I tried some v-carved coasters with epoxy inlays. I think they came out pretty cool for stocking stuffers. I filled the inlay with colored epoxy (Ecopoxy) and then sanded and flood coated them to finish. Lots of lessons learned, but I think they came out nice.
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Latest project before and after sanding for 2 hours…I still need to finish the wood…just taking a break from sanding.
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Alright! Out with it! What are your lessons learned? 
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HA…well…I could not successfully CNC the outside of the peaks without chip out, so I used a bandsaw and sanded the outer peaks smooth. Lesson #1…there are other tools in the shop than a CNC. 
Update…the file is super easy to make, but took me a bit of time to make all the nodes align. Nothing fancy since it is just basic shapes. So, no real lessons there. Maybe with a less ‘chippy’ wood (this is African Mahogany) and slower speeds I could get the chip out not to happen, but sheesh, I tried twice and failed and then decided before I wrecked more wood I’d just cut it out on the bandsaw.
Once I cut out what became the blue epoxy space, I kept the outer shape (hexagon) and used that as a mold for the epoxy. Then back to the bandsaw to cut off the mold. That worked very well. I used Tuck Tape across the bottom of the piece to secure the inner part to the mold and had no leaks.
Next lesson…the epoxy seeped through the mold into the shapes as seen in the picture…and is virtually impossible to get out…so lesson = seal it 1st before epoxy.
Otherwise, I wet sanded from 120>5000 then polished and it came out pretty well. I am working on sealing it now so it should be done with a few more applications. It’s for my daughter, so nothing I need to sell or anything, I’m just a weekend hobbyist on the CNC, so my friends and family get to experience everything I learn .
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Do you think a benchtop planer (feedthru) would take the back off cleanly?
I have used my planer on epoxy, it does fine, just take it in small increments to avoid melting the epoxy. My project was too small for a planer, but using a surfacing bit on the cnc would work as well.
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