Again - Getting better at Resin and Wood rings

Loving the Forstner bits  and my polishing  station  I did up this final ring last weekend

its in oak with the green from the miniature grass  I got a michaels and printed a castle on acetate  and place it inside before pouring 

Getting better at the sanding the shank and shining the resin back up to clear 

Getting Better at the Resin and Wood Rings

Picked up a set of Forstner bits  and what a difference they make

nice smooth drilling and holes 

This time I used oak and broke the wood better - used the triangle method seemed to work best in the vise 

I had difficulties making the ring shank even the last time but I had a clear resin button I made from a mold that worked perfect for centering and making the edge even to use the marker around so I had a line for sanding evenly 

worked great - then I sanded using 400, 800, 1000 and 2000 grit wet sandpaper 

 then went to the studio to buff it up 

I forgot I bought a bench polisher last year from Princess auto so it turned out great 

used tripoli first then some Zap polish came up nice 

then came back down to the house and used my lap mandrel with my dremel to sand down the inside of the ring 

stained the wood with a minwax stain   then sealed with minwax paste wax and buffed it up 

so had a great day and did a second one 

very happy with todays results - although the green had specks in I'll have to figure that out 

resin and wood rings

Still working on resin and wood rings

I got the blanks all done but I tried to use the spade drill bits  with my drill press and made a mess - in fact I got wacked with the blank in the thunb and that stung and it was so cold in the studio I gave up

Decided I would try using a hand drill with the bits.  The spade really tears into word and it was suggested to get forstner bits

spade bit  vs 

forstner - as you can see would cut smoother 

But anyway - I put the blanks in my vise to hold them and used the hand drill to cut the holes - now I know what they mean about the spades not great for making ring holes -  splintered a bit on cutting - and one of the blanks cracked - now  I was using cheap old pine  2" x 3/4  so its pretty soft - but I just wanted to try  making  a ring

so after cutting the hole - a bit frustrating but at least done   then used the band saw to cut excess

then I took them into the house and  sanded them down with the new toy   - did a really bad job rounding out the ring form

then set to task using  220 to 1000 grit sandpapers to shine up

Hard to see but they are shiny but  so many bubbles - mostly becuase this was not sealed wood and will do that next   but all in all a very good technique learning experience - with sanding , polishing and buffing -  all the Sandpapers  220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 I found at Canadian Tire in the car sections for sanding cars  - as they only had heavier duty papers in the tool section - then bought minwax floor polish in the wax tin  version to shine them up - wow really worked - I have a bunch of cloth mops I need to put onto a motor - got one cheap at princess auto - so I am going to convert it from a grinder to a buffing/polishing station - and I have a small  one as well and would prefer it all in one place - like the studio rather than some in studio and some in the house

All in all  the process  was not bad at all - I think better wood to start with would have been better - less chipping - and getting the forstner bits will help too and practice sanding and maybe make a template for sanding the ring hole better 

another issue are the bubbles and maybe too much dye in the resin to be able to see - making a pressure pot this weekend  and going to try out the oak tonight with resin and see how that goes 

I found some 2" x 3/4"  oak  and poplar at home depot 

A good video to watch -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCrAm4EC7PI

Resin and wood rings - next steps

I raced home last night with anticipation to drill the hole in my ring blank to find I could not find the chuck key for my drill press - so disappointed -

 So  I broke some more wood (I think this stuff is pine and is weathered from being outside )  and decided to make a couple more blanks

and I colored some resin - 

and tonight I will sand down to blanks 

I went and picked up a chuck key  from Canadian Tire ( the one that was on fire this morning )  so I can change out my drill press for the spade drill piece that will drill out the ring hole in the wood 

so about 1/2 hour of sanding and I'll be able to drill 3 ring blanks and spend the night sanding and hoping for at least one ring for tomorrow 

I did go to Home Depot after Canadian Tire  and picked up some  2" x 3/4 " oak and a piece of same size poplar to maybe have a better piece of wood to try out  too 

so I will be hoping to break a few pieces tonight and get resin onto them  for tomorrow 

If this works out - I hope it to be my new line this year 

Onto the next project - wood and resin ring 3d images

so onto making a ring - basic wood and resin  no add ons this time to show trees etc  I went with simple

found the wood up outside the studio and cut and broke a piece

I  used packing tape around the wood  and added some  Pinata baja blue alcohol ink to the color it

just to be careful I put it in a silicone cup in case it leaked 

I pulled it out after a couple of hours 

 then I peeled off the tape and sanded 

basic 220 sanded down on all sides with my new toy 

found a couple of air pockets that were open after sanding so I had to make a small batch and fill those in and will be sanded again tonight 

my new sander -  regular 229  at cdn tire on sale for 129  great deal 

runs like a charm

very versatile machine angle bench on the disc sander section  and the 4" x 36  can stand up as well 

and you can attach a dust collector to it as well (shop vac is what I use )

so last night I went to home depot to get a few things 

pressure release valve for my pressure pot 

the abs fittings to make the pot 

glue for abs 

and a spade bit kit 10 pcs  for making the holes for the rings was 19.99 

came in various sizes so it should cover all the ring sizes - I hope - rather than just picking out certain sizes 

Buffing and Polishing the 3d wood and resin project

I was up early and was trying to finish polishing my 3d project of wood and resin - this whole piece was a learning experience from breaking the wood to adding objects to using tape and acetate for holding resin to sanding and polishing - was a great experience

so the final results although  not great  turned out clear  after sanding and polishing which I find amazing - will drill the hole to put the chain through tonight

More Resin - making 3 d landscapes with resin and wood

So I have seen the 3d rings that are resin and wood and want to make but for material sake I only had some nice pen blanks available so I thought I would attempt a 3d scene  with resin and wood

I took a couple of my wooden pen blanks I use for making pens on the lathe and followed the instruction to break in the  vise  - which was put in two pieces on one side an done in the middle and snap it (put a cutting line on one side (I put it on all but next time I will only do one side )

so that gives me some nice 3d effects of hills or mountains

Next I painted the broken areas with acrylic paint 

Just some stuff from dollar store

just some green and browns  and used white for a water fall 

once that was dry I sealed it with some ModgePodge and then added some greenery 

the greenery is for making miniatures - and its grass - two colors green - got at michaels  for 7.99 cdn (buy one and get one free) 

and the green looks like little trees

now once this was dry - I used clear packing tape but found it could not hold shape the way I wanted so used acetate -  used double sided tape arpund the bottom and then put packing tape over top - I still had leakage so next time will fold the acetate - seals it then tape around the bottom to get a better seal 

this pic is after I poured and heated the resin (see melty edge  the heat gun was a bit too close ) got most of the bubbles out 

Now after that I waited for it to cure  and then peeled off the outside tape and acetate 

so not too bad for first try  - now I am sanding it down to I can stain the wood and buff up the resin - those photos will be soon 

but this week making a pressure pot that will get rid of the bubbles to ensure a nice clear result