Plywood coasters

[Junior hall]

Jay Selway where do you get the Osmo at I tried looking that up but not finding any thing except for playground

[Keith Winter]

Thank you for all the tips!

[Jay Selway]

Jay Selway where do you get the Osmo at I tried looking that up but not finding any thing except for playground

Amazon carries it. Osmo PolyX. It's not cheap, but the ease of use and quality finish makes up for the expense in time saved.

[Jay Selway]

Thank you for all the tips!

No problem. If you need any leads on suppliers for coaster making, let me know. Shoot me an email through my site,. I've got good hook ups on plywood, cork, finish, etc. Happy to help.

[Matt McCoy]

Coasters can also be used for hot drinks like coffee and tea, not just cold drinks with condensation.

[hugh bunker]

I make them quite often for a pub up the street, the customers take them with them. I don't seal at all as they end up being a single use item and it works out well as payment for burgers and beers.

[Matt McCoy]

Plywood coasters are a lot of fun to make and are pretty hardy with cork.

[Linn Meyers]

icehouse.jpg

Found these at Walmart. 4 for a buck. Had to remove autofocus pen to get over lip. Says made in USA but they're kinda crappy. One blob of hot glue to hold cork which leaves a bump...
Had to turn off air assist to keep from blowing 'em off the table... Probably won't last long but for a giveaway they're alright.

[Keith Winter]

Great looking work Matt! Is that adhesive cork you cut and engraved and then stuck to plywood coasters you made?

[Matt McCoy]

Thanks. I use spray adhesive.

[Duncan Crawford]

Keith,

I've made veneer core plywood coasters on and off for the past five years, usually sealing them with General Finishes Armor-All. That's not quick to dry, but a soaking coat will dry in about three days with only minor lingering odor, and some of my original coasters that get daily use with a beer mug :-) are still going strong. Haven't tried Osmo since it's not locally available, but intend to order some for experimentation.

One coaster design I know works is posted in the Epilog Sample club-- my originals were made from 5mm maple-birch ply from the local Lowes. Another thing you could use if you have a vacuum pump/chamber is Cactus Juice stabilizer from TurnTex-- pen turners like the stuff-- once you've done the bake you have a totally sealed resin-filled coaster that should remain impervious to most anything for a very long time. Whole process takes less than three hours for a batch. The cured resin, at least on maple, really doesn't affect the quality of the engraving.

When the Lowes plywood was eventually discontinued by their clueless marketing weasels I found another brand at a speciality wood supplier, glue however not laser-friendly (just melted). So, if I need coasters now I'll cut them out on my CNC, use the outline via .eps transfer to Coreldraw to laser-cut a cardboard template to hold a set or sets, then do any necessary engraving.

duncan