This was my first attempt, and while it's not bad, it could have been a lot better. I stabilized mini pine cones under vacuum for 5 hours then in the pressure pot for 12 hours. Baked at 200F for an hour then I got to pick off all the resin with a pair of tweezers, one by one. Cast in polyester resin with mica powder for coloring, turned then sanded. Picked out the voids with a needle, filled each one in, coated with 4 layers of medium CA then sanded it all back down to the resin, leaving it only in the voids and cone areas. Sanded up through 12K grit, two polishes, then the buffing wheels. And after all that, it still has a few tiny air pockets. Sanding all the CA back down revealed new voids! I knew I'd get some but I was expecting it to be this much trouble. To add insult to injury, the bottom of the handle is the best looking part. I was hoping/expecting the entire handle to have the same effect. I'll have to cast them differently in the future. Ah well, it was a good learning experience and still makes for a decent looking brush. There are a few things I'll change next time I cast one of these. I have two more already cast and knowing what I'll be going through, it may be awhile before I turn them. VS 24mm two band finest knot.