# Layered epoxy inlay



## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*The idea and the start*

Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.

With all that out of the way, here we go.

First you need an idea. I set down with pencil and paper and came up with this. At first I colored it green but decided it looked like a evil mutant ninja turtle, so I decided to make it blue. I used color pencils to get an idea of what color epoxies I wanted to use.









Next I took tracing paper and made two copies of my picture. Have you tried to find carbon paper lately. It seems that it's not easy to find anymore. I doubt my kids even know what it is. Anyway, the first copy is of the first two colors. I will be doing the blue for the main parts of the head and the red of the mouth. If you look at the drawing you will see that the teeth go over lips and the blue of the face so they will have to come last.









This next pic is the next step. The teeth will have to be removed and added at a third step. I will have to see how the carving goes. I may have to add more steps. I have never done this before so I will be figuring it out as I go.









In the next pic, you will see that I took painters tape and covered the wood, I then took spray on contact adhesive(made for drywall corner bead) LOL it's all I had. and attached the tracing paper to the tape. I didn't want to try and get the glue off of the wood.









So I had this great idea that I could just carve this out with the dremel. Well that didn't work so well. The tape and paper would bunch up and I could tell what I had cut and what I had not been cut. So I went back with an X-acto knife and cut out my outline.









So then I go back in with the dremel









After carefully cutting my outline, I go back and remove all the extra material and came up with this. I know the picture isn't the best, I was in a rush. I will get a better one tomorrow before I put in the epoxy. I will also get a picture of my dremel set up for anyone who is interested.









I left the pupil of the eye in wood. I thought it would look pretty cool. I haven't decided if I will leave anymore wood in the interior of my little imp or not. I will just play it by ear as I move forward.

If anyone has any ideas, suggestion, words of wisdom, please share. I will need them. LOL. I debated with myself about waiting until I had this finished before I did the blog, just so I didn't make a fool of myself. I finally decided to do the blog as I do the inlay. If I blow it, somebody out there will have an idea on how to do it better, or if I am really lucky someone will have that idea before I screw it up.

I want to thank everyone who joins me on this journey. I hope we all learn a lot.


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## Rob_n_Wood (Mar 25, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Joey I have seen your work before and have greatly admired it 
It will be great Fun to watch the process and I'm sure pick up 
New Ideas But I am afraid that it will mean that I'm on the hunt 
for a new tool

Again thanks for sharing

Rob


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## adaughhetee (Jan 20, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


I like your idea. I look forward to seeing your progress and results.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


That's cool Joey.

I will be riding along.

I got black carbon paper pack at office max. If I remember well, it was about $15.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Hi Ian, I figured they would carry it if anybody did. I may have to make a run this morning. My little glue down trick worked for the first layer, but I don't think it's going to work on the next layers.

@Rob and a daughhetee, thanks for joining the journey. It will be a learning experience for us all.


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## vonhagen (Dec 5, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


think of how the japanese have done laqures inlayed into each other. you can get silver and gold dust as well and mix it in. i will folow this project to see how you do this as i am thinking this way as well


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Welcome aboard vonhagen. Do you have an example of the lacquers? I will have to google it. I can use all the idea's I can get.


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## Sanman (Dec 12, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Cool idea, I need a new dremel, i've worn two out already. Still have the broken one on my workbench. The motor spins, but the chuck will not, probably a plastic gear broken inside. I've thought about using the painter tape method for lettering, just haven't gotten a-round-tuit yet.


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## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


*JOEY* I am watching with interest .
I would like to thank you for all the time you spend on these great blogs and really appreciate your efforts.

*HAPPY NEW YEAR *

Kiefer


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Thanks sanman and Kiefer. I enjoy doing the blogs and I am glad you guys like them. It looks like the next episode will be in a few days. I was going to do the first layers of epoxy today, but I've been helping my wife make mochi for our kids.

Happy New Years to you all. See ya next year.


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## 3Gwoodguy (Jan 11, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Joey, You are off to a good start. Have you decided how you are going to get the colors you want? I am starting to rule out acrylic paint. It seems that dry coloring ingredients seem to work better. The acrylic paint needs to be mixed at the right amount with the epoxy or it softens it and will cause the epoxy to sometimes shrink back after it dries completely. The glitters that I used, especially for dark colors have been, by far, the best results for me.

Im trackin this with you. It looks good. Carbon paper is also called transfer paper and can be found also at hobby and craft stores in my area. It can be reused a few times. Great job on the blog! I may try one sometime. I learn so much from these things.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Happy New Year Bart. I haven't had any problems with the acrylic paints, but I would like to use something that is more concentrated because this issues of the epoxy setting correctly has always been a nail biter for me. I always worry that I will start to sand it off and get a big gooey mess. So far I have been lucky, but I know I can only push luck so far. My local hobby store (scrapbooking store) has concentrated inks that are for stamps. There is a wide variety of colors and they are cheap, so if they don't work I will not be out much. They are also alcohol based so they are not as "thick" as the paints are. I'll let you know how my test run, and you might see them used on this one if I like them. I also have some inlace dyes that I plan to use on this one as well. If all goes as planned (I don't have one) LOL, we will all learn a little about what will work and what will not work. If you would like I can add my test of different products to the blog as well. It is a learning process for us all and if anyone is interested I would be happy to take a few pictures and explain what I am using and why. The why is usually easy, IT'S CHEAP. LOL


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## 3Gwoodguy (Jan 11, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


I'd be interested in seeing your color tests if your willing. Happy New Year!


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


Hi Joey,
I've been inlaying with epoxy and stone (powdered or chunked) for a few years. I use System 3 or West Systems epoxy. Some times, a casting resin and, for really small cavities, super glue. Some times I color it with artist's acrylic paint. There's never been a problem with shrinkage. *BUT*, all of my pours have been in natural voids found in mesquite or small monogram letters. You are pouring a much larger area than I do. I've never used a powdered color. I'll be interested in your experiences. 
Could you post the brand of that ink you spoke of? That might be better than using the fairly thick paint I've been using.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


I will be happy to post an episode about my test colors. I have picked up some plan glitter and so alcohol based color call re-inker by printworks. It is made to put on ink pads for stamps. I am not sure if they will work but we will find out together. I hope to do the test in the next day or so and will post pictures of the products, how I mix them, and how I fill the voids. Then I'll sand em off and we will see what happens. I always have the paints if they don't work. And there are tons of colors out there to try. I think my next stop may be art chalks or oil pastels. I here they both work well.

See ya next time
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *The idea and the start*
> 
> Here I go again. I have had a idea for a while. It began with my first wood inlay. I wanted to do more. I wanted more colors, more this, more that. So I searched for idea's and found people who did inlays on gourds. So I looked and read, and said, "Hey, I can do that in wood." After doing a few of these I still wanted more. More color, etc.. So for Christmas I get this fancy new Dremel with all the attachments, and I say to myself "Now I can do more." I have wanted to do epoxy in layers but all my carving of the inlay has been with a chip carving knife and a chisel. I didn't have much luck in trying to carve into the epoxy in this manner. So with new dremel in hand and no idea of exactly how to do it, I am going to do it. And just to make it challenging I am going to do it in front of all of you. Wish me luck. If I can pull it off, it will open up all kinds of applications for me.
> 
> ...


