Poplar End Tables Opinions

[Jonathan Vigorito]

I threw together a plan in sketchup for a couple of end tables, see pic. They will be poplar stained weathered gray. My thought was to have an element to tie into the rest of the rooms decor, which is where the dyed epoxy resin center comes in.

1) I've never used epoxy resin. Is there anything I need to take into account such as wood movement?

2) What can I do to dress the legs up a little bit? add a small taper beneath the shelf? maybe a flute down the middle of each leg?

Any input appreciated!

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[Wayne Lomman]

If you are assembling it with the contrasting line at each joint, there is no need to make other allowance for movement.

The design is good as it is. It is simple, clean and well proportioned. Adding tapers, flutes etc will not improve it - actually, they would do the opposite. The resin inset in the top is the focus. Cheers

[Phil Mueller]

I agree with Wayne. Keep the focus on the top. Often, less is more.

[Jonathan Vigorito]

Thanks guys! As for the lines, I’m pretty new to sketchup, so I really just used it for general ideas and measurements. My plan is to joint all the boards so the glue lines won’t be as prominent as is depicted.

I’m planning on using z clips to attatch the panels to he frame.

[Dave Richards]

How wide do you intend the resin piece to be? How are you planning to insert it into the top? Will you create a cavity in the top and pour it in? Or will it be separate from the top pieces? Do you plan on the resin being translucent/transparent? What will be under the resin? How big is the overall top?

[Prashun Patel]

I find the epoxy resin unnecessary; but that's your call.

My eye wants those legs to taper on the insides (2 dimensions) below the shelf.

[Jonathan Vigorito]

The plan for the top was to glue it up with the cavity and pour the resin in. I’m undecided on making it transparent or not.
The top itself will be 18x36, the resin will be 4x30.

Is the resin necessary, no. But I want to try my hand at something I haven’t done before and this seemed like a good opportunity. The live edge river tables are everywhere now and I didn’t want something that gaudy in the room, just a little pop of color to make it unique from anything else you can get in a store.

[Dave Richards]

So proportions something more like this?

I think you could certainly get by with doing what you propose. You could make a shallow recess to add the resin to or make it go all the way through.. If you make it go all the way through, you might put LEDs under it to illuminate it if you really want the pop of color.

[Jonathan Vigorito]

My vision was for it to be the same thickness as the top itself 3/4. The LEDs certainly would make it pop, that may be something I can add at a later time.

On another note, how did you make that rendition? That's awesome!

[Dave Richards]

On another note, how did you make that rendition? That's awesome!

Thanks. It was done in the desktop client version of SketchUp although most of it could be done in SketchUp Free like you're using. Main difference from yours is that I created a poplar wood grain texture to use on the boards in the model and "dyed" it gray. I also hid some edges and changed the color of the other edges. That's a style editing thing that's not currently available in the web based version.

Back to the resin, if you plan to pour it the full thickness, you might consider the following. Get a sheet of polyester film and lay it down on a piece of clean MDF. Then lay the top down on it bottom side up. Weight down the top so it's very tight to the film. Mix and pour the epoxy in. I'd only pour about a 1/4" deep for the first pour. Heat that with a hair dryer or heat gun to get any bubbles out. Let that cure at least enough to get hard before you top it off with more epoxy. When the epoxy has cured, it'll release easily from the film and you'll have a surface as smooth as the film. No polishing or anything needed.

Good luck with it and post some pictures.

[Jonathan Vigorito]

will do. And thanks for the tips, I'll definitely put those to good use. One more question to you, though. Since i'm going to pour probably transparent, should I finish the inside faces where the epoxy will go? Will that effect the epoxy in any way? Or just leave it and finish around the epoxy.

[Dave Richards]

I'd sand the edges of the top where the epoxy will go but I wouldn't put a finish on those faces. Paint a bit of epoxy onto those surfaces before you start to fill the void and let it soak in for a few moments. This will give you a good mechanical bond as well as a chemical bond.