One of the most under appreciated crafting skills, is working with resins and epoxies. If you’re not familiar resin based materials, then you’re missing out. It involves pressing layers of materials like fabric and/or paper together, and mixing them with fiberglass or epoxy resin. Then you apply pressure to the material until it hardens. What you wind up with is a plastic like material that is lightweight, waterproof, and very durable.
With the exception of fiberglass manufacturers, working with resins has mostly been relegated to the cosplay and costume communities. While they’re making some very cool things with these resins, I often wonder what else could be made? It’s unfortunate because there seems to be so much potential with polymer resins. It allows you to turn every day materials, which are often thrown in the garbage, and turning them into viable, durable products. The DIY community seems to have overlooked this niche hobby.
To give you an idea of what can be made with resin, take a look a this bicycle that was made by two Israeli inventors. The frame was made by folding cardboard several times over and infusing it with resin. That design could support nearly 500lbs, and costs less than 20 dollars to make.
Or the frame of this bicycle trailer that was also built with cardboard, fiberglass fabric, and resin. Take a look at the article, for some awesome instructions on how to work with these materials.
One of the most interesting examples is a material known as micarta. It’s become quite popular among knife making enthusiasts for constructing the handle of the blade. This gentleman made his by layering denim and mixing fiberglass resin.
http://youtu.be/73BEonHiMM4
He turned those strips of denim into a quarter inch thick plate, and cut it down into the shape of his knife handle. His final product looked like it was made in a factory. It makes me wonder what other items can be made with resin and discarded materials. The potential is limitless, and yet, it’s been underutilized. It should be the DIYer’s dream come true. And for preppers, just having resin stocked up means you’d be able to refurbish all sorts of things after the collapse.
I can imagine a number of items being fabricated or repaired. Things like tables and chairs certainly come to mind. And why stop with knife handles, when you could probably fix the handle to just about any tool imaginable.
So what do you think? What kinds of products could you make with resin and scraps of fabric?