Woodworking

DIY Epoxy Resin And Wood Art Key Holder

epoxy resin and wood art

If I had a dollar for every time I asked my fiancé if he knew where my keys were, I’d probably have at minimum, a $50 bill in my pocket. But, in all honesty, I’m so bored of traditional key holders. So, I decided to try something new and create a magnetic one from epoxy resin and wood! Even better, I partnered with my incredible friends at DAP Products to help make this resin and wood key holder come to life!

DIY Resin & Wood Key Holder

Want to watch this tutorial on YouTube? Check it out below & make sure to subscribe to my channel!

One of the things I love about this project is that it is a far cry from the traditional key holder. It’s sleek, it’s unique… and I can’t think of another word to describe it that rhymes with those words. So, I’ll just stick to the fact that it’s really cool looking.

wood key holder

This was my first time working with deep-pour epoxy and it couldn’t have been easier! Ready to see how I made this project? Let’s do it.

What You’ll Need

how to make epoxy resin and wood art

Tools
Miter Saw
Table Saw
Drill
Sander/Sandpaper
DAP Rapid Fuse All Purpose Adhesive
DAP Kwik Seal Plus
MAS Deep Pour Epoxy
(use “DIYHUNTRESS” for 10% off + free shipping)
Metallic Pigment (Resin Tint)
Heat Gun or Torch
¾” Forstner Bit
Drill Bits (Pilot Holes)
Respirator

Materials
Small Maple Burl
(1) ¾” Melamine Shelf Board
Tyvek Tape
(6) 3-Pack Neodymium Magnet
Wood Finish
(2) D-Ring Hooks
Drywall Screws
Painter’s Tape

The Steps:

1. First step was to choose & trim my lumber to size. I had this awesome maple burl laying around my shop and just cut two edges to create straight edges for my mold.

how to cut small pieces of wood

2. Once my lumber was cut to size, I created the measurements for my melamine mold. I used a melamine shelf for my mold to save money (it was only around $8)!

how to make a mold for epoxy resin

3. Next, I cut my melamine to size. I needed a bottom piece and four side pieces. Two of the sides were the same size as the mold and the other two were 1 ½” longer. I also made sure to cut the walls so they were taller than the wood piece I was using, that way there’s no overflow.

how to create resin mold

4. Once the pieces for the mold were cut, I applied Tyvek tape to all of the faces that will be touching resin.

how to create an epoxy resin mold

5. Next, I attached the walls of the resin mold to the bottom by pre-drilling holes and attaching with drywall screws.

resin and wood mold

6. Once the mold was assembled, I used DAP Kwik Seal Plus to seal all of the edges of the mold. This will stop any resin from leaking through the cracks of the mold.

dap kwik seal

how to seal resin mold

7. After sealing the mold, I set it aside to dry. While it dried, I prepped the burl for resin by sanding the edges that would be exposed to the pour.
how to prep wood for epoxy resin

8. Next, I attached the burl to the mold using clamps to hold it down. This will prevent the mold from floating up when the epoxy resin is poured.

9. Now I was ready for my pour! I followed the instructions on my MAS Deep Pour Epoxy to measure and mix the resin. I also added a black metallic pigment.

black epoxy resin

10. Once the mixture was ready, I slowly poured the resin into the mold.

11. Once the resin was poured, I used a torch to get rid of the air bubbles by just hovering it over the airspace of the resin.

how to get rid of bubbles in epoxy resin

12. The epoxy resin I used had a 24 hour cure time, so after 24 hours, I took the mold back into my shop and began to de-mold it by removing the screws and using a hammer and chisel to pry any stuck parts away from one another.

how to remove wood and resin from mold

13. Once the piece was de-molded, I trimmed it on my miter saw, making sure to use painters tape on the edges to avoid any tear out. I also made sure to wear a respirator anytime I kicked up epoxy dust, as it is known to be toxic to the lungs.

how to cut epoxy resin

how to trim resin and wood art

14. After trimming the piece to size, I sanded it down. I first used 80 grit sandpaper on my belt sander, and then gradually worked my way to 120, 320, and then 400 grit.

how to sand epoxy resin

15. Once I was happy with my sanding, I flipped my piece over and began to mark where I wanted to put my magnets and drilled openings.

how to make magnetic key holder

16. Once the openings were drilled, I used DAP Rapid Fuse All Purpose Adhesive to attach the magnets to the wood. These were some seriously strong magnets and the Rapid Fuse totally killed it! These puppies aren’t going anywhere.

I opted for 6 holes in my piece and ended up having to stack the magnets three magnets deep in each opening for them to be strong enough to hold my keys.

diy magnetic key holder

how to make a magnet key holder

17. Once everything was in place, I sealed the piece using a penetrating wood finish from my friends at Maker Brand.

18. Last step was to attach my picture hanging hooks!

Now I won’t have to ask where my keys are anymore!

resin and wood art

One thing I did notice with this project is that it’s best suited for lighter key rings. I only have my house key, car key, and keychain on my ring, so it’s the perfect storage solution! My fiancé, however, has a billion and one keys on his, so we’re going to have to store them elsewhere for now (sorry, BT)!

resin and wood art

In any event, I am so happy with the way this piece turned out! I’m even happy with it just existing as a piece of epoxy resin wood art!

epoxy resin wood art

Want to save this project for later? Make sure to Pin It!

Now that I’m addicted to pouring resin, I can’t wait to create some bigger projects! Get ready for some more hybrids as the weather gets warmer!

But, for now, until next time…

This post is sponsored by DAP Products, Inc. All tastes in art work and product opinions are my own. For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Sam Raimondi

Sam is a full time psychologist and part time content creator from Long Island, New York.

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4 COMMENTS

  • Hans

    Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

    • Sam
      AUTHOR

      Thanks so much for checking it out!

  • Jessica Meyers

    Can you tell me about how much of the deep pour epoxy was used? Thank you! I love this idea, I’m hoping to make something similar for my dad for Christmas 🙂

    • Sam
      AUTHOR

      Hi! The general rule is to take the average of the length, the average of the width, and the overall depth and multiply those to find volume. Can’t wait to see your version!

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