Step 1

First, I took a log from the yard. Normally, I would cut it into firewood, but instead, I decided to cut it open to see what I would find. Big surprise… I found wood. I put it in an old glass kiln that we have in our basement at 150 degrees for a couple of days until the moisture content was workable. If you want specific details on how I dry wood check that out right *****here***** Then, I took 2x4s and wrapped them with Tyvek tape and made a mold to cast in.

Step 2

Next, I picked the plank that I liked the best and cut it in half. I set up the mold so that the two living edges were facing each other, and then screwed it together to form an open box.I mixed  up some resin, added some blue alcohol ink as dye, and poured it as a resin river between the two living edges.

Step 3

Then I took apart the mold and broke the plank out using a chisel, a scraper, and a hammer. I sliced the back of it off with the bandsaw to eliminate the part that had spilled over. I also trimmed the face so that there would be less to take off in the planer. Finally, I trimmed the edges on the bandsaw.

Step 4

And then it was time to sand! I started with an 80 grit on my random orbital sander, and then went to a 220. I cleaned the surface with some paint thinner, and then applied a nice, liberal coat of walnut oil to darken the maple.

Step 5

The screws that came with the hangers were a little bit too long, so I needed to use some ½” screws so that they wouldn’t poke out of the back of the coat hanger. So I mixed up some epoxy and just used the screws to hold the hangers in place while the epoxy set up. That way if someone put a heavy bag on this hanger, I wouldn’t need to worry about the hangers ripping off the face. I then applied some flush mount hangers to the corners.

The Final Result

This was definitely a successful build, and I think this would make a great first resin project for anyone interested in giving a resin river a try.