In this video, I walk you through my step-by-step process for making an epoxy and black walnut chessboard using a silicone chessboard mold. I start by cutting 32 walnut squares to 1 3/4" x 1 3/4", then I spray the mold with mold release (don’t skip this—it's huge for preserving the life of the mold and makes demolding way cleaner). After that, I mix up a 2:1 epoxy, add pigment powder (I like powders because they don’t mess with your epoxy ratio), and pour while keeping an eye out for any “funny business” like wood pieces floating. One of the coolest parts is how the Crafted Elements mold has ridges that lock the walnut squares in place, so you’re not fighting floaters the whole time. I pop bubbles with a torch, add a light swirl for that marbled look, and then after demolding you’ll notice those small grooves from the mold. To fix that and keep the wood and epoxy squares the same size, I do a second pour with a contrasting color (I used black) and I make sure everything is dead level—epoxy is basically water and it’ll find the low spot every time. If you’ve been thinking “that looks complicated,” I’m telling you: the right mold and epoxy make this project way easier than it looks—and yes, these can sell really well too.