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Thomas Edison, rumor has it, once said this when asked about failure: " I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Well, I might not have learned 10,000 ways that won't work, but I certainly learned a pile of "don't do that again."

I also learned there are two types of knowledge as it applies to projects.
1. How to do it
2. What to do when knowledge number 1 isn't enough and things don't go according to plan.

Not only do I lack in knowledge 1, I have zero knowledge in category 2.

Ergo, this project was a learning-type project.

Despite its plethora of misgivings, so don't look to close, I overcame a lot, and it turned out ok.

Thanks for visiting.

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I like it! What's not working for you about it? What were the trouble areas… if you don't mind my asking?
 

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looks fine to me - congrats on a successful mission

if you want a learning curve, try a river table using wormy chestnut and don't seal the bottom
 

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looks fine to me - congrats on a successful mission

if you want a learning curve, try a river table using wormy chestnut and don t seal the bottom

- recycle1943
I absolutely learned that with the inlay epoxy boards. Absorb like crazy and went right through the knots. Epoxy all over.


This is after I cleaned up and taped the bottom.

I switched to a thicker product. I also read an article in woodsmith in which it talked about spaying a lacquer in the inlay and rubbing wax on top to both to minimize the bleed through.
 

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I like it! What s not working for you about it? What were the trouble areas… if you don t mind my asking?

- VanDesignWoodworkin
I had a lot of problems. The first is I did not thin the corks well enough, thus everything had to be spot on for the corks to cover both top and bottom and things certainly were not spot on. I only gave myself about an 1/8 of wiggle room. That was not enough, especially when I made so many errors.

Second, I did not let the first pour set up enough. no matter how thick the epoxy was ( cure stage) corks float. Ergo, they would not stay covered and kept floating up and into each other.

Three, I did not seal the corks. Thus, there is a lot of cork dust surrounding the corks.

Four, because the corks ended up exposed, I had to pour over the whole project. Which meant I could not keep the wood from rising and epoxy went down the side and under the project. Did I mention my pieces were different thicknesses. That was another problem when it came to pouring over everything. In the end one side is epoxy covered and the other is bare wood.

Five, Corks burn easy. Because the corks continued to surface they were exposed to flame when I was try to get the bubbles out. Each time I messed with a cork, I would get new bubbles. End result? Both bubbles and scorched corks.

I think I could write a novel on lessons learned. But this gives you an idea.

The two mistakes I could not overcome, when all said and done, was the cork dust and the scorching.
 

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i love it mistakes and all.if you hadn't mentioned the burnt corks i probably would have never known.i love the design,perfect charcuterie board.
 

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i love it mistakes and all.if you hadn t mentioned the burnt corks i probably would have never known.i love the design,perfect charcuterie board.

- pottz
Thanks, I am calling it a charcuterie-character board.
 

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you are a glutton for punishment!! but it is very attractive. next time try assorted vegetable seeds.
 

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Well, you stayed with it and you finished! I still think it looks good but, I think we creators, are the most critical of our stuff. I'll have people say, "This clock is gorgeous," and I'll think, "Not if you turn it around and look in that top right corner. That miter is a little off" ... even though it's a corner nobody would ever really look at because it's the back of the clock!

I have only messed with epoxy a few times and, one of the times I did, I ran into the floating issue too.

I like it! What s not working for you about it? What were the trouble areas… if you don t mind my asking?

- VanDesignWoodworkin

I had a lot of problems. The first is I did not thin the corks well enough, thus everything had to be spot on for the corks to cover both top and bottom and things certainly were not spot on. I only gave myself about an 1/8 of wiggle room. That was not enough, especially when I made so many errors.

Second, I did not let the first pour set up enough. no matter how thick the epoxy was ( cure stage) corks float. Ergo, they would not stay covered and kept floating up and into each other.

Three, I did not seal the corks. Thus, there is a lot of cork dust surrounding the corks.

Four, because the corks ended up exposed, I had to pour over the whole project. Which meant I could not keep the wood from rising and epoxy went down the side and under the project. Did I mention my pieces were different thicknesses. That was another problem when it came to pouring over everything. In the end one side is epoxy covered and the other is bare wood.

Five, Corks burn easy. Because the corks continued to surface they were exposed to flame when I was try to get the bubbles out. Each time I messed with a cork, I would get new bubbles. End result? Both bubbles and scorched corks.

I think I could write a novel on lessons learned. But this gives you an idea.

The two mistakes I could not overcome, when all said and done, was the cork dust and the scorching.

- FrenchGoattoys
 

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Ken, When I first read the email notification "a cork board" I was certainly curious; how in the name of goodness did Ken make a cork serving board.
Opening the post I saw a very cleverly designed serving board with suspended corks in a resin river bound by some beautiful timber.
Reading further I had to laugh at your comment about "cork floating"!
Overcoming all the learning just makes this piece even more special, except to say, I hope all the corks weren't collected in one sitting.
Top job Ken.
 

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You have done well, it looks great.
 

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It came out great. The best lesson I have learned about epoxy, regardless of the type (thick pour or thin) is to just pour the the absolute smallest amount you can to just cover the bottom and seal the tape. Any thicker…and leaks are in your future. It is a hard rule to follow because a thick pour just seems like sooo much fun to do and looks so cool.
 

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It came out great. The best lesson I have learned about epoxy, regardless of the type (thick pour or thin) is to just pour the the absolute smallest amount you can to just cover the bottom and seal the tape. Any thicker…and leaks are in your future. It is a hard rule to follow because a thick pour just seems like sooo much fun to do and looks so cool.

- swirt
Do you let it set up until tackiness or or cured?
 
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