woodworking technique

adding an Epoxy Inlay

Give your Spirocrafter projects an eye-catching inlay with colored epoxy.

Traditional wood inlays are a great saving a lot of time and effort over just one more step before mixing way to dress up the appearance of conventional wood inlays. the epoxy. To prevent the epoxy a project. The problem is cutting For example, the photo above from bleeding into the grain, it’s a and fi tting small, oddly shaped in- and most of the photos in the Spi- good idea to seal the wood fi rst by lay pieces can be both diffi cult and rocrafter article on page 14 feature spraying on a coat of lacquer. And time-consuming. An easy alterna- epoxy in the routed patterns. In- to make it easier to remove any ex- tive is to use colored epoxy in- laying wood into such an intricate cess epoxy, rub a coat of wax on the stead of wood. Epoxy will pattern would be very diffi cult. surface of the wood. fl ow into just about But you can get a similar effect MIX EPOXY AND COLOR. With the sur- any shape, by simply mixing up a batch of ep- face prepared, the next step is to oxy and adding a little color. Then choose an epoxy. I’ve found most you just apply the mixture into a brands work fi ne, but it’s best to shallow recess cut in the shape of use a slow-setting epoxy. This way, your choice. With this technique, I you’ll have plenty of time to get it was able to add a great-looking de- in place before it starts to harden. sign detail without a lot of trouble. You can use just about any kind GETTING STARTED. Like any inlay, the of coloring in epoxy, from aniline place to begin is by creating a re- dyes to the black furniture pow- cess. For the Spirocrafter projects, I der I used on the table top. You’ll used a router with a v-groove bit just want to avoid colors that are { Test the color mixes to cut the design. And to vary the soluble in the type of fi nish you’ll on a sample board width of the line, I changed depth be adding to the piece. For in- 1 3 to find the shade you from ⁄16" to nearly ⁄16" for the cuts. stance, if you’re planning to use a want for your project. PREPARING THE WOOD. After you cut water-based fi nish, stay away from the recess for the inlay, there’s water-soluble colors or they will bleed when you apply the fi nish, even after the epoxy cures. It’s a good idea to mix up a few batches and test them on scrap How-To: Working with Epoxy pieces fi rst. Then you’ll get a feel for how well the epoxy works There are a couple things to keep in mind allergic reactions in some people. So it’s a into the grooves. You can also ex- when working with epoxy. First, it will good idea to work in a well-ventilated periment with different coloring bond to just about anything, including area. The same rule applies for sanding the agents to fi nd the right mixture for your skin. So I always wear rubber gloves hardened epoxy. The dust can be a real ir- the inlay. Aniline dyes, powdered when mixing and applying epoxy. Second, ritant, so use a good dust collector on your artist colors, or TransTint colors the resins not only smell bad, but can cause sander and wear a mask. work well for this technique. APPLYING EPOXY. When you’ve found the shade you like, you’re ready to start fi lling in the inlay. You can see the step-by-step process in the Start by mixing the epoxy > box at right. If the epoxy mixture is according to the manufac- thin enough, you can draw it into turer’s instructions (usually, a syringe and then simply squeeze equal amounts of resin and it into the recess. I like this method hardener). Then mix in the because it gives me better control. color. Stir the epoxy gently And it also makes cleaning up the to minimize air bubbles. excess a lot less hassle. If the mixture is too thick for a syringe, you can press it into the recess using a thin piece of scrap wood or plastic. Just be sure to add enough so the epoxy remains A disposable plastic syringe > slightly proud of the surface. makes it easy to apply the CLEANING UP. Since you waxed the epoxy. You can cut the plas- surface, the overfl ow will come off tic tip to fi t the size of the pretty easily with a sharp chisel. groove. Make sure to overfi ll The bottom two photos at right the groove a little bit to al- show you how to clean up the low for some shrinkage. epoxy and fi ll in any exposed air bubbles. You can remove the wax with mineral spirits. Then, after a fi nal sanding to remove the sealer coat of lacquer, you’re ready to add a fi nish. Using this simple tech- After about an hour, use a > nique, you’ll fi nd even the most chisel to remove most of the intricate inlays are possible. W overfl ow. At this point, the epoxy is rubbery. After it’s cured (usually 8 hours) move on to a hand scraper, then sand the inlay smooth.

Patio Cart. Get ready for grill- ing season. This versatile cart features fold-out wings, lots Holes caused byof storage,air bubbles and >it’ s built to in the inlay arestand almost up to un-years of service. avoidable. ButYngs, you lots can of fi ll storage, and them using a dropit’s built of toepoxy stand up to years { To make removing the excess on a paperclipof or service. toothpick. You can find the epoxy easier, first apply a coat Then just sandin-depth again plans after oou can find of lacquer to seal the grain and the repairs arethe dry. in-depth plans on paghis then rub on a coat of wax. versatile cart features fold-out www.Woodsmith.com