Since Covid we’ve had a family tradition of making instead of buying gifts. This is an exciting time, especially since I have a talented family! This year I made drink coasters of mostly scrap wood and tinted epoxy.
These look simple but were deceptively complex to make. I also needed to make storage boxes which were mini projects in themselves. Since I signed up to make a dozen sets it took a while.
Design and Preparation
The first step was to design the coasters in my CAD program of choice, Fusion 360. I saw the Northern Lights for the first time in the fall so I’d had the cosmos floating around in the back of my mind. I decided to use a “planetary” theme.
After designing I prepared the stock. Most of the wood I had was between 19- 25 mm (3/4-1 inch) thick. I ripped the stock in half on my tablesaw and cut blanks that would allow me to create four coasters from each blank. This size is what would fit in my EpoxyBake oven.
The EpoxyBake oven and warming pads are critical to the success of the project because Epoxy needs heat to cure. The epoxy I used needs 70 degrees (21c) to cure. That temperature is impossible to obtain in my basement in Massachusetts in November and December without the oven.
Making the Blanks
With the setup complete and the blanks cut, the next step involved sealing the pockets so the colored epoxy wouldn’t bleed into the wood pores. I used shellac because it is clear and dries fast.
After sealing I was ready for the epoxy. I mixed the two part epoxy and then poured it into little medicine cups I had laying around. In each cup I added a mica-based tinting solution.
Then I poured the epoxy into the blanks. It took some thought on how to artistically pour the colors, although as time went on I got more and more random. I’m not really sure it made a difference.
Then into the oven for three days (I said earlier this took a while!).
Finishing
After 3 days in the oven the coasters cured very hard. I used the CNC again to shave off the epoxy and expose the top of the wood and the epoxy pockets.
I left the blanks secured on the CNC and sanded the coaster blanks. I sanded with 400, 800, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grits. By the time I was done the blanks were smooth and the epoxy had a satin finish. Once I completed the sanding I used the CNC to cut the coasters out of the blanks. The next step was to apply a clear gloss finish.
The coasters looked great. The finished size is 95x95mm (about 3 3/4″ square) by 8mm (5/16″) thick.
Boxes
The coasters needed boxes to be a complete set. That was another project! It is difficult to work with small and thin strips of wood. They came out well though. Here’s a set drying:
