Test Gluing and Drilling – Lessons from My First Epoxy Practice Corner

Assembling and gluing frame B requires a whole new set of skills: drilling pilot holes, making proper countersinks, and preparing my first ever batch of epoxy resin. To ease into this, I decided to build a sample corner using leftover wood—just a small mock-up to practice everything before committing to the real pieces. That turned out to be an excellent decision, as you’ll soon see.

Practice Corner

I began by experimenting with drilling pilot holes to screw the plywood knees to the pine strips. My first attempts were a disaster—the screws kept breaking midway. After a few tries, the plywood knee started looking like a Swiss cheese experiment gone wrong. Frustrated and unsure of what I was doing wrong, I decided to call it a day and sleep on it.

Wood secured to MDF, drilling pilot holes and countersinks

Too many broken screws!

The next morning, I took a more methodical approach. I adjusted the drill bit height and rechecked the size and depth of the countersinks. I also dialed in the torque settings on the drill/driver, making sure not to overpower the screws. On top of that, I added a bit of soap to the screw threads for lubrication. These changes made a world of difference—no more broken screws.

With that part sorted, I moved on to prepping for glue-up. I covered the MDF board with plastic to protect it from any epoxy spills (epoxy doesn’t bond to plastic, which makes cleanup easier). Then, I primed my West System pumps for the first time, which are designed to dispense the correct 5:1 ratio between resin and hardener.

Everything prepared before glueing

Next came surface prep—sanding and cleaning all wood-to-wood contact areas. I mixed a small batch of unthickened epoxy (two pumps), applied it to all mating surfaces.

Applied unthickened epoxy

Then, I thickened the remaining epoxy with 403 microfibers until it reached a peanut butter-like consistency. This thickened mix helps both bond the joint and fill any small voids at the inside corner where the two pieces of pine meet.

I applied the thickened epoxy to one of the surfaces, then assembled and screwed the pieces together—taking care not to overtighten, which would squeeze out all the glue.

Overall, I wasn’t completely satisfied with the result. The thickened epoxy could have used a bit more consistency—it tended to drip when applied to vertical surfaces. I also need to work on maintaining a cleaner workspace; it’s all too easy to accidentally touch glue and then smear it on other objects. Tomorrow I’ll see how the joint looks after curing, but I’ve already decided to make one more test corner before committing to the actual frame.

Final result - I need more practice...

One step closer—this learning curve is steep, but satisfying!