epoxy resin

[cal thelen]

I am turning a bowl out of black walnut as a wedding gift for the daughter of some very close friends. What I would like to do is turn out the bottom of the bowl about a 3 inch circle 1/4 to 3/8 inch deep. then I would like to put in a poem and epoxy it in. Has anyone done this? What kind of epoxy works best for this and what material does the poem have to be on? regular paper, card stock? Is this something I can do or would I be better off putting the poem in a card and leave the bottom of the bowl alone? Thanks for any help

[James Combs]

If I were going to do something like that I would probably try "water-slide decals", think about the plastic models you may have made as kid. You can buy water-slide decal paper and run it through an ordinary inkjet printer. Check on YouTube there are several how-too videos on using it.

[Dick Wilson]

Cal, A friend uses a product called something like Chrystal Coat or Clear to inlay things in landing nets. I think you can get it at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc. Good luck.

[John Keeton]

I think I would lean toward JD's suggestion on the decal, or even just a hand penned note. Turn a recess, paint it black for a background, lay in the decal/note, and build some clear finish over it - perhaps some decoupage liquid or even just lacquer. Then finish the entire bowl however you intend.

[Greg Bolton22]

I have used one of the "bar top" clear epoxies on some small items that I wanted to be completely waterproof like razor handles. There were instructions on the box for embedding pictures and other objects. If you create a recess in the bottom of the bowl, you should be able to fill the recess with the epoxy and it will self-level itself.

Greg

[Robert McGowen]

What I would like to do is turn out the bottom of the bowl.........


I know several ways to accomplish this!

[cal thelen]

First off I want thank everyone for the replys and suggestions. I went to Hobby Lobby (thank you Dick) I bought a Product called "Easy Cast" pretty easy to work with and dries crystal clear. While it did not come out as nice as i Planned I am fairly happy with it. I could not figure a way to get the bowl back on the lathe to turn the recess so i used my router. Not as perfectly round as I could of got on the lathe. The first time i did it I painted the recess black and I did not like the result at all. so i routed out the casting and painted the recess white. much happier with the results this time. Lots of room for improvements and I already know how i would do some things different. I still have to sand and give bowl a couple more coats of the general salad bowl finish. Thanks again for the suggestions. Sorry for the bad pics photography and lighting is still something I need to learn about.
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[John Hart]

Cool idea, Cal. So many possibilities with this. Nice gift. :)

[David E Keller]

Nicely done, Cal. A set of cole jaws, a donut chuck, or a vacuum chuck would allow you to grip the piece to turn a recess in the bottom... The donut chuck is easily the cheapest of those options. I'll bet they really appreciate the gift.