This is an interesting idea. I've done one or two inlays. But I need to learn more.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*first two colors in*

I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.









Now on to the good stuff, The first pic is with the red and first layer of green. Yes I know I said I wasn't going to use green, but it felt right when I started mixing. For the red color I used a metallic acrylic red paint and I added some of the white glitter that I picked up over the holiday. For the green color I used a metallic inlay green and added extra green glitter to it. I did not test the glitter first, so hopefully it will sand up nicely.

The second picture shows all three voids filled. I have been experimenting with a way to get rid of the air bubbles and with some practice this is what I have come up with so far.

After filling the voids, I take my propane torch and carefully allow the flame to heat the air above the epoxy. I keep the flame about 1-2 inches above the epoxy making sure I never point the flame at it directly. Just allowing it to run parallel to it. The first time I tried this I saw the bubbles rise and pop and got excited and point the flame directly at the epoxy. Bad idea. It baked the top layer of epoxy making impossible for any more air bubbles to rise. You can see a spot in the red epoxy where I let it get to hot and it cooked it a little. This is what you don't want to see. LOL

Once the air bubbles stop rising, the epoxy is much warmer than normal and will flow. At this point I will lean the piece quickly side to side and tap it of my bench a little. This helps fill any voids in the epoxy and helps the last of the air bubbles to rise. Kind of like getting the bubbles out of cake batter. Then it's the boring part. So far I always have a couple extra bubbles that like to come up at the end, so I sit there with a tooth pick and wait for them. It is kinda like waiting for water to boil only slower. When I see them, I carefully poke them with the toothpick and wait for the next. By this point the epoxy is getting thick and sticky again and will pull out of the piece if you don't move slowly and carefully. We will see how I did in 24 hours, when I sand it down.


















I wish I could have taken more pictures of the process, I didn't want epoxy all over my iphone, and no matter how careful I am, with or without gloves, I get the stuff all over me. I mixed the epoxy, glitter, and color with a metal paint spatula. It's about 1/2 in wide and maybe 8-10 inches long. You can get them at any art store. I like it because the epoxy will scrap right off with a utility knife blade after it has cured for a few minutes. Even easier if you can wait an hour. I gather up all of the epoxy on the spatula and then push it into place with a toothpick. Using the toothpick to guide it into place. I use a lot of toothpicks LOL.

I know this episode rambles a bit, but there is a bit of technique in the process. The more of these I do, the more I refine it. I was told by a friend that he puts his epoxy in a baggie and mixes it in the bag. Then cuts the corner off the bag and uses the bag to put the epoxy into the void. This sounds like a great idea and seems like it should work great, but I cannot get it to the corner of the bag. So far that trick is a bust to me, but I will have some fine lines coming up and I will have to figure out how to make it work for me.

Well enough of my rambling. I'll blame it on the coffee. LOL If I have made this completely confusing, the let me know and I will try to write it up in a more orderly manner. If you have any questions, tips, or insights, please feel free to share.

Happy New Year everyone,
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


Joey: A great blog. This is king of like what I was wanting to see. I'd also like to see something with ground up turquoise.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


Hi Karson, Thank you, I am glad you are enjoying the blog. I haven't used the turquoise yet. Inlace sells a epoxy base with turquoise in it that is supposed to be really good and really easy to use. I am more of a puritan. My Uncle runs a series gem shows each year and I am waiting until I get a chance to go to that. I am hoping I can pick some up there, along with who knows what. That will be for the future. For now, I am just trying to figure out how to do the next step. Who would have thought that not having any carbon paper would be such a nightmare. Of coarse it would probably have it's own challenges, but I have convinced myself that it would be so easy if I had some. Like most things, I will figure it out when I have to and use what I have on hand.

My old motto was "I have done so much, for so long, with so little, I am now qualified to do everything with nothing." I think I still use it way to much. LOL


----------



## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


Thanks Joey. It just amazes me what the end product looks like as I look at these pictures. I am certainly keen on following how and why you do all these steps as I havent ever done a project like this. I hope to try my hand at it soon. Keep up the quality work you always produce. It does inspire people.


----------



## AaronMcCain (Aug 17, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


why use the carbon paper at all? It looks like it is smaller than 8.5×11 and would fit in a copy machine. Run 3 or 4 copies and cut out what you need. Saves the trouble of having to trace over the work time and time again.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


Thanks jaykaypur, These are fun to do, if a little tedious and I must admit that I am surprised when I sand it down myself. We will see it tomorrow.

@Aaron, In the past I have made copies and then made stencils, you can see it at http://lumberjocks.com/JoeyG/blog/26663 It works great for that kind of inlay and I get a stencil out of it. But in this case everything overlaps. Plus just gluing or taping down the copy over what is already there causes problems when I take the dremel to it. The paper will fray along the edge of the cut which causes it to be very hard to see what I am doing. I'll see what I come up with. If I could only glue down the tracing paper in would make things a lot easier. But that would be no fun. LOL. I'll let you know what I come up with and how well it works tomorrow.


----------



## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


I see you filled the "evil eye" Does it mean it will be partially green?

Good blog man. I like it.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


Joey:

Mark DeCou who is a member on this site has done some Turquoise inlaying in some of the canes that he's made. I've visited mark in Kansas a couple of times.

He and I went together and bought 1LB of Turquoise from someone that he had met earlier. So I've got the stones (ready to make dust) but not the technique.


----------



## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *first two colors in*
> 
> I will start by apologizing for taking so long to get this up.
> Second I will explain my color test. The alcohol based ink is by printworks and is called re-inker. It's made to refill ink pads for rubber stamps. I know that I said I would post pictures of the test, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even think about pictures while I was making my test. I will say that the test worked but I didn't use them. The colors where not what I was looking for. The red, had to much orange in it and the green was to transparent. So I ended up using the acrylic paints. I think I lean to these personally because of the ease of mixing colors and the ability to duplicate the colors with out much trouble. The alcohol inks are so thin, that I will need to get an eye dropper for each color, and right down formulas for each mix. It just seems like a lot of trouble to fix something that is not broken at the moment. Here is a pic with the alcohol ink and the epoxy I am using.
> ...


@Ian, Hahaha. The evil eye will be cut out of the green epoxy. I am thinking maybe yellow will look cool. I've been thinking of calling him "The Grinch on Crack" but I think that might be offensive to some.

@Karson. You are a lucky man. I wish I had a pound of turquoise. As for techniques, I have read quite a bit about it online, searching for ways to improve my inlays. If it were my bag. I would take a hammer to it. A little of it any way. I would decide how small I wanted the pieces to be and then start to gently smash them until I had them small enough. I would then sweep up all the pieces, including the dust and save it for the epoxy. The next thing to do is to decide what color I wanted the epoxy. Either clear or some color that highlights the turquoise. Then it's time to do a sample. Since I have never done this before I would run the gambit on it. I would carve a simple design (for me it would be in a piece of wood that could be used in a future product, I find that if I use scrap, I make scrap, and if I use good material I try harder to do it right.) I would then mix the color into the epoxy (if I chose to use a color), then I would add the stones and stone dust and mix well. After my witches brew is well mixed I would fill in the carving making sure that stones and epoxy sat above the level of the wood. Since turquoise is a soft stone, it should sand right on down with the epoxy leaving a beautiful inlay. I would start with 80 grit on my random orbital sander and work my way down until happy with the stones, just as I do with my epoxy inlays. I would also use a couple of coats of finish on it, because different finishes look different on different materials. I don't know if this helps. Maybe I will do a blog on it if you don't beat me to it. If and when I get some turquoise that is.

As I said, I have not tried this yet, but it is somewhere in my future. Good luck, I can't wait to see what you do with the turquoise.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*First layer sanded*

Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.









I grab my trusty new bosch random orbital sander, which I love, throw on a slightly used piece of 80 grit. It was a piece I used for the sculpted box on my other blog, the edge was ate up but the flat of the disc hadn't been touched. And I got nowhere. It seems I have about 1/8 of an inch of epoxy, maybe thicker in some places.









I sanded on it for about 5 mins and decided I was moving way to slow. So I went over to my planer and being very careful that I didn't touch the tape or wood, gave it a couple of passes. I know this probably isn't good for my blades, but it's about time to replace them anyway. If you look carefully you can see flakes of epoxy laying on the face.









This left me maybe a 1/16 above the level of the wood. With the 80 grit on my orbital it only takes a few minutes to get it down level with the surrounding wood.









Here you can see it with the overlay on it. I still haven't figured out how I am going to transfer it. I am about to head back out to the shop after lunch with my daughter and try to figure it out. 









Here is the original drawing just as a so you can see them together









One last note:

This is where I would normally mix up more epoxy the same color and I started with and fill in any voids left by air bubbles. I am not doing it now for two reason, one is that there are not that many and second it that I will be routing out some of the epoxy for the rest of the details. Hopefully this won't come back to bite me. We will find out.

The next episode will hopefully be today or tomorrow. If I decide to get carbon paper it may not be up till Monday, but never fear, it will be up soon.

Any questions or comments or ideas are welcome as always. 
Thanks
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Joey: That's looking great.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Neat.
I would think that a router on some rails would level that pretty well too.

It will be interesting to see how it comes out.
Steve


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## Eric_S (Aug 26, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Thats, going to look great when it is finished Joey. I'd go with steves suggestion of using a router on rails, your going to be destroying those blades on the planer. I posted a simple router planer recently on my projects, very easy to make and use.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


That's a great idea with the router. I'll have to make a jig for it. I need to replace my blades anyway so I wasn't to worried about it. I'll be replacing them soon, so a jig will probably come after I finish this one. Thanks for the idea, I would have never thought of it. It's always the obvious ones we miss.


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Amazing work!


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Joey, That is coming along really well. I too have run some stuff through my planer it wasn't intended for but I have found that it doesn't hurt the blades nearly like I thought it would. Now dirt and the finish on prefinished wood flooring will kill blades FAST so I don't do that anymore. Do you feel like the epoxy hurt your blades?


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Hi gfadvm, glad to hear I am not the only one to abuse my equipment a little. I don't think it did much to the blades. It may have dulled them a little, but that's about it. I am more worried about milling up a batch of wenge than I am about that little bit of epoxy. I have used my chisels before and haven't notice any damage or undue dulling of them. I don't like to do that though. I gouged a piece pretty good when the epoxy chipped and try to stay away from the chisels.

I will agree with the old flooring. It is designed to be hard. I usually take a card scraper to something like that.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


Joey, You gotta get a drum sander. I now have 2 (a 10" and an 18"). They are the answer for highly figured wood and other stuff you are worried about wrecking with the planer. I looked on CL for 2 years and never saw one, then a friend told me he had one he never used and I bought it for about 1/4 new price. Sell some of your creations and buy one with the proceeds. Mine takes that finish off flooring REALLY fast. Many guys on here have built their own but I'm not that talented. You probably are!


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *First layer sanded*
> 
> Here is what I woke up to. You can clearly see where I cooked it a little to much in the red. You can also see where I tried to pop a bubble on the green. Luckily it is over the wood that will become the horn.
> 
> ...


I would love a drum sander. I am not sure I have room for it. I will have to post pics of my shop soon. It's a one car garage. Long and narrow. I may have to make space at some point in the future. As far as making one, I am not that mechanically inclined. I wouldn't even know where to start. LOL


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*Layer two*

That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.

I started by cutting parts of the eye out so I could mark the eye onto the wood/epoxy. The part of the eye with the paper in place will be the part I carve out.









Then I drew it in using a pencil and the stencil I had just made









Next I hooked the flex shaft to the dremel and started carving. I used this big bit to start, then put a much smaller one on. I need to get more bits. I am quickly finding that a variety of sizes are needed. This one is really to big for this job, but the other one is much to small to take out all this material so I risked it. I figured as long as I didn't screw up the wooden pupil of the eye I was ok.









Here you can see it mostly cleaned up. I did go back in with my smallest bit and smooth things up a little.









And here is the evil Grinch's Yellow eye. Once again I used acrylic paint. I add some black glitter to get that evil sparkle in his Christmas present snatching eye. LOL










Well that's all for today. I'll let this cure over night and tomorrow I will try to get the white of the eye in. I am quickly learning that each color basically means one day. If the area's to be filled are not to close together I can do more, but this eye is going to take about 3 days alone. It's the cure time that kills you. The good part of that is that the sculpted box in my other blog is getting really close to getting a finish. But that's a different blog.

I hope you have enjoyed this so far. The next episode will drop soon.

Thanks, 
Joey


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## 3Gwoodguy (Jan 11, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


This is looking good Joey! Great blog. Sorry the bag technique didnt work out for you. You gotta just go with what works…and what your doing is working my friend.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


It's moving along pretty fast.

You are going to be a master at coloring epoxy very soon.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


Thanks Bart, I probably am just doing the bag thing wrong. I really wish I had the patience to figure it out, it sounds like it would be a lot easier.

Good day Ian. These things usually go pretty quickly, it's just the curing time that takes for every. I did get to sand up the sculpted box, it's about ready for finish. Just doing a few test on finishing, I want to use a new technique and I will be able to finish that blog up. I also got to re-start on a new project. I made a batch of boxes a while back and had a couple extra. I finally pulled one of them out and decided to give it a go. I am debating doing a blog on it. I enjoy doing them so I might as well do one for each project. Plus, if I ever want to do it again I can just look it up on here. I don't have to try and remember how I built something. So Lumberjocks is becoming my shop memory. LOL If it would only remember that measurement for me. LOL


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


I was going to suggest earlier that the dewalt palm router, the pluge one (DWP611PK), is great at removing all the excess wood.
Since you have a base, it is more precise and easier that the hand held dremmel; at least for me.
The initial entry point is right on every time with the plunge.
I use a 1/16 router bit for intricate area and move to 1/8 or 1/4 depending what you working on.

I have the feeling you will be doing a lot of inlay, epoxy or otherwise and it might be helpfull. This said, I think I have seen a base for the dremmel as well.

My humble opinion is that having a base makes it more stable and slide nicely on the wood.

