You may be wondering what is an Epoxy Lake board and what all goes in to making one. There are a lot of different ways one can make one, from as simple as printing out a picture of a lake and cutting it out and using it as a stencil. Now there are a lot of different lake boards out there. However the ones that I make follow a very detailed process to make sure you get an exact replica of your treasured lake in as high quality and detail as possible.
The Process
We start out with you letting me know what lake you want. From there i can see the size and shape of the lake. This will let me recommend the perfect piece of wood for your project. Once we have the size roughly figured out, I will take a number of mapping sources from bathymetric charts to satellite imagery and over lay them all on top of each other to get the highest possible level of shoreline and island detail. I will then take the images and prep them into a file that can cut on my CNC. A CNC is a computer controlled cutting machine. Once I have this file ready with all the wording, extra bits like arrows, markers, compasses etc… Its back to the wood. I will then go through various steps to prep the wood to make it flat. All the voids, cracks etc need to be repaired and stable before proceeding.
Now that we have the files and the wood ready its time to cut on the CNC. A lake can take anywhere from an hour to a full day or more to cut depending on the size.
Now you may be asking yourself what level of details can I cut into your piece of wood. I can leave a dock showing on the piece that’s about 4 feet wide and 10 feet long. Considering we are taking a lake that’s several miles long and squishing it down to about 2 to 3 feet to be able to see a dock is something that I marvel at every time.
Now that your little slice of watery heaven is cut into the piece of wood, I will then pour the epoxy in several stages. You can choose from any number of color variations. This will take anywhere from a day to a week to cure enough before I can then finish the surface preparation going through a sanding and polishing process that goes though 15 different grits of sand paper, two buffing compounds and finishing oils.
How much does this all cost?
The cost anywhere from around $250 and up depending on the current price of materials and type of wood that you are looking for. There is no extra charge for adding wording or symbols.
FAQ
Is it food safe?
You will get a variety of answers from a variety of sources. I use food safe finish treatments on some of my pieces if requested. (Actually I will ask) Is epoxy itself food safe. Once epoxy is fully cured(at least a month)it is considered food safe. However I always recommend that anything epoxy based is only for incidental contact, not long term storage or for cutting.
Wait a minute I see epoxy cutting boards for sale all the time why cant I cut on yours?
You can do whatever you want, however ask yourself this, do you really if you cut on epoxy and a little sliver comes off do you want to eat it? I don’t so why would I tell my customers to eat it.
What can be done with these Lake Boards?
its all up to your imagination, a sign at an entranceway, a coffee table, dining table, up on the mantle, a head board, perhaps even a door itself.. the applications are only limited by your imagination.