DIY Celestial Wood and Brass Inlay Serving Board
Recently, the warm glint of brass inlay has been showing up all over — on wooden dressers, cut into marble jewelry boxes, curving through intricate handmade tiles. And like any eye-catching trend, after spotting it at our favorite shops around town, our “Hey, we should try to make that!” attitude tempted us to try out the technique for ourselves. However, the process for inlaying brass into wood can be complicated (not to mention, expensive).
Inlay is the art of filling a cavity with a contrasting material (in this case, brass into wood), and creating the intricate designs often calls for specialized tools like a router or laser cutter. But to make the technique much easier, we developed a method that doesn’t require anything fancier than a power drill and some materials from the hardware store. Just start with a store-bought wooden serving board, or even grab the one already sitting on your kitchen counter. Then, get creative: Swap in a piece of brass tubing from the hardware store in place of a standard drill bit and use it to carve out the cavities in a celestial-inspired design. Fill each ring with a thin slice of brass tubing. A coating of food-safe resin secures the brass in place and makes the board suitable for serving cheese, snacks, and charcuterie. When the shiny celestial design catches the light, it’s sure to add some sparkle to get-togethers and parties. The full how-to is below. Enjoy! —Katie Holdefehr and Marla Christiansen from Mint Reign
For more customizable DIY ideas, check out Katie and Marla online or at Instagram.
Supplies
- Wooden serving board
- Brass tubing, in a range of sizes (we used 5/32”, 9/32”, 11/32”, 13/32”)
- Tube cutter (such as this one: https://amzn.to/2uq8uc2)
- Tape
- Food-safe resin (such as this FDA-approved one: https://bit.ly/2pKQFyO)
- Sandpaper (in 80-, 100-, and 220-grit)
- Sanding block
- Power drill
Instructions
Step 1Measure and cut 1 inch of brass tubing.
Step 2Mark off ¼ inch on the brass tube. This will be your guide for how deep to drill the
cavities.
Carefully position the tube in the drill (as if it were a drill bit) with the taped end
facing out. Squeeze the trigger to secure the “bit” in place.
Beginning with the largest size tube, drill down into the board until you reach the
taped line. Continue drilling rings in a random celestial-inspired pattern, until you
achieve the look you want.
Repeat steps 1 through 4 with the remaining tube sizes.
Step 6Using the leftover brass tube, cut enough ¼-inch- long pieces to fill all of the rings
drilled in the board.
Mix the epoxy according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 8Using a popsicle stick, apply a dot of epoxy to the cavity in the board. Then press
in a brass piece to fill the ring. Make sure the metal is covered with a layer of
epoxy. After all of the brass pieces are in place, allow the epoxy to fully cure.
Once dry, sand the board, starting with the coarse sandpaper and using finer
sandpaper as you progress. When you’re finished sanding, the board should feel
smooth.
Finish with cutting board oil to make your inlay really shine!
This is really beautiful! It would be a great display piece to have out in a kitchen.
Is this food safe? A lot of brass is not safe to be used in this way.
Suzanne
It is, that’s addressed in the steps below. You seal it with a food-safe sealant and used it as a serving board- NOT a cutting board. Cutting it may risk piercing that sealant and making it no longer food safe. But as long as you seal it (as described in the instructions) and use it for serving, it’s fine. :)
Grace
Beautiful!!
Beautiful! I’m looking forward to trying this.
Really clever and beautiful! Would it be more food safe to use copper tubing?
Kitt
This is perfectly food safe when it’s sealed :)
Grace
So beautiful
I really love brass and wood together, but Im not seeing the golden sheen in the photos. I’m guessing that the sealant destroys the reflectiveness. How to fix this… Hmm…
So beautiful and clever. It ends up looking almost like a constellation…just gorgeous. Would love to try this on a table top or other wood surface…the possibilities are endless! Can’t wait to try.
Mollie
Let us know if you make this on another surface, we’d love to see! :)
Grace
Did I miss a source for the cutting board? It’s gorgeous and I’d love to use a similar board for this project.
Beautiful! Great Way to personalise your home or gift.
love the celestial bubbles here, certainly nothing like this available in any stores I’ve visited recently, pretty straightforward too, good to know about the food safe resin, great idea, thank you