh, wd40 can be used as a release agent, no visqueen or parchment needed. Didn't come across that info until I was done with mine. I am also in Florida, would recommend a heated shop or summertime when messing with epoxy. I have never tryed it but apparently you can thin epoxy resin with denatured alcohol. Edit: carbon fiber not carbon graphite.

just paint it with epoxy to cover the air pockets once you ground it, and that's it?

I wish Pete from Cedric and Adda channel could somehow get all that twisted sisal rope together and do block handle scales.
What a gem that fella

Nice job! The blue strapping made for a beautiful scale material

Really like your videos, a few things you might try and things I thought about:
Peelply is not very expensive and if you use that closest to your laminate it’s easier to bleed out the air bubbles, you can even have a thin material outside that can “swallow” some of the exes resin.
Also some materials should not be pressed too hard since it can end up a dry laminate with to little epoxy related to “stuff”…..
The last press you did is great I might stiffen the top pice or make it slightly slightly bent and use the convex side down, otherwise you get the laminate thicker in the middle and also get the bubbles to float to centre instead of out from the laminate..
Great and informative videos, thanks!!
Ps, surrounding temperatures change the viscosity on epoxy a lot, a little warmer will help drench the fibre better but you lose a bit of open time to work with it Ds

It's four years later, but I just found this video. Most all epoxy manufacturers make a thinner that would increase wetting and saturation, especially using the bag method.

At last, a clear explanation of the good ways, and the traps! :) epoxy leakage all over, been there...
I make my own for tiny tools, with 3D printed cases and a vise.
For beginners, paper is much more easier to manage than tissue, and gives super nice results if you altern colors.

This is a very informative video. I'm not a knife maker but I am a luthier and I build guitars. Traditionally a lot of parts on guitars are made of plastic and I've always thought that that look very cheap, I've been looking for another material to replace the plastic parts that I use. These parts include pickguards, pickup covers, potentiometer knobs, and switch tips. I think this material would be perfect. I'm going to attempt to make some Micarta and shape it with my CNC machine. If this works out then I may be using it on all of my guitars from now on. I already have a vacuum bag setup that I use for wood veneers and I think this will be pretty simple to make. Since pickguards are flat I'm thinking that the top layer can be a material with a graphic design. I've seen Micarta used for fretboard material which is traditionally made from wood and it's worked out great. I'm curious do you know if this material is flexible, can it be reshaped with heat?? If it can be then I may be able to use this for binding and inlays.

I tried making this years ago..used kevlar...used a vacuum sealer.....first try...no mess...came out perfect no voids.

Those dang "What the heck are you doing?" moments... I seem to have at least one every day. Probably later today when I start making some micarta.

Really appreciate the detail that you go into explaining each process. It has greatly helped me in planning my projects. Keep up the great work, thank you

The closest thing to micarta I made was a head sheath for my Knipex water pump plier XS(87-00-100). I wrapped the head of it with kitchen wrap, soaked a length of dressing gauze bandage from the first aid kit, piecemeal with a 5-minute epoxy, and wrapped it over the kitchen wrap a few times. I waited for about a day for the epoxy to cure sufficiently, pulled out the head of the plier, removed the kitchen wrap, and trimmed the edge with a pair of scissors. The color changed to dirty yellowish over time as cheap five minute epoxy does, but it does its job, if you call that a job to keep the mouth of the plier shut up when it’s not in use.

You know. The pan method would be perfect to use with a bottle jack if you had a spot you could crank down on the jack.

Very nice video and explanation. Thank you.

I've been involved with composites since the early 90s. Built alot of cool projects - custom interiors, FRP enclousers even worked on a bat mobile, boat repairs blah blah blah...

When building your mold from wood use masking tape to line it. Most polyester & epoxy resins won't stick to it. Also if wanting a consistent thickness use screws as adjustable standoffs.

When using man made material such as nylon or poly based webbing its very important to use an aggressive fiberglass type roller to roll into the material. This helps push/force the resin in also eliminating air bubbles.

Hope this helps to whoever reads it.

