# Redwood root in purple epoxy



## Matt3d03

Just wanted to give a update with the wood purchased from @gman2431 . I'll have it out of the mold this weekend. I used a couple of dabs of silicone to hold the material down. My plan is to bandsaw the thickness in half to give it a book matched look. Should be 14" x 20" x 3/4" when finished.

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## T. Ben




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## gman2431

Cool man! It's not very often ya get to see what happens with the wood! Keep em coming!

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## Maverick




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## Wildthings




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## Nature Man

Pretty exciting! Can’t wait to see what is next! Chuck

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## Matt3d03

Thank you all. Anyone with experience bonding cured epoxy? I was thinking of drilling holes for dowels to meet the slices.


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## Wildthings

Matt3d03 said:


> Thank you all. Anyone with experience bonding cured epoxy? I was thinking of drilling holes for dowels to meet the slices.


Are you talking bonding new epoxy pour to the cured epoxy? All you really need to do is scuff the surface well with sandpaper (~220) before the next pour


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## Matt3d03

@Wildthings I'm meaning once the piece cures, the thickness will be cut in half thickness wise and I'll have the shortest ends together. So 2 cured epoxy surfaces can be joined by hitting it with 220 grit and epoxy? Would I need to use dowels?


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## Wildthings

So you are going to stand it up on its edge and resaw it in half to create a bookmatched pair. Then lay them short end to short end. At that point are you going to set them in a form and pour another layer of epoxy over the entire thing or just enough to connect the 2 halves. If you scuff the exposed epoxy that should be enough for bonding. If you use wooden dowels in the epoxy they may show but if the epoxy is opaque enough where they will not than it would be insurance.

Second pours on river tables are done when the epoxy is not quite cured or if cured than it needs to be sanded to insure bonding of the second pour.

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## Matt3d03

You are correct. I'm not sure how opaque it will be once it splits in half. As a matter of longevity, will a epoxy flood coat bond the 2 pieces or should I bond the 2 pieces before doing the flood coat? I may look up clear plastic dowels if it's too opaque. I was doing 24 oz pours, waiting for each layer to gel between pours. I did it in 3 pours.

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## Wildthings

Personally if it was me I would not use any type of dowels, scuff both short edges real well and onto the flat area slightly. Into a mold with a little gap between the short edges (making the length slightly longer) and pour a colored pour to join the two. Maybe drilling into the edges a little way to producing locking points and let the epoxy fill those, watching for bubbles. 

I've seen where one guy pouring a river table cut biscuit slots into his live edge where the epoxy flowed creating locking tabs. But just one guy

What's the final piece going to be used for?

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## Matt3d03

That's a idea I'll definitely do some research on. This will be wall art. Most of what I'm playing with will be wall art until I figure out where my weaknesses are with epoxy then it's time for some much bigger projects.

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## Wildthings

How did you keep the wood pieces from floating up? Hot glue?

Looking forward to the next results!


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## Matt3d03

I used a couple of dabs of silicone on each piece after I ran silicone into the corners. I let it all cure overnight before I poured it. I think it also has to do with doing small pours and letting that first layer gum before pouring the next. I'll be trying hot glue with the willow burl from @gman2431 on the next round. Although that pour will be used with a deep resin 2:1, pouring at once instead of layering it with a 1:1.

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## The100road

Very cool. I think the purple color was a good choice.

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## Matt3d03

@The100road thanks. I was really torn between dark blue, dark green and this dark purple. I was trying to recreate the plum purple dodge uses to paint their cars.

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## Matt3d03

So after pulling this out of the mold I came across a couple issues.
1. The corners did not like me putting silicone on the interior of the mould corners
2. Part of the epoxy went under the tape and where it went through didn't cure. It's a 24 hour cure and it sat in the mould for almost a week.

