Artistic creativity using epoxy resin has formed its own direction in design art. The scope of its application has significantly expanded, thanks to the appearance of various modifications of the polymer.
Modern manufacturers offer various resins for pouring floor coverings, making furniture, jewelry and decorative products. It can be said that the resin has not lost its original properties, but thanks to the addition of various additives and the use of modern production technologies, it has added to the list of important qualities.
The use of decorative elements in epoxy products made it possible to significantly diversify the direction, and the high adhesion of the resin practically removes all restrictions on the use of decorative materials.
But the classic was considered and remains a tree that does not lose its relevance in almost all styles, from romance to boho. Wood has a number of advantages over other materials, so products made of epoxy resin and wood form the basis of a relatively new trend associated with creativity.
- Wood is suitable for any interior style.
- Natural texture serves as a ready-made decor for products made of transparent resin.
- The material differs in accessibility.
- Wood is easy to process.
Combinations of resin and wood give original masterpieces, regardless of what field of activity they are used in. When creating furniture, slabs simultaneously play the role of a base and perform a decorative function.
In jewelry or souvenirs, wood can occur in different types: cuts, slices, arrays, shavings. In any representation, this natural component decorates the craft, giving it a unique lively flavor.
Selection of material
In order for one or another material to be freely used when pouring products, it is necessary that the epoxy has good adhesion to this material. In simple words, they should bond well.
Otherwise, there may be detachments inside the polymer, which will negatively affect the appearance of the product. In this regard, wood is perfectly combined with resin, but it is necessary to provide for several nuances of pouring.
Epoxy resin for wood is not a kind of material. The resin brand is selected depending on the product and its scope of application.
To fill the floors, it is necessary to focus on the strength index. For the manufacture of countertops, the fluidity of the compound is important, and jewelry and souvenirs are perfectly obtained from transparent resin. The composition of the epoxy is easy to prepare at home.
The resin is sold as two components in a set. The main composition can be called component “A”, and the hardener – components “B”. When they are mixed, a chemical reaction occurs. As a result of polymerization, a substance is formed that retains its shape and volume.
The reaction of the interaction of oligomers with the hardener occurs with the release of heat. An intense reaction can lead to excessive heating of the resin and even to its boiling. To avoid this, you should not work with large volumes if you do not have the skill to handle materials. The larger the volume, the more energy is released as a result of the reaction.
Another parameter on which the intensity of the interaction of reagents depends is the lifetime of the resin. Many people try to choose such resins, which have a minimum lifetime. They motivate their choice by the fact that in this way it is possible to reduce the solidification time of the compound, but this is an erroneous opinion.
- Firstly, the full curing time does not depend on the lifetime.
- Secondly, a long lifetime corresponds to a less intense reaction, therefore, eliminates overheating of the resin.
A lot of air bubbles appear in the resin when stirring. If they do not come to the surface, they will remain in a frozen compound and spoil the whole picture. Experienced craftsmen are able to remove bubbles, but it is recommended to take all possible measures to reduce their number.
For example, it is necessary to mix the components carefully so that no new bubbles form. For full mixing, it is recommended to pour the resin from one container into another. It is necessary to pour a thin trickle, since at this stage there is also a high probability of bubble formation.
If appropriate equipment is available, vacuuming is used. By lowering the air pressure above the resin, they achieve an accelerated release of bubbles from the resin. The remaining bubbles are combated after pouring by heating the epoxy with a mounting hairdryer.
Filling features
In any of the manifestations, wood is well bonded with epoxy resin, but this does not eliminate some problems. Most of these problems are global in nature, so there is no need to give specific examples of algorithms of work.
Let’s highlight the general nuances that each master should take into account.
A slab or a wooden array simultaneously plays the role of a base and a decor. It must be remembered that the density of wood is less than the density of resin. Therefore, when filling with one layer, wooden fragments may begin to float. In order not to engage in calculations of the pushing force, it is easier to prevent this phenomenon. To do this, pour the first layer of resin, which will play the role of an adhesive composition. Decorative fragments are glued to the resin. After the resin has completely solidified, you can continue pouring.
When pouring countertops, several fragments of solid wood are used, which are located at different levels. Thus, a kind of three-dimensional picture is formed. With layer-by-layer filling, there are usually no problems. If it was decided to pour the resin in one layer, then these fragments are bonded together by any available means.
It is quite a big problem to fill a piece of wood in a lens or sphere when making jewelry, it will definitely pop up. There are several ways here. The first is to first pour a layer of epoxy resin to the level at which the decorative element should be located. You can safely let it float and wait for the resin to cure. Then the remaining compound is filled. The second way is to hold a piece of wood with a thin wire.
Any wood has pores. When the liquid resin begins to fill them, air comes out of the pores. Even if the composition has passed the vacuuming procedure, this will not eliminate the appearance of bubbles. The way out of this situation is pre-impregnation.
Wooden elements need to be covered with a colorless primer. In the absence of a special composition, you can use the same resin from which the product will be made. It is necessary to start pouring only after complete solidification of the soil or curing of the impregnating resin layer.
Using wood with epoxy resin as the main material, it is necessary to pay due attention to the preparatory process. After processing the wood, dust and small sawdust accumulate on its surface and in various pores.
