Bangle Pseduomicarta...

[CameronPotter]

Hi all,

Your local crackpot who can't leave well enough alone here... :p

Anyway, I said that I would try to make micarta especially for bangles, well here it is...

First of all I got a bit of 100mm pipe and cut it in half.

Then I soaked cloth in polyester resin (with double catalyst to make sure that it set in cold weather).

The cloth was wrapped around a wooden core (primarily to save time and resin and cloth).

This was then clamped inside the pipe using threaded rod and 90mm pipe brackets - see pic 1.

Then after two days it was removed - see pic 2.

I trimmed off the waste end that wasn't properly compressed - see pic 3.

I turned this roughly so I could see what it would look like and gave it a quick sand and EEE. Remember this is just the waste part as it has large voids (and isn't a properly finished piece). But I reckon that it looks nice. :D

Cam

[Shedhand]

Hi all,

Your local crackpot who can't leave well enough alone here... :p

Anyway, I said that I would try to make micarta especially for bangles, well here it is...

First of all I got a bit of 100mm pipe and cut it in half.

Then I soaked cloth in polyester resin (with double catalyst to make sure that it set in cold weather).

The cloth was wrapped around a wooden core (primarily to save time and resin and cloth).

This was then clamped inside the pipe using threaded rod and 90mm pipe brackets - see pic 1.

Then after two days it was removed - see pic 2.

I trimmed off the waste end that wasn't properly compressed - see pic 3.

I turned this roughly so I could see what it would look like and gave it a quick sand and EEE. Remember this is just the waste part as it has large voids (and isn't a properly finished piece). But I reckon that it looks nice. :D

CamAmazing stuff. You can pick up the Gifkins Jig this weekend if you want Cam.
Cheers

[TTIT]

I dunno Cam - and people reckon I've got too much time on my hands!!!!:D;) Don't think I'd have the patience to mess with so many layers - how long did it take you to put that 'log' together????:confused:

[CameronPotter]

Thanks Sheddy, I will certainly do that. Cheers

As for taking a long time, well, yes...

It took about 2.5 hours to make the "log", but it should be good for quite a few bangles.

Cam

[hughie]

Cameron,

Sure looks like a lot of work! Interesting though, I wonder how long to make a bowl blank? Is it translucent when turned thin?
Heres a thought.Would a bigger wooden centre save you on materials and time for more bangles?

Hmm, better stop here too many questions. :D

hughie

[CameronPotter]

Yeah,

I meant to say that a bigger wooden centre would be preferable, but I was in a hurry to give it a go and so I used what I had on hand. For future work I might chuck a biggish bit of firewood. I reckon that a 5.5cm diameter would be about right.

It would not be translucent when thin any more than wet cloth would be translucent when thin. However, there can be resin filled voids if the pressure is not perfectly even (you can see that in Pic 3 above) and these would be translucent.

There are a few problems with making a bowl blank:

1. Making it bowl shaped to begin with would be difficult as the pressure would be hard to exert properly.

2. Making it as a solid block would mean that you would need to start wrapping it on itself - that would take a long time and also be awkward to do.

3. The solid block would still need to be trimmed at the ends unless you also compressed the ends properly - which may or may not work.

4. It is hard stuff, much harder than anything else I have tried to turn. The fibre supporting the resin seems to really solidify it. Thus, turning it from a solid block would be difficult.

None of these things would stop you from doing it, it just would be difficult. :cool:

If you do give it a go, let me know.

Cheers

Cam

[mingus]

1. Making it bowl shaped to begin with would be difficult as the pressure would be hard to exert properly.

Do you really need all that pressure when you're making the laminate? The process seems very similar to regular fiberglass lamination and most fibreglass objecs are made with out any pressure, just laminations laid into, or over a single mold.

[TurnedAround]

What a great idea. I get a kick out of making stuff to make stuff from as well. :D

[CameronPotter]

Do you really need all that pressure when you're making the laminate? The process seems very similar to regular fiberglass lamination and most fibreglass objecs are made with out any pressure, just laminations laid into, or over a single mold.

Yes, you do need the pressure. This is slightly different from fibreglass as fibreglass doesn't usually have to be cut through and perfectly joined all through.

The crushing also reduces the resin amount and compresses the fibre together. The idea is that the strength comes from the fibre and the resin just kind of makes it stiff. Look up Micarta for an explanation of this (it is a tradename though).

Cam

[CameronPotter]

What a great idea. I get a kick out of making stuff to make stuff from as well. :D

Thanks mate,

It is good fun (although the lay up is very tedious). :rolleyes:

Cam