Other manufacturers came up with similar plunge for their palm. I like the dewalt, it's a little quieter

Your blogs are refreshing and very usefull. Keep them coming.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


@ Ian
I have the router base for the router as well. I got the Dremel 4000 5/60. It has 5 attachments including the router base and the flex shaft and 60 bits, drum sanders, and cutting wheels. That is what I used on the first step. I used the flex shaft mainly because I just got it and need the practice. It's like using a pencil. I think the larger bit I used was 1/8 and the smaller one might have been 1/16 but as tiny as it is I think it is 1/32. I'll have to check it tomorrow. I used my chip carving knife for the sharp corners that the round bit wouldn't fit in. I use that knife as much as anything in my shop.

I've used the Dewalt but I felt that the dremel would be more versatile in it's uses. I will get a picture of it with the base on it and post it here. I went back and looked at your dragon stools. I have done a simple dragon and have plans for something a lot more detailed one I get this technique down. By the way, I love the stools/tables.

I am glad you like the blogs. I really enjoy working on them. It's refreshing for me as well. It helps go over what I have done and to think through what I am about to do. As long as someone is getting something out of them I will keep doing them. I might even do them if no one reads them because I get a lot out of doing them. I think I will start a new one right now. I was going to save it until I was farther along but that isn't really my style. I like sharing the story as I go.

Well I'm off to get on the next blog. Tomorrow we get to see the yellow eye. 
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *Layer two*
> 
> That was quick. I had a little spot that was a different color than everything else so I went ahead and got it out of the way.
> 
> ...


Joey: This looks good.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*A yellow eye and more carving*

Welcome back, I got the eye sanded down and it looks pretty cool except for the air bubbles. I knew I couldn't get through without a few big ones. I rushed a little to much when I applied the epoxy. I will take care of it later.It will probably get filled in with another color but if I don't like it I will just carve it out again.









So while me and my family were out running around today we went by one of the big box office supply stores and I finally picked up some carbon paper. It was only $5. I was expecting it to cost more.









I take the original tracing I made and tape the top and make alignment along the sides so that I could match it up in the correct place. I love how I can see through this paper, it makes it easy to get it in the right place.









Next I took a piece of the carbon paper and cut it small enough to fit under the tracing paper but large enough to cover the entire face. I tape it down on all four corners so that it cannot shift on me.









Now just lay the tracing paper over the carbon paper and tape it in place. Make sure the alignment marks line up and tape it enough that it cannot shift.









Then I take my plastic pencil and trace every line. I pressed harder than I normally would with a pen or pencil. The tracing paper kind of feels like wax paper and the "pencil" slid easily. I have had this one for years and don't even remember when or where I picked it up. You can probably find on at any decent art supply store or make one yourself. Just make sure the point is not sharp. It needs to be rounded like a used pencil. You don't want to snag and tear either the tracing or carbon paper.









Here it is after I removed all the tape and paper. I was really gentle in this because it will be needed again for the next step. The carbon paper did a wonderful job. Even better than I expected. My shop will never be without it again. I wish I had it when I began this project, you can see where my original carving is off. I am just going to roll with it. I can always re-carve it if I need to. The epoxy it a lot easier to carve in with the dremel than the mahogany is.









Here is a picture of my Dremel with the router attachment and that tiny bit I spoke of in the last episode. I didn't bother to measure it but It has to be about 1/32. I was worried when I got to the mahogany that it was going to break, but no problems. I think I will buy stock in the company that makes them though, because I can see myself going through a lot of them.









Next is a shot of me getting ready to start the carving. I will take a moment here to describe my developing technique. I have no experience using a dremel for this type of work so I am learning as I go. I have found that it is nearly impossible to make a straight line so it is best to try and start in the middle and gently work you way to the line. I hold the dremel firmly with my right hand (I am right handed) and hold the base with the thumb and first finger of my left hand. I use my left hand to guide and move the dremel. This seems to give me the best control. As I do more of these I am sure I will find the best way for me to do this. It just takes practice to figure it all out. If this is a bit confusing I can try to take some pictures of me with my hands in place as I do the carving. I am sure my daughter would love to watch me and would be happy to take pictures for me. Just let me know if anyone is interested. 









Working on that eye,
You can see here after I have carved it out. The chips have a tendency to remain in the carving. I just use my blower to clean it out. While my family and I were out today we stop by Wal-Mart to pick up some toothbrushes and I picked up a set of metal dental picks. I was showing my kids what the dentist will use if they don't brush their teeth well and had a thought that they would be useful in the shop. I decided against getting them, and now I wish they had. The epoxy sticks to itself and the thin picks would make getting it out a lot easier. If you plan to do something like this I would spend the $5 bucks and pick some up. I will be the next time I am there. Until then, I will find something around the shop that will work. 









These last pictures are taken as I progressed. I would click a picture every few times I stopped to blow out the dust.




































This has been a lot of fun so far, I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am. Tomorrow I will fill in the next color. I need to clean up the carving a little bit first. It was getting late tonight and I tend to get in a hurry when it's getting close to time to come in from the shop and this wasn't something I wanted to rush through. It only takes one slip at this stage to create a really big problem. Better safe than sorry. Since the epoxy needs about a day to dry, it will probably be Monday before the next episode.

Thanks for joining me on this journey. I am learning so much, I hope you are as well. If there are any questions, comments, or ideas please leave them. They are always welcome.

Until next time,
Joey


----------



## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *A yellow eye and more carving*
> 
> Welcome back, I got the eye sanded down and it looks pretty cool except for the air bubbles. I knew I couldn't get through without a few big ones. I rushed a little to much when I applied the epoxy. I will take care of it later.It will probably get filled in with another color but if I don't like it I will just carve it out again.
> 
> ...


Great job Joey. It's almost done.

Carbon paper at last!!!

Have you tried tracing the edges (lines) with a marking knife?

I practiced that a little. I trace the line with the knife before routing the excess. When you get closer to the line, the small area between your bit and the line almost "peels" off so the edge is sharp and clean.
I am going to use that in my next inlay project.

A bigger (wider) base.


----------



## kiefer (Feb 5, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *A yellow eye and more carving*
> 
> Welcome back, I got the eye sanded down and it looks pretty cool except for the air bubbles. I knew I couldn't get through without a few big ones. I rushed a little to much when I applied the epoxy. I will take care of it later.It will probably get filled in with another color but if I don't like it I will just carve it out again.
> 
> ...


This is coming along just great and I enjoy your blog tremendously and appreciate the time and effort you are putting into this !
Thank you very much !

Kiefer


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *A yellow eye and more carving*
> 
> Welcome back, I got the eye sanded down and it looks pretty cool except for the air bubbles. I knew I couldn't get through without a few big ones. I rushed a little to much when I applied the epoxy. I will take care of it later.It will probably get filled in with another color but if I don't like it I will just carve it out again.
> 
> ...


@Ian, I like that, I am heading straight to amazon and see how far back it will put me. I just had a Homer Simson "DOLT!!!!!!" moment. When I was carving them by hand I always made stop cuts. I can't believe that I missed a detail like that. I must Thank you. I could have saved myself a little headache, but I will use stop cuts from here on out.

@Kiefer, It makes the time and energy well worth it to have people really enjoying the blog. You keep reading and I'll keep making them.

