I have quite the stack of old reclaimed barn wood in the shop. In the past I have used it on some rustic projects. However, I really wanted to find a way to modernize it a bit. Something I consider pretty modern in the world of woodworking is resin. So, I decided to combine barn wood and resin to make a clock that is out of this world!

Supplies

Materials Used:

2-part Resin/Hardener Kit

Metallic powders

Small white glitter

Acrylic Paint: Black, Dark Blue, Purple

High Torque Clock Mechanism

80-grit Sanding Star

Tools Used:

Wagner Furno 700 Heat Gun

Disclosure: Freeman Furnishings is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Bear in mind that the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases.

Step 1: Preparing the Wood

Since the reclaimed barn wood that I have still has the old paint on it, I needed to do some work to it before jumping right to the resin. To remove the paint, I have the perfect tool to make it a breeze, a Wagner Furno700 heat gun. Using the Furno700 set at 650 degrees, I warmed up the surface and then easily used a putty knife to scrape off the paint. After removing the bulk of the paint with the heat gun, I used an 80-grit sanding star and my sanding system with flex shaft to remove any remaining paint and some dirt and debris. This created a nice clean base to start with for making the space nebula.

Step 2: Painting

The way I decided to use resin to modernize the barn wood was by adding a space nebula to the board. I wanted to show both the old with the new, so I only put the space nebula on half of the board. The half of the board where the space nebula would be needed to be painted a dark color so it could look like the night sky. I mixed black, blue, and purple acrylic paint to get the right shade and painted it onto the barn wood. Once that had dried, I decided to add some stars. I used an embossing tool to create some star fields with a mix of white and light tan acrylic paint. For a few of the stars I used a small paint brush to spread them out a bit and make them stick out. This step really helped to create the full space nebula feel to the completed piece.

Step 3: Making the Galaxy

For making the galaxy, I used a two-part resin and hardener kit that I purchased at the local craft store. I mixed up 8 ounces and divided it amongst 9 smaller cups which contained different colors of metallic powder. The colors I chose to use were: green, blue, red, maroon, copper, pearl white, white glitter, blue-green glow in the dark, and clear. I put down some strips of the green, blue, red, maroon, glitter and glow in the dark to start with. I used my Wagner Furno 700 heat gun, set at 650 degrees, to heat the resin, remove bubbles, and get the resin to flow. Once it was flowing, I used the Furno 700 to move and blend the colors. I did this three separate times, doing a variation of colors until I reached the desired look for my galaxy.

**NOTE: After completing the full nebula, there was quite a bit of resin left over in the small cups. I think I could have mixed just 6 ounces or perhaps even less.

Step 4: Preparing for Assembly

I worked with a local metal fabricator to design and create a metal frame for the clock. After the resin had cured, I traced the curvature of the frame onto the wood and used my bandsaw to cut it to fit. The wood was a little thick on the edges to be able to fit completely into the frame so I did use my sander to take a little material off and get it to fit just right.

The wood was also thicker than the length of clock mechanism shaft, so I used a 2 inch diameter forstner drill bit on the drill press to create a pocket for the mechanism to sit in on the back of the clock. I also drilled the center hole for the mechanism shaft to go through.

Lastly, since I was not overly impressed with the clock hand designs that are available online or in stores, I worked with a local maker space to make clock hands of a retro design out of thin, but strong plywood. I painted the plywood black with a gold glitter top coat to match the theme of the clock.

Step 5: Final Assembly

Final assembly was rather easy. I used wood screws to attach the wood and resin galaxy to the metal clock frame. Then I simply threaded in the clock mechanism through the wood and added the custom clock hands.