Fairly new to woodworking, I’ve burned more pieces of furniture than I have finished. But hey, I’ve got the bug.
i have a few projects going at the moment, but I found a really cool 4″ thick live edge hornbeam slab that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve been readi up on epoxy fillers and various finishes, but I have a really basic and stupid question that I can not find an answer to.
if I want to fill the gaps in the slab with epoxy is that the very first step I should take? Or should I sand the slab first and then fill the gaps? One end of the slab is the point in the tree where it split up into branches and some of the gaps in the wood have remnants of bark in them that I think would look really cool if it was filled with clear epoxy, but I’m afraid all of those chunks will go flying if I hiy them with the belt sander. Where should I start?
thanks
scott
Replies
Epoxy is often used as a bar top finish. This is a special two part mixture that is poured on. Other epoxies are used for "fairing", typically on fiberglass boats. Epoxy alone doesn't have enough body and it shrinks, too. When fairing, special micro beads are added to give it the necessary body. The appearance won't be clear.
You can use artists casting resin, the same stuff you see bugs encased in, like an ice cube. It has the body and polishes to glass clear. What I don't know is how a poured epoxy finish, if thats what you want to use, will react with the polyester casting resin. Easy enough to do a sample, which you should do with any finish before doing anything to the project. The resin doesn't seem to be effected by ordinary wood finishes.
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