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## BangleGuy

@Matt3d03 The color is fantastic. Is this colored mica or some type of sparkle powder? The uncured epoxy issue is odd, and I can't imagine it has to do with being covered or uncovered. Two part epoxy when mixed well should set up. How are you stirring the resin? I am just starting to fiddle with the Alumilite resin made for non-pressure pot applications and I am really surprised how viscous this stuff is. Its like honey whereas the pressure pot epoxy (clear and water clear) is much thinner and mixes / pours very easy. 
I bet you're excited to get this all sanded down


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## Matt3d03

I believe it's a colored mica. It's eye candy's purple garden. I stirred it with a plastic spoon on a cordless drill haha. I have a paint mixer for the bigger pour I plan to do with the buck eye burl. I tried to heat the uncured epoxy till it started to liquefy. I'm hoping it'll react and try to cure. I'll check it out tomorrow.

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## Wildthings

Like Eric I'm baffled also. Being under the silicone should not have made a difference. It's a chemical reaction and if it's mixed thoroughly it will cure. You would think if it's not mixed correctly there would be other areas of concern

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## BangleGuy

Matt3d03 said:


> I believe it's a colored mica. It's eye candy's purple garden. I stirred it with a plastic spoon on a cordless drill haha. I have a paint mixer for the bigger pour I plan to do with the buck eye burl. I tried to heat the uncured epoxy till it started to liquefy. I'm hoping it'll react and try to cure. I'll check it out tomorrow.


Not that I am short on mica powder, but I found this color on Amazon! Yeah!

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## Matt3d03

Right?! I'm hoping the core cured and sending it through a bandsaw isn't going to shatter into a million pieces. I'll be going to local sawmill to cut it in half. I just don't want it to blow apart or the center of it to be uncurred and ruin equipment. I'm only thinking it went in a 1/8" or less. The top side of the mold certainly felt cured

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## 2feathers Creative Making

I have run into that, not tried to duplicate the problem, so... I think it may have been poured before the silicone was fully cured. Not all silicone has the same solvents. Some are not epoxy friendly til they are fully cured. Silicone tubes usually have cure times but most people look at surface cure time. Has to be fully cured. Like I said haven't researched. Too expensive to try for failure!


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## Matt3d03

@2feathers Creative Making I am not sure it was the silicone. I read a 8 hourcure time so I left it overnight. What I'm thinking happened was I mixed a 8 oz cup by hand not realizing how little of a area that covers, then I was doing 24oz cups after. I don't think that 8 oz cup was mixed properly and was trying to escape. I'm just guessing though. I'm trying to get failures before I moved into bigger projects haha.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

Matt3d03 said:


> @2feathers Creative Making I am not sure it was the silicone. I read a 8 hourcure time so I left it overnight. What I'm thinking happened was I mixed a 8 oz cup by hand not realizing how little of a area that covers, then I was doing 24oz cups after. I don't think that 8 oz cup was mixed properly and was trying to escape. I'm just guessing though. I'm trying to get failures before I moved into bigger projects haha.


That sounds logical. I have had that happen a time or two. Ya learn quick at these prices


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## Matt3d03

Lesson one - spend a little extra on the 2:1 epoxy compared to the 1:1. 
Lesson two - to have a book matched look, this should have been a one shot pour
Lesson three - don't pour wider than your bandsaw can handle lol. Local sawmills want to charge a ridiculous amount of money to rent the time to use one.

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## 2feathers Creative Making

Matt3d03 said:


> Lesson one - spend a little extra on the 2:1 epoxy compared to the 1:1.
> Lesson two - to have a book matched look, this should have been a one shot pour
> Lesson three - don't pour wider than your bandsaw can handle lol. Local sawmills want to charge a ridiculous amount of money to rent the time to use one.


Were you resawing it for thickness? If you need to saw straight edges on this, you can clamp a straight edge to it and basically have a cheap tracksaw . If you are resawing thickness, you need to find a hobby sawmill. Mine is a bit far away, but most hobby mill owners that I know would help on something like that for a little bit of nothing especially if you are trading cool wood or a yard log that you found needed cut on shares...


