I'm thinking of using some of my exotic cutoffs by casting them in epoxy resin. I have seen videos but have no clue Has anyone done this? what is a good brand of epoxy to use?
This is what I'm thinking of doing. I have a ton of cutoffs green my flat wood working that I'd love to do something other than burn/chuck away.I have made many, many dozen resin bowls using all kinds of wood and whatever slow cast resin I can get cheap (50-60 min pot life). Never worried about moisture as most stuff in the shop tests out < 12% and never had a problem so I stopped checking. Turns easy but is messy and have had best luck using carbide tools. Vacuum chamber to remove air in voids then pressure pot to collapse any bubbles remaining. Fun way to use scraps and add some color - here are some of what I am talking about -
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Thanks for the tip. I'll have to try some.epodex seems to be my cost faveriot
I agree. alumilite clear is the way to goI prefer urethane resin over epoxy resin. In large volumes epoxy resin can be hard on tools. Urethane resin turns real easy. For urethane resin I like alumilite clear and clear slow but you need a pressure pot and the wood has to be bone dry. I bake my wood in an oven for a couple hours before casting. If there is any moisture in the wood it will bubble and foam up even in a pressure pot. The plus side is this type resin hardens quick. The regular clear is 7 minutes work time and the clear slow is 12 minutes of work time. With epoxy resin unless you buy deep pour you need to do it in no more then 1/4 inch layers poured before the previous layer hardens. You can check it with an infrared thermometer and once it starts to cool down the next layer can be poured. You do not need a pressure pot for epoxy resin but you need to babysit it for a little bit with a torch or heat gun to pop bubbles.