Test Run For The Bar Top Finish

I wanted to use a poured on epoxy finish for the Amazing Grace Counters, but had never worked with any such product. Therefore a test was in order.

And what better to use than one of the many projects that languish ‘out in the hall’. I had shlepped this slice of maple all the way from Maine back in 2013, I think. Too pretty a piece for the burn pile. After milling it roughly flat on a wood mixer bandsaw mill  in Vermont, it was now ready for the 12” handheld planer.

This left a few grooves which took a belt sander and palm sander an many hours to remove. Sanding maple end grain is for the patient among us.

Hours later the beauty is already showing.

The check is evidence that the slice is dry.

I chose a piece of Purpleheart, which was given to me by a boat builder in the Hudson valley in New York. He had cutoffs from repairs made to Pete Seger’s Clearwater. Thanks Jim.

I was not patient enough to make it fit perfectly, but I already had plans to use black epoxy to fill the many tiny checks throughout.

This makes for an even surface for the finish and the black creates a great contrast.

It also creates a great deal of scraping and sanding work, until I figured out that one can wipe off the excess with a wet cloth if one acts fast.

All the trouble is worth it tough.

Finally I can use it as a test piece.

Mixing the seal coat as per instructions and with a timer.

Pour, fight the bubbles and wait & hope.

Looks great and is surprisingly simple.

Then the thicker flood coat that creates the 1/8” thick layer of plastic.

And while we’re at it, let’s get in another one of those projects that have waited over a year out in the hall: A purple heart handle for the 2″ chisel.