Making homemade Micarta from epoxy and cloth. Project details: ibuildit.ca/pr... You can help support quality videos on this channel with Patreon: www.patreon.co...
I really liked this video because it detailed what I didn't know--set up and takedown in quick detail without going on with unnecessary info. Really appreciate the fresh take on this. +1for the wood inlay idea and for whomever came up with that great table saw jig.
I didn't realize how easy Micarta was to make. I have a few large knives that need durable handles and your method makes it look easy to do. Thanks John.
Thanks Jay. I'm thinking of something different for the pins: not really pins at all, but stainless steel splines cut into the edge in several places on both sides of the handle.
Good idea. Can't wait to see your handy work on the finished project. Your a hell of a craftsman John. I appreciate that you take your time to record your work for us to enjoy. You need a tv show. Thanks again.
I have just subscribed to your channel a couple of days ago and have been pretty much going through the videos one at a time. Amazing stuff you have here. I've never heard of this micarta stuff before... I LIKE IT!!!!
Neither did I. Not only do I now know, but I know how to make it! I wonder what it feels like to hold a handle made from micarta. . I need to make some.
That looks really really nice. Bit awkward to do but you could plan the mould parts to line up with where your fingers go. Never heard of Micarta before now.
I've made micarta a couple of times for knives, turned out well but I really like your idea on using the wavy pattern with a nice wood to get the wood inlays. Definitely gonna give that a go!
Very interesting. I used to use Phenolic rods to replace ferrules on cue sticks a few years back. This reminds me of a canvas phenolic. I wonder how difficult it would be to make dowels out of it. Maybe micarta pins to attach the handle. Looking forward to the rest of the project.
Very nice, I never thought about making a wavy mold I just make them plain and flat. It is a rewarding but slightly messy process, but well worth the effort.
This knife will look awesome. I've never seen this technique with fabric and epoxy before. I'm going to make a knife today from an old stone cutting disc - thanks for the idea! Nice videos - I particularly like the knife making and the mini drill press. N
cant wait to see the finished knife, the wood inlay is great twist to micarta , maybe introduce other materials, got me thinking about other applications
Maybe putting some wax paper or applying wax to the wood mold itself would've prevented the epoxy from bonding the micarta and wood together. But either way awesome video!
I had not heard of micarta before... very interesting. I have to try this now... lots of interesting things can be done with this technique. The only thing I'll add... you may want to wear a mask when cutting/sanding this stuff... I doubt the dust is very good for you.
It's the faster set hardener. Pot life was longer than it took for me to get it all together, so more than 10 minutes, or so. I didn't monitor the heat or cure time, just figured I want to leave it overnight anyway.
Hello John! Nice video! sorry for my english. For à Next time, maybe try to put alcohol in epoxy for make it more liquid, I do that to fiber rc boat, it's perfect, better impregnated, maybe less of epoxy! Best regards!
A tip for other beginners: when you do this, saran wrap the micarta layers before clamping, and check out theartofweapons' micarta walkthrough, this way you can reuse your wooden mold easier, that is, if you're looking for micarta only
I was wondering what Micarta was when you began... Very cool video and very cool technique. Thanks John. Your videos are always so thought provoking. You and Mathias up there really make us think
Oh. My. God. You've done it again, John! Something else for me to try. My bank book hates you, but I love, love, love your videos. As a former upholsterer, I have a whole bunch of canvas scrap boxed up in storage. Now I know what to do with it. Thanks again! (You tired of hearing that from me yet...?)
Although epoxy hardening is an exothermic (gives off heat for the non-tech people here) reaction, it will react more quickly at higher temperatures. If you use a quick-set epoxy at a low temperature, you'll get more time before it hardens. In my basement during the winter, 5 minute epoxy is more like 20 minute because it's so cold down there. Also, the more epoxy you mix at once, the faster it'll harden because the heat it produces as it cures will actually speed up the reaction itself.
Okay maybe the reason I never encountered this problem is because my workshop is in the attic :) I know about this part because I have some experience mixing unaccelerated epoxy in the lab. Because epoxy (like almost every kind of plastic) can't transfer heat too well parts of the mixture can overheat. So at a certain point it won't just get hard it will start to smoke and to burn or it will become inhomogeneous which will cause weak spots in the parts you are trying to manufacture.
A thought provoking idea. Perhaps other applications of this method would not need the strength of epoxy and therefore much cheaper polyester could be used. That would also mean that larger items could be economically made. A further thought is pigmentation ...