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## Matt3d03

As far as straight lines, I think my table saw will handle it. Correct, the thickness will be chopped in half. When you say hobby place, do you mean a place like woodcraft?


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## Wildthings

I think he means like ole Bobby down the road that got him a sawmill or Johnnie who got a Wood Mizer for Christmas. Look on CL for sellers of slabs around your area and see if they'll slice it next time they're sawing

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## 2feathers Creative Making

Here in my county I know of 6 of us off hand that have a sawmill sitting out back of the house that isn't our main source of income. It's just for the pleasure of opening up trees and removing choice bits that catch our eye...


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## Matt3d03

So I got into woodworking at the beginning of last year. I haven't networked with anyone local yet, I was looking at taking a few classes but that was cancelled due to lock downs. So I've been asking around local hardwood and urban loggers.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

A lot of sawmill distributors keep tabs on the mill owners... warranties, buying parts, blades etc. So if you can find a local sales sight, chances are you can get a sawyer or two located that just spin their mills for the fun of watching sawdust fly. They will likely know other woodworkers or be the woodworkers themselves. I should know, ask me sometime how many logs are sitting in my yard and what I plan for each... we will make a day of it. :)


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## 2feathers Creative Making

Woodmizer.com has a link to find a sawmill in your area. Tons of owners listed. Many are retirees. Go when you got an hour or two...


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## Matt3d03

That's really great info. I didn't know that was available. I'll have to check it out after the freeze lol. Texas is colder than Alaska right now haha.

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## 2feathers Creative Making

Matt3d03 said:


> That's really great info. I didn't know that was available. I'll have to check it out after the freeze lol. Texas is colder than Alaska right now haha.


How is the freeze? Get any cool trees? Bout 10 years ago we had a deep freeze where I was and there was free wood for counties around...


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## Matt3d03

A few busted pipes but that's all settled. I've seen a few oak trees pop up, but most have been picked thru. I'm in the city so not much pops up. I'd like to find a few logs to experiment with Alaskan mills. I'm also looking into diy bandsaw plans to solve my own dilemma with this epoxy piece.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

Depending what you plan to do over all, hudson has some very economical gas powered bandmill. The smallest is about 3000 range in pur area. I think woodmizer may have that size and about that price range as well now. 18 to 21 inch board/log size. Hudson is what I have. 20 bucks gets a fresh blade.


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## Matt3d03

The ol lady would kill me if I spent that haha. Im thinking Im looking at around 300 for a diy with a 16" throat. The band saw will be mainly for epoxy/guitar projects. Most Alaskan mills are relatively cheap and I've already got the chainsaw for it.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

You may want to see if there is a makerspace near you. Basically a club that has an awesome tool share program. I am way out in the country, my nearest is about 2 hours away.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

You also may be able to find a riser for a mid/large bandsaw that will allow you to add maybe 12 inches or so to the height of your saw cut. I am not sure which saws have em available, you will need to hit the equipment forum with that question. I know several members have talked about them in the past. Think they cost in the 100ish range as I recall


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## Matt3d03

Indeed, they're about 20 mins away from me in Dallas. I figured the space there was used to schedule out classes.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

Ever called em? Worst they could say is they got no openings.


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## Matt3d03

I'll be calling them on Monday. I've wanted to get a membership there for the classes, some of them are very interesting cabinet and box classes.

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## aag562

Matt3d03 said:


> So after pulling this out of the mold I came across a couple issues.
> 1. The corners did not like me putting silicone on the interior of the mould corners
> 2. Part of the epoxy went under the tape and where it went through didn't cure. It's a 24 hour cure and it sat in the mould for almost a week.
> 
> View attachment 202516
> 
> View attachment 202517
> 
> View attachment 202518
> 
> View attachment 202519


Is the whole thing not cured properly or just corners? What was the temp in the room you had it in? The corners are exposed the most so if the room was below recommended temp the corners being cold will not cure. One of the mistakes I made when I started with epoxy was not mixing completely scaling bottom side and the utensils you used to stir plus transfer the epoxy to another container then adding color assures that everything in the second cup has been mixed. Did you check if your epoxy was compatible with the silicone? Just throwing out all the mistakes I made. If you used a 2 to 1 some manufacturer ask that you weigh the parts out. Hope this helps.


