And then filled with epoxy?
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Hello,
It should be doable with a minimum of tools and if they are required cheap ones. There’s a lot of useful information on the web that can help you. The YouTube videos made by Rex Krueger and James Wright for example are very good. I also like the videos made by Rob Cosman. Rob is a woodworker with a big workshop with a lot of machine tools that help him prepare for finishing off by hand. James has a shop in his basement and shares a variety of tips and how-to’s depending on his finds of handtools or questions from his viewers. Rex is the go-to guy if you want to things done on a budget. They are all independent content creators, which I really appreciate.
To figure out if the wood you have is dry / stable enough to work with you can either use a moisture meter or, very simply, weigh the wood every once in a while. ‘Wet’ wood is more heavy than dry wood so if the weight stabilizes around or just below room-temperature (where you store it), it is ready to process. Rex can tell you how to properly set up a junk plane with some sandpaper and a left over piece of granite from a kitchen or a marble floor tile.
I have attended a course ‘basics of furniture making’ and let me tell you: it’s a lot of fun but it also takes a tremendous amount of time to learn those basics. I didn’t mind because it took my mind off everything else and that was exactly what I needed at the time. At the end of the course (9 evenings of 3 hours) I just had several joints and a wooden mallet to show for. At home, as a personal side project, I ended up with a Japanese toolbox made out of a (in my eyes) worn out ugly old but very solid oak cabinet that somehow made its way into my life. Of course I made one huge error in the plans so my Japanese saw doesn’t fit in it 
Otherwise, I’m rather pleased with the result.
Oil and wax are the classic ways to finish wood (and yes, they darken the wood) but that would make it hard to use a sharpie. Polyurethane would probably be a better choice. However, there are countless books about finishing wood and it’s mindblowingly confusing. I’m not the right person to advise on that. But there are a lot of fora on woodworking so just throw it out there while you’re working your way towards it. I hope that my comment is of any assistance. I’ll keep an eye out for your reports on the progress.
Kind regards
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+1 on this. Lasercutting looks very crisp.
You can. I didn’t but epoxy will protect the edges better against wear.
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I didn’t fill mine with epoxy either, but that does sound like potentially a good idea for additional protection.
However, and perhaps more as a side note, I have nothing but horror stories about using epoxy, specifically the two-part stuff, in the context of providing a shiny and protective finishing coat for bookends made of fuchsite, a type of mineral. I am a serious rock collector with some amount of lapidary experience, and so I do tinker with such projects from time to time.
I spent weeks trying to properly mix and cure the stuff without it running and pooling in areas it wasn’t supposed to go, and it permanently remained sticky when not mixed properly. Then, I discovered it really cannot be sanded off in entirety without serious damage to the main product and wasting a ton of sandpaper. To this day I have never actually gotten those bookends back to square one and have pretty much given up on them.
I suppose, if one knows what they are actually doing with the polymer unlike in my case, and is careful through the whole process, using only very small amounts of it at a time, then some excellent results can be achieved. But I can only suggest to be really careful, as I don’t plan on using epoxy again for anything if it can at all be avoided.
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From a post on Reddit
CNC and epoxy.
I was curious how difficult it could be
Thanks for sharing your experience
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Having used epoxy for some projects in the last few years, I confirm that it can be unpredictable, but the problem you’re referring to, of epoxy not curing properly, is usually just one of wrong dosage of the parts. You also need to be careful about the type of resin you’re using, since some are slow-curing and used for deep pours. If you use one of those for just a thin layer it might take you forever. A big problem I encountered with deep-pour resin (might be exclusively an issue of the brand I used though) is that it shrinks considerably while curing.
But if you don’t want to use epoxy you also have the choice of UV resin. I have used it less, so I don’t know it that well, but here’s some info in case anyone’s interested: not being in two parts, you have no problems with percentage, you Just pour it and flash it with UV. It’s not for deep pours (it tends to just cure on the surface), but perfect for layering. Only thing to keep in mind: don’t use too powerful a UV, or don’t get the light too close to the resin, otherwise it will get too warm to soon and create bubbles. I don’t use it much because the brand I have is terribly stinky even after curing (probably because it was cheap).
Sanding is a pain in the ass, but if you use paper in degrees (start with like 120 up to 3000 more or less, I go up to 5000) and then use a proper polisher (I have a carbon-something-thing) you’ll get great results, if not even decent.
Oh but sorry, I have to correct myself, you were talking about sanding off epoxy, so yes, that’s a genuine nightmare.
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Maybe, just for the spillover from filling the lines you could use a card scraper first before hand planing or sanding:
1 minute video: Wood by Wright “Quick Tip Epoxy Clean Up”
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Making a weiqi / xiangqi board with drawers and legs.
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Reviving this thread as I am having major analysis paralysis and I imagine many others do when deciding on a finish. I am at making a few laser engraved Go boards and also a Hex board. Deciding on what finish to use is making me dizzy. I’d like them to last as long as possible but also a finish that is easy to apply as I am an amateur woodworking at best. The two camps seem to be polyurethane vs a more traditional oil, varnish or wax. We know how vintage boards with traditional finishes look but how would a board finished with poly look in 20-30+ years? No denying polyurethanes day to day durability but worried about ease of repairability years down the road. Or is this not a concern? In this day and age of consumerism, I’m trying to put some thought into making the things I make last a long time.
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I recommend either a wipe-on poly if you want maximum durability and a natural oil finish such as Tung oil or walnut oil if you want something natural and thin. Either way these kinds of finishes are easy to maintain and touch up as needed. Just use Murphy Oil Soap to clean before application.
Trying to make sense of finishing a project for the first time as an amateur woodworker is like kicking a hornet’s nest. My guess is that you can fill an average city-library floor to ceiling with all the information out there, and then some.
What may help you is getting back to the basics, to understand where it all started and what happened next. There are some very good woodworking channels on YouTube that do just that:
Stumpy Nubs Woodworking Journal Tung Oil
He has some more video’s on finishing to check out. Look for his Shellac one, it’s quite interesting as well.
I’m not sure whether they also address finishing but the YT Channels of Rex Krueger, Rob Cosman and Wood by Wright are also very straight forward and informative. Chris Schwartz from Lost Art Press is worth mentioning too. He doesn’t mince words. I really appreciate that about him.
I will be attending a couple of classes on finishing (nothing else) coming September. If you still need some advice by then I’ll be happy to share whatever I know to help you out.