My first attempt at this:

the press: 3 pieces of pine clamped between 4 4" C Clamps.
the phenolic: 10 sheets of poor man's linen (75% cotton 25% poly) glued together with EA 40 smooth on at 160 degrees for 4 hours.

       

     

       

       

       

     

Good job.
I've seen some incredible knife handles made in this manner. It really gives a new utility to worn out blue jeans or BDU's.

Guy

Cool! I use vacuum for my homemade phenolic. Try old jeans, telephonebook, twist etc. Pics from after sanding?

I've got a few ideas to use this sort of stuff.  I've seen some awesome knives that had the blue jean phenolic with copper hardware.  

Moen, can you tell us a bit more about your vacuum setup and also about the "twist".  How about some pictures of your stuff.

You're making an epoxy laminate (or micarta, but that's really made under high pressure).  Phenolic (aka phenolic micarta) uses some very specific phenolic resins instead of epoxy.  Makes a big difference in the properties of the final product.

It's great for overlays and knife handles!