I made this coaster out a scrap piece of briar root and clear epoxy resin. I think it came out too nice to use it as a coaster though. I really want to thank my friend and awesome craftsman and turner Fotis Kalovedouris for sending this amazing piece to me.
You can check Fotis's work here.
I used a plastic cheese container as a mould. I added the wood and some weight on top of it to keep it from floating in the resin.
I then mixed some resin and I poured it into the mould. I de-gassed the resin in the vacuum chamber.I let it sit for a few days.
I then cut the piece round on the bandsaw.
Using my divider I drew a few circles to help me centre the piece easier on the glue chuck.
I then used 5 minute epoxy to keep the piece on the glue chuck.
Using a round nose scraper I turned the piece true. I also rounded over the edges.
I then used a flat carbide scraper to flatten it’s back.
I started sanding at 100grit. I moved on to 220. At 320 I started wet sanding with mineral oil. I moved on to 400, 500, 600, 800 to 1000grit.
I then used my micro mesh sanding pads which go from 1500 to 12000.
I parted the piece off the lathe.
I reversed the piece using my bowl bottom cleaning chuck jaws.
I completed the back side as well.
Finally I mounted my buffing wheel on the lathe. I used a super fine abrasive paste and I started buffing the piece to remove any left over scratches. For this job I set my lathe at it’s lowest speed. You don’t want your resin to overheat because it gets blurry.
Finally I cleaned the piece with a microfiber cleaning rag.
I like the result so much that I kind of don’t want to use it as a coaster. Some rest dust was left in the mould so now the piece looks like a martian landscape which is something I really like.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this project because that was it. See you soon with a new project video.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.
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