Faux Fordite??

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randyrls

randyrls

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I've seen some of the lovely Fordite pens posted and I was wondering if you could make Fordite from other materials that could be created easier??

Maybe thin rolled and stacked polymer clay, or acrylic poured in thin sheets?
 
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Randy,
I purchased about 30 sheets of dense (about 80lb) but thin cardboard of varying colors just to try that. The cardboard sheets are the same color all the way through, not just on the surface. My idea is that I will cut pen size blanks rectangularly, apply 1 hour epoxy between each layer and clamp. Then place in a narrow jar (or into PVC pipe) with Thin CA and vacuum. I have not tested the cardboard to see if it is color fast. I know that epoxy will not leach the colors but I am not sure about CA

I like your idea of polymer clay and poured acrylic too.

I searched for thin acrylic sheets on amazon but could not find what I was looking for in the thinness needed.

I have been running different scenarios in my mind over the way to do this.
 
Take a look at WoodTurningz "strata" blanks. Not quite what you are wanting to achieve, but same concept with resin.
 
Why not get some nice casting molds and about 200 cans of spray enamel. Every day spray a thin layer of a different colored paint into the mold. It would take a year to do and would probably end up costing more than a genuine Fordite block.
 
I like the idea of gluing the cardboard sheets together.

Instead of epoxy, I wonder how soaking the sheets in something like a diluted heavy duty PVA glue solution then pressing them together under heavy pressure would work? (The idea would be that the glue would soak completely through the cardboard and give it a high structural strength so it would be as consistently hardened as a cast blank when it fully dried)
 
Making blanks with the thinness of layers similar to Fordite will be very labor (time) intensive unless someone comes up with a mechanized way of doing a large area with computer controlled layering, and that machine would be expensive too.
 
frank123 said:
I like the idea of gluing the cardboard sheets together.

Instead of epoxy, I wonder how soaking the sheets in something like a diluted heavy duty PVA glue solution then pressing them together under heavy pressure would work? (The idea would be that the glue would soak completely through the cardboard and give it a high structural strength so it would be as consistently hardened as a cast blank when it fully dried)
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That CONCEPT is what I had in mind but did no idea what to soak it in. Basically that would "polymerize?" the paper sheets, or in effect do to the sheets what stabilizing does to wood. Thanks for that!

I went to "Jo Annes" two weeks ago and their colored sheets were on sale at about 50% off.
Something like this but solid core colored and choices of hundreds of colors and hues
:https://www.joann.com/colorbok-sing...x12in-ombre-energized-15-colors/16490229.html
Beware of ordering online; watch our for "white core" which means the color is on the surface only.

I bought extra grays, blacks and whites to simulate the alternating primer coats in Fordite. I just have not had time to do it yet.
 
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I've done similar for knife scales using colored paper and auto resin used for fiberglass. I used several layers of the same color before alternating. I also played with upsetting the pattern to try to get a "Damascus" type pattern with mixed results. Search "homemade micarta" for some interesting ideas and materials from paper to blue jeans.


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Would loosely clamping a stack of paper between a couple pieces of spalted wood with bolts and giving them the Cactus Juice treatment and then tightening the bolts before cooking work? After cooking cut the bolts and wood off leaving you with stabilized wood blanks and "Fordite" blanks. I think, but don't know for sure, that the Cactus Juice would harden and glue the paper together.
 
Pete, I thought of that - clamping with bolts and curing or cooking depending on the solution used.

My concern is that if the liquid - thin CA, Cactus Juice, fiberglass resin, glue solutions - if they do not penetrate the solid color card stock, there will be feathering. I'm probably overthinking this. Dan, in his post, has shown through experience that it can be done.
 
I have tried several methods, none have produced the "perfect" Fordite look. But I was half satisfied with using resin and stacking colors at random. I made a 6x12 1 inch deep mold. Mixed a color of resin, and poured it in the mold, mixed another, poured it in the mold. I poured each cup of resin in a different spot in the mold, I also varied the amounts I mixed. I tried to be as random as possible. I also mixed some of it a little "slow" by adding a little acetone to thin it so it would flow faster.

I also made school color blanks using the above method,\. To get random look I changed the level of the mold so that I would get thick and thin places in the finished blank.
 
I thought of two ways to do this quicker.
1. Polymer clay and a pasta rolling machine to make thin sheets.
2. They make a machine to test the color and opacity of paint. The machine lays down a tight tolerance layer of paint.
 
If you use any kind of paper test it first with a little resin. I tried construction paper and mostly just turned all dark and muddy.
 
randyrls said:
thought of two ways to do this quicker.
1. Polymer clay and a pasta rolling machine to make thin sheets.
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Yes rolled thin stacked up and rolled again. Dont think a pasta roller can get it thin enough and if you could it would be tough to handle.
 
FGarbrecht said:
Why not get some nice casting molds and about 200 cans of spray enamel. Every day spray a thin layer of a different colored paint into the mold. It would take a year to do and would probably end up costing more than a genuine Fordite block.
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A year and a half ;)

 
chartle said:
Yes rolled thin stacked up and rolled again. Dont think a pasta roller can get it thin enough and if you could it would be tough to handle.
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I looked up pasta rolling machines and saw one that gave the specs of .5mm. That is half a mm. While that is still too thick. 3 to 4 layers of different colors run through the .5 mm would probably do it. Then experiment with thicker settings and more layers run through at those settings.
 
leehljp said:
I looked up pasta rolling machines and saw one that gave the specs of .5mm. That is half a mm. While that is still too thick. 3 to 4 layers of different colors run through the .5 mm would probably do it. Then experiment with thicker settings and more layers run through at those settings.
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I dont think you could get it that thin and still handle it. You would keep it thicker, stack it and then roll it thinner. If you have ever seen how canes are made stuff that's the size of a dime can start really huge like 8" or more and reduced down.
 
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