Saturday, June 30, 2012

Pine Coasters




Supplies:
1. Tree branch at least 3 1/2 inches in diameter
2. Chop saw or other hand saw
3. Sand paper or hand-held sander
4. Clear varnish or polyurethane
5. Disposable paint brush
6. Roll of cork
7. E6000 craft glue


The first step is to find a straight branch. I used a pine tree limb. Make sure that the diameter of the limb is wide enough to fit a normal-sized glass. Slice the limb into discs that are about 3/4" thick. 


Since pine is very sappy, I had to cure my discs in the oven before I could sand them. If you use a sappy wood, you'll need to do this also. Put the discs on a sheet of foil and bake them at 200 degrees for about 3 hours. 
*Make sure you do not leave wood unattended in the oven.


Now your coasters are ready to sand. You can just use sand paper or an electric hand-held like the one I'm using. Sand the discs until they are very smooth on both sides. 
If your wood has a lot of loose bark, you might want to peel some of it off.



Now you're ready to coat your coasters with varnish. The top of the coasters will need about 5 or 6 coats because the wood is very absorbent, and you will want the top to be very glossy. Make sure you allow the coasters to dry completely before proceeding to the next step. 




 After the top dries, you can do the edges and bottom. To prevent the coasters from sticking to the newspaper, you can set them on smaller pieces of wood to allow them to dry. You'll need to do about 2 coats. (The bottom does not have to be as
shiny as the top.)




Now you are ready to add the backing to the coasters. There are several options for backing, but I chose cork. I found a roll of cork at my local craft store. Simply trace around your coaster, shiny side up. Then cut just inside of your line so that there is a lip of wood surrounding your cork. (This might require some trimming.) Then glue the cork on and let it dry with some pressure on it, like a phone book. I used E6000, but any heavy duty craft glue will work.


Complete!

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