Experimenting with resin and wood and making a pendant

I wanted to experiment with cast epoxy resin and this came out. I still need a few tools in order to do these things properly, but I think it was worth the try. 

First of all I made a plexiglass mold. I used the bandsaw to cut the pieces. I then used my hot glue gun to assemble it. I filled the mold with water to check for any licks. 

Next I cut a piece of oak on the bandsaw. I abused the wood with a hammer and a chisel. To prevent the wood from floating into the mold, I hot glued it in place.

I then mixed my casting resin. It was two part epoxy with one to one analogy. I poured the resin into the mold. This was supposed to be a self degassing resin. It started bubbling and in a few minutes it was clear. But the next day the blank was full of bubbles. Depending on the resin’s instructions, this might had happened dew to moisture inside of the mold.

So I made a new blank. This time I used a scrap piece of walnut. I shaped it a little with a V carving chisel. 

This time I used a lighter to pop a few bubbles. This worked out better.

In a few days the resin cured. I demolded it and used a chisel to clean it’s edges. I then sanded it flat on a sanding block with 100 grit.

Then I drew my pendant’s shape and used a hacksaw to cut off the excess material. I then finished shaping with sanding. At this point I drilled the hole for the string.

Next I started the sanding process. I added sand paper on a piece of plexiglass to make sure I had a flat surface. I worked my way through the grits until 500. At 500 I begun wet sanding. The soap water helps to keep the sandpaper clean.

When I reached 1000 grit. I started using my special micro mesh sand papers. Those go from 1500 to 12000 grit. Again I walked my way through the grits.

I finished the piece with Yorkshire grit. I applied the abrasive paste and rubbed it on with a cloth. 

I still need a few tools to reach a perfect result on these castings but it was worth the try. 

It was a great learning experience. I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did.

See you soon with a new project video.

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