Introduction: Carving a Bear of Out Epoxy and Wood

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About: My name is Blake, I make things for a living. I love experimenting with new materials to create sculptures, furniture and everything in between.

I poured 9 gallons of epoxy resin along with various species of wood and power carved it into a bear sculpture. I first milled walnut, mahogany, white oak, poplar, redwood and pine. I used various woodworking tools to get them all identical in thickness. I then used Mas epoxy 'Deep pour X' to pour all 9 gallons of resin over the course of 3 weeks. Once cured, I carved the massive block by using a chainsaw, angle grinder, die grinder and various sanding tools. There were a lot of challenges along the way but I am beyond pumped with how this sculpture turned out. Let me know what you guys think in the comments!

Step 1: Check Out the Full Build Video!

Materials used:

1. Epoxy- Get 10% off by using code "Blake" on Checkout! https://masepoxies.com/product/handy-...

2. 20V Chainsaw (highly recommend) - https://amzn.to/3hQpvD2

3. Wood Finish- https://amzn.to/3xmPTcc

4. resin dye- https://amzn.to/3yqOJOd

6. die grinder- https://amzn.to/3xqiOMB

7. Orbital Sander- https://amzn.to/3CbVOEB

8. Sawzall- https://amzn.to/3fuKkST

9. Face shield- https://amzn.to/3CbW9XT

Step 2: Mill Lumber

I first milled up Walnut, Mahogany, White Oak, Redwood, Poplar and Pine by running them through the jointer to get one perfectly flat side. I then ran them all through the tables to make them the same height and thickness.

Step 3: Cut, Glue and Plane

I varied the different species of wood to get a random color pattern. I then cut them all at different lengths. I glued up 10 boards together because that is the thickness of the bear. I had to glue up 20 different pieces in order to get the length of the bear. I then ran all 20 glued up pieces throughout he planer to make them perfectly flat.

Step 4: Mold and Epoxy Pour.

I created a melamine mold to fit the giant wooden piece. I used epoxy to laminate all 20 pieces of wood. I then used penetrating epoxy to seal all of the wood to prevent bubbles from forming. I poured 9 gallons of epoxy over the corse of 2 weeks. I did 6 separate pours so the epoxy wouldn't get too hot and fracture. I also did the pour inside with a temperature of 73 degrees and a constant overhead fan to keep the heat down. This was a long process but this would be unable to be poured in one shot so it was the only way to accomplish a perfect pour of 9 gallons.

Step 5: De-mold, Outline Sculpture.

After a week of fully curing, I de-molded the wood and epoxy. I was so happy with how crystal clear the epoxy turned out. I then outlined the bear on the side of the sculpture to use as reference for the carving.

Step 6: Chainsaw Off the Bulk Portions

I used my 12" chainsaw to remove large amounts of material. I made sure to stay away from my reference lines around 1" to prevent any fractures from happening too close for comfort.

Step 7: Further Refinement

I used the angle grinder, die grinder, reciprocating saw and sanders in order to refine the shape even more. This took around 5 full days to refine it to my liking.

Step 8: Sand, Sand and More Sand.

I sanded the entire sculpture down from 40 grit on the orbital sander to 1000 grit. This was a tedious task because I had to do the majority of it by hand.

Step 9: Finish

I used 4 coats of Odies Oil to treat the wood and epoxy.

Step 10: Check Out the Full Video!

Be sure to checkout the full video for a more detailed explanation as well as the finishing shots!