First Epoxy River table - Any tips??

[Nick Mazzino]

I am going to begin working on my first epoxy river table this weekend. I have been doing some research and watching some videos.

Does anyone have any experience making these that can give any tips?

Can it be sent through the planer after the epoxy has cured? I have a helical head.
My epoxy says cures at 75-80 degrees in 72 hours. I am unable to keep my house or shop that warm during the winter. I did a few little test pieces at around 68-70 degrees and seemed to cure fine. Do you see an issue with making the table over the winter at those temps?

Any tips/help is really appreciated!

Thanks,
Nick

[Richard Coers]

Was your test piece the same thickness as you table slabs? Are you using epoxy as a generic term, or do you really intend to use epoxy? What are you going to do to limit bubbles? Are your slabs bone dry? Many resins don't play well with damp wood. What methods have you figured out for mixing that much resin, and then degassing it? I would definitely not want to run that through a planer. It would very likely shatter on the exit from the cutter. And if not dead flat, the pressure rollers could exert enough pressure to maybe crack something. Don't forget you are going to have to polish that resin to get it to look clear. I've read a lot of posts from guys ruining pen blanks with their first pours, messing up some big slabs would sure be rough to take.

[Greg Parrish]

Never used their products but these folks have a ton of videos and information if you snoop around their site some

https://www.stonecoatcountertops.com/stone-coat-product

https://www.stonecoatcountertops.com/free-training-how-to-videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/bulldogquist

[Nick Mazzino]

My test pieces were just little scraps to try the epoxy since I have never used it.

I am using table top epoxy from the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Clear-Table-Coating-Tabletop/dp/B01LYK2NAG/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1541024399&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=epoxy+resin&dpPl=1&dpID=51bJGynqxkL&ref=plSrch

To limit bubles I am going to do a skim coat and hit it with either a heat gun or torch. Wait 4-10 hours then do my river pour and also use either heat gun or torch.

The mix ratio is 1:1 resin to hardener. So that part is not difficult.

I ask the planer question as I am worried about the resin being higher than my slab of it is beyond sanding.

I am actually making a small river coat rack about 18” x 10” this weekend before wasting all that on a river table in case it does not come out right. I have seen some people run the epoxy through planers on YouTube. Was just looking for some personal input.

[BrianD King]

Epoxy is so temperamental. I would strongly advise you to make something smaller than a river table first so that you can keep messing with epoxy, how much and how to pour, using the torch etc. The big issue is that there's such limited margin for error. If something goes wrong, it's often impossible to fix. I'd hate a beautiful table to go up in smoke thanks to a botched large pour.

You're smart to over pour if you can deal with planing off the excess, which is definitely possible. Just take small bites.

[Patrick Varley]

My first suggestion would be to not use epoxy. Only because of the river tables I've seen (few of which I find appealing), I like the ones using CNC cut glass (https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/07/table-topography-greg-klassen/) instead of epoxy.

If youb are going to use epoxy, you will need to fill in multiple pours that are 1/8"-1/4" thick. Based on the product and cure time, you have to pour the next coat while it's still tacky or scuff sand between coats. That timing will be product specific. As for curing temperature, I'd go by whatever the product says. I know that West Systems will cure even at low temp (depending on the hardener), but the trade off is that cure time and temperature are inversely proportional.

As for finishing, I'd hesitate to put it through a planer. If you get any kind of flex, you're risking cracking. A safer option is planing with a router/sled/planing bit. You will then need to polish the epoxy coating to get it clear. You can start with sandpaper, but Ive had good luck then moving to wet sanding with Mirka Abralon pads (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014Q3PKSI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_XEJ2BbJ299C9A) on a DA polisher.

[Matt Day]

My only tip is that river tables are likely a fad. That being said I still like them and it’s be fun to make.

[johnny means]

My only tip is that river tables are likely a fad. That being said I still like them and it’s be fun to make.

Agreed. River tables are the hipster's shag carpet.

[Alan Schwabacher]

I'd hate a beautiful table to go up in smoke thanks to a botched large pour.

Going up in smoke is literally a possible problem with a large volume pour of most epoxies: they heat up during cure, and if not a thin enough layer to cool quickly, can heat up enough to char. You can make small successful tests, and then have a disaster at full scale. The faster the cure, the worse the potential problem.

