How to fix a cracked wooden sphere with epoxy resin

In this project I used resin related products from ResinPro: 

Resin

Mica powder set

Website

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Vacuum chamber kit

Micro mesh sanding pads

Buffing kit

Heat gun

Hot glue gun

About a year ago I made an apricot wood sphere. It cracked really badly. So I decided to fix it with epoxy resin. 

I wanted to kind of emphasize the cracks. So I used a chisel to split the sphere apart. I then used my heat gun to shape a piece of plexiglass into a mold. I used tape and hot glue to secure the pieces of the mold. I poured water into the mould to check for leaks. And I had a small one which I repaired with hot glue.

I hot glued the sphere parts together and then glued the sphere into the mold to prevent it from floating into the resin. I also added scrap wood  pieces into the mold to save me some resin. 

I mixed the first portion of resin with some mica metallic powder. I did the first pour and degassed the resin in my vacuum chamber. This also helped the resin penetrate into every single spot. After a few days I did the second and final pour. 

Once the resin was cured, I broke the mold and cut it’s sides before mounting it on the lathe between centres. 

I used the roughing gouge to turn the blank true. Then I used a round scraper and a spindle gouge to shape the hemispheres. 

Then I chucked the sphere into my sphere making adaptors. I used a classic sphere making technique to make the sphere. You just remove the high spots and then turn the sphere around and repeat the process. Once the ghosting effect disappears you get a nice round sphere. 

I sanded the sphere from 100 to 400grit. Then I wet sanded with mineral oil from 500 to 1000grit. I polished the sphere with my micro mesh pads from 1500 to 12000grit. Then I buffed the piece on my buffing wheels.

My sphere came out great. I was really sad that it had cracked in the first place. But with the resin it got a new life in the end. Anyway, that was it, see you soon with a new project video!

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