Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 31 to 45 of 58

Thread: Live Edge Coffee Table

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKinney, TX
    Posts
    2,060
    That shade of blue looks terrific with that wood
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Cashiers NC
    Posts
    603
    I love the blue “lake” and the dark “canyons” . Maybe a little paint where you ground down the epoxy...
    Charlie Jones

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Got a chance to take on the epoxy again. I saw a video where the guy used stretchy semi-clear tape to seal in the epoxy. I asked him what it was and he told me "mat tape". It's what they use to tape wrestling mats together. I knew it looked familiar. My son wrestled for 8 years. Anyway, he swore by it so I picked up some and today put it to use.

    Trying to form up this part of the slab for the pour was taxing my poor brain. The tape is very stretchy, but would it hold in the epoxy?


    Underside shot


    The next location


    I poured in a total of 3 oz in the two locations. After 15 minutes it seems to be holding. Hope this works!
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Monday evening I poured 6oz of tinted epoxy, a little at a time, and checked to see if there was any leaks. Everything seemed to be holding well. Yesterday I added another 6oz to the deepest areas. The center was good. Here are some pics taken today:

    This is at the crotch, the most difficult to form the dam. The mat tape was a savior.

    The arrows mark the top of the fill. I can probably do one more pour to fill it the rest of the way. Once the tape comes off, I'll shape the epoxy as needed.

    This is the other area that was still low after Monday's pour. I need to check how flat it is there to see if I knock it down or fill in epoxy.


    The center shot shows how much the epoxy flows out. It cures so slowly it levels much like water would.


    It's a relief to be past the leak stage, at least for the larger areas. After all the large areas are filled and cured, I'll seal the remainder of the gaps and fill them.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    Wowsa! That's going to be an amazing piece!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  6. #36
    I read something about using CA (super) glue to pre treat before pouring the epoxy. Helps seal up and prep the work area. Not gonna work on the big cracks but I found it seals those pesky micro cracks you can't see. And as you probably learned the epoxy will find em. It also helps stiffen up those fragile pieces inside the crater. I dunno if that is helpful just something that worked for me when I had to epoxy a hole in a table top I built.

    Marty

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    I used CA on some of the smaller openings. Poured in thick CA and hit it with an accelerator. Thing is it's really hard to tell if it's sealed because some of these voids are like caves - you never know what's beyond the obvious until you go in and explore it. I've poured epoxy into what looks like a narrow slit on top and watched it disappear. Next day there is leaks on the bottom sometimes a foot or more from where I poured.

    Videos I've seen show pours where the slab sits in a box and gallons of epoxy are poured in. 6 liters of 2:1 Ecopoxy is $225. At that price, those massive pours can get pretty expensive!

    By Sunday the epoxy should be pretty well set up. I won't do any more pours until after I remove all the mat tape and see what it looks like. There's probably not much more than a liter left so I need to be frugal.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  8. #38
    Julie, this table looks like it’s going to be beautiful. I love your sense of design. Those dovetailed legs are awesome! Looking forward to more posts.

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Thanks, Tim. Here's the next update -

    Pore filling this slab has been an interesting venture. Some of the crevices led to caves deep in the slab. I think the bugs were spelunking.

    After trying to plug the deepest caves, I did an overall pour. Epoxy was getting sucked up in some areas and disappearing down the tiniest openings. I made up about 6 oz of epoxy and kept pouring it where it disappeared until it was gone. That took about 6 hours. It thickened toward the end and I thought that would help plug the voids but it kept disappearing. After it hardened it was pretty uneven so I had to take it down with the belt sander. The RO sander was pretty much worthless.


    After this I ran the RO sander over it beginning with 80 grit and finishing with 400.

    Next up was making up some clear epoxy and trying to squeegee an even coat over the whole slab.


    I thought I was getting there but some areas drank up the epoxy. Look to the right of the blue pond. Where there is no gloss is one of the areas the wood completely absorbed the epoxy. And I had laid several coats over that during that 6 hour fill. Lots of pinholes drinking in the epoxy, too.

    Tomorrow I'll take another stab at filling those areas.

    On to the legs...

    All four legs are glued in place. I ran them over the jointer, half-blind part first, to even things up. Then I ran the RO sander with 180 grit to finish it up. On two of the legs the wood rattled over the jointer cutters. Don't know why. But the RO took care of that. Anyway, this is the worst of the dovetails.


    It looked pretty bad before I ran the RO over it but the dust filled the voids