SPRING 2026

Windvane by John Mikolich

While winterizing his sailboat, John Mikolich accidentally crushed a plastic windvane with an 80-pound outboard. Over breakfast, he spotted a cereal box and used it to trace and cut a replacement, then saturated it with WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy. By dinnertime, he had a durable, colorful new part—better than the original.

Leveling Feet by Daryl Brunette

After moving into a new house, my workbench wobbled on the sloped garage floor, and I didn’t want winter water puddling around the shimmed wooden legs. As a longtime WEST SYSTEM^® user, I knew epoxy could help, but encapsulating the feet with thickened epoxy felt too complicated. Instead, I poured leftover epoxy into small cups and cast the heads of bolts into them, creating simple, custom leveling feet. It was a free, durable fix that put waste epoxy and spare parts to good use.

Canoe By Otto Glass

When Otto’s wife turned out to be allergic to cedar, he got creative and used untreated 2×6 framing lumber to build their canoe. He milled the boards into strips himself and constructed a 14′ long, 40″ wide, 16″ deep custom canoe. Despite having no prior experience with canoe building or fiberglass, he praised the ease of WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy and the 300 Mini Pumps.

Casting by Lou Yelgin

To restore a vintage wooden screw for a bench vise, Lou needed a custom nut with a rare 3½ TPI thread. Since machining wasn’t an option, he used the screw itself to mold the threads by coating it in petroleum jelly and casting WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy around it. The result was a perfect, functional epoxy nut.

Over the last off-season, Robert Petersen converted the bare aluminum hull of his RIB dinghy into a hybrid plywood/aluminum hull using 1/4″ ply and WEST SYSTEM^® products. Robert looks forward to using her as a dinghy for his 1971 Jim Brown 37′ Searunner as he sails the United States Virgin Islands in St. Thomas.

Wood Dinghy by Robert Hale

This design is Nick Schade’s “Coot” plan. It was built by Robert Hale using clear old growth red cedar 1/4″ x 3/4″.
He tried to orient as many strips fore and aft as possible, but the last eight strips went in straight, and he tapered the ends. These were edge glued and covered in 6 oz. fiberglass inside and out using WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy. The transom is cherry.

Boat Planters by Ed Maurer

Yard Yachts are small, boat-like planters and displays for use in homes, gardens and businesses. Working from his shop in Dunedin, FL, Ed Maurer builds these 3′-8′ yachts. He chooses to use interior grade plywood (for its flexibility and affordability) in addition to various types of lumber. To ensure the yachts can stand up to the exterior elements, he uses WEST SYSTEM 105 Epoxy Resin^® and 206 Slow Hardener^® for bonding and sealing the wood. The exteriors, and sometimes the interiors, are painted with high-grade exterior household paints to the customer’s order. Any unpainted epoxy receives several coats of marine-grade spar varnish.

Condo Bench by Paul Hayes

Reader Paul Hayes recently donated this bench to his condo association so residents would have a nice location near the mailboxes to sit and read their mail. This teak bench had spent some time outside and therefore had become discolored. He sanded the bench on his dry, enclosed porch and removed any sanding dust. Having some limited exposure to WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy from the sailing world, he decided to use that to seal the wood. He applied four applications, being careful not to create “gas bubbles” by letting the porch get too hot or humid. He sanded between each coat. Over top he applied 4-5 coats of a marine grade varnish, wet sanding as high as 2,500-grit.

Knife by Matthew Gregory

This neo-Japanese style fighting knife, with composite construction handle, was made by Matthew Gregory. The 6″ long blade is made of a Crucible Steel laminate of CPM-154 stainless cladding over a core of high wear resistance tool steel Crucible CPM-10v. The handle consists of a G10 and carbon fiber frame, with an aerospace foam material called Rohacell (to add dimension with almost no weight). It’s sleeved in carbon fiber, and bonded with WEST SYSTEM^® 105/207 under vacuum. The seppa and menuki are both titanium, and the guard is carbon fiber. WEST SYSTEM 105/205 was used for the final assembly. Instagram @mgregoryknives.

By Ray McCarthy. My son’s high school graduation present in 1998, I built this 10′ Kayak. The kayak was built with WEST SYSTEM^® Epoxy, okume plywood, and 4 oz. fiberglass cloth. I used the “tortured plywood” or stitch and glue technique. The hard chines make it very stable. 26 years later, my son still fishes from it on Cape Cod ponds and marshes. It’s still light and watertight. Thanks, Gougeon Brothers!

Jon Bauer built two boats with WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy. He says, “I found this product very easy to use and it resulted in a professional finish.”
First up is his stunning lapstrake craft 12′ canoe, which was completed back in 2016. In 2022 he completed his last boat, a 13′ kayak.

Micheal Stendzis built this Camilla C, a 14′ Seneca Pacific Power Dory from plans. The boat is a plywood on frame design, wrapped in fiberglass/epoxy and paint. Michael Stendzis confessed to using “copious amounts of WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy.” As his largest woodworking project to date, he said, “the process was incredibly fun, with lots of challenges to figure out as I went”. The boat was named Camilla C as a tribute to his beloved grandmother.

After building a canoe and paddle board, Rich Amy of Eden Prairie, Minnesota needed a new challenge. He built this 14′ teardrop camper in his garage. The outer skin is redwood and Baltic birch with fiberglass and WEST SYSTEM Epoxy.

Larry Andersen carved this full size 1932 ford 31 years ago and his product has NEVER failed. NOT one piece of wood has ever come apart.

Doug Finkbeiner of Saginaw, Michigan built this weatherproof carbon fiber and epoxy bike truck to store his camping equipment. The trunk weighed 38 lbs. loaded with all of his gear. Pedaling his handcycle with his arms, he traveled across Michigan from Saginaw, then took the SS Badger ferry across Lake Michigan into Wisconsin. He then traveled through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and back into Michigan. His self-supported 46-day trip totaled 1,480 miles. He plans to build a two-wheeled handcycle next.

This group of students built a costume for a child in a wheelchair for the non-profit organization Magic Wheelchair. The design was inspired by his favorite book, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.

“I’ve been making art castings with your epoxy. The first batch sold out in 24 hours. Loving this resin!” —Tia Severeno