West Systems epoxy is my number one epoxy, that and JB Weld. It works great as a flexible glue, Yes flexible, but not so you would notice it has a certain amount of micro flexing so it doesn't ever crack from large temperature drops. I always suggest a respirator when cutting plastic. What you have isn't Micarta because true micarta is made from phenolic resins and is copyrighted by Dupont. It will work, but you'd have been better served using fiberglass resin.
You don't need to make a wavey mould to get that pattern. Start with a flat block and make your first layer or several out of 1" strips spaced 1" apart. Then continue with full length strips. Top it off with more 1" strips aligned with the gaps from the first few layers. The full length strips will take up the wave formed by the gappy outside layers. I do this on my felt/epoxy laminates.
Hey, John. Awesome vid. I knew about micarta, but it never occurred to me that i could leave the wood in, it could potentially give it a very nice texture. What really sparked my interest is the wavy form you made...what if instead of waves you did right angle shapes, like a zig zag. Coupled with a nice wood, perhaps something exotic it would turn out spiffing.
Dono what could be bad about this vid to give it a dislike?! Anyway, I liked it. Very simple to make actually and you seem to have a nice workshop. Thanks for uploading, cheers!
Super video, can't wait to see the knife. I can see sales of resin going up because I want to do this too and I'm sure lots of others feel the same. You know what else was good about this video? - Seeing you give yourself a break from working in the dungeon. Best Wishes, Brendan.
Why use a wavy pattern wood mold if you end up cutting it straight anyway? If you had sprayed the wood with mold release I suspect they would release from the epoxy leaving the wavy pattern behind.
I don't think you need to worry about the air temperature when working with resin because the reaction used to harden it is exothermic and will usually generate heat by itself. That is one reason why you shouldn't mix more than you need because it might begin to smoke or even catch fire. Also you should make sure to work in a well ventilated room when you work on it as the vapors and the dust from the material aren't really good for your health :) Your micarta looks great by the way (^-^)b
Hey dude I thought you were making a plywood of some fairly expensive woods with layers of micarta thrown in for good measure. But your doing fine I was just misunderstanding where you were headed. That's why it's called art.
wow I love it I have never seen one with the wood inlay what a great idea yours came out great I just bought the resin and i'm gonna try to make one I want to make a small cross out of it and now I know I can use any kind of material that is just great! so I'm guessing that this means it can stay outside in the garden? will the resin melt over time? i'm gonna try it and see if it works outside thank you for sharing
Beautiful process. I have never seen anything like this. It would probably be possible to make a bowl blank, etc. by "rolling a log" of the stacked epoxy-soaked fabric strips. It would have a nice swirly pattern. Or what if you were to take the two ends and twist it in to a helix? ;) random thoughts.
Very steady hand! I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but exactly what tools did you use? I think I saw an angle grinder, belt sander, and disk sander. If so, what disks did you use on the grinder? If not, what did you use? Finally, if possible, could you send me a detailed step-by-step guide? If not, are there any books you know of that could teach me this construction?
Here's some food 4 thought: Intermix layers of other materials with the cloth: Wood veneers. Construction paper. Fiberglass. Wire mesh (non-ferrous). Flower petals. Leaves. Feathers. Leather. And almost anything else that's thin, flexible, and is easily saturated with resin/epoxy.
Great vids John. Two questions: we're you using the slow hardner (if so what do you think the pot time was) and how warm did the material get? I've used foam brushes to apply epoxy and they started smoking a bit. Keep up the good work!
If the foam started "smoking," that was from a reaction with the epoxy and the foam; definitely not from the epoxy heating up. It doesn't heat up anywhere near enough to start making foam smoke.
This is great stuff John. How does the piece you made feel, weight-wise? I would guess light, (not as light), like carbon fiber. This would be a neat material to see incorporated as a spline or accent. Thanks!
+John Heisz A bit late but that was a pretty serious fact for your well being you can make fun but you really regret later in life. Great video anyway. Great work. Great look on that handle. Thanks.
Shivam Kataria It's never too late to pretend you know enough to give advice to someone who clearly knows what he is doing. :) Stay inside, don't do anything that might harm you and you will surely live forever.
Now that I see it actually is constructive criticism. But I meant what I said I was checking out for some info on a project I'm doing and his video as well as the work was helpful. But John I am currently in wood engineer studies and safety is a big time part of my job. No offense meant & none taken just making a statement about somebody's concern for your safety :) Goodbye and keep up the videos.
