Ep6 - Timber & Resin Platter
The artful merging of natural timber with coloured resin is very popular at the moment, Dale take the plunge into resin pouring with a stylish and practical charcuterie serving board (or as most of us know it, a serving platter). Bon Appetit!
He utilises quite a few of the new tools that he picked up after his recent visit to Carbatec:
- Sawstop SST-JSS15-PRO
- Carbatec TH-BX330P
- Kreg KR-PRS2100
- Triton TRA-001B
- CMT 857-504-11
- Kreg KR-KHI-PULL
- Carbatec MT-790
- Robert Sorby RSB-PYRO240D
Other consumables that were used are:
The Process:
- Prepare your piece of timber to the dimensions you wish to work with. Depending on whether you have dressed timber or rough sawn, this may require use of a thicknesser and table saw to trim and square.
- If you have access to a sheet of Perspex, this makes for a quick to create, re-useable and non-stick mould material, as do many other types of plastic. However, moulds can be made from other materials including many cheap and commonly available ones. Do a google or youtube search on making a resin mould for ideas!
- Using a table saw, cut a base and four sides of your chosen mould material, ensuring it is just long enough for your timber, but wide enough to include your resin feature. It only needs to be a little taller than the thickness of your timber.
- Glue the pieces of this together using thick super glue and accelerator for a quick bond on plastic. When complete, all joints need to have a bead of silicon applied to prevent any leaks from the mould. Allow to dry according to the instructions on the silicon before attempting to pour your resin.
- Mix your resin in a disposable vessle, such as an old ice-cream container, according to the instructions – the ratio of part 1 to 2 is very important to follow and get correct. Resin requires very thorough mixing to set properly! If stirring with a hand paddle, you may see the two parts get “cloudy” as you mix. Continue to mix until it is water clear… and then a little more!
- Tint your resin by adding some Eye Candy pigment in the colour of your choice.
NOTE: A little goes a long way! How much is required is determined by the look you want to achieve and the amount of resin you need for your project. Mix thoroughly until the pigment is fully dispersed.
HINT: Using a paddle pop stick, you can test the appearance by dipping it in the resin, then removing and looking at the resin on the stick. The appearance here will reflect the set appearance. If it is too translucent for your liking, you need some more pigment. As a rough guide, a project like this may take about one good teaspoon of pigment from a 25g jar.
- Ensure you put a large heavy weight on your timber in the mould! The resin, once poured, can make the timber float around. Now slowly pour the resin carefully into the void in your mould. Take care not to overflow your mould, or cast your weight onto the piece permanently!
- Remove bubbles by using a butane torch and gently applying heat across the surface, taking care not to “sit” the flame in one area for long. Just use sweeping motions.
HINT: As the resin begins to set, you can use a paddle pop stick to introduce some patterns in the resin/pigment mix, should you wish.
NOTE: Resin heats up as it cures – this is normal and not a concern, but something to be aware of as you may not want to move your project while it is setting. The larger the pour, the more it can heat. Due caution is required. We suggest you read more about resin pouring/casting and safety online. Leave to set for as long as the instructions suggest required for a full hard cure.
- Once the resin is set, the piece can be removed from the mould. Depending on the material and method used to create your mould, you may be able to “pop” your cast out by giving it a tap, or pressing from the back. If not, you can disassemble or pop the sides off your mould to release it.
- The serving tray can now be put through the thicknesser to dress the timber level with the resin, or vice versa depending on which you left proud. Note that resin is very abrasive on cutting blades, so you may wish to sand the final passes.
- A decorative edge can now be applied, be that a chamfer, round-over or profile as you wish. While this can be done with a router handheld using a bit with a bearing, it is possibly easier to use a Router Table as Dale does.
NOTE: Start routing on an end grain end, rotating the board anti-clockwise for each consecutive pass is one way to aid in controlling any “blow out” damage from the router bit emerging from the outer side. Alternatively, a scrap can be held or taped against the outer edge so the bit travels into this, and any damage occurs to the scrap rather than your feature.
- You can now mark where holes will be required to install your handles, according to the packaging or design that your purchased. The Kreg Hardware Installation Jig is very useful for this job as it allows consistent and accurate drilling for your hardware. Measure twice, drill once!
- The serving tray can now be sanded all over, by power tool or hand. The aim here is to remove all machining marks and scratches in preparation for applying finish. Do not use coarse paper on the resin as deep scratches can be difficult to remove. Use medium paper and transition through to very fine – at least 1000 grit on the resin.
- Kustom Creations Kustom Grit is a uniques Australian Made polishing paste that is food safe and non-toxic. Available in two grit levels that are best used in combination, they can polish resin pours to a glass-like lustre! They can be used as a basic finish on raw timber in their own right, or they can be used to polish other finishes. Apply in a circular motion by hand or power tool as you would when applying car polish! Buff off the excess.
NOTE: Best results are achieved with power application and buffing.
- Assemble your hardware and any rubber feet and you are done! Congratulations!
|