I made this laminate from a few dozen sheets of construction paper in light blue, dark blue, green, black and white. The sheets were cut into 1/3 and Pro Marine Supplies crystal clear table top epoxy was brushed on each layer as I built up a sort of random arrangement of layers. The epoxy is quite thin (meant for pouring) so the paper saturated easily. I clamped and pressed the board overnight to cure. The result was this colourful product that is tough, but shapes great with belts. After shaping the handle, I applied cyano-acrylate for a sealing coat and buffed a little on a clean cotton wheel. One caveat is that this laminate burns easily. So sharp new belts and not too much pressure on the wheel. Dan
Dan do you think the epoxy saturated the paper 100% ? That would be my big concern, otherwise it looks great. How long does that epoxy take to set up ? I used to use epoxy paint for painting radio controlled airplanes because the nitro methane would not attack it. When I had left over paint I would put it in the freezer and it would stay liquid for months and it could be used months later. I keep my CA glue ( once opened )in a glass jar and store it in the fridge freezer,it stays liquid for a couple of years or more.
Ya this epoxy is much thinner than I was expecting, I'd say 0.9 like cooking oil. I brushed it on each piece of paper, one at a time. I would imagine it would show fuzzies from paper fibres when sanding if the paper was not fully saturated. This stuff machines and polishes pretty well, not as nice as Ironwood of course, but good for a synthetic. I put the CA on as it was starting to burn when buffing. The instructions for the product say 14 hours dry to touch, 3 months to reach full cure. I made the board in August and now in December it's certainly hard. Like the real Micarta but doesn't smell so phenolicy when grinding.
Thanks Dan - I was just wondering how to do something like this. Did you have any trouble importing the epoxy or is there a Canadian supplier you use?
Hi Dave. I bought the epoxy from Pro Marine Supplies through Amazon.com (not .ca). There were no issues bringing it across the line. If I remember correctly it came in on Canada Post.
Thanks Dan I'll check into it. Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All the best Dave
Very nice Dan. Was going to ask how you shape your handles I start out on a belt at the beginning and do most of the rest by hand which is a pain. What belt setup are you using, the same 2x72 as for steel?
Hi Rob, I use the same belts for handles as for steel. For synthetics and really dense wood like Ironwood I like to use a new to nearly new belts. These materials burn easily with dull belts. The bulk of the work is done with a 36 grit ceramics to square the scales/block. I don't have any other types of belts in this grit. I use the work rest set at 90° to the belt on a flat platen. Once squared, I take the top and bottom down to almost kissing the steel in the case of a full tang. Use the rubber belt cleaner here to unclog the belt. Ironwood, Blackwood, Cocobolo and the likes are really cloggy. Then I get a 60 grit on and bring it down to the steel ever-so-slightly to the steel. I'll chuck on the small wheels if there is a big choil. I have been known to cheat and use the 2" top idler to shape the under side of the handle where a 2" diameter wheel is handy. Then I set the knife to 45° off the work rest and knock the corners down. It looks still kind of mine-crafty at this stage, but the basic shape is there. For curves, I use the slack belt area between the tracking wheel and top idler on the flat platen. Just have to be careful as the edge of the belt can cut a gouge especially in softer material. I do the rear end either against the platen with heavy belts or on the slack belt for lighter J weight belts. My favourite is an X or Y weight 120 grit on the slack belt. This is great for more subtle shaping. After that A/O 220 grit J weight and 320/400 grit J weight on the slack belt. There's something really amazing in the 300 to 400 range where the handle starts to shine. I will do some wet sanding on the bench within the 300 to 800 range. Squirt bottle and wet/dry paper. I rarely go past 800. I have an assortment of blocks and dowels that I use get in the nooks and crannies. For Ironwood and stabilized wood I will hit it with a clean cotton wheel to shine it up. For synthetics, I like to use Meguiar's Scratch-X on a clean cotton towel until it starts to squeak from the friction. This is (I believe) melting the surface a little bit. For natural woods that like oil, I use IKEA's mineral oil for butcher blocks. Soak in there for overnight or longer if there's time or sometimes I brush it on heavy and let stand. An old kitchen knife block works for holding knives while the oil soaks in. Then buff with a clean cloth. It's kind of a hodge-podge of things that I have found to work over the years. I'd love to hear what others are doing. Dan
Alumilite is Polyurethane resin Epoxy comes in several versions happy shopping and research https://shop.compositescanada.com/#/catalogue/category/resins?page=1 https://compositescanada.com/ https://www.sculpturesupply.com/list.php?sf=category&vl=Liquid+Plastics http://plasticworld.ca/store/
There is also a very old recipe and versions with Carnuba wax Beeswax Japan Wax Japan dryer or equal used by paint industry linseed oil mineral oil neatsfoot oil Suitable solvents, gasoline was common at one time. I will see what I can dig up from my chemical formulary book volume 1 1933 for those who like experimenting