When

Great video! My friend is a pen turner making kitless fountain pens and has had a lot of success using commercial micarta. I've started pouring pen blanks using epoxy resin and this seems like a natural next step, if I can get the process down. Working with resin is super messy but the results can look amazing, and this video was super helpful.

My eyes lit up when you said making your own micarta. There was this meme i came across where it said how to catch a knife maker and it was a basic animal trap with knife handle supplies under it as bait😂😂

I was thinking about making some of this stuff until I started watching videos. I don't think it will be worth my time since I don't seem to have a lot to spend on it. Great video

Micarta was the original brand name created by George Westinghouse for products based on Leo Baekeland’s phenolic resin discovery. In 1913, Micarta was sold for the first time outside of the Westinghouse group of companies. In 1945, Norplex was formed in Wisconsin, USA. In 1975, the demand for industrial laminates had grown substantially, and the laminates factory in Postville, Iowa was opened. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, both Norplex and Micarta made significant innovations in laminate materials. The two companies merged in 2003

Don't be stingy with your epoxy

The bag method thinking about it would probably work better with those vacuum sandwich bags wouldn’t it that would then drawl all the resin into the material and eliminate any air pockets that might pop

I use a similar process to this but instead of the clamps are used a few two by fours and an old scissor jack which I have permanently set up underneath my bench work great 👍

Can you do a handle for a flipper knife from elk horn?

I might try a 20 ton clamp on top inside a ciderpress style arch

Which material is best for grip when the handle gets wet?

Would it not be possible to make a small box besides of your scale for the press that way the epoxy has nowhere to go or would that be too much epoxy with the clock

Will my micarta turn out better if I can balance the resin on my noggin? Lol 😆

are there any carbon fiber handled knives?

How good is the grip with Micarta scales?

Where are you based? That workshop looks a bit cold, judging from the clothes.

Late but useful for anyone interested still. Used to be an epoxy flooring technician. It's similar to other resins in a lot of ways.
If it sets up (dries) too fast the air bubbles tend to get trapped. Also if any moisture gets under or in it, it can bubble as well. We generally wait 30 days to put down epoxy over concert because it's still drying and releasing air and moisture which will go up into the epoxy, causing air bubbles ir straight up cracks. You can also reduce air bubbles by mixing at a slower calmer pace in a figure 8 mixing motion. Also if you warm the resin and surface it's going on it pre-seal natural materials such as wood and paper with a brush on or spray sealant prior to resining. You can also use a heat gun to help remove air bubbles as well. This will work for resins and epoxies.

How about adding color/dye? Possible?

What is that material you're using?
Hemp fabric? Could I basically use ANYthing, like paper, cotton, whatever?

I love how you bring up the sentimental value t-shirt bit...that's exactly why I'm here...I have an American flag t-shirt that I bought like a week after 9/11 (proceeds went to disaster relief)...just a couple weeks ago it ripped badly as I was taking it off...that shirt has been with me over half of my 36yr life...wanted to incorporate it into a knife and take it along for a few more decades. Great video!

I liked the homeade bolt press.. but i still think it would be best, to clamp the center of it down hard, then tighten the bolts on the ends

Bindi resin is polyester, not epoxy if it smells as bad as you mention.

One thing you need is a ruler to measure the distance from piece of wood to piece of wood in order to tighten the screws the same .

haaahh! marcaida. never thought i'd see the karambit master here. :D thanks for opening my mind about micarta. put anything in epoxy resin and boom! great job.

I have an antique 12" steel screw press that I'll turn into a micarta making monster lol

One of the nice things about that custom press is that you could use a torque wrench to get it just about perfect.

Good morning Alex hope you’re ok when are you coming back

I am thinking that if you make it too thin, you can go back and make more micarta and add this thin piece in the middle and it should become part of the Micarta block . Best video I have seen on this .

Love this channel and Random Micarta joke 😹

Just got a Becker bk14, and want a nice handle... i was thinking Leather and epoxy scales ... but the condura got me thinking...

Good stuff as always 🤝

Dude...you are one of those who explain things in the best manner possible. Nothing important left out and nothing unnecessary added. Awesome video.