I would not use an epoxy to pour a thick layer (> 1/4") unless the instructions for the epoxy specifically stated it was appropriate for that depth of pour. The amazon description for the epoxy you plan to use does not say anything about thickness, so I would not make layers thicker than that, unless tested first.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Agreed. River tables are the hipster's shag carpet.

+1. The few I've seen (which were finely executed) have been a terrible way to ruin some nice lumber. The aesthetics make no sense...

[John Patric]

You may not call this a river table, call it a stream table or a water table. A chap by the name of Greg Klassen has trademarked the name 'river table' as it relates to furniture because according to him he invented the concept.

Anyway i'm off to trademark 'raised panel door'.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Personally I am tired of the concept, but this is your project so have at it. You may need to pour in steps it will be easier to remove bubbles and the heat. The epoxy you linked, appears to be more of a top coat for a bar or something. I would use West Systems or Total Boat.

[Nick Mazzino]

Thank you everyone for the input. I realize now the epoxy I bought is not made for thicker river pours and is more for coating. I will order a different epoxy and save this for a different use.

I have wanted to make a river table since I got into woodworking about a year ago. I realize they may not be for everyone, but I really like the look of the deep blue epoxy.

Thanks again for the help. Everyone on this forum always gives great and very helpful advice to a very new woodworker!

[Bill Dufour]

How he can trademark river table I do not know. Water tables have been used for decades in preschools. Sand tables for centuries as part of crtography

[Frank Pratt]

The wood that fine furniture is made of will, with time, acquire little scratches, dents & minor wear. This gives it a patina that actually improves the look of the piece. The same cannot be said of chipped, scratched & yellowed epoxy. It seems a shame to commit all those resources to something that is likely to get tossed out in a few years.

[Patrick Varley]

The wood that fine furniture is made of will, with time, acquire little scratches, dents & minor wear. This gives it a patina that actually improves the look of the piece. The same cannot be said of chipped, scratched & yellowed epoxy. It seems a shame to commit all those resources to something that is likely to get tossed out in a few years.

Wouldn't be too hard to repair/refinish epoxy with some chips/scratches. Yellowing could be an issue, but the OP sounds like he is going to tint it anyway.

[Van Huskey]

I get the impulse to label the latest "youtube" furniture styles as fads BUT Queen Anne, Hepplewhite, Sheraton, MCM, A&C, Chippendale, Federal, Scandinavian, American Empire et al were "fads" at some point. I agree some of the "designers" could spend some time with Walker and Tolpin's book By Hand and Eye but Maloof wasn't the first to build a sculpted rocker, just the one to hone it into an iconic style. I am not a big fan of mixed media in furniture, I tend to be a minimalist even with metal, but I agree with Patrick that glass is the way to go, epoxy will never make an heirloom piece. The glass is also a Klassen trademark (in the non-legal sense as I don't think he has tried to protect it).

[andrew whicker]

Can you protect your furniture design? I went to a big furniture convention in Vegas and it was chock full of rip offs.

Good luck with that.

I also agree that epoxy is detrimental to long term value when used that way, but to each their own. I like the glass idea better. You could probably have some awesome thick glass cast for you if you had some money to spend. Give it some depth.

[Julie Moriarty]

Agreed. River tables are the hipster's shag carpet.

Fad or not, everyone who comes into our house gravitates to the kitchen river island and they all love it. I've made a lot of things over the years but never have I had so many compliments as I've had on the river island.

As for epoxy fill, there are a lot of videos out there showing how to do it. All the ones I've seen start with making a dam at each end, doing pours in increments, and using a torch along the way to burn out the bubbles. I remember reading one piece of advice that said to use artist's epoxy because it's crystal clear. I'll be venturing down this road to fill in a rotted out knot in a slab. I plan on dying the epoxy the same color (or close) as the river glass in the kitchen.

[Pat Barry]

+1. The few I've seen (which were finely executed) have been a terrible way to ruin some nice lumber. The aesthetics make no sense...

Excellent feedback, not!

[Rick Potter]

Eye of the beholder. Art to one, junk to another.