Thanks guys
Joey


----------



## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*I've got a face and some troubles.*

I left you last episode with this









After that picture was taken I had a little art time with my son. We sat at the kitchen table, he had out his crayons and paper, I had my face and chip carving knife. As he drew, I cleaned up the edges and corners. I then mixed green glitter and black paint into my epoxy. This is where I created a little problem for myself. I knew I over did it on the paint but I went ahead and used it anyway. Pressing my luck I guess. I ended up with a couple of spots where the epoxy is gummy. I am going to give it another day, now that it is sanded down, and see if it hardens any. If not, I will have to go back in and cut out the bad epoxy and do it over.

I had wanted to take pictures as I cleaned up the corners and such, but never thought of it as I talked with my son as we worked on our projects together.

Here you can see with the black epoxy in place









The next a a couple of pictures as it sands down. As I was working it seems to me if you have a drum sander that would be the way to go. I am always worried of sanding to much in one spot as I work my way down into the epoxy. Since I don't have one, I get to be really careful. I will also note that I turn the speed down on my ROS. It seems to keep the sanding disc cooler and doesn't gum up the paper as badly. It does take a little longer, but I get better results.



















The next pic shows it once it is sander flush with the wood. As you can see I got a lot of air bubbles this go round. It was really hard trying to get the epoxy into all of the little lines. If you look in the middle of the horn, you will also see where the epoxy is soft and tried to peel on me. 









In the next two pics I have cleaned it up with water. I use tooth pics to pic the sander dust out of the bubble voids, and clean water and rag to wipe it down. The wet rag helps get rid of the dust and helps me see what it will look like after finish.And my original drawing.


























That's it for this installment. I am going to just let it sit for a couple of days and see if the epoxy will cure any more. With a little luck it will. I will have to fill all the bubble voids in the black before I move onto the white, so even if I have to carve out some bad epoxy, it will all work out. I guess the next time I see you here I will be fixing the black and maybe carving in the white. Then I will have to decide if this will become a box lid or wall art. Any ideas????

Thanks for joining me on this episode. 
See ya next time
Joey


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


What a bummer!

Could it be that the paint use is not totally "compatible" with the epoxy? I don't have any knowledge with epoxy beside mixing it and slap it on.

Thanks for working all the bugs out for us. The next time I work with epoxy inlays I will know what to watch for.


----------



## 3Gwoodguy (Jan 11, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Joey, this is where liquid acrylic paint and I parted ways. I had this experience as well and "gummy" is the way to describe it. It can also result in a shrink back effect when the acrylic does finally dry where epoxy does not do that on its own. I found if you use acrylics you need to use the color extremely sparingly and when possible IMO use dry coloring adds. Im considering trying tempura paint in the future. Valuable lesson but it still sucks.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


@ Ian, I don't think the acrylic paint is compatible at all. The goal is to get just enough in to add the color.

@ Bart, I knew I had squeezed to much paint into the mix but decided to give it a go. After your warnings I kind of wanted to see how far I could push it. School of hard knocks and all that. LOL. I think I might try a sample tonight using charcoal for the black. I want to see if the colors will match. I haven't seen any of the shrinkage you have spoken of, but I will keep a close eye on it. What do you think of using oil pastels as dry color? I have even heard of people using colored chalk. The biggest grumble I have with dry colors is that they change color when they get wet. I guess we will all learn together.

I'll keep you posted on how things go and try to take pictures of it. I hate the thought of trying to get all that black out, but we live and learn. If and when I use the paint for now on I will be much more careful how much I put in.

Let us know what kind of colors you use and how they work out. I would like to make a place that we (those who like this kind of inlay) can go to get a lot of info from different places. As far as I know there is nowhere like that at this moment. Maybe we should start a forum about epoxy inlays. Any ideas?????


----------



## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Joey:

Nice blog on the pitfalls and tribulations of expanding the art.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Thanks Karson, it wouldn't be any fun if everything always worked.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Joey, I need a big dose of your attitude! When things go awry it ruins my whole day (and puts me in a really foul mood). I know how dumb that is cause we're supposedly doing this for fun. I certainly envy your outlook and I'm following this with great anticipation. I vote for a box lid. Edit: I'm about to decide this isn't a good hobby for OCD perfectionists like me!


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Good Morning gfadvm, what does that stand for anyway? I have my moments where I get OCD, and I always feel like my work could be better, but it is the process that I enjoy. When I first started sanding the piece and realized what was going on it really bummed me out. I knew better. I had been warned by Bart but I didn't listen. I walked away. I left it laying on the bench for a couple of hours and came in the house and played games with my daughter. By the time I went back to it, I could approach it from a healthy point of view. It took me a long time to learn this. I also have to remind myself that I choose to work in wood. By it's very nature, it is imperfection incarnate. I love wood for this very reason. So I remind myself that no matter how perfect my joints or cuts are, They WILL move. No matter how perfect my finish is, it will become scratched. This doesn't mean that I do not do my very best at every project I do, it simply means I accept my limitations as a human and the nature of wood.

I guess the main difference in my woodworking now as opposed to times in the past is that I do it because I want to. I built houses for years, and then built cabinets about 15 years. There were days when I loved it and days I wanted to burn every single piece of wood I could find. There where days when I thought I would never pick up another chisel or hammer. But I had to, the bills had to be paid. Now the things I do in my shop I do because I want to do them. If I am not feeling it, I don't go to the shop. I don't try to force the creativity, I let it come when it wants to. I make sure I fill my orders on time, but I try to allow myself the time to be able to breath. I will not allow woodworking to become a job to me again, it is a passion, and as such it must be protected from myself.

I am not sure if this philosophical babble makes any since, but I will put it out there anyway. LOL It's hard to find balance between yourself and wood. It's a journey, lets see where it takes us


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## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


I've made acrylic turning blanks using plastic resin and powdered dye from an art supply company. Maybe you could use powdered dyes to mix with your epoxy instead of paint?
Alan


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


@ Alan, I'm starting to think that I need to look into resins. There are things about epoxy that are just going to cause issues with epoxy, mainly the air bubbles. What I am using just isn't designed for this kind of use. I can make it work, but there has to be a better way. Would you mind sharing what brand of resin and powders you used and give us a quick run down on how you used them (mixing etc.) and how they worked out for you. I would think if you doing turnings the last thing you would want would be an air bubble.

Thanks,
Joey


----------



## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Joey, It stands for: G F Anderson Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. You comments make a lot of sense to me but I still think you have a great attitude! I'm still bummed out over my recent finish failure. I need to burn it and MOVE ON.


----------



## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Thank you. It's not always easy, but I work at it. The best cure for a bad finish is sandpaper. Many a finish job has gone south on me and some times the only way to fix it is to sand it back down to bare wood. Good luck with it. I hope you can do more than make it firewood. Maybe a pretty box to put sandpaper in. I have a few of those around my shop. LOL


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JoeyG said:


> *I've got a face and some troubles.*
> 
> I left you last episode with this
> 
> ...


Looks like a fun project. Well done.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*Correcting My Mistake*

When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.

This first picture shows the tools I have assembled for the job. Just a knife and a couple of chisels.









Here is the chisel that did most of the work. I was able to get under the black and just peel it out after I took my chip carving knife and cut a slice in between the colors. I didn't want to pull anything out that I didn't want to. I don't think I really had to worry about it, but at this point better safe than sorry.




































