Revealing My Best-selling Laser Engraved Cutting Boards: Epoxy Resin Turtle Inlay!

[@1elephantmemories]

I can not tell you how many times people will pick up my boards and absolutely loving them, but telling me they would never be able to use them! That's when you flip the board over and tell them that is why we leave the back blank and have used Bumblechutes all natural wood finishes! Giving these wood conditioners included with the boards is a huge bonus and a bigger win!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you so much.

[@donpa08]

Almost skipped your video since I’ve seen many epoxy and laser lessons over time but glad I took the time because there were several helpful pointers. Doing a final, lower-power pass with the laser was one of them. Kudos to you for an excellent instruction video and sharing your experience. Thank you!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching!

[@marciamayer6680]

So glad you said to turn it over to use as a cutting board. This is beautiful!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@CutItOutWithUs]

Thank you for the once again excellent and clear instruction. Your board is gorgeous and I know your customers must love them!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you so much!

Nice work. I really appreciate you showing the ocean pour

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jbn0613]

Excellent video and beautiful instructions. 👍🏼

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you very much!

[@michaelmeneghetti5794]

Very impressive work. Your technique and process are incredibly creative and ingenious. I am a fan.

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you so much 😀

[@francisbrady2739]

Thank you so much, you are awesome!

[@1elephantmemories]

Glad it helped!

[@joecop9887]

Thank you for sharing. I saw your mixing resin tutorial, did you mix any powder for this? The powder you used in the other video was the same color as the acrylic ink. This turned out so nicely.

[@1elephantmemories]

I mixed a black pigment powder and acrylic ink. I am glad you liked it!

[@Joshua-ju5uc]

does the resin harden thin when your making the ocean scene? I fear if I tried that it would end up lopsided at the end

[@1elephantmemories]

It is self leveling. Since I let it flow over the edges, it is pretty thin unless you do many layers. If you are really worried about it, you can do a layer or two of clear. Tape the edges off and have the tape just a little above the highest surface. Pour your clear and it will level. Remove the tape, sand the edges then do a final thin layer allowing the clear to run the edges. Now you have a very flat surface. Good luck.

[@broodjebeeld]

Thanks a lot for this video. Can I use something different than schellak? Can’t buy that in NL. I’m looking for a substitute to seal my wood before the epoxy inlay.

[@1elephantmemories]

Have you tried looking for all natural shellac flakes? If you can get those, you can actually make your own shellac with just the flakes and denatured alcohol. I did a quick search and supposedly, you can get shellac flakes there. Have you heard of Bunnings New Zealand? Try there. If you can find it, then search for videos on how to make your own. If not, you can experiment with polyurethane. Just remember, if this is for food contact, you should seal everything with a food safe epoxy.

[@nancyellis4888]

Beautiful! Did you bring the clear epoxy to the edge in each pour?

[@1elephantmemories]

No. Only for the last one.

[@laurasparling580]

This is beautiful :) im going to give it a go. I am new to all this. Do you have any advice on how to price items? Some people just don't understand the work that goes into stuff like this :(

[@1elephantmemories]

Unless you are an artist, people definitely do not understand the work that goes into it. A very general pricing guide is make a list of all your materials, how much material you used and how much it costs. Example let's say 1sq of 1/4" ply = 2.00. And you use 1/4 of that sheet. The cost for that material is .50. Now add all of your material together. 3X your total material = wholesale. 2X wholesale is retail. Then do a little research as to what something similar is going for. Look at the highs, lows and average. This is just a guide, but it can help. Good luck!

[@lisatothelee7]

Is everything you're using on the surface of this cutting board food grade, or just the top coat?

[@1elephantmemories]

The top of the cutting board has a clear coat of a tabletop epoxy that is FDA approved for food contact. We leave the back blank so people can use the back to cut on and serve on the front.

[@lindamiller4344]

Awesome work it’s beautiful. What kind of wood did you use?

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you. For this one, I used cherry. I like to use wood with very tight grains. It helps with the color filling. My favorites are maple, cherry and walnut (light, medium and dark woods)

[@rickwinterboer6061]

Was just wondering if youve tried this blending effect with acrylic?

[@1elephantmemories]

Acrylic paints? You could do a colorfill, but resin is much more vibrant and I like the translucent effect to be able to see through the colors down to the wood grains. I would encourage you to experiment with anything!!!

[@WilliamAlmontenyc]

This is very beautiful but here’s something else I would’ve done. I would’ve drawn in the turtles squares ( Scutes ) 🐢 with the laser after epoxy to give it even more details.

[@1elephantmemories]

Please don't engrave resin. It can give off fumes. Not good for you or your laser. However, this a good, stable hand, you could probably hand carve them in or even paint them then go over with clear epoxy to seal it all up. So many possibilities it is mind blowing! Have fun with it.

[@jagan1nathan]

What resin inlay you have used? Talking about the black ink.

[@1elephantmemories]

I am not quite sure what you are asking.

[@leahness6172]

Your work is beautiful and the tutorial excellent! I'm eager to attempt my own. Curious, where do you get your boards? I'm having trouble finding a nice, plain piece of wood to get started on.

[@1elephantmemories]

We have a few local lumbermills nearby, Castle Millworks in Pelham NH, Highland Hardwood in Brenton NH and Boulter Lumber in Medford MA. Once we buy the wood, we put it through a planner, cut it to size, router the edges and it is ready to go. If you don't have all that equipment, you can look to see if there is a Maker Space nearby you. This is often a non profit that has all kinds of equipment for the general public to learn and use. Last choice, if you still can't find something near you, email me and we can make something for you. [e-mail]

[@kentgulley5259]

we just joined @@1elephantmemories

[@WilliamAlmontenyc]

Amazing tutorial ❤️

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you! 😊

[@jefferynichols2549]

Im curious as to price you would place these on the shelf for? Material..time..etc etc.

[@1elephantmemories]

A good way to help calculate pricing is 1. Cost of wood (I used 1bf of extra wide cherry at about $8.35) 2. Cost of resin (I used about 650 grams of Totalboat tabletop epoxy at about $12.00) 3. All other materials (sandpaper, shellac, pigment powders, inks, cutting board conditioner at about 4.98). Take this total ($25.33) X 3 = wholesale ($76) +20-30% = Retail ($95 - $105). Then do a little research. How unique is your board? Etsy is a good place took look. Just keep in mind, their prices are generally on the low side. If you are putting a lot of time into this to produce a high quality product, then you should be paid for it. I hope this helps!

[@francisbrady2739]

Great video and very inspiring! Does anyone have any thoughts on where to procure blank cutting boards that look as nice as these?

[@1elephantmemories]

We make our own from rough cut raw lumber. If you don't have a lumbermill nearby or a workshop to make them, you might be able to find someone who has a shop, look for a local "Maker Space" or contact us. [e-mail]

[@francisbrady2739]

@@1elephantmemories what type wood do you use?

[@1elephantmemories]

I prefer tight grained woods like maple, cherry (this is the wood in the video) and walnut. That gives you a light wood (maple), medium color (cherry) and a dark wood (walnut). I have used oak which has wide open grains and you have to use extra wood sealer due to the grains but it still works.

[@DayleTaylor-p2p]

BABY TURTLES!!!😍🐢

[@1elephantmemories]

So cute!

[@drevjuk]

Огромное спасибо за урок! Бегу в мастерскую делать что-то подобное!

[@1elephantmemories]

Удачи и приятного времяпрепровождения!

[@jaycunningham2723]

So beautiful! Very artistic. Curious what a board like that retails for?

[@1elephantmemories]

It really depends on the wood type, size and amount of resin. I typically use maple (least expensive), cherry and walnut (most expensive). This board was cherry 12" x 17" x 3/4". I used about 250-300 grams of epoxy + pigments + wood conditioner. This board sells for $125.00. Price will also depend on your location and the market. If you go to the right show, especially where it is focused on cooking, then you can get a higher price. Hope this helps.

[@jaycunningham2723]

Thank you for your response. Just getting into laser engraving. Thunder 35/100 Would like to make something that sets us apart from the run-of-the-mill laser craft show items. This is a piece of art! Lived for several years in Hawaii so this hits my like button. Subscribed and will be going over all of your videos. It's like going to craft college!@@1elephantmemories

[@1elephantmemories]

Glad it helped! Always feel free to ask questions or comment on a subject/project you might want me to tackle.

[@kentgulley5259]

Where did you get the turtle design ? Lightburn

[@1elephantmemories]

I saw some little turtle stencils and drew my own. They are a very simple shape. But if you can't create your own designs, I would suggest looking at a site that sells instant svg digital downloads. If I am in a rush, I just look on etsy.

[@DocPicklez]

I love this

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you!

[@glynnorton2346]

amazing video

[@1elephantmemories]

Glad you think so!

[@kentgulley5259]

How deep do the turtles need to be, to inlay with resin?

[@1elephantmemories]

I typically like to go between 1/16-1/8". The deeper, the less likely you will sand through the resin. My newest video goes into more sanding details.

[@kentgulley5259]

Please advise on what mask is needed to protect lungs and when it must be used

[@1elephantmemories]

I have a Epoxy safety video that I have people watch before they come to my Epoxy classes. It covers a lot of safety concerns and PPE needed. However the short answer is a respirator that is rated for chemicals, like a paint respirator with replicable filters. The filters need to be able to filter organic gasses and vapors. Here is a link to the safety video. Please ask as many questions as you need! Be safe and have fun! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3XJcqCpodqqrJI

[@kentgulley5259]

@@1elephantmemories thank u

[@1elephantmemories]

You are welcome

[@Justbemama]

Love this!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you!

[@the_edge_of_time]

Very nice.

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@scottdoesntknow23]

How so you get air through the straw without an air compressor? 🤔

[@1elephantmemories]

I will often put a paper towel over one end to hold back any moisture. It doesn't take more than a few puffs.

[@sharonc7031]

Very nice work. As an artist, I see the turtles as too dark, silhouetted on the shallow surface. Could simply be attributed to bad lighting in the room. Perhaps clear filler for the turtles or a gradation of color used on the turtles - from light to dark - would look more convincing to the shallows. Either way, what a process this took. Great job!

[@1elephantmemories]

Thanks for the tips!

[@marcinp9688]

every resin is chemical... but after hardening it is suitable for contact with food (you can use it to serve food but never use it as a cutting board) never use resin for cutting boards!!! there is no resin that is not chemical!! bdw.. you do great artistic work, it's really beautiful

[@1elephantmemories]

Thank you. Epoxy is a chemical, just like any other plastic. Once cured, the right type of epoxy is rated as safe for food contact. We always leave the back straight up wood or bamboo. We tell our customers as well as give them a care and maintenance sheet which stated never to cut on the epoxy resin. Use as kitchen decor and serving on the epoxy side, and cut on the wood side. For this same reason, I would rather have a wood cutting board than a plastic one.

[@BeaulieuTodd]

Refocus?