Sometimes despite your best efforts, a project just doesn’t work out. That was the case on this epoxy mini charcuterie serving board I recently posted about. Where’d I mess up?

Admittedly this was only my second epoxy pour ever. It was however a bit deeper of a pour than my first AND a bit deeper than was recommended by the epoxy manufacturer. Still, pushing boundaries allows you to know exactly where they are, right?

I sliced up some cherry & walnut for this piece. I placed it in my mold, weighed it down to prevent float and mixed up a blue sparkly blend of super clear epoxy. After the pour I monitored it for the first hour with a torch to help any bubbles escape.

The next day (after about 24 hours) I gently popped it out of the mold and placed it in a secure spot so it could sit undisturbed for another 6-7 days. On the 5th day however I took a look at it and figured it was hard enough to work with.

I started on the jointer to get it all flat & flush but almost right away I had an issue with the epoxy gumming up. After cleaning up the jointer I took a look at the epoxy. It seemed to be cured and rock solid except for a few spots on the backside of the project. Yikes. There are a few things that could have happened…

  • Perhaps it really was too deep of a pour and that small section of the epoxy just couldn’t fully cure to specification.
  • It may have also been too short of a final curve time (5 days vs 7)
  • I also may have overheated it on the jointer somehow, compromising the epoxy

Am I upset and angry? No. Am I super disappointed? No. Am I a little bummed? Perhaps.

Overall I’m thankful. Why? This wasn’t a client project! It was a mini test project that “wasted” a small amount of cherry, walnut & epoxy. What’s funny though is the front side turned out great. I still finished the front with my usual process and it’s great for sampler pics or “glamour” shots.

All too often we’re harsh on ourselves. Expecting perfection when perfection only exists in nature and especially doesn’t exist in woodworking, is a sure fire way to go nuts.

Failing doesn’t mean it’s a failure NOR that I’m a failure. It means I get to try again. I learn, adapt and do better the next time around.