Thread: a few more Resin Boxes

Thank you very much BMKal, very nice compliment. I just got so amazed with what one can do with resin. Just making these lids alone takes a lot of mucking around. I could knock over a nice timber lid in a fraction of the time,,...........but.

Paul

Another 2 beautiful boxes. I must say I prefer the lid on the trinket box, but that's just me.
My boxmaking has been on hold for a while with too many things happening but I will get back into it soon. Seeing what others are doing gives inspiration and makes you keen to find the time.

Hi and thanks Dallas, I tend to agree about the lids. The big lid was a bit of an experiment. I have a mate at bowls (who has a mate) with a monstrous horizontal bandsaw. Can slice timber up to around a metre wide. There is a long fixed permanent bed maybe 7 or 8 metres long and the bandsaw (petrol powered) is pushed along this bed on tracks.. You could fit a massive tree trunk along it.

I have a heap of old offcuts of slabs, hairy oak, needlewood, huon pine, etc that I bought from Mal some time ago, all in varying thicknesses up to maybe 25mm. All my lids are about 12mm thick. With my limited machinery it is extremely difficult to get a lot of these old slab offcuts down to about a workable 15mm. The slab offcuts are full of cracks/crevices/holes/live edges etc. When I get down to about 15mm, my mini overhead router sled I put on here a while ago, comes into play.

So I took all what I had up to this bloke's 30 acre property , and he sat them on a massive big tree trunk he had already run through, by means of screws etc, to hold mine down. A lot of mine I was left with the top thin slices of 4 or 5mm or whatever.

So for that particular lid I layered a couple of these thin slices together to get that effect. I've actually just made another similar lid with resin poured yesterday, but no box for it yet.

All just an experiment.

Resin is not cheap, I would think for those lids there would be about $30 in resin. (casting and flood coats).

Paul

Really well done they look great.

Hi Paul

All your boxes are top class, the quality of your work is excellent, I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind before I start or I should say continue with the first box (not counting tool boxes) I have attempted in 60 plus years. I want to incorporate a resin feature in the lid but not a river type finish or appearance finish but more a rock pool look. My question is what type of tint to use, pearlx type seems to be more opaque finish than clear and can I put a slightly darker coat down first and a lighter coat next to give a slight appearance of depth without it looking like 2 or more distinct coats or layers. I will have about 16mm timber thickness to start finishing 10-12mm and I want to have some timber finish with resin only over the pool parts. I hope I have made this clear to you, it's harder to write it than speak it.

Thanks. Rick.

Hi and thanks Rick. Just re reading through your question again. Not sure what sort of timber you are going to use to give a rock pool look. If it was me and wanted that look I would use a slice of an old burl, that has cracks and holes and crevices all through it. I actually am intending to do a pour today on such a piece. I haven't heard of your pearlx type resin/tint. The resin I use now I buy from Oakfield Clear, down in Melbourne, clarity cast, love it.

So, for your question, I would make a mold, I have several different sizes I make from 12mm HDPE about 20mm deep. Your timber would sit inside that mold preparing for the pour. Couple of things prior to that stage, that I do. I high pressure spray with a gurney the timber to get rid of any old loose bits, dirt, grot/rot etc. Let it dry in the sun. Then brush on a coat of epoxy resin to seal the timber to prevent air bubbles etc, You wont prevent them all but it helps. Next day the job is ready for the mold, the mold I brush in my release agent that I make up myself ( mixture of white spirits and vaseline, helps to remove the job from the mold after cured).

I clamp my job into the mold as it will float around when the resin is poured.

Now to get your slightly darker bottom layer, use a very very small amount of mica powder into your resin mix. A little goes a long way. Let that dry and cure for 24 hours. Then if you can after that scuff it with 240 grit sand paper, or whatever. Blow or wipe all the dust out (maybe use a rag with white spirits). Then you can pour another layer over the top of that. This time with a very very very small amount of the same mica powder into your rexin mix. Just enough to make it nearly see through with a slight slight tint. That second pour might be up to the top of your timber.

During your pours you would be using a gas torch to keep getting rid of air bubbles which will occur.

When the job is finally removed from the mold, you would be sanding/routering top and bottom to get to the final thickness you require.

