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