Thread: Biting off more than I can chew. Epoxy resin.

I like it.

I'm also impressed with that epoxy and want to try it out but I'll wait a while yet. Have to learn a bit more before I'll tackle that.


Peter.

I like it, but you do have a lot of voids still, so I would have filled them before final finishing.

Casting can be a bitch ion the chisels. I know the first time I cast turquoise it actually ground away my chisel. I have a diamond blade on a grinder just for those situations

Originally Posted by dai sensei

I like it, but you do have a lot of voids still, so I would have filled them before final finishing.

As I was sanding I was thinking about the voids. A lot. I originally thought (and still, to some degree) that this added character to the piece. It's still not too late, it still has a tenon which I can protect and remount.

mate

I like it, I like the concept, I like the fact that you threw it out there and went for it!

At least you did something decent with burl! ahaha!

Cheers

Bryan

Hallo Scott,
A very good effort and an excellent end product and in my book does not need any refinements. As they say "beauty lays in the eye of the beholder".

Joevan.

Wrap it up and put it away for a few months. Then have another look.

It could be that the struggles have given you a bad impression of the finished piece.

I think it is quite nice. It would be nice to see a better photo.

Edit: downloaded, lightened tray, and added to bottom. Very Nice Tray!! Good job. The voids in the rim go along with the voids in the burl.

I like it Scott.

At least your burl did not explode on you

Thanks for acknowledging me, Scott. This idea is part of my bread n' butter work so I initially hesitated showing other turners how I do this sort of work for fear thay would pinch it and not acknowledge their source of inspiration. A bit of this goes on but it's reassuring to know there are still a few decent types in the woodturning world.

To the platter. I think you have done a great job. The voids are part of the problem of working with gumnuts but they shouldn't worry you. They do very little to detract from the overall appeal of the work.

The problem you were having with the dulling of the tools was not the resin's fault; blame the gumnuts. For wahatever reason they are incredibly hard. I discovered this some time ago when trying to cut a bigger one on a band saw. The only satisfactory way to overcome this issue is with T/C tools. They make a significant difference.

Thanks for sharing your work with us. I like to see turners inspired by someone or thing and having a go. As to whether or not you bit off too much. If that was your first go at using resin then perhaps yes, except you got away with it. I encourage others to start off a little smaller. Resin is expensive stuff.

Ambivalence is neither here nor there, and no idea what a gum nut is, but the platter, fantastic.

I can well understand why your good lady want's to keep it.

Nicely done, Sir.

Very nice indeed, if you want to get rid of the voids you will need to put it in a vacuum chamber, which i thoroughly recommend. But i think in this piece the voids match the burl.

Angry

Scott you have done well!!

This is something I have had on my "gunnado" list for years. I am gld tht I will be able to drw on the experiences of both you and Brendan.

Thank you for your kind words Gents, I've appreciated your feedback.

One thing I've neglected to mention is the platter is definitely concave and has a depth of about 25mm. The photos don't show this and imply the form is flat. I'll take some better images soon.

Brendan, I've long admired your work as I have many other members of this forum. People such as Alan Watkins and Vern are amongst my other sources. Sometimes you need different sources of inspiration to develop your own style therefore it's no issue with me to acknowledge you as an inspiration. This was my third go at casting and clearly the most ambitious. Next time I'm going to tone it down.

dr4g0nfly: Gumnuts are cast by some Eucalyptus trees and can be as small as 6mm to about one inch in diameter. They provide a pod structure for the flowers of the Eucalypts and drop on the ground prolifically.

Continuing on with what gum nuts are for dr4g0nfly, another little interesting fact, the bigger the gum nut is the smaller the tree is and vice versa