+John Heisz +bob Last you know, the video shows the piece and says "you should probably use a dust mask" then it zooms onto your hands...... then the next shot, you're standing holding it again. there is nothing that lead me me to believe that he wasn't wearing a dust mask, just because it didn't show one. haha
Until tonight I didn't know what micarta was! Not only do I now know what it is but I know how to make it! Thanks for teaching me. Cheers
Showed the wife this video. she doesn't question my clamp purchases any more. Thank you.
I really liked this video because it detailed what I didn't know--set up and takedown in quick detail without going on with unnecessary info. Really appreciate the fresh take on this. +1for the wood inlay idea and for whomever came up with that great table saw jig.
Beautiful. I have never seen anyone use a non-linear mold to make home made micarta. Really love the end result.
I didn't realize how easy Micarta was to make. I have a few large knives that need durable handles and your method makes it look easy to do. Thanks John.
Yeah you're own Tv show, that would be the best show on telly
That's the best demonstration and explanation of making canvas micarta I've seen. Thanks so much for making and posting this video. Cheers,
Thanks Jay. I'm thinking of something different for the pins: not really pins at all, but stainless steel splines cut into the edge in several places on both sides of the handle.
Good idea. Can't wait to see your handy work on the finished project. Your a hell of a craftsman John. I appreciate that you take your time to record your work for us to enjoy. You need a tv show. Thanks again.
Very unique and ingenious method. The finished product sure resembles a snake skin. Thanks for sharing
I have just subscribed to your channel a couple of days ago and have been pretty much going through the videos one at a time. Amazing stuff you have here. I've never heard of this micarta stuff before... I LIKE IT!!!!
Neither did I. Not only do I now know, but I know how to make it! I wonder what it feels like to hold a handle made from micarta. . I need to make some.
I asked for the full tutorial and you delivered. I knew you would. Thanks
That looks really really nice. Bit awkward to do but you could plan the mould parts to line up with where your fingers go. Never heard of Micarta before now.
Possibly the most beautiful micarta I've seen so far on internet.
I've made micarta a couple of times for knives, turned out well but I really like your idea on using the wavy pattern with a nice wood to get the wood inlays. Definitely gonna give that a go!
I must say, the timber inlay looks fantastic.
Very interesting. I used to use Phenolic rods to replace ferrules on cue sticks a few years back. This reminds me of a canvas phenolic. I wonder how difficult it would be to make dowels out of it. Maybe micarta pins to attach the handle. Looking forward to the rest of the project.
Very nice, I never thought about making a wavy mold I just make them plain and flat. It is a rewarding but slightly messy process, but well worth the effort.
The wood inlays make this a beautiful piece. As always a fantastic project and thanks for your time and wisdom.
Просто Супер!!!
Нет слов!!!!!!! Браво!!!!!!
Молодец!
This knife will look awesome. I've never seen this technique with fabric and epoxy before. I'm going to make a knife today from an old stone cutting disc - thanks for the idea! Nice videos - I particularly like the knife making and the mini drill press. N
I like making micarta from construction paper and polyester resin as well. Another awesome video
Can't wait to see it finished as a knife with that handle!
I'm going to have to try this...those are very nice looking handles, especially the one with the curly maple.
I totally love the mix of wood and material for the handle!
very cool, now I have a use for my old clothes. Thanks
cant wait to see the finished knife, the wood inlay is great twist to micarta , maybe introduce other materials, got me thinking about other applications
Maybe putting some wax paper or applying wax to the wood mold itself would've prevented the epoxy from bonding the micarta and wood together. But either way awesome video!
Very neat! Kinda reminds me of Spectra-ply. Looking forward to seeing the finished knife.
I had not heard of micarta before... very interesting. I have to try this now... lots of interesting things can be done with this technique. The only thing I'll add... you may want to wear a mask when cutting/sanding this stuff... I doubt the dust is very good for you.
It's the faster set hardener. Pot life was longer than it took for me to get it all together, so more than 10 minutes, or so. I didn't monitor the heat or cure time, just figured I want to leave it overnight anyway.
Always the best. Far and away the most creative woodworking channel on the 'Tube! Great ideas. Great stuff.
i did enjoy your video , it was nice to see what micarta is made from i had no idea thanks
Hello John! Nice video! sorry for my english. For à Next time, maybe try to put alcohol in epoxy for make it more liquid, I do that to fiber rc boat, it's perfect, better impregnated, maybe less of epoxy! Best regards!
Good ideas, making something from the material itself - well worth exploring.
Thanks Buddy! Awsome result!!
A tip for other beginners: when you do this, saran wrap the micarta layers before clamping, and check out theartofweapons' micarta walkthrough, this way you can reuse your wooden mold easier, that is, if you're looking for micarta only
That was seriously cool. Very inspiring. I've never heard of this stuff before. Thanks for sharing John.
