Evan Mansker
08-25-2020, 6:30 PM
TLDR; is epoxy a good method of coating oak for a router table top or are there any other suggestions?
I was lucky enough to come by a relatively inexpensive restaurant table (butcher block style) made of oak. I've already handplaned the polyurethane (it was flaking really bad) off of the surface. Disclaimer, I'm new to wood working so I'm learning as I go, sometimes what not to do. I'm assuming it was polyurethane since it was a table but don't know that for certain.
My question is around how to treat the surface. Some of the slats had a little more tear out than the others and I've tried different angles (always tried to do ~45 deg to the grain), going with the grain and against (which was worse) - talking with others it sounds like sometimes that's just how oak is and was recommended to try a cabinet scraper or random orbital sander (I don't own and am trying to minimize purchases right now). I do have a small square dewalt hand sander I was contemplating, but I got to thinking about epoxy since there are a few different versions of it out there, I thought maybe I could use that to win the grain "fill" I need as well as the self-leveling aspect of it. Then when I'm ready to invest in the T-Track I'd come back and use the router to cut the channels (I've seen mixed feedback on how best to do this). I also thought about using a mix of oil/wax, varnish, lacquer, and shellac but am not sure what would be the best to give a smooth finish. I'm less concerned about looks and more concerned about making using the tool an enjoyable experience. I have a cast iron bench dog router plate that was gifted to me, seems easy enough to install (based on looking at many youtube videos on router plates in general) if I take my time and measure 10x :)
Router fence is next once I have the table finished (before T-Track).
Thanks in advance for any guidance on this! I don't want to ruin a table if this is an awful idea. It's ~32"x46"x1.5"
I was lucky enough to come by a relatively inexpensive restaurant table (butcher block style) made of oak. I've already handplaned the polyurethane (it was flaking really bad) off of the surface. Disclaimer, I'm new to wood working so I'm learning as I go, sometimes what not to do. I'm assuming it was polyurethane since it was a table but don't know that for certain.
My question is around how to treat the surface. Some of the slats had a little more tear out than the others and I've tried different angles (always tried to do ~45 deg to the grain), going with the grain and against (which was worse) - talking with others it sounds like sometimes that's just how oak is and was recommended to try a cabinet scraper or random orbital sander (I don't own and am trying to minimize purchases right now). I do have a small square dewalt hand sander I was contemplating, but I got to thinking about epoxy since there are a few different versions of it out there, I thought maybe I could use that to win the grain "fill" I need as well as the self-leveling aspect of it. Then when I'm ready to invest in the T-Track I'd come back and use the router to cut the channels (I've seen mixed feedback on how best to do this). I also thought about using a mix of oil/wax, varnish, lacquer, and shellac but am not sure what would be the best to give a smooth finish. I'm less concerned about looks and more concerned about making using the tool an enjoyable experience. I have a cast iron bench dog router plate that was gifted to me, seems easy enough to install (based on looking at many youtube videos on router plates in general) if I take my time and measure 10x :)
Router fence is next once I have the table finished (before T-Track).
Thanks in advance for any guidance on this! I don't want to ruin a table if this is an awful idea. It's ~32"x46"x1.5"