A bowl turned from honeycomb packing cardboard set in pigmented epoxy is not a combination I would have guessed would work, and the fussiest stage, as I read it, is the finish. The maker describes challenges with eliminating micro-scratches in the resin, and cellulose sanding sealer is what answers that problem there, since it fills in fine scratches to help get a good finish. In my view, leaning on a sealer that way is a sensible response to an unforgiving surface.
The build starts with expandable honeycomb cardboard, cut on a Grizzly bandsaw and trimmed into circles with scissors. The circles go into a round plastic tub arranged around a circular wooden mounting block. TotalBoat 2:1 Slow epoxy, mixed at two to one and tinted with Jacquard Pearl EX Aztec Gold powder, is poured over the cardboard in layers and cured under pressure in a converted Harbor Freight pressure pot. Once demolded, the blank takes a faceplate fitted with an impact driver and mounts on a SuperNova2 chuck.
Shaping runs at 1200 RPM, with a 3/8-inch bowl gouge and a 1-inch skew chisel working the exterior. Hollowing starts with a 3-inch Forstner bit in a keyless tailstock chuck, then bowl gouges, a carbide tipped tool and a 1-inch round nose scraper open out the inside. The exterior is power sanded to 240 grit and wet sanded up to 800, and after a wipe with denatured alcohol the piece gets sealer, Ack's Abrasive Sanding Paste and a final polish with OB Shine Juice.
The result is translucent amber resin around hexagonal cardboard cell walls, and the maker says it beat expectations and left them stunned, with another attempt already wanted. One gap for me: the pressure level used for curing is not stated anywhere, and that seems like the one number worth recording before a repeat run.
Project by Moonpie Creations. Watch it on their YouTube channel: