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It's hard when your best friend lives on the opposite side of the country. But when your best friend is an insanely talented DIY blogger and YouTuber, you find excuses to go see her for a "collaboration". Somehow, this is actually the second collab Sam From DIY Huntress and I partnered on this summer. The first was that segmented round coffee table Foureyes Furniture helped us build.
While I was on the east coast last month, Sam and I took a road trip down to Philadelphia to learn from woodshop master/ best teacher ever - Erik Curtis. Erik took Sam and I under his wing and showed us some more advanced woodworking techniques. We learned SO MUCH! It was awesome. All three of us created our own version of the same project, which I'll be sharing in a few weeks. So keep an eye out!
Sam and I felt so extremely appreciative for the time Erik took to help us out. We wanted to make him something to show our gratitude. As you can see, Erik has a pretty epic beard. So, I figured a pair of custom wood and epoxy beard combs would be the perfect thank you gift. While we were at it, Sam and I got creative and made a few other DIY hair combs at the same time.
Check out the video for the full building process and all Sam and my shenanigans! Or keep scrolling for most information about tools I used and for all the pretty photos.
I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you guys about the real MVP of this project. I may have lost my mind if I didn't have my Dremel Stylo+ rotary tool.
I first busted out the Stylo+ when I was in Sam's shop in New York. I paired it with a small wire cup attachment to remove debris and the thin bark from the live edge of the wood pieces.
I have a confession: I owe north of 5 Dremel Rotary Tools (not in including the Stylo+), but the Stylo+ is ALWAYS the first one I reach for. Unless I'm doing something pretty heavy duty and need a lot of torque, I much prefer the smaller size and ergonomics of the Stylo+. My hands are on the small side, so larger tools get unwieldy for me. Plus, the location of the power button (right behind your index finger) is brilliant!
If you're wanting to tackle a DIY hair comb project, you'll want to buy a Dremel Stylo+ just for sanding alone! I started shaping the fine teeth of the beard comb by hand and was ready to throw it out the window in about 5 minutes. I finally got smart and added a fine sanding disc to my Stylo+ and I heard angels sing. The adjustable speed control allowed me to gently shape and polish the delicate resin teeth without snapping them off.
To seal the wood and bring a little sheen back to the sanded epoxy resin, I went with Simple Finish penetrating oil from Maker Brand Co. If you wanted something "food safe", I'd recommend using mineral oil and bees wax. The more I work with hardwood, the more I'm coming around to oil finishes. They are just SO EASY!
Ready for the glamour shots? :)
The wide tooth.
The handle.
The beard.
(*Thanks to my sister-in-law for letting me borrow her long hair)
And I discovered the little rainbow beard comb works just fine on us beardless people too.
The mica pigments we used to color the epoxy made the resin slightly opaque, but if you catch the light right, the teeth become slightly translucent (and gorgeous).
Making the wood combs function was a little more work than I expected. I guess I never thought about the engineering behind hair comb teeth, but they have to be tapered and angled well to be effective.
I know I'm making it sound really difficult, but I promise they weren't! You just need to put a little thought into your design before you start cutting.
Ready to make your own live edge epoxy and wood combs?! Feel free to pin the image below to save the idea for later.
If you like this project, you'll love these ideas:
Let's be friends! Follow along so you don't miss a thing!
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