same

[gareth evans]

No, it's SRBP

Synthetic-Resin bonded paper

[The Natural Philosopher]

Phenolic resin. Made from coal tar IIRC

With paper its a PCB material with a filler its bakelite

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

No. Paxoline is a kind of compressed laminated substance, Bakalite can be moulded. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

It may be spelled oddly but a mr baker invented it, its the first plastic really, not very durable and tended to be in black or brown, it also blistered and melted. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

No that is Paxo. I really feel you need to learn to use a search engine. I grew up with both substances actually, may cheap pcbs and tag strips were made of paroling. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Well not entirely, there is a lot in common between paxolin and decorative laminate. Brian

[Andrew]

Do you mean when my dad removed and discarded the nice top of our pine kitchen table and replaced it with a slab of new-fangled chipboard with red formica laminate and black plastic edging, he could have mounted some interesting resistors and caps on it ? :-)

Andrew

[Bob Eager]

People who tried that might disagree. Due to the metallic layer for heat resistance.

[newshound]

No. GIYF. (You will mean Bakelite).

[newshound]

The original paxolin was some sort of fabric, reinforced with phenolic formaldehyde resin.

[JNugent]

I think "Paxolin" might be a brand name, but the material is an impregnated laminated fibre or paper, used exactly as you say.

The stuff has a very distinctive smell when heated (eg, when being cut with a saw). There's a place a few miles from here that makes (or used to make) circuit boards to order. You often get that smell as you pass.

I wouldn't be sure that bakelite is in current use. The world doesn't really have much use for non-thermoplastic, brittle materials any more.

[JNugent]

That's it!

[Scribbles]

Reading these posts brought to mind the wonderful Bakelite Museum, formerly located near the station at Williton, Somerset. Terry & I stumbled on this by accident when visiting the West Somerset Railway.

The collection of one man, Patrick Cook, the museum was a seriously overcrowded treasure trove of things-you'd-forgotten-ever-existed, things you never considered might be made of Bakelite, and Bakelite in myriad bold colours, not just brown. Patrick was a delightful, friendly guide and we spent hours there, lost in nostalgia.

The museum closed a couple of years ago and the hope was to move into bigger, more centrally located and accessible premises. There is no clue on their website as to when or if this might happen but, like everyone else, Patrick and his helpers have had their lives and activity put on hold for the past year. For anyone interested, there are some pictures at

The museum at Williton was our second foray into an exhibition of early 20th century plastics. Sometime in the late 1990s, we visited the Philips Museum at Eindhoven when it was still based in part of the industrial complex on the outside,irts of town. Among the other electrical/broadcasting ephemera was a section covering Philite, Philips' own version of Bakelite, developed while the Bakelite patent was still current. After the patent on Bakelite expired, they continued to manufacture and use Philite because it was more economical to do so and the product had proved just as durable as Bakelite. Sadly, when we visited the enlarged and much slicker Philips Museum in its new home in 2015, there was no trace of the Philite collection, merely a few older exhibits with what were clearly Philite plugs or radios with Philite cabinetry but I can recall no mention anywhere of the product.

I believe there is or was also a Bakelite museum in Berlin but on my only visit to that city, I had no time to seek it out.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Of course it does.

What the f*ck is china if not brittle, and not thermoplastic?

What the f*ck do you think Formica is? It started out as bakelite

Phenolic resins are still in use

[The Natural Philosopher]

Or overheating brake and clutch pads - a nice mixture of asbestos and phenolic resin..

[JNugent]

Perhaps I should have added the qualifier: ...and which does not need to be glazed, washable and still hygienic after being scrubbed hard by a hard brush with hot water and soap.

Formica is closer to Paxolin, I'd say.

Did anyone say they weren't?

[Max Demian]

As its name would suggest, Formica was originally intended as a substitute for mica. Does anyone know which of the manifold properties of that useful mineral it was meant to emulate, as the plastic laminate beloved of caravan owners has no resemblance that I can see?

[ARW]

Good God it's 10 years ago since my next-door neighbours burn their clutch out.

[JNugent]

Insulation, I would guess.

The only time I can ever dealing with mica (bought in for the purpose by the firm) was as replacement insulation on a commutator on a large DC motor in for rewind. I was only the apprentice and didn't have to do anything with it. I was mainly doing the soldering of the coil tails.

[Peter Able]

Bad electrical, good heat conductivity.

Formica resulted in reduced cost. Easier to work with - very similar to how roof tiles replaced slates.

PA