How It's Made: Coasters

This is the question we get most: How do we make our coasters? So today, we're giving you a look behind that scenes at how we do what we do.

We're committed to quality, and of course, a quality coaster starts with quality materials.

Our coaster bases are like a foundation, a blank canvas for our designs. We have a friend out in Amish country with the capabilities to do CNC milling to our exact specifications. So we gave him the dimensions for our wood coaster base, and he sources high-quality Amish wood and mills them for us. We use solid wood in oak, maple, cherry and walnut varieties for our coaster bases. 

Then there’s the abalone shell. We’ve been asked before whether we’re traveling far and wide to find abalone shells. The truth is far less interesting: we order it online. 

Our abalone shell comes in a veneer format, 9”x11” composite sheets of genuine shell, farmed sustainably, processed responsibly, shipped internationally. Abalone shell has a beautiful iridescent quality that cannot be duplicated.

Now for the designs themselves, we use 1/16” wood veneer. To source this, we use Wisconsin-based wood milling company Ocooch Hardwoods. They offer dozens of varieties of wood, milled to be “project-ready” and perfect for laser cutting. The quality of their wood is top notch. Check out the grain on this curly maple!

Now let's talk epoxy resin. First thing's first—not all epoxies are created equal. 
We use the highest quality, crystal clear, food safe table top epoxy. Why? Because inexpensive, craft-grade epoxy has a tendency to turn yellow with age, and we absolutely can’t have that. So we get the good stuff, and it’s worth it, because we’ve never had a yellowing coaster. 

Now that we’ve gathered our materials, let’s get into the creation process. 

This is where the laser comes in. We were lucky to find a gently-used Thunder Bolt laser machine for a great price secondhand. This laser offers the working space as well as the cutting and engraving options that we need. If you’re familiar with laser cutting, you know how this part goes, but if you’re not, here’s what happens… 

We use a graphic design software to create each design from scratch. For our rose window coasters, we typically start with a clear, good quality photo and trace the pattern “by hand” in the software. Once the design is perfected, we transfer the files to a laser-compatible software. There, we can program the laser to use precise amounts of power and speed to cut the design on our 1/16” wood veneer. The power and speed settings are very important. Too much, and the edges will burn to a crisp. Too little, and the shapes won’t cut out at all. 

So we use the laser to cut out the wood veneer design, and we also use it to cut circles of abalone shell veneer. Then we assemble the abalone shell and wood veneer into the coaster base. This seems like a pretty straightforward step in the process, but we have learned that wood has its quirks. Wood can be prone to warping, especially the very thin cut wood veneer we use. So to make sure the inlays lie perfectly flat in the coaster bases, we add weight on top. We decided that this extra step is absolutely essential after learning the hard way a few times. 

Once the glue is set, it’s time to pour the epoxy resin. Anybody who’s worked with resin knows that it takes some practice. There is a skill to it. Once mixed, we pour the epoxy quite quickly, before it gets tacky and hard to work with. Once poured, we hit it with a blowtorch to help jumpstart the curing process and eliminate any air bubbles. Using wood, which is porous, and adding multiple inlays, there are plenty of opportunities for air to get trapped under the epoxy and cause bubbles, so we torch it multiple times during the first few hours of curing, just to be sure we get ALL the bubbles out. It’s not a foolproof method, and environmental factors like temperature and humidity play a part. This an especially challenging step, and we honestly haven’t perfected it, but we have come to accept that it might always be precarious, that we may always have some coasters that don’t come out right. That’s okay with us. That's what our clearance section is for.  

Once the epoxy has cured (24-72 hours later) the coasters go back into the laser, this time for an engraving on the back. And then the final step: danish oil. Danish oil provides a beautiful finish for untreated wood. It’s light, easy to apply, and brings out the natural beauty of the wood grain. 

Phew! Our coasters are finally finished. They’re ready to ship to your home, or to be packed up and brought to our next market. 

Well there you have it — handmade coasters, step by step! Go ahead, give it a try it at home, we dare you. 😉 Or save yourself the time, hassle, and money, and shop from us instead. You're welcome!