DIY Epoxy Resin Tap Handles

Follow along as we make a set of tap handles for a customer from a piece of Australian burl and colored epoxy resin. This was a fun, straightforward project and the end result was really rewarding.
The mold was built from PVC strips for the sides and a clear acrylic scrap for the bottom. Assembled with regular wood screws and sealed with hot glue.
Some thought was needed getting four interesting pieces out of the slice of burl wood, after doing some rough layout we just went for it and sliced it up, luckily each handle has a very unique piece of wood in it. If they are installed together the pieces would read with each other as a matching set.
We used Ecopoxy 2:1 for this pour because of its ease of use and slow cure time allows for nearly all air bubble to escape from this porous piece of wood. cure time is about 48 hours but due to the cold we needed to wait a full three days before removing from the mold.
Trimming the handles and working with the epoxy is similar to working with regular wood, using the combination of jointer, table saw, and crosscut sled to trim them down to final size. (we were super excited how the clear epoxy looked while going through the table saw.)
The parts were then drilled for the threaded inserts (unfortunately we didn't capture the inserts on camera) and then finish sanded up to 600 grit. This gives a really good base for the beeswax polish on the epoxy and wood. They have a soft satin feel and the colors look amazing.
A fifth tap handle was made off camera but shown in the final shots, the original orange handle was intended to be red in color, but changed as the epoxy cured so we made a replacement to meet the customers needs.
Hopefully this video provided you a good overview of the process and thank you for watching!
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[@kennarose2133]

I can’t wait to try this out! Epic video, thank you!

[@nikguthrie1514]

This gave me an awesome present idea, great first video

[@studioonethree9814]

Thank you, appreciate it! That’s exactly what this batch was for 😁

[@nidarosconsilio3001]

Awesome video! And a very nice epoxy handle

[@user-qj4js5yh6r]

is the best for your creative,good

[@briancousins1590]

Awesome video! Can I ask what type of material you used for the mold , looks like wood?

[@sandrojesus6708]

Excelente trabalho..

[@gavinkocevar9543]

What kind of wood do u ise for something like this

[@FishingPhoFun]

Was the wood stabilized prior?

[@lindboknifeandtool]

How was that burl prepped? Mine has dirt and bark on it. Wire brush? Pressurized air? Thanks.

[@studioonethree9814]

A toothbrush and air works really well to get most of the loose dirt on small pieces like this. If you use a wire brush find a softer brass bristle one, steel bristles can scratch the wood more than clean it!

[@lindboknifeandtool]

@@studioonethree9814 thank you!!!!

[@maribelrestrepofooddivamar6942]

These are gorgeous!!! Where are you located ?? Add your website link to your description please !!

[@studioonethree9814]

Thanks!! I’m just outside of Seattle, and the website should be down at the bottom of the description, here it is again anyway: www.studio-one-three.com/

[@TheMotownPhilly]

So how do you get rid of the air bubbles if your not using a vacuum or pressure?

[@studioonethree9814]

I use an epoxy with a long cure time, about 24 hours, that lets all the bubbles settle out, anything left on top gets cleaned up after I trim them to finish al size.

[@TheMotownPhilly]

@@studioonethree9814 and you don't get trapped air bubbles in the molds? Could you please tell me the brand and type of epoxy your using? Thanks

[@studioonethree9814]

No problem, I use clear Ecopoxy 2:1. (2:1 specifically because the 1:1 version has had issues hardening fully in the past) these molds were simple enough and didn’t have any issues with bubbles around the wood, only a few left on top. If I did any more complex molds that weren’t flat like this then I would definitely want to use a pressure pot or vacuum.

[@TheMotownPhilly]

@@studioonethree9814 ok I've never seen it done before without some sort of vacuum or pressure set up. I guess those are the preferred way but not the only way. Thanks for the response.

[@miguelhuapaya9750]

Hago algo parecido pero se utiliza como dije para llevarlo al cuello en tamaño de 1cm x 4cm

[@mjmjersey]

Are you selling the tap handles?

[@alfazio8880]

OMG the chipmunk talk 🤐

[@reindeerggg8172]

When using an electric knife, please move a cat to other rooms.

[@tubeyou1906]

You mean saw?

[@rmcpeek]

I think the electric turkey knife would do just fine cutting the feline, I'm sorry I mean saw.

[@figueredoruley8050]

I will try to do it with Woodglut plans.

[@themeower666]

they kinda need some more, refinement to be honest....