Shuffling through the aisles of home improvement stores in search of something a little snazzy to revamp an old dresser or cabinet door can be daunting – not to mention disappointing if you leave mission unaccomplished.
So why waste time pondering which impersonal knobs would do your favorite aunt’s hand-me-down justice? Cast your own exclusive hardware in synthetic resin. A bonus: Your handmade knobs can cost less than $1 each and be every bit as cute as the $5 mass-produced versions.
Synthetic resin need not be confined to industrial research labs or the lairs of meticulous model builders. With the ease of casting resin in ice cube trays as molds, the average person can create simple and charming pieces.
For our resin knobs, we embedded paper cutouts and small objects into layers of clear resin poured into various shaped trays. You’re only limited by your imagination and your stash of supplies – you can keep it simple or build elaborate three-dimensional scenes, staggering several paper cutouts or even family photos. Once you’ve mastered the elementary techniques, you’ll quickly churn out personalized and functional knobs.
Step one
Gather your supplies: I used clear casting resin and casting hardener (both can be found is most craft or home improvement stores for less than $20); Ikea Plastis rubber ice cube trays in X and star shapes ($1.99 each); a pair of latex gloves; a plastic cup; and a plastic teaspoon. You’ll also need some hardware: flat-head screws, aluminum spacers and acorn cap nuts to secure the knobs in place (all should be an appropriate size for whatever you will be screwing the finished knobs into). Finally, you’ll need to select whatever found objects or paper cutouts you want to embed in the resin.
Work in a well-ventilated area as casting resin is toxic. Make sure anything that will touch the resin – such as your ice cube trays, found objects and screws – is clean.
Step two
Don gloves so the resin doesn’t come in contact with your skin. Read the directions on both your casting resin and hardener, paying attention to the proportion of resin to hardener that you are instructed to use. (Various products will recommend different proportions.)
For this project, I used about a teaspoon of casting resin per layer per knob. Remember to mix only as much as you immediately need; you will work in layers, and each layer must set before pouring on another.
Measure and pour your resin and hardener into the plastic cup, and thoroughly stir with a plastic spoon for about a minute. Avoid allowing large air bubbles to form in the resin.
Pour a teaspoon of the mixture into each mold of the ice cube tray.
Place the ice cube tray on a level surface so the resin can set. Check your resin’s instructions for proper drying time; mine was firm to the touch in about 20 minutes.
Step three
Once the first layer has set, mix another batch of resin and hardener in the plastic cup. For the second layer, the amount of resin depends upon the size of the object you’re embedding. For the paper cutouts, I again used about a teaspoon of resin for each mold.
Use your gloved hands or the plastic spoon to dunk the object that you’re embedding into the resin mixture. Dunking prevents air bubbles from forming when you put the object into the mold.
Take the object out of the resin mixture and place it in the mold. You will want to insert the object front-side down because the bottom of the mold will be the front of the finished knob.
Pour a teaspoon of resin mixture into the mold, completely covering the embedded object.
Step four
Next, stand the head of a screw in the resin. Make sure the screw is level and doesn’t wobble and tip over.
Allow the resin to dry completely, which can take anywhere from eight hours to two days. The resin will dry faster in a warm, sunny area, and knobs made with thinner layers dry faster.
Step five
Pop the knobs out of the molds as you would ice cubes. Slip an aluminum spacer onto the back of your screw, and then thread your knob into a dresser drawer or a closet door and secure with a nut.
Voila – even your finicky aunt will envy her once-battered castoff.
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