[Steve Bird]

I’m new to resin casting. I make tabletop gaming accessories with wood and a laser cutter. I’ve recently started making 42mm diameter, 1/4″ thick wood tokens out of multiple layers of laser cut 1/16″ veneer. I’m really happy with how they look, but they feel much flimsier than I expected them to. I’m playing around with filling the voids in the tokens with epoxy resin. I’ve made two attempts so far.

First attempt was a pretty abysmal failure. I borrowed someone’s System 3 5-minute epoxy. I may have mixed it for too long. It was far more viscous than I wanted, and dried cloudy, full of bubbles, and way too quickly.

For my second attempt, I tried “EasyCast Clear Casting Epoxy” which I purchased at Michael’s. I had much better results, but I’m not entirely happy yet. The epoxy is labeled as “ideal for small casts,” but in the instruction insert it says that a 1″ thick cast should take 24 hours at 70-85 degrees to cure, and that thin castings take longer than thin castings. I’ve got a cast that varies between 1/16″ and 1/8″ and our winter thermostat is usually set at 68 degrees (I put the tokens under a desk lamp to keep them warmer). I had some trouble pouring/spreading the epoxy with the precision I would have preferred. It was just a little more viscous than I expected for a casting resin. Also, I was pouring from a silicone mixing cup when perhaps I should have been using a more precision application tool (suggestions appreciated). I also think that the resin might have wicked into the grain of the wood token. Perhaps I should seal the grain with some clear spray shellac before casting the resin?

Questions:
• What might be the advantages/disadvantages of using “Resin Obsession Super Clear Resin” over the EasyCast product? The documentation gives the impression that it is less viscous and sets a bit more quickly, though still with plenty of work time.
• What precision application tools would folks recommend? I’ve got experience with precision glue application tools, but epoxy is clearly a different beast altogether. Would any recommended tools be reusable, or would they be disposable after each use? Might the 12cc version of this product be a good bet? https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2096&nobot_crawl
• Would you recommend that I spray a seal coat of shellac on the wood tokens prior to applying the resin to make sure the grain of the wood doesn’t wick in some of it?

Thank you in advance for any advice you could give me.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Steve, can you link to a picture of your wood piece? That will best help me with advice.

[Steve Bird]

Here are some photos. Thanks.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dyd62br964q21q2/AACfDAb004iN78axX1YBd7isa?dl=0

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the pictures. They are helpful!

The Resin Obsession super clear resin mixes in a thinner viscosity, making it easier for bubbles to release. For what you show in your examples, it’s the resin I would use. You can find it in several sizes in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/resin-obsession

I don’t think you need any precision tools for a project like this besides toothpicks. You can drip the resin from the cup into the wood or pour the resin along the toothpick while it’s over the wood to guide it more slowly.

Your wood needs to be sealed in some way, otherwise, it can release bubbles into the resin. Shellac sounds like it will work just fine.

Good luck!

[Steve]

Thank you!

[Author]

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