Resin Inlay Coasters

I made these Resin Inlay Coasters (Giants, Yankees, and 49ers) for a couple people, and I thought they turned out great! You can make whatever inlay you want.

For 4 coasters, you will need: Hardwood of your choice (maple, walnut, etc.) at 3x3x1/4", at least 8oz. of Resin (I use 1 gallon Resin kit from The Epoxy Resin Store that you can buy on Amazon for $35), 2 paper or plastic plates (plastic will be easier to use, that way you won't have to seal the bottom with packing tape like I did), Packing tape (if you have paper plates), Adhesive spray, Polyurathane Spray (optional), Painters' tape, and Hot glue. For power tools, you will need: A sander and a Scroll Saw.

First tape the coaster blanks with painters' tape (why you will want to do this is so that the paper doesn't stick to the coaster once you glue it), then apply your stencil.

This pretty much speaks for itself. Cut your coasters out on the Scroll Saw and remember to be safe.

If you have paper plates, you will now need your packing tape. Seal the bottom (to prevent resin leakage) with 2 layers of tape. Then what I did just to make sure it's sealed was do what I call a 'Water Test'. Water is thinner than resin, so if water doesn't leak through it, you're good. Pour water on the sealed plate and leave it for 5 minutes. If the bottom is dry, then it's sealed! If not, add one or more layer(s) to it. You will not have to do this if you have plastic plates, but you can for extra precautions if you would like.

Now you will want to get your hot glue gun ready. Once it is ready, glue 2 coasters to one plate like so. This will seal the corners of the coasters so you can pour your resin without it leaking. I recommend NOT doing this in the cold, that way your hot glue doesn't set up as soon as it's coming out of the glue gun. Mine leaked, so I had to do several pours before the inlay was filled to my desire.

You will now mix your desired color resin and pour it in the area(s) that you cut out on the scroll saw.

Yeah, I pretty much summed this step up in the title.

Now you will want your sander. Sand away any overpour that is on the coasters. This may take a while. After you sanded it, you will then use high grit sandpaper (if you would like). I used 80 grit, all the way up to 1,500 grit. You can just use up to whatever grit you would like.

I used polyurathane spray to seal mine. It gave it a very nice and shiny finish. This is not necessary.

Grab a beer and try out your new coasters! Hope you enjoy making them! Check out my YouTube channel A Craftsman's Imagination, and there you will find a video on how I made these (and please feel free to subscribe! Right now I'm at 45 subscribers, and I'm trying to get to 50! ;) So long!