I basically took out all the black that I had put in. After that I decided I wanted to try some samples, both for how the color turned out and how the epoxy set up.

I have each sample labeled

Pencil: I took a carpenter's pencil and shave off the wood with my utility knife and then ran the knife down the lead crating shavings. I then mixed it to the epoxy with green glitter. It seems to have cured to a very hard state already and it has only been a couple of hours since I made the sample.

Alcohol: This is the alcohol ink I showed earlier in the blog. I mixed about 2-3 drops into dime size pools of epoxy. I also added the green glitter. This mix is setting up much slower. I can still indent it when I put a finger nail to it. We will see how it is in the morning.

Glitter: This one is only glitter. I mixed roughly equal amounts of black and green glitter to dime size pools of epoxy (I used about the same amount for each batch) Like the pencil lead, it has already set up and cannot be indented.

Tomorrow I will sand them down, looking for how hard the epoxy is, how many bubbles there are, and what the color looks like. 









The next picture I show the blow torch. I had spoke of it in a earlier episode and just wanted to show it here. I keep the flame over the epoxy and never pointed at the epoxy. As it heats up bubbles begin to rise and it begins to flow. I am not convinced that it helps a lot, but even pulling a couple of bubbles to the top saves work later.










Well that's about it for now. My advice: If you feel like you added to much paint, throw it away. The waste cost will be much less than the hours lost trying to fix it.

Until next episode,
Joey


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


I will say this….......you certainly are dedicated. When this is finished I am positive that it will be a work of art and a great learning experience for you and those of us following along. Thanks!


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


I was wondering what "pencil" color was in the picture, I thought it was some kind of italian finish…
Then I read the text for the picture 

You are a patient man.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


Part of the reason I like to start the blogs when I start the project is that I have to finish it or all of you guys will know that I quit. Keeps me honest. LOL

That's funny Ian. I'll have to call this my Italian Job. LOL. I don't know about patient, more like determined. I want this to work. So I will find a way to make it work. And I have way to many hours in it to throw it away and start over.


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## vonhagen (Dec 5, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


its looking good and you are dedicated so as larry the cable guy would say, getr done


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## awsimons (Apr 26, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


Looking good, Joey! I've used the polyester resin (Clear Casting Resin) from Douglas and Sturgess:

http://www.douglasandsturgess.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

Under "Pigments, Dyes, and Colorants" they also sell powdered dyes. Some are solid colors while others that they call "Luster Pigments" have different effects such as glitter or pearlescence. The blanks I've made can have small air bubbles within them, on the order of 0.5 - 1.0 mm in diameter. People use CA glue to fill in these voids whenever they appear on the surface of a turning.


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


Thanks *Joey*. I'm quite interested in your experiences. Keep 'em coming.
And thanks to *Alan S* for that link.
I've used clear casting resins before. Practically, I can't tell much difference between CCRs and epoxy. Have you found any major working differences?


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Correcting My Mistake*
> 
> When I left you last time I had created a big problem by putting to much paint in my epoxy mix. Now I get to scrape it all out. Since it is still gummy I figured it would just clog up the bit on my dremel so I did it the old fashion way. I a have also included a couple of samples I am working on so I hopefully avoid further problems.
> 
> ...


@ Alan, Thank you. I think I will have to pick some up in the future and do a side by side comparison of the two.
Do you color the CA glue or does it even show up?

@ Gene, Thank you I will have more up soon so stay tuned…......


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*Colored Epoxy *

My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:

First I took a chisel just to test the epoxy. The pencil and glitter where very hard and chipped away. The alcohol was rubbery when I put chisel to it.










Next you will see them after I sanded with 80 grit on my ROS. As the chisel test suggested the pencil and glitter sanded up perfectly. The alcohol test was soft, rubbery, gummy. It was worse than the acrylic paint. Now I didn't weigh out my epoxy mix or the alcohol, I just eyeballed it so there could have been problems with the mix but based on this I will not be using a alcohol base ink. I may try water based ink in the future, but from the these test it seems that dry colors will work the best. I think I may have to raid my children's sidewalk chalk box and see what color chalk will do. I'll take pics and all that if I do. I may do a blog just on coloring epoxy if anyone is interested instead of having it mix in with this project. Would anyone like for me to do that and consider including any test you have done in it?

A last note on the alcohol ink. It is the only thing I have had bleed into the wood so far. This is another reason I will not be trying to use it again.










This final picture is of my next sample. I have white around the eye. I don't want to use the acrylic paint if I can help it so I am going to try to use white glitter. It looks as if it may remain to clear for what I need. If this is the case I am going to try to paint the carvings with white acrylic paint and then put the glitter epoxy over it. My hope is that the paint will cover the darkness of the wood while allowing the epoxy to adhere to it. I'll keep you posted on how this part goes.










Now I will decide whether I will use the pencil lead or just glitter. I will let you all know what I decide to use in the next episode.

I want to put this out there, I have a bookcase job coming up and my small shop isn't big enough for it, but it's the only shop I have. I will be doing a major cleaning and relay out of equipment very soon, most likely this weekend. I don't know if this will affect if I work on this project or not. If I don't get a episode up for a week or so, don't fear, I will complete this blog. Hopefully the rearranging will make me more productive while making more usable work space.

Thanks to everyone who has joined me on this journey. I shall return soon.
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Joey: Great blog on keeping us apprised of your trials and tribulations.


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## Tokolosi (Dec 14, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Fantastic blog. Have you ever tried polymer resin in stead of epoxy. I have had great success with it for clear, see -through applications. Its sandable, slow curing, very pourable. I have not tried coloring it.

I started using it on little personalized keepsake boxes with pictures or applied art on the lids (here). And no, they come nowhere near the exquisite boxes you have made! More recently I used it to fill a gash in a small section of walnut burl (here).

This is what I use Envirotex Lite and I saw a similiar product at home improvement store (yeah, that one) the other day that was cheaper than the big arts & craft store I used to get it at.

Whats interesting is that with this stuf it is imperative to use a torch. After mixing and pouring I usually wait about a minute and run the torch over the surface. The bubbles just dissapear. After 5 more minutes I do it again. My wife's dainty little butane Creme-Brulee kitchen torch works great as opposed to my brute force propane shop torch. Downside is long curing time. Especially if its cold. I wouldnt touch a surface for at least 24hrs unless you want a fingerprint there. Also means that you have to keep it dust, kid (and in my case cat) free for that time. I found that upside down plastic containers works well.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Thanks Karson.

@Tokolosi, Thanks for the info. I just checked out your links and I will be trying it some time soon. How long does it take to fully cure? The long open time seems like it would be helpful to getting the bubbles out. If I can dye it somehow it looks exactly like what I am looking for.

I just went to the website you liked to. I will be trying this stuff. I guess I WILL be doing a blog on my mad scientist experiments in color and filled voids. Thanks for getting me excited again. I was getting a little burned out because the epoxy wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

I did go ahead and use the pencil lead to color the epoxy with a little white glitter. I don't feel like clean the shop yet. Maybe tomorrow. LOL









I also went ahead and painted the bottom of a cut to see if I could get a good color for the eye and teeth. It's a metallic white, so it looks a little silvery. I may have to find some pure white. If I am not happy with this I may try plain old primer. I have both water based and oil primer so I will try them if I need to. After the paint dries I will fill it with epoxy and white glitter and see what happens.









