Frequently Asked Questions & About Us

We have a passion for creating time saving molds, templates and tools. We have been fabricating awesome things since 2010, but the Crafted Elements brand was created in 2019 to showcase our unique line of large molds for woodworkers, resin artists and makers.

Like many businesses, we started almost by accident. Crafted Elements was originally intended as a side hustle to create unique wood table tops, cutting boards and home products featuring live edge wood and resin.

At the time (early to mid 2019) there weren't any existing maker mold options on the market. Making wood and tuck tape forms for each cutting board or serving board was par for the course. We needed a better way.

Our past experience building themed environments and Halloween attractions provided us with experience using materials such as silicone and resin to create molds for props. Knowing how useful silicone forms were for prop making, we decided to create our own silicone molds in the shapes of the serving boards we were producing. After posting these molds on our Instagram account, there were numerous people asking about where they were from, or if we could sell one to them. We knew we were onto something. Crafted Elements was reborn after the demand for our molds far exceeded the demand for our woodcraft.

We are now a leading supplier of large silicone molds, router templates, jigs and tools to the woodworking and resin art industry and have shipped our unique products to nearly every part of the world from our 10,000sqft production facility and warehouse in Ontario, Canada.

We thought you'd never ask! Follow us on your favorite platforms to stay up to date with new product releases, customer project features, tutorials, special sales and more:

Instagram - @craftedelementsco

Facebook - @craftedelementsco

TikTok - @craftedelementsco

Pinterest - @craftedelementsco

YouTube - Crafted Elements

We are so glad you asked! We have been building up a library of hands-on demonstration and teaching videos on the Crafted Elements YouTube channel. We have videos for people just getting started with creating resin and wood pieces and also more advanced videos for seasoned woodworkers and digital fabricators. If you are new to working with wood and resin we have a completely free 11 part video series you can access here.

Our shop and warehouse is located in the beautiful city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. From here, we ship our unique products all over the world. Ground shipping within the USA and Canada is FREE on standard sized items. International and air shipping additional cost. To get a quote, simply add the item(s) to your cart, and go to checkout. A list of available shipping methods and their corresponding prices will be displayed.

Ground shipping within the continental USA and Canada is FREE for orders $50 USD (~$69 CAD) and up. Orders under $50 USD (~$69 CAD) will incur a small shipping charge shown at checkout. All international and air shipments will incur an additional cost. To get a quote, simply add the item(s) to your cart, and go to checkout. A list of available shipping methods and their corresponding prices will be displayed.

At this time we do not sell pre-cut wood or resin. We focus on making the best molds, templates, and time saving tools, keeping sufficient stock and shipping our core products out lightning fast.

Our favorite epoxy resin is made by TotalBoat, which you can buy at TotalBoat.com or on Amazon.

We are sorry to hear that you want to return your purchase.

As long as your non-apparel item was purchased less than 30 days ago, is unused and still in new condition you can return it to us for a full refund.*

Apparel / "maker merch" items like t-shirts, hoodies and hats are final sale items and cannot be returned or refunded.

You can ship your item(s) back to:

Crafted Elements

245 Southgate Drive, Unit 12

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

N1G 3M5

Tel: 519-212-2111

info@craftedelements.com

Please be sure to include the original order number and name on the box, or printed on a piece of paper inside the box. A copy of your e-mailed order confirmation will also suffice. No additional RMA number is required.

If you are located in the USA we strongly encourage you to return your order using USPS (US Postal Service). Using a courier like UPS or FedEx will incur a $30 charge to us upon importation back into Canada. This fee will be deducted from your refund if you choose to use UPS or FedEx for your return.

Please be sure to declare the value of your item at no more than $50 on the commercial invoice, and to indicate "Goods For Return". Failure to do this will result in additional fees to us which will be deducted from your refund.

Please note that we do not provide pre-paid return labels. It is the customers responsibility to pay the shipping costs involved in returning an item.

We do not make any custom molds at this time. Our silicone and formed polyethylene plastic molds are true one piece molds. Our HDPE molds are created using metal tooling which cost up to $10,000 per size we create. Even our lower volume silicone molds that are made in-house use tooling that ranges from $400-$1,000 for smaller sized molds. So making small quantities of molds (or single one off molds) this way is not viable. There are many ways to create your own mold out of silicone or HDPE, a quick YouTube search can get you on your way.

With that said we always like to hear what sizes of molds makers are looking for. If enough customers ask for a similar size we usually end up adding it to our product line. So feel free to let us know!

There are many mold release sprays on the market and choosing the right one can be confusing.

It is important to avoid using sprays that are made of silicone, cooking sprays or home-made methods, as they will NOT provide the level of protection required to get the longest life out of your mold. DO NOT USE: Stoner, Apel, CRC or SO Universal Mold Release. These are all made of silicone and won't protect a silicone mold.

The three non-silicone based release sprays we highly recommend are:

• Smooth On / Mann Ease Release 200
• Smooth On / Mann Ease Release 300
• MG Chemicals 8329 Mold Release

You can purchase the Mann Ease Release 200 or Mann Ease Release 300 from us but they are all readily available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Silicone molds will not last forever, but their life expectancy is a function of how many epoxy pours are done in the mold. Epoxy resin is the harshest thing to put in a silicone mold. The heat from the exothermic reaction and the chemicals in the two part epoxies themselves both affect the surface of the silicone. The volume of resin used in a mold, and the type of resin used (brand, speed to set, heat generated, composition of the resin etc.) all affect how harsh it will be on the mold.

With this said there is not an accurate answer for “how long it will last”. This is one of the reasons we insist on customers using a quality non-silicone based mold release, such as the MG Chemicals 8329 Epoxy Release, Mann Ease Release™ 200, Mann Ease Release™ 300. Using a non-silicone based mold release there are many customers who get near 30 pours from our silicone molds. Without using a mold release we have seen silicone molds start to fail, become brittle, and tear after just a handful of uses.

Yes! Our molds should all ship with a printed instruction sheet, but you can also access a copy of it here : Mold Instruction Sheet

The depth of our molds and forms is variable. Some are 1" deep, others are up to 6" deep. However, in the case of our silicone molds you can pour all the way up to the depth of the mold, or less. Thus, a 2 deep mold could accept 2 of resin or 1/4" of resin, and everything in between. HDPE molds on the other hand generally require you to leave 0.5-1" of space from the top to allow for demolding, reducing the effective usable size of the mold.

The product page of each of our molds indicates the total interior volume (in oz and ml) of that particular mold. However if you aren't creating a solid resin piece or you are making a wood and resin hybrid piece you can use this simple equation to estimate the amount of epoxy you will need:

Ounces : Length (in) x Width (in) x Depth (in) / 1.8

Litres : Length (in) x Width (in) x Depth (in) / 61

Gallons : Length (in) x Width (in) x Depth (in) / 231

If you are using a live edge piece of wood (or opposing pieces in a river table configuration) that is not perfectly straight you want to determine the average width to use in this equation. So, for example if the distance between the two opposing live edges is between 2" and 4", you would use 3" as the average to get a rough calculation of volume of resin required.

It is also good practice to add 10% more to whatever you calculate to allow for user error, slight mis-measurement and waste.You can do this by multiplying the answer you determined above by 1.1.

Here is a full example: We are creating a river charcuterie board using a 16x12x1" mold. The average distance between the two pieces of wood in the mold (the open area in the middle of the mold) is 4". To calculate how much resin we need in ounces...

16 x 4 x 1" / 1.8 = 35.6 ounces

35.6 x 1.1 = 39.2 ounces including the 10% adjustment factor.

There are MANY epoxy brands on the market and we don't have specifications, cure time and maximum pour volumes for them all. However, in our shop we use the TotalBoat line of epoxy resins.

TotalBoat has multiple epoxies for woodworking and resin art applications. The ones used most frequently by us, as well as our customers are:

MakerPoxy / Table Top Epoxy - Good for doing shallow pours in small molds up to 1/2" deep, or top coating (flood coating) resin projects, table tops and bar tops. Demold in 12-24 hours (less if used as flood coat). Full cure in 5-7 days.

TotalBoat ThickSet - Ideal for using up to 1" deep in smaller projects like charcuterie boards or small table tops. We have poured this up to 1.5" deep when creating smaller boards. Demold in 24 hours. Full cure in 5-7 days.

TotalBoat ThickSet Fathom - Good for up to 3" in casting applications and 2" deep large river tables. Demold in 3-4 days. Full cure in 5-10 days.

This is unfortunately a tricky question to answer. If there is a large amount of unset (improperly mixed) resin your mold likely cant be saved, however if it's just a small amount you can try putting the mold in a freezer to solidify the resin and remove it (carefully) once frozen. For residue and small sticky spots we find goo-gone works best.

The formed HDPE plastic (polyethylene) molds on the market are lower cost, and available in larger sizes, but are more ideal for rough forming of wood and resin where the piece will be trimmed and planed after demolding. Due to the natural internal stresses of formed polyethylene the interior of these molds are never 100% flat (typically off by 1/16-1/8") and the corners and sides have radiuses and small draft angles to allow for forming and demolding.

Silicone molds are superior with their flexibility allowing for tight edges and corners and 90 degree side walls without a draft angle. They can be mimic the finest details, making them available in nearly endless shapes and designs. HDPE molds are limited to basic geometric shapes like squares, circles and rectangles.

Silicone molds are very flexible and take just seconds to demold. HDPE / plastic molds are semi-ridged and take much more effort to demold.

Silicone molds however do have a finite life and can be damaged if the wrong (or no) mold release is used. Thus the "cost per pour" is generally higher with silicone molds. The tradeoff when compared to HDPE plastic molds is convenience, time saving, material saving, and casting quality.

If your silicone mold is coming apart, if pieces are coming out with your resin during demold, or it's inner surface is becoming very brittle it means that either a mold release was not used as instructed, the wrong mold release was used, or the mold is coming to the end of its useful life. A proper NON-SILICONE based mold release is required before each and every use to protect the interior of your mold from harsh epoxy resin, and to get the most uses out of it. Please see the mold instruction sheet included with each shipment, or download a digital PDF copy here: https://craftedelements.com/moldinstructions/

You may be able to repair your mold and keep using it. We created a short demonstration video on the best practices to repair our silicone molds here.

HDPE forms are created with thin polyethlene plastic material. The thin material is required to be flexible enough for you to easily demold your project. Stronger, straighter and thicker walls would be flatter but notably more expensive and nearly impossible to demold. The internal stresses of polyethelene become more obvious in a thin material as it doesn't want to stay flat and straight by nature. That is why we do not recommend HDPE forms for resin artists who want a perfect project right out the mold. A cast from an HDPE mold needs to be trimmed, planed and sanded in post-processing to get a flat and square piece.

Doing a search for silicone resin molds on eBay or Amazon will return hundreds of results between $10-$30. So what's the difference? Quite simply, it has to do with the volume of silicone used in our molds, the production process and shipping cost. Much like quality epoxy resin, silicone is expensive and costs ~ $20 per pound (roughly $160/gallon). Most of our molds have thick 1/2" to 3/4" walls and bottoms, and are much larger than a small $10 mold used to cast a "trinket". The cost of silicone is a major factor in why these cost so much. Another common mold material, HDPE plastic, on the other hand is much lower in cost than silicone and also has some notable disadvantages when compared to a similar sized silicone mold.

Most thin, flimsy and "cheap" molds found on Amazon, Etsy, Aliexpress, Temu etc. are made in high volumes by a compression molding process in China. While a handful of our molds also come from China from a factory that only supplies us, 94% of our silicone mold SKUs are made in-house, one by one, in our facility in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

We also offer free shipping for the majority of our silicone molds. Combine these cost factors with the time saved setting up and demolding your pour, and it should more than justify the price of them!

A combination of scrap HDPE blocks, or our HDPE block kit, in combination with hand weights, kettle bells or clamps. Placing the HDPE block between your wood and weight (or clamp) ensures that any resin spill over wont bond to your weights or clamps. Once the resin is set the HDPE blocks easily and cleanly detach from the resin.

No. There is no warranty on our molds. Not only are most molds a consumable item with a limited life (a properly cared for silicone mold can last between 20-30 pours), but molds are easily damaged when misused or improperly cared for. All of our molds are inspected prior to shipping but if they are deemed to be defective or damaged upon delivery we can and will address that, but no post-purchase warranty is offered on these products. If you ripped or damaged your mold, you might find this video helpful.

Many ripped, torn or otherwise damaged silicone molds can have their lives extended by using 100% pure silicone caulk (not acrylic) and some simple tools. We created a short demonstration video on the best practices to repair our silicone molds here.

No. We are not making custom templates at this time.

There is no better way to explain how to use our acrylic router templates than with a good tutorial video. You can find that video here on our YouTube channel.

Most of our templates are for shaping, where you want your material to take the final shape of the template. Using these types of templates with a router table is easiest, though a handheld router will also work. For these templates, any 1/4” diameter flush trim router bit with a guide bearing will do. Low-cost ones are available on Amazon but we recommend the Crafted Elements High Performance 1/4" Spiral Down Cut Flush Trim Bit for most projects. If you are working with thicker stock (up to 1.5" thick) you might benefit from using our XL High Performance Template Router Bit - 3/8" Spiral Up Cut Flush Trim Bit With 1.5" Cutter.

For pocketing, resin backfills, or wood inlays a handheld plunge router is recommended. Wood inlay templates (such as bow ties and butterflies) require an inlay kit with a spacer bushing, such as the Whiteside 9500 Solid Brass Inlay Kit. For general pocketing and recesses use the Amana Tool 45983 (1/2“) radiused bit, Amana Tool 45460-S (1/2”), 45475-S (3/8”) or 47224-S (1/4”) straight bits or similar router bits.

For very narrow pocketing or intricate patterns we suggest a short, mini-flush trim bit such as the Amana Tool 47222-S or the Amana Tool 47220.

There is definitely a learning curve and experimentation involved when you first start using your router table to shape workpieces. One of the most common complaints for people just starting out is known as "kickback". It can often create a blemish or even notable damage in the piece you are working on.

There are multiple factors at play here including 1. How much material you have left on your piece (it should be 1/4" or less) 2. What speed you are running your router at. 3. What router bit you are using (larger diameter bits are more problematic) and 4. Whether you are using a starting pin with your router table.

To best explain the factors above there are two videos worth watching that may help you resolve kickback and other routering issues:

https://craftedelements.com/kickback

https://craftedelements.com/starterpin

There are many slab levelling bits available. They also called spoil board surfacing bits which is in reference to their use in CNC machining.

If you are using a full sized router (generally 2hp or more) we recommend using a surfacing bit with a 1/2" shaft and a cutter diameter between 2-3". The bit we use in our tutorial video with our router sled is the SpeTool 2.5" spoil board bit from Amazon.

If you are using a trim router which are typically around 1hp, you will want to use a 1/4" shaft bit with a cutter no more than 1.5" in diameter. The bit we used in our trim router sled tutorial video is the SpeTool 1.25" surfacing router bit from Amazon.

You bet. Our router sleds use standard 20mm industrial linear rails. You can easily add length to your sled by purchasing additional rails and butting them up to the existing ones. You are basically only limited by your workbench size. You can shop our router sled components and upgrades here.

Our full size sleds have an optional dust collection boot and shroud that can be purchased here. You can then use a 2.5" hose (or a 4" hose to 2.5" adapter first) to connect to the 2.5" angled dust collection fitting which you will attach to the router sleds router base plate.

We offer a few different router base options. Each router base has a hole pattern pre-drilled to allow the mounting of various makes and models of routers.

The U1 router base supports most late model full size routers and is the most popular option. The FEST router base is for Festool routers. The BL router base or "Blank" has no pre-drilled holes and is intended for you to drill holes in it yourself if your router isn't listed on the compatibility chart. The UTR1 is a smaller router base for trim (palm) routers and is most often used with our trim router sled.

If your router is not listed on any of our compatibility charts it does NOT mean that it is not compatible. It just means there are no pre-drilled holes to allow you to mount it out of the box. All you need to do is follow the instructions in this video to drill your own mounting holes in any of our router base plates. We have yet to encounter a router that couldn't be used with our router sled.

Yes! Consider the giveaway an added benefit of purchasing our maker centric tees, hoodies and hats. Since 2019 we have given away tens of thousands of dollars in woodworking and craft-making related prizes. The business model is simple, revenue from sales of apparel minus the cost of goods, advertising costs and prize costs generates a profit. Just like any other business, but with a twist our customers love!

It's simple. When you make a purchase of any maker merch like t-shirts, hoodies and hats on our website during an open giveaway period (which is announced on our website) you are automatically entered into the current giveaway. Every $1 you spend on apparel, before the cost of shipping and taxes, gets you one entry into the current sweepstakes.

For example if you have $20 worth of apparel on your order you earn 20 entries, $100 in apparel gets you 100 entries. Non apparel items (molds, templates, jigs, tools, accessories) can be on the same order but their value does not generate any extra giveaway entries. It's all calculated and counted AUTOMATICALLY by our online system.

Our giveaways are open only to legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States (excludes Alaska and Hawaii), the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are legal age of majority (18 years old in most states) in the state / province / territory in which they reside.

Once you place your order online our checkout system AUTOMATICALLY logs and records the number of entries you received for that order. If you place multiple orders over the course of the giveaway entry period all of your entries are AUTOMATICALLY combined.

Only the value of apparel such as t-shirts, hoodies, hats etc count towards your entries. No entries are awarded for the purchase of other Crafted Elements products.

Once the giveaway closes, we put all of the order data into a randomized drawing system which picks the winner. This is typically done within 5 days of the giveaway period ending. We will reach out to the winner by phone and/or e-mail to verify their eligibility (age, location, citizenship status plus a skill testing question if the winner is in Canada). Once verified we announce the winner on our social media channels as soon as possible.

NO! We never notify our winners over social media. Our winners will always be contacted by phone or e-mail FIRST before we announce them as the winner on our social media channels. If someone reaches out to you via social media (Messenger, Instagram, TikTok messaging etc.) and tells you that you have won, then you should block them and report their account immediately. We will NEVER ask for any payment, or credit card or bank details in order for you to claim a prize.

Within 5 days of a giveaway ending we will draw a random winner and reach out to them via PHONE AND/OR E-MAIL to qualify them. This involves ensuring they are of legal age and are a legal resident, etc. If they are in Canada instead of the USA, a skill testing question will also be required by law in order to be qualified to be the prize winner. If you are the winner, you will be informed of this by phone and/or e-mail before we announce it on social media.

No! Our winners do not have to pay us ANYTHING to claim a prize. If you have been contacted by someone asking for a payment, credit card details or banking information in order to claim a prize you should report their account and block them immediately, as it's likely a scammer.

It is important to note that if you are a US resident winning a prize valued at over $600 USD we or our prize administrator will file an IRS 1099 form on your behalf to report the value of the prize won. The value of this prize will be considered income to you, and you will be expected to pay income taxes on it at the end of the tax year.

The total entries earned for your order are displayed at checkout. We also send an e-mail immediately following checkout which contains your entries as well.

Note that entries are only earned on the purchase of apparel like t-shirts, hoodies, hats etc. While you can have other items on the same order like molds, templates, tools, jigs and accessories, the value of those items does not count towards giveaway entry calculation.

We recommend saving or printing a copy of your orders to help you keep track of your total entries if you have placed multiple orders during the giveaway entry period.

We utilize a POD or "print on demand" model for the majority of our apparel / "maker merch" products. As soon as your order is placed it gets put into the manufacturing queue. Typically within 4-6 business days of your order being placed it leaves our suppliers fulfillment center.

If you placed an order for non-apparel items from Crafted Elements (such as molds, templates, jigs, tools or accessories) they will be shipped in a separate shipment and will normally arrive before your apparel order.

We can usually make changes to an order if we are notified before it enters production. Typically 24H after an order is placed its already being printed and can't be changed. However, you can contact our customer service department with your name and order number as well as the requested change and we will do our best to help.

You will get an order shipment notification e-mail from us as soon as your order ships. This e-mail confirmation usually contains a tracking number so you can track the status of your order in our couriers network.

The majority of apparel orders (t-shirts, hoodies, hats) are shipped directly from our fulfillment center partners using USPS (United States Postal Service). Larger, heavier items are shipped via UPS or FedEx. You will receive a shipment confirmation with a tracking number via e-mail once your order ships.

If your order contained other items from Crafted Elements such as molds, templates, tools, jigs or accessories, they will be shipped separately from your apparel items and a separate tracking number will be provided.

If you placed an order and have got no order confirmation or shipping confirmation e-mails from us its likely that you mistyped your e-mail address at checkout. Please contact us with your full name, address and the date you ordered so we can make any required corrections.

First off, stay calm :-) We use a POD (print on demand) model to manufacture and fulfill orders of apparel. Orders containing molds, templates, tools, jigs or accessories are shipped directly from us and will be sent in a separate shipment.

If over 10 business days (2 weeks) has passed since you placed your order and it is still incomplete, please reach out to us with your full name and order number and we can look into it.

Unfortunately, no. Due to our production model utilizing print-on-demand production (made to order) all items are custom made just for you and can't be returned or exchanged.

In addition, we cant tamper with entries in our giveaways. Changing the value of an order would inherently change the number of entries awarded to it.

Lastly, for obvious reasons no refunds for any reason can be granted after a giveaway has ended and a winner has been announced.

We've run a BUNCH of giveaways since 2020 but our more memorable ones that can be considered "epic" can be seen here. Who knows, maybe you'll be our next winner?