# Laminated Denim - micarta style.



## watch_art (Apr 11, 2012)

Okay - so I made some laminated denim with fiberglass resin from  O'Reilly's.  It was about $50 for the resin, $6 for the denim (should  have gone to the thrift store and bought big pants), and a maybe $45 for  rubber gloves, plastic, squeegee, and some groceries, which don't  really count.  
So not that big of an investment really, and I could have done it cheaper if I had thrift shopped.

So here's the block of laminated denim.  3/4" thick.  I was hoping for  1", so I'll end up making more.  Next time, instead of layering it, I'll  roll it and add resin as I roll it, and then compress it.  Should be  quicker to make that way.





001 by snennewton, on Flickr




002 by snennewton, on Flickr


Cleaned up a bit.  DId a horrible job cutting with the band saw.  Will  probably need a new blade after this.  It's MURDER on the blades.




003 by snennewton, on Flickr




004 by snennewton, on Flickr

So I eventually took it to the table saw and that made pretty short work of it.  THis stuff is TOUGH.  Holy cow.



006 by snennewton, on Flickr

Drilling it out.  Yikes.  Again.  Tough.  Probably going to need new bits after this.




005 by snennewton, on Flickr

Funny thing though, it turned down SOOOO easy - using a carbide tool of course.




007 by snennewton, on Flickr




008 by snennewton, on Flickr

Freshly cut off, sanded piece.  I goofed up on the threads though, so it  won't be getting used.  It was good practice though.  
It looks really rough, but it's quite smooth.  
Just for kicks, after I took this picture, I slammed it into my shop  floor as hard as I could, and it bounced ALL the way to the ceiling,  spun a second, and fell to the floor.  Not a crack or chip.  I took  another section I had made a couple weeks back that I goofed up, and it  SHATTERED to bits.  Acrylic acetate.  Holy cow.  I love this denim  stuff!




011 by snennewton, on Flickr


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## thewishman (Apr 11, 2012)

I have turned several denim blanks, never seen one threaded. That is cool.


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## watch_art (Apr 11, 2012)

It took the threads REALLY well, and they're good, but I goofed up.  I turned 9/16" threads on a 12mm tenon.  Should have cut 5/8" threads!  D'OH!!  That's what I get for working exhausted.  I need SLEEP!


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## Displaced Canadian (Apr 12, 2012)

I didn't think you would be able to thread it. Looks good, Let us know how it works out for you.


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## watch_art (Apr 12, 2012)

Well, the new TWSBI micarta is threaded, and it's the same stuff as this, so, why not.  Should work out well though - I'll give a report back after a while.


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## johncrane (Apr 12, 2012)

Looks enlike your having a lot of fun Shawn! cant wait to see the finished pens


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## Displaced Canadian (Apr 13, 2012)

I use epoxy to do mine. I'm wondering how it works compared to what you used. How about trading one of mine for one of yours so both of us can see if one works better than the other?


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