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## aag562

Matt3d03 said:


> I believe it's a colored mica. It's eye candy's purple garden. I stirred it with a plastic spoon on a cordless drill haha. I have a paint mixer for the bigger pour I plan to do with the buck eye burl. I tried to heat the uncured epoxy till it started to liquefy. I'm hoping it'll react and try to cure. I'll check it out tomorrow.


Over heating epoxy is not a good thing. I tried it doesn't work you only burn it.


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## 2feathers Creative Making

Matt3d03 said:


> A few busted pipes but that's all settled. I've seen a few oak trees pop up, but most have been picked thru. I'm in the city so not much pops up. I'd like to find a few logs to experiment with Alaskan mills. I'm also looking into diy bandsaw plans to solve my own dilemma with this epoxy piece.


There is a wooden bandsaw on youtube that isnt too terribly complex and several car tire things whose plans make m c escher look like an architect by comparison. 
For trees look on facebook marketplace under free log or free firewood. Free tree usually pulls more tree sales but you will likely find a yard tree or two under that as well


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## Matt3d03

@aag562, I believe that 8 oz I first mixed was mixed improperly. I didn't use my fancy drill attachment haha. I think the properly mixed epoxy pushed the incorrectly mixed epoxy into the corners. The surface feels hard, I can't tell if the core of it cured until I try to split it open.


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## Matt3d03

@2feathers Creative Making I may have to make a Facebook haha

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## aag562

Matt3d03 said:


> @aag562, I believe that 8 oz I first mixed was mixed improperly. I didn't use my fancy drill attachment haha. I think the properly mixed epoxy pushed the incorrectly mixed epoxy into the corners. The surface feels hard, I can't tell if the core of it cured until I try to split it open.


Trust me it stinks that you have to go through it but you will never do that again. Btw I have one of those paddles as well but I don't use it unless it's a very big pour for small amount use a big tongue depressor it will put a lot less air bubbles in the epoxy. Change containers before adding the color and if its properly mixed once it dries it will pop right out of the cup so you can use it again.


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## Matt3d03

I let it sit outside to warm and make the uncurred epoxy run over. I'll be cleaning the rest out with iso alcohol to get the remaining. It looks like it only effected about 1/16". Now that it's warming up, I'll be taking this to a local sawmill to trim it up.

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## 2feathers Creative Making

Have you sawn this yet? Inquiring minds want to see the  .


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## Nature Man

Matt3d03 said:


> I let it sit outside to warm and make the uncurred epoxy run over. I'll be cleaning the rest out with iso alcohol to get the remaining. It looks like it only effected about 1/16". Now that it's warming up, I'll be taking this to a local sawmill to trim it up.
> 
> View attachment 204638
> 
> View attachment 204639


Have any updates on this project? Chuck


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## Matt3d03

Hey y'all! So I know it's been a while lol. First, I've been finishing online courses. Second, I couldn't justify buying a bandsaw with a large enough throat to cut it in half and my little table saw won't cut it even if I flipped it and did 2 cuts. Also, I tried going to local saw mills and they want $200 minimum to start up their machine, not to mention they want more to cut epoxy. I found a urban tree reclaim company that wants $160. At that price, I might as well get a used one off of Craigslist and add a throat extender/new blade. So I'm working with the stuff I have before I was laid off, this project is getting put on hold for a bit. I just started planning out a red cedar table build that I've been wanting to do a lichtenberg burn and red epoxy with it. I've had this 2 gallon epoxy kit that's sat in my closet since January. I'll be gopro recording that process and posting that as I've got everything to do what I wanted with it.

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