If they are not removed, they will float in the resin, forming suspensions. This nuance once again confirms the need for preliminary priming. Even if all the particles could not be removed, they will be retained by a layer of primer.
Countertops made of wood and epoxy
Countertops made of wood and epoxy resin are quite practical. Therefore, they have long gone beyond the boundaries of interior items. They are operated not only in residential buildings or apartments, but also in office and industrial premises. The absence of copies even with the same technology allows us to speak about the uniqueness of each product.
The use of wood opens up wide opportunities for the designer. All models of countertops can be divided into several types, depending on the method of using wood.
- Countertops with slabs at the base. The longitudinal section of the tree trunk plays the role of the base on which the transparent resin is poured. The advantage of this method is that there is no need to decorate the product, since the wood has a specific and unusual pattern. In addition, the structure turns out to be quite strong and capable of withstanding heavy loads.
- Tabletops with slabs as a decoration. If the area of the slice is far from the area of the future countertop, then the slab is unlikely to become the basis for the design. Nevertheless, the filled plate still turns out to be durable. In order to save material, suitable cuts are laid on the bottom layer of the countertop. An interesting option is to simulate a world map. Slabs are processed so that they resemble continents in shape. A blue-tinted resin is poured into the space between them, which imitates the oceans. If luminophore is added to the resin, the table will be illuminated in the dark.
- Table-river. A fairly common type of product made of two slabs located at a distance from each other. The space between them is filled with resin. An image of a river is created in which the wood visually resembles the banks.
- Array. A separate category is represented by countertops, the volume of which consists almost entirely of solid wood. The resin is poured into crevices, artificial cracks, wormholes and compares the boundaries of the plate along the perimeter. The result exceeds all expectations, besides it is possible to save on resin, since its consumption is small.
Furniture
The table is an integral part of the kitchen set, so it should relate to furniture. But we preferred to consider it as a separate topic, since it was with the production of countertops that experiments with resin began. It should be noted that the variety of table models somewhat prevails over the rest of the furniture.
Shelves for books can be made of wood and epoxy. It is impractical to make shelves in the cabinet from epoxy, since they will be hidden from view, but for a hinged bookcase such options are quite acceptable. All the techniques used in the manufacture of countertops can be applied here. But a tree in any form is considered a mandatory attribute.
If you fill a shelf with one resin, it can break under the weight of the load, and wood acts as an element to increase strength.
The doors made of epoxy resin serve as an unusual decoration of the interior of the room. The most popular and practical design is obtained using 2-3 slabs, which are filled with resin. To make a door, it is necessary to choose a flat horizontal surface and make a formwork.
It is important to understand that the slightest bias will spoil the product. It is also necessary to provide for the force experienced by the suspension points of the door. It is desirable to strengthen the fastening points of the hinges with wooden bars. The rest of the decorating and filling techniques are the same as described above.
In a kitchen set, the shield connecting the upper and lower tiers is called an apron. It is usually made of plywood and covered with laminate. If such an apron is filled with resin, then a very beautiful and harmonious design will turn out, and the table covers made of epoxy will only bring this design to perfection.
It would be appropriate to add a luminophore to the resin or make an electric backlight. Indeed, the space under the cabinets of the upper tier is experiencing a lack of illumination. The illumination of the apron can become not only a decor, but also a practical device.
Jewelry and souvenirs
The specifics of wood blanks do not allow them to be used for decorating bracelets and rings made of epoxy. The exception is small wooden products, but these are very rare. But in the manufacture of pendants and souvenirs, wood is both a decor, a binding element, and a filler. Wood is used in any form, from plywood to cross-cut. The work of the master is associated with the need for complex woodworking tools. Gradually, the hobby develops into a profession. Those craftsmen who share their experience on the Internet have been professionally engaged in resin for a long time, and their products are in demand.
To prepare a cross-cut, it is best to take not a trunk, but a branch of a tree. A drawing will also be visible on this cut. To isolate it, the surface is treated with a stain. The difficulty lies in cutting out an element of a suitable shape and size from the workpiece. After priming, pouring follows. The resulting pendant does not even require special accessories. A hole is drilled in it for a shoelace and a beautiful souvenir is obtained.
There are many ideas for creating jewelry from longitudinal cuts.
The shape of the product depends on the mold available. Most often, key rings are made of epoxy and wood. The uniqueness of the resin properties allows it to be processed after curing. By grinding, the thickness of the product is reduced, turning it into a pendant that can be worn on the body.
Crafts made of wood
Let’s consider separately the category of wood crafts. This can include jewelry, furniture items or souvenirs. What they have in common is that they are obtained by machining on a lathe.
At first glance, it may seem that these are the most complex crafts in terms of manufacturing technology. But the high degree of resin adhesion allows the wood to be processed together with the epoxy as a single workpiece.
Pine timber is used as the starting material. It usually has cracks that occur when drying wood. These cracks will later play an important role in the decoration.
If desired, you can distribute them with a grinder. Tinted resin is poured into the formed cavities. To prevent it from flowing out of the end parts of the beam, it is necessary to take all possible sealing measures. Even temporary structures are suitable, because after curing the resin they can be removed.
Then the billet of timber and resin is processed on a lathe. Only one of the numerous examples is considered. Here the master has the opportunity to show imagination.