[Darcy Warner]

I like pallet furniture so much better. Lol

[Martin Wasner]

I like pallet furniture so much better. Lol

One of these days I'm going to take $500 of walnut and turn it into a pallet.

Had I won that big lottery, I think I would've bought some really expensive antique with some irreplaceable history, like Napoleon's desk, and turned it into a pallet

[Ron Citerone]

One of these days I'm going to take $500 of walnut and turn it into a pallet.

Had I won that big lottery, I think I would've bought some really expensive antique with some irreplaceable history, like Napoleon's desk, and turned it into a pallet


Beverage all over the key board! LOL

After seeing the price of these things on ETSY, I have to think again. Could be a money maker for an artistic person.

[Darcy Warner]

One of these days I'm going to take $500 of walnut and turn it into a pallet.

Had I won that big lottery, I think I would've bought some really expensive antique with some irreplaceable history, like Napoleon's desk, and turned it into a pallet

I once got a machine that was created with walnut ply.

[John Sincerbeaux]

The OP asks for tips on a project. Amazing how few tips were offered, rather, many bold and myopic views of what makes an acceptable use of one’s efforts and materials?
Artists and craftsman have been embellishing wood with synthetic and natural materials for centuries.

[Martin Wasner]

The OP asks for tips on a project. Amazing how few tips were offered, rather, many bold and myopic views of what makes an acceptable use of one’s efforts and materials?
Artists and craftsman have been embellishing wood with synthetic and natural materials for centuries.

You see the first one, and you think: "wow, that's cool!" After a few hundred, meh.
My Instagram is flooded.... with those.

There was one a while back in a kitchen that I really liked, it was a countertop with a waterfall edge. I liked that. Not enough to do it in my own kitchen, but it looked nice and very well done.

[Richard Coers]

The OP asks for tips on a project. Amazing how few tips were offered, rather, many bold and myopic views of what makes an acceptable use of one’s efforts and materials?
Artists and craftsman have been embellishing wood with synthetic and natural materials for centuries.
What synthetics were available centuries ago? Centuries implies at least 200 years ago, right? Bakelite was invented in 1907, and it was one of the earliest synthetics.

[Michael Shoffner]

I have never done it myself, yet watched several videos on it. Make sure what you use is a casting epoxy. That type seems to stay clearer over time, and more importantly can be poured thicker. Ecopoxy is the brand I keep seeing used. Most epoxy can't be poured more than 1/4 thick or so at a time. Apparently you can pour Ecopoxy very thick all at once with minimal bubble /heat issues. It's not cheap though.
I've also seen craftsmen level the dried pours using a router and slab leveling jig. Then go back and polish it smooth. Check out the guys at Black Forest Wood Co. in Canada. They offer alot of info and even offer an online epoxy webinar.
Good luck!

[Frank Pratt]

Not into this kind of thing at all, but I watched a couple of youtubes where they used a vacuum pot to degas the epoxy before casting. One of them had a transparent lid on the pot & it was amazing to see how much gas bubbled out.

[Julie Moriarty]

Michael, I just bought a gallon of Ecopoxy Liquid Plastic and a 200mg Glopoxy kit. The Ecopoxy website is pretty sparse when it comes to detailed instructions. Their links to GloPoxy and videos are broken. But the instructions on the container say you can pour from 1/4" to 1-1/2" in a single pour. It then takes 3 days to cure. That long cure time is supposed to allow bubbles to escape. The Liquid Plastic I bought is a 2:1 mix ratio, though they do sell a 1:1 if you don't want rock hard. The GloPoxy is a 4:1 mix ratio and, I found out after it arrived, is intended to be rolled onto a surface. I wanted to swirl it into the pour.

I submitted some questions to them through email yesterday. I have a flamewood slab, the center of which has been rotted out. But that's what makes it so interesting. We were going to lay glass over it. Two problems with that are the rotted wood center would probably be dropping particles for some time (some of it is very fragile) and the glass would hide the beautiful figure of the wood. So I'm jumping into the world of epoxy.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Julie,

I look forward to reading your reports as your project evolves.

Salut,

Jacques

[Jacques Gagnon]

Nick:

How do you plan to vent your work area if you choose to work in your house?