I am off to see what I can find to do to keep me from cleaning and moving equipment. Isn't procrastination great?


----------



## Tokolosi (Dec 14, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


The polymer resin drying time will vary on the external conditions (cold=slow and warm=quick) and the thicker the quicker. I know, contrary to what you would have thought huh. But after about 8hrs it is set, after 24 dry to touch and I wouldnt sand it untill at least 48hrs. Yes its long but it gives you such a long time to work with it. You can take a syringe and fill the cuts/voids/pattern and have almost no overpour (Less sanding!!). Becuase its not as thick as epoxy it is self leveling so make sure you are working on a flat surface. I think it will work great on that last picture of the tooth painted below. It will give a glass like clear coat and the color underneath will be all that is visible. Also I have not seen any shrinkage or expansion on my projects using it.

However, I say again, I have not tried dying it.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


I plan to give it a try once I am able to pick some up. I hope it isn't to expensive. I will probably waste a bit trying to figure it out. If you look back at my first or second project I made some treasure boxes for my kids and "chip carved" their favorite animals in the tops. I then went back and painted the voids. At that point I wanted to fill it with something clear, but didn't really know where to look. This would have been perfect for that. That's when the idea to use epoxy started to float around in my mind. Since then it has been evolving. I really hope this stuff works out. I know there is a product that will do what I want, it's just a matter of finding it.

Thanks again for the suggestion.
Joey


----------



## Tokolosi (Dec 14, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


I hope it helps. Please let me know how it turned out.

And yes, I looked at your boxes. You are an artist my friend!! Wow!


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Great blog Joey.

Go build the bookcase bookcase, will see you when you get done.

It looks like mixing the envirotex-lite with paint has been done successfully. the following links might interest you.

http://eti-usa.com/envirotex-lite/projects/create-a-marble-like-finish-with-envirotex-lite-paint/

http://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?13122-Envirotex-Lite-How-do-I-add-color


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


@ Tokolosi, I will be happy to to let you know. It will not be with this project but I'll do a blog about it once I am able to.

@ Ian, thanks for the links, I think we may be on to something here. I can't wait to try it. And it looks like I need to try some food coloring as well.

There will be more to come.


----------



## SisQMark (Apr 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Joey, I also use envirotex, it work great. I used it on this project http://lumberjocks.com/projects/56317 I wanted to give the wood some depth. I haven't used it as an inlay but see no reason you couldn't. It just takes longer to dry/cure. Nice blog.


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JoeyG said:


> *Colored Epoxy *
> 
> My epoxy samples have had time to fully cure. I am not really surprised by the findings. Here they are:
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing good job.


----------



## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*Problem Fixed Samples Made*

I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.









In the next sample I painted the bottom and sides of my void first, let the paint dry and then filled it with a glitter and epoxy mix. I like the way this one looks and will most likely use it for the eye and teeth of the project.










Finally we come to the good stuff. I took the pencil shavings and glitter and mixed it and filled the rest of the face in. I think I used a little more pencil lead the I needed but it cure up just fine and I like the way it looks. I think it is going to look great once I sand down the grits, getting a finer surface.

Here it is dry, cured, and ready to sand









In this next picture you can see how it is sanding up just fine. No gumming or tears and I cannot make an indention in the new epoxy.









Here it is sanded flat









and with a little water









My next steps will be to use the carbon paper to draw the entire face back on and then cut out the white of the eye and the teeth. Then it will be time to figure out what to do with it. Maybe a box. We shall see.

Thanks for taking a look,
Joey


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


I think it's going to looks great.

Perceverence is paying off.


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


This is looking really good. I have gone back to the very beginning of this blog and I think you should make this the top lid of a "Dremel" box. A box that would contain tools/bits/cutter wheels/etc pertaining only to the Dremel tool. Just a thought.

I believe that this is going to surpass your initial expectations of the end result. I think it is gonna be a real eye-catcher.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


That's a great idea jaykaypur, now I wish I had used that bigger piece of mahogany I have. I could do a border in another wood to enlarge it…...... I really like that idea and it seems appropriate. I'll have to think about the best way to do that. Maybe a box with drawers in it. That might solve the size problem. The gears are starting to creak. Any ideas on a design. It might be cool to do a tall box with 3-4 drawers and have the body come down the front of the box. I don't just tossing around ideas.


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## vonhagen (Dec 5, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


its cool looking and if you inlaid some tiger eye in the right eye it would glow lol but that would require some lapidary work, needless to say its going to turn out great


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## 3Gwoodguy (Jan 11, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


I had considered painting the inside of the void. Thanks for running this experiment. Yours came out great! Ill try that next time.

Bart


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Problem Fixed Samples Made*
> 
> I will start off to day with my samples, this first one is just white glitter and epoxy. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked. You can see that the coloring is not even. I am pretty sure I mixed it well so I don't know what caused this, but it's not something I want in the final project.
> 
> ...


Hey Joey, I've been out of the country and just now caught up with your project. You've been busy but it's coming along really well. The box with the body down the front sounds ambitious but very cool. Go for it!


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*eye and teeth*

Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.

I have made a new discovery that I never thought about before. It seems that when the epoxy hardens with the graphite from the pencil lead it becomes very hard, but very brittle. With the paint it is a little more flexible. I managed to chip it around a couple of the teeth and will most likely have to go back, and put the black epoxy back in again. That's not to big of a deal, I've already had to do it once. What's that old shop saying, We do it right because we do it three times? LOL. But this has let me to think about the brittleness of the epoxy. If the wood swells enough could it put enough pressure on the epoxy to shatter it? I don't know but that would suck. With the acrylic paint it retains a bit of elasticity. It may be worth being very careful and using the paints. At this point I am not really sure. I guess as I do more projects and try more variations, I will find one that works perfectly. I must say, that I am happy with the way it is coming together, and with the exception of using to much paint and a couple of chips I feel good about the whole project so far. I expected some challenges and I've had a couple.

So here is the face with the carving done. Sorry the picture is so bad, I don't know what happened and I didn't check until the next stage was done. If you look to the left side of the mouth you can see the chips around the teeth.









In the next picture I have painted the cavities with a metallic white acrylic paint. This picture came out a little bit better.









Now I will let the paint dry over night and try to get the epoxy into it sometime tomorrow. I'll get the next episode up as quickly as possible. As I stated before I am in the middle of the first big cabinet job out of my home shop. Well, it's not really big, unless you look at the fact that my shop is a one car garage. I am also remodeling my shop and hope to be able to post pictures of it soon. Please bare with me and I'll get us all to the end of this part of it.

Thanks for joining me
Joey


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *eye and teeth*
> 
> Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.
> 
> ...


Joey: Looking great. take your time.


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *eye and teeth*
> 
> Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.
> 
> ...


Looks like you are "gittin' 'er done!"

As far as the "dremel" box/thing goes, how about something like this----make a box that is higher in the back than in the front. Have say…3 drawers in the front of the box and then use the carving as a lid or as an inlay of a lid that opens up and reveals a "tray" on the top…above the drawers. The lid could also have a raised edge on the front of it that would hold whatever bits/etc and/or the tool itself while you were working. Just some ideas to ponder.

You aee doing an amazing job on this and I am learning a lot by following along. Thanks.


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## lanwater (May 14, 2010)

JoeyG said:


> *eye and teeth*
> 
> Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.
> 
> ...


Now it's looking really scary…

I think once you are done with this project, it will be a good reference on working with and mixing epoxy.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

JoeyG said:


> *eye and teeth*
> 
> Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.
> 
> ...


I second the scary comment.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *eye and teeth*
> 
> Hello, it's been awhile since I've had a chance to work on this one. Tonight I carved out the white of eye and the teeth. Everything went great until I went in with my knife to clean up the teeth and make the points sharp.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys. I am liking the dremel box idea. I also like the idea of using the "faceplate" as a medallion in a larger lid. Once I get some bigger projects out of the way I will start on the box. That can be a whole new blog series.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

*Calling it done................for now*

Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well





































Thanks again. 
Joey


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## jaykaypur (Oct 22, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


That "thing" turned out great. You did a good job on the blog of it too. Thanks


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## Gene01 (Jan 5, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Nice job. And thanks for the blog, too.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


That one tooth that chipped out really bothers me. I may have to make an extra hour today to fix that. besides that I am very happy with it. Next time I will be more careful of carving to my lines. I didn't have the carbon paper when I started and got a little sloppy and had to adjust the rest of the project. Lesson learned. Now I can't wait to see what I turn this into. If the days only had more hours.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Joey A nice tour through you mind. Looks like a lot of LJ'ers may use some of these ideas.


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## SisQMark (Apr 13, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


It turned out real nice Joey. Really enjoyed your blog, I think a lot of points were covered here & we learned a lot in the process. Thank you.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Thanks everyone. I left my promise to finish this project into a dremel box on the project listing. I thought I was here on the blog. Oops, anyway, thanks for joining me on this journey. It was a real learning experience for me and a lot of fun to share.

See ya on the next one.


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## PatrickOOOMazing (Jun 7, 2009)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


I just started a project like this for a kinda sorta late Christmas present. I used the Envirotex Lite epoxy because it is clear and available at Michaels ( http://www.michaels.com/EnviroTex-Lite%C2%AE/gc0511,default,pd.html ). I think the smallest volume package ran about $22 Canadian.

I am still figuring out how to mix colors. I cut apart a wooden colored pencil and ground its pigment tube (lead?) in a mortar and pestle and then decided that it was a terrible idea. I needed a creamy yellow color, so I took what fine powder I created from the colored pencil and mixed it with mustard powder to bulk it out. this seems to have worked, but the epoxy is ever so slightly softer than I would like.. I suspect there is some wax in the colored pencil which might be to blame

It strikes me that powdered pigment would be a major step in the right direction when compared to using acrylic paints or dyes. However at least in the first attempt I've made, the pigment seems to have fallen to the deep recesses of the carved area, whereas the overflow which I will scrape off later is almost clear now. This actually worked out ok this time around, but I suspect that a commercial powdered pigment would be ground much finer and might have some additives that would keep it suspended in the epoxy better.

I'm going to put in my second color tomorrow. I'm going to try filling the kerfs from my scroll saw with black epoxy to delineate the design with as fine a line as possible… hopefully the epoxy is fluid enough to fill such a gap, if not, ill liberally apply the use of tooth picks

Anyways, sorry for the giant post. Once I figured I would comment, apparently I found I had a lot to say. 
I'd like to hear on how you plan to get sharper corners in the teeth though, as the cured epoxy seems to not take that well to a chisel.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Hi Patrick. Thanks for letting me know how the colored pencils worked out. I had thought about using them but didn't. I had wondered how they would break down into a powder. I have heard of people using colored chalk. I think the next one I do like this I will be trying dried water color paints. So far I like the acrylic paint the best for several reason. One answers the last question you had. The acrylic paint causes the epoxy to stay just a bit softer than it cures naturally. (If you don't use to much paint). When I used dry coloring the epoxy got so hard it was brittle and chipped when I tried to carve it. I use a chip carving knife to go in a clean up the corners and sharp points. With the epoxy that I used the acrylic paint, I get a nice smooth slice, but where I used dry color it chips out like concrete.

There are a couple of teeth in the left side of the mouth that I will have to go back and fix because they chipped out. I'll get to it at some point.

Thanks for checking out my blog. I have several others you should check out if you get a chance. And stay tuned to this one, This little guy has another journey to go on sometime in the future. 
Joey


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## Rickterscale (Dec 8, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Joey - I know this is a long time after the fact, but I was wondering if you could share a couple words on glitter. I'm doing a project involving epoxy inlay (Dodgers logo in blue). Your tutorial was very helpful, BTW. But I found that after sanding my test inlays flush with the wood, I don't get hardly any sparkle from the glitter added to the mix. Only got sparkle from the very few individual glitter bits that ended up laying flush with the sanded surface. Other than that I get some whitish specks from where the individual glitter pieces ended up suspended at an angle to the surface and sanded down. Any tips on how to get the glitter to sparkle in an epoxy inlay? 
Thanks, 
Rick


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Hi Rick. I have found that acrylic metallic paint works a little better than glitter. When I do use glitter I use glitter the same color I am trying to achieve and just add a bunch of it. Painting the bottom of the inlay before the epoxy goes in also helps. I am looking forward to seeing your projects.


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## Vip3r74 (Jun 12, 2013)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Hi JoeyG,
Long after this was done but I'm playing with colored inlays now and found this very helpful. I read first about guys doing it with colored sand and CA glue. That seemed simple enough so I went to the shop last night a managed to get colored sand and some superglue, they did not have proper CA glue. Will get some when I get to the right shop. The sand is extremely fine (its actually for sand art) and I fill up the recces' easily, then add the superglue drop for drop. Stood overnight and it is extremely hard. Still want to see what my Dremel will do to it but sandpaper struggles a bit. Want to try some steel sandpaper to see if I can get better effect.

After reading your blog now I'm definitely going to try epoxy, but I think I'll start with the fine colored sand mixed with the epoxy. What should I consider when buying an epoxy for this kind of work?

Thanks for a super cool blog.
Marius


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Hey Marius. 
I really enjoy the epoxy inlays. I haven't had much shop time for the past year or so, but once I get back out there, I will be doing more. I like the 5 minute epoxy. I posted a picture in one of my blogs of the product I normally use. I also have plans to try that bar top epoxy, I have heard good things about it, but life has pulled me for the shop before I got the chance. Whatever you decide to use, I will look forward to seeing your projects.


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Very Cool Blog Series! I admire your talent and your tenacity! Great work!

Nate


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Thanks Nate, it's nice to finally have this project done. It took long enough.


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## JoeyG (Mar 19, 2011)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

JoeyG said:


> *Calling it done................for now*
> 
> Well here we are at the end….. At least for now. I filled in the teeth and sanded it back down. I am happy with the results. It was a very fun and interesting experiment and I will be doing more of these in the future. You can see in the picture where I will have to go back and fix a little of the black around the teeth but that will have to wait. I plan to use this in a future project but I haven't made my mind up as to what is will become.
> Until then, thanks to everyone who read along and to those who read it in the future. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. I hope that you all did as well
> ...


Wow. An incredible amount of patience required here. Well done JoeyG !


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