I was wondering what Micarta was when you began... Very cool video and very cool technique. Thanks John. Your videos are always so thought provoking. You and Mathias up there really make us think
Wow! That really turned out cool! Love that wood inlay idea!
Oh. My. God. You've done it again, John! Something else for me to try. My bank book hates you, but I love, love, love your videos. As a former upholsterer, I have a whole bunch of canvas scrap boxed up in storage. Now I know what to do with it. Thanks again! (You tired of hearing that from me yet...?)
I did enjoy the video and can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks for posting.
Nice job John. I love the wave you put into it, very nice touch.
Great video, nice to see you making videos again, they have been missed. Cant wait to see the finished product!
very nice. Never knew how micarta was made. Thanks
Looks great now we just have to wait for the finished product cheers
Very nice, John!
Interesting. I've never heard of micarta. So I appreciate the education and interesting video. Cool stuff. I can't wait to see the completed knife.
Wow! Wonderful idea!
That looks awesome. I have to try it. The completed knife is a masterpiece. Video is excellent too.
Although epoxy hardening is an exothermic (gives off heat for the non-tech people here) reaction, it will react more quickly at higher temperatures. If you use a quick-set epoxy at a low temperature, you'll get more time before it hardens. In my basement during the winter, 5 minute epoxy is more like 20 minute because it's so cold down there. Also, the more epoxy you mix at once, the faster it'll harden because the heat it produces as it cures will actually speed up the reaction itself.
Okay maybe the reason I never encountered this problem is because my workshop is in the attic :)
I know about this part because I have some experience mixing unaccelerated epoxy in the lab.
Because epoxy (like almost every kind of plastic) can't transfer heat too well parts of the mixture can overheat.
So at a certain point it won't just get hard it will start to smoke and to burn or it will become inhomogeneous which will cause weak spots in the parts you are trying to manufacture.
A thought provoking idea. Perhaps other applications of this method would not need the strength of epoxy and therefore much cheaper polyester could be used. That would also mean that larger items could be economically made.
A further thought is pigmentation ...
Uoooo...!!! I did not about this material,,, thanks a lot ,,, i'm gonna try to make a piece.,,!!!
Fascinating stuff John, really beautiful result. Can't wait to see the knife blade and handle together, should look stunning.
Take care
Mike
I was thinking the same thing use a complimentary colored wood and use that for inlays! Very nice project
Love your ZERO shirt! I have one just like it! its got to be 8 years old now
Exactly, and another advantage with polyester is that it cures much faster than most epoxy.
that looks really cool boss! like the one with the wood inlay
West Systems epoxy is my number one epoxy, that and JB Weld. It works great as a flexible glue, Yes flexible, but not so you would notice it has a certain amount of micro flexing so it doesn't ever crack from large temperature drops. I always suggest a respirator when cutting plastic. What you have isn't Micarta because true micarta is made from phenolic resins and is copyrighted by Dupont. It will work, but you'd have been better served using fiberglass resin.
You don't need to make a wavey mould to get that pattern. Start with a flat block and make your first layer or several out of 1" strips spaced 1" apart. Then continue with full length strips. Top it off with more 1" strips aligned with the gaps from the first few layers. The full length strips will take up the wave formed by the gappy outside layers. I do this on my felt/epoxy laminates.
Seems great if you only want to make one batch that way. If you planned to do more having a mould just seems more sensible as it would save time.
Nevir202
The mold was a waste anyway, once he cut it off it wasn't reusable.
Another great video and another great idea. Thanks John.
Hey, John. Awesome vid. I knew about micarta, but it never occurred to me that i could leave the wood in, it could potentially give it a very nice texture. What really sparked my interest is the wavy form you made...what if instead of waves you did right angle shapes, like a zig zag. Coupled with a nice wood, perhaps something exotic it would turn out spiffing.
cool idea, i like that kind of wood inlay
Dono what could be bad about this vid to give it a dislike?! Anyway, I liked it. Very simple to make actually and you seem to have a nice workshop. Thanks for uploading, cheers!
Great video sir. Love the way that turned out. Thank you for sharing.
Super video, can't wait to see the knife. I can see sales of resin going up because I want to do this too and I'm sure lots of others feel the same. You know what else was good about this video? - Seeing you give yourself a break from working in the dungeon.
Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thanks for the video. Saw a lot of good ideas.
Why use a wavy pattern wood mold if you end up cutting it straight anyway? If you had sprayed the wood with mold release I suspect they would release from the epoxy leaving the wavy pattern behind.
Very nice idea, can't wait to see how it will come out! :)
Looks great John.
I don't think you need to worry about the air temperature when working with resin because the reaction used to harden it is exothermic and will usually generate heat by itself.
That is one reason why you shouldn't mix more than you need because it might begin to smoke or even catch fire.
Also you should make sure to work in a well ventilated room when you work on it as the vapors and the dust from the material aren't really good for your health :)
Your micarta looks great by the way (^-^)b
Should call it "MyShirta".
Thank u r sharing tht bro It's really appreciated I'm definitely going to try tht out million thanks to yah brother.
Could you use just blue jean material? Black and Blue Jeans might be cool! This is so Cool!
I've done that turns out okay
Hey dude I thought you were making a plywood of some fairly expensive woods with layers of micarta thrown in for good measure. But your doing fine I was just misunderstanding where you were headed. That's why it's called art.
I really look forward to your videos. Thanks!
Cool effect john
Very informative. Thank you for sharing.
wow I love it I have never seen one with the wood inlay what a great idea yours came out great I just bought the resin and i'm gonna try to make one I want to make a small cross out of it and now I know I can use any kind of material that is just great! so I'm guessing that this means it can stay outside in the garden? will the resin melt over time? i'm gonna try it and see if it works outside thank you for sharing
Thanks!
Beautiful process. I have never seen anything like this.
It would probably be possible to make a bowl blank, etc. by "rolling a log" of the stacked epoxy-soaked fabric strips. It would have a nice swirly pattern.
Or what if you were to take the two ends and twist it in to a helix?
;) random thoughts.
Well done sir. Thank you.
Very cool
absolutely fantastic
Very steady hand! I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but exactly what tools did you use? I think I saw an angle grinder, belt sander, and disk sander. If so, what disks did you use on the grinder? If not, what did you use? Finally, if possible, could you send me a detailed step-by-step guide? If not, are there any books you know of that could teach me this construction?
+William Skelton Sorry, wrong video.
grazie john
I like videos a lot keep it up
Please protect yourself while working with epoxy. Even when you sand this think is dangerous.
Here's some food 4 thought: Intermix layers of other materials with the cloth: Wood veneers. Construction paper. Fiberglass. Wire mesh (non-ferrous). Flower petals. Leaves. Feathers. Leather. And almost anything else that's thin, flexible, and is easily saturated with resin/epoxy.
Note - when sanded, the fiberglass fabric will create dust that's dangerous. All the rest is fine, relatively.
Really nice pattern. It'd be beautiful contoured. (imo)
Hope you do a rough finish.
Great video. Yup.
That makes you a 9 pump chump which is a whole lot better than a 2 pump chump!! Hehe
Good job, tanks for share.
great video, domyounrecomend that little band saw in the back?
If you used some sticky back plastic/parcel tape to cover your wood before adding west epoxy, the wood and tape would of pulled off.
Or kitchen cling film
Great vids John. Two questions: we're you using the slow hardner (if so what do you think the pot time was) and how warm did the material get? I've used foam brushes to apply epoxy and they started smoking a bit. Keep up the good work!
If the foam started "smoking," that was from a reaction with the epoxy and the foam; definitely not from the epoxy heating up. It doesn't heat up anywhere near enough to start making foam smoke.
This is great stuff John. How does the piece you made feel, weight-wise? I would guess light, (not as light), like carbon fiber. This would be a neat material to see incorporated as a spline or accent. Thanks!
John, where do you get the "West" resin. Which hardner did you use, 205 or 207 ?
You absolutely must wear a dust mask you sand or cut that epoxy material!
+John Heisz A bit late but that was a pretty serious fact for your well being you can make fun but you really regret later in life. Great video anyway. Great work. Great look on that handle. Thanks.
Shivam Kataria It's never too late to pretend you know enough to give advice to someone who clearly knows what he is doing. :)
Stay inside, don't do anything that might harm you and you will surely live forever.
Now that I see it actually is constructive criticism. But I meant what I said I was checking out for some info on a project I'm doing and his video as well as the work was helpful. But John I am currently in wood engineer studies and safety is a big time part of my job. No offense meant & none taken just making a statement about somebody's concern for your safety :) Goodbye and keep up the videos.
+bob Last He says that quite clearly.
+John Heisz +bob Last you know, the video shows the piece and says "you should probably use a dust mask" then it zooms onto your hands...... then the next shot, you're standing holding it again. there is nothing that lead me me to believe that he wasn't wearing a dust mask, just because it didn't show one. haha
Excellent!