The final sand will look amazing. Specially if it worked on with some 1200 wet and dry (wet) then maybe a polish.

If you were then to be looking at a clear flood coat on top of all this, that then comes next when the lid is attached to the top part of the box (no mold), but that's another total stage.

Clear as mud??,......ask any more questions and good luck,

Paul

I like your release agent mixture as buying the real stuff is quite expensive. What is the ratio you mix the two components?

Hi and thanks Dallas. It works pretty good. No special ratio really. I get a big gunk of vaseline, put that into a old vegemite jar. Then pour white spirits over it, till it well and truly covers the big gunk of vaseline. Leave it out in the sun till the vaseline is all disolved.

My molds are all just butt jointed, with screws. When job is cured, remove just the end screws on the end piece of HDPE. Slight tap with a fine screw driver between mold and job, and out comes the job.

I'm heading down to Sydney on the XPT on tuesday for a week with my son. So projects will be on hold for a week,

Paul

As I was saying, I intended to do a pour today, so thought I would take a few WIP pics which is in line with my above procedure. I'm also in the "getting rid of timber mode", so I made 4 identical large boxes getting rid of some Red Cedar and White Cedar. The lids have been sliced off, hinge slots done which will accommodate Aldav's lovely hinges. Now I have to make 4 resin lids. One lid is already finished, yesterday I prepared some old slices of a burl and a couple of other offcuts from an old river oak slab.

This is where today's pour is up to, I can walk away and forget it for at least 4 hours, then do some "babysitting" to get a nice swirl happening pretty much when the resin is turning a honey/gooey thickness and hopefully retain the swirl.

In the meantime I've started on making 4 trays for the boxes.

Paul

Hi gang, no more WIP's at present. Yesterdays pour is still in the mold. Still in the "getting rid of timber mode" I had sufficient amounts of Snakewood and Black Pine left to make 11 of these box frames. Now all that timber is gone. All frames are identical, just different lids, 5 frames still to make lids for.

Hinged with 6mm brass tubing and 5mm brass rods inside to pivot. If you get all your measurements spot on, the lid sits back at a nice 95 degrees. Timber in the lid of the ocean wave box is Bolly Silkwood, all one piece including the handle. Resin on the ocean wave lid is 3D, (3 layers). I come up with a nice little method of routering the front of the lid to be flush with the front bottom and routering the curve on the handle all at the same time.

Off to Sydney tomorrow on the XPT for one week.

Paul

That shot from above in photo 3 looks like a very realistic representation of the beach. Top job

Originally Posted by Treecycle

That shot from above in photo 3 looks like a very realistic representation of the beach. ...

Five seconds after the surfer got dumped?

Hi Paul, Thanks for the reply and info, I couldn't get back to you sooner because I was also in Sydney at the same time, called away unexpectedly. The timber I am using for the top is said to be River Oak. It is cut from a piece that was intended for firewood and has holes and gaps although all connected in 1 piece,it has interesting grain and colour not unlike a burl. Due to the shape and size of the holes I won't be able to pour 1 layer and then sand so I am thinking that maybe I can make the 1st pour and wait till it has not completely set, still wet enough for the second coat to bond but not mix. When I get the top (second) cote done I intend to finish it leaving some uncoated timber and polishing the exposed timber and the top of the the epoxy. Does that sound doable? Thanks again and you mite expect another question or two as I
proceed if that's OK, I have never used epoxy before this.
Cheers Rick




Chers. Rick

Hi Rick,

What your saying is definitely doable. River Oak is pretty much what I use on most of my resin lids. Hairy Oak, all looks the same. Do exactly what you said. Trick is waiting for that "nearly set" time to happen. I am finding now my work time is up around the 7 hours mark with the casting resin I use. I can do a final swirl after 7 hours and think I coulda waited at least another half an hour. But that's it. With my way, all the little cracks and holes I always find a way to poke a bit of sandpaper down there and give it a hit. Scuff it up a bit, then blow and wipe with say white spirits. But I reckon on a job like that if you just did the areas that you can, that would do.

Then yes, do your second pour, I assume you have some sort of a mold. Then a sand and polish will look amazing.

I'm just back on the XPT tonight after a week in Sydney helping son move apartments. I'll do a couple more WIP pics but wont be for a while yet.

Good luck,

Paul