Resin River Plaque

A small group of students showed up one afternoon with a handmade butcher block, a chef's knife, and a string of LEDs.  They asked if I would help them make a surprise gift for one of my colleagues for helping them with the Jr. Iron Chef Competition this year.  Their idea was to make a plaque inspired by some resin filled river tables they had seen online.  I tried to document their process as we worked through this during their lunchtime over the last couple months.

First step was trimming, measuring, planing, and sanding butcher block.

Next, the piece was cut in half to create a space for the "river".  After the piece was cut in half, they sanded and polyurethaned both sides.

They made a small prototype to test the resin river and made adjustments to their plan.

 

Next, they built a "dam" around the river area of the plaque and poured the resin.

They used the heat gun to help get the air bubbles out of the resin as it dried.

Removing the dam from the back of the river was a bit challenging!

They sanded the back of the piece after the resin dried.

Next, they designed and laser cut the dedication piece.

The last step was attaching the knives and laser cut piece.

The students presented their plaque to Mrs. McMahon at the Middle Schools Awards ceremony!