How to make paper phenolic

[kurtbel5]

If any of you want to make your own tips or overlays out of Paper Phenolic, here's what I did.

Things you need:
1)Construction paper, I found the cheap kind works best,lots of fibers sticking up is best.

2)Saran type wrap.

3) Some kind of flat surface larger than your paper pieces, I use a piece of thick glass.

4)Light with over 100Watt bulb in it, I use a old goose neck desk light and 130Watt bulb.

5)Weights I do 6x8" paper sheets and use 50lbs.

6)The epoxy I use is Resin Research "2040" you can buy on it on their website.I tried Devcon 5 min. it delamed, I bet Smooth On or maybe the 30 min stuff would work.Experiment with smaller batches.

7)Tongue depressor and small disposable cup

8)I use Alcohol for clean up.

If your making 3 color stacks, like for a '59 Bear try 3 stacks of 6 sheets, for a total of 18 sheets of paper.
Be as accurate as you can when mixing the epoxy.
I end up with 80ml. of mixed epoxy.
I put an old plastic cutting board on top of my work bench,lay a sheet of Saran Wrap down on it.
Use the tongue depressor to scoop out a dollup of epoxy and smear your first sheet of paper get a good amount on it, but don't go crazy, just a nice even coat.
Now flip that sheet, epoxy side down on top of your Saran Wrap.
Get a coat of epoxy on the flip side of the first sheet of paper, you just put down,and lay sheet #2 of paper down on top of it, try and get them square but doesn't have to be perfect,
spread another coat of epoxy on top of that and so on, till the last sheet of paper, cover that with a layer of epoxy, I go a little heavier on this coat.
Don't panic if you run out of epoxy, just mix another small batch trying to still be as accurate as possible.
Lay another sheet of Saran wrap on top of your completed stacks,
Put your flat piece (glass/Metal) on top of that,carefully place the weights on top of that.
Do not slide this piece or the weights around, it will push your stacks over, its no big deal, just some wasted edges, when you trim it up.
Now get your lamp on the weights, the heat will transfer into the paper as its compressing and the epoxy is cooking off. (4 to 6 hrs)Its now paper phenolic.
It can be hard getting the saran wrap off just rub your finger's on it, it will start to peel eventually.
I trim the edges on a table saw, with a finish blade on it.
Don't blame me for any messes made while doing this..
Hope I explained it well enough or that some of you will try it.        
                   Kurt

         Kurt

[d. ward]

I ai'nt gonna try it.I like the stuff I got for free.Crap it works great and I never had to get glue all over my hands...Your da man.........bd

[Jeremy]

I wonder how RAKA or West Systems would work?  I still have half a gallon of that stuff!

[robtattoo]

I hope I don't tread on any toes, but there's a photo buildalong   HERE  of a similar process that makes it a little clearer. Just substitute the denim for paper  

[TRAP]

Thanks Kurt,  That's awesome.  

Trap

[kurtbel5]

No toes stepped on Rob,
I have to go check it out soon.
Wish I'd found that sooner, learning curves suck.

Jeremey  I'm sure the West system would work great,not familiar with RAKA.
I will say Resin Research 2040 with a flex agent is crystal clear and tough, their web site list's the clearness/ strength / flex of the 2040 pretty good stuff.

Funny West system has a good rep in the boat world, not so great in the bow world.

               Kurt

[Falk]

... been there - done that ...

Some 5 years ago I did myself several slabs of paper micarta to use for tip overlays on my selfbows. I never used them though. Still have lots of colored paper laying around - quite a bit already cut in stripes              

I used the same 24h epoxy which I use for glueing anything in my bowshop. I always use a digital scale for the mix up - and would recommend it. Even though my epoxy is rather thin (low viscosity ?spelling) I took a heat gun to every single sheet of paper after applying epoxy to it from both sides. It really sucks epoxy up fast this way and you need to cover it all over again, but this prevents starved glue lines.

As working surface I used c. 1/2" thick PE boards which are cheap to get in every household supply. Epoxy will not stick to PE and cleaning is easy. I ran some boards through the bandsaw also to give me several stripes to press the stacked papers.

Here is a pic. The nopped surface is from the PE boards of course.

       
The bigger slab (far right) is made from felt. Wanted to try it for scales, for my knives too. I found felt rather difficult to keep free of air bubbles.

BTW: my paper came from the artists store. Took some time to find some which was colord throughout its thickness and not only on both surfaces.

[kurtbel5]

Nice color combos,
I'm going to lay up a thick enough block for a long bow riser.
         Kurt

[jared s]

8)I use Alcohol for clean up.

 [/QB]

Yeah, I've worked in Kurts shop. We used alcohol for more than clean ups.   :D  

But in all seriousness, this guy is clever and always thinking ahead. This stuff is cool and I'm curious to see how it all works out.

Hey Kurt, shes no Scooby, but I think we're getting a dog tomorrow.....

[jared s]

Oh, also, if you're keeping score Kurt, it hasn't gotten above freezing here since Jan 9th. So I'm sorry if you had to put on long sleeves since I talked to you last.

[d. ward]

Wow just outstanding work guy's real nice...bd

[kurtbel5]

Jared
Don't tell anyone else about what creative uses ethanol has.

In keeping with all the great people on this forum,

Jared posted in pow wow about working for a few weeks in a town just north of me, and not having any archery or much else to do in his free time,I met him at my club and had a great time with him and his wife,Hotel Bellefeuille is always available.
               Kurt

PS Sorry Jared, long sleeves are coming off, 70+ degree's by the weekend, night time lows mid 40's

email pics of dog! Scooby is a tough one to match.