Ocean Resin Charcuterie Board

As a fun project idea, I decided to make a charcuterie board for my family. I originally wanted a cutting board and came upon a youtube video showcasing their ocean resin charcuterie board. As resin was being used (a material which food should not be placed upon), I decided to make a charcuterie board instead. I loved the addition of the resin, being used to depict waves crashing on the shorelines of a beach, as it was more unique and beautiful.

• A slab of wood (does not have to be finished)
• Planer/CNC Router
• Pencil and/or Marker
• Jigsaw (Unless using CNC)
• Sandpaper (Multiple grits: 180, 600)
• Hand-held router
• Orbiter Power Sander
• Drill Press (3/4 inch circular bit)
• Food Grade Cutting Board Oil and/or Beeswax
• A rag/cloth
• Heat gun
• Resin (and hardener)
• Acrylic Paint
• Mica

First thing first! Pick out a slab of wood of your choosing (size, shape, and thickness). I chose a natural slab, a good color with great graining. I would highly recommend picking one that is similar in thickness to your desired final product, as it will narrow down the sanding/planing process.

My original material was both too thick and too heavy, so I needed to plane it. This will remove much of the material to make it lighter, but it also provides an even face to work with later. To plane, I used a CNC router and the "face" tool. I removed the material from this stock until the lighter color was even all around. Afterward, you can lightly plane the other side to create a flat surface on both sides.

The original dimensions of this piece were 1.7 inches, and I was able to plane it down to .75 inches. Again, I used a CNC router and the "face" tool. I programmed it to remove .100 inches of stock every time. It is important to decide which side of your board will be the top (depending on the grain you desire) in order to remove more material from the back rather than the front. After creating a flat surface (previous step) and removing a bit of material from the other side, I decided which side had better graining. In order to preserve that graining, I mostly removed material from the backside.

Using a regular wooden pencil, I traced out the shape I wanted for my board. Originally, I wanted it to be cut diagonally, only using the finished wood. However, it is good to view things from multiple perspectives; thus, I changed my design in order to contain the natural shape of the slab and its bark.

After deciding on the final shape I wanted, I used a brown marker (doesn't really matter what color) in order to make clear the outline. This will be beneficial when cutting the wood in a bit, as marker is a bit easier to see than pencil.

Now you have your design! The next step is to cut it out. If you have a CNC router, You can totally use that to cut out the shape. However, I wanted a more freeform shape and instead used a jigsaw to cut along my drawn lines. Make sure to clamp the piece down tightly and wear eye protection before starting! Don't worry if it is not completely perfect, as that can be fixed with sanding later.

Using any sander of your choice, sand the previously cut sides down to the marker lines. This will finalize the shape of your board and will also make the sides nice and smooth! I highly recommend using a belt sander (likely won't burn your material) to get the shape down and later on just a bit of regular sandpaper to really smooth the edges out. When I first sanded my piece, a lot of it got burnt, so my main focus in sanding was removing the burnt edges.

Using a hand-held sander this time, I sanded the face of the boards. Since I used a CNC Router to plane the faces, there were many lines on both sides from the multiple passes. Sanding the faces also helps to remove any leftover marker lines.

Using a hand-held router, I was able to smoothen out the edges to give it a nice round look. Make sure to hold your piece in place as you maneuver it around the edges, also holding the router parallel to the board.

Using a drill press and a 3/4 inch bit, I made a hole at the end of my charcuterie board for hanging. Whether you're using a regular drill or drill press, be sure to clamp it down and check that it is centered! Optional: use the hand-held router to round out the inner circle.

In order to protect your board from water and other natural things, you need to seal it! Using beeswax and/or food-grade board oil, apply a generous layer to your board (including the sides and back). It's preferable to use a combination of beeswax and board oil, but I only had board oil. Using the oil, I first put some on a soft cloth and evenly applied it all around. The board became this beautiful caramel color and was more shiny than matte.

Before actually putting the resin on your board, it's recommended to practice and figure out what you like! Here are two ideas that I tried.

In my first attempt (first picture) I used turquoise, blue, and white mica powder to add to the resin (1:1 ratio of resin to hardener); I also added white acrylic paint to the white resin to make it more opaque. I placed the blue first and then the turquoise, lightly mixing the two into a gradient. I placed two lines of white as well, before using the heat gun to move the white back and disperse it. Because of the white acrylic paint, there was a separation that made this really cool seafoam-y look. I personally wanted more "bubbles" instead of this broken-down white, so I tried again.

In my second attempt, I did not use acrylic paint (only mica) and instead used the color "magic blue" instead of regular blue. At first, the white definitely blended in together with the blues (3rd picture), but the gradient between turquoise and magic blue was nice. The next day (after that resin hardened), I put some clear resin along with some white resin and used the heat gun to create another layered wave look. Because only clear and white resin were used that day, the white didn't completely disappear (2nd picture).

After these trials, I decided to use "turquoise" and "magic blue" to create a nice gradient. Between the two whites, I decided to use the second method to create a good and soft blend; however, if needed, I would try the acrylic paint to create a greater seafoam effect.

Again, I mixed up some turquoise and magic blue resin and placed them alongside each other. I knew that I wanted the resin to be somewhat slanted and higher on the right (I also had a spot that I wanted to cover). I was carefully placing down the resin and using the heat gun, wanting a gradient but not a strong blend of the colors. I noticed that the heat gun was creating this really unique bubble design on the board, but was also moving the resin off the board a bit (creating some bald patches).

Next, add a clear coat of resin (after the blues have dried), and then add some white resin! There is no correct way to do this, so do as you wish and make corrections if needed (I made many). There you go! Your board will dry and is practically all finished! If needed, sand the sides a bit more to remove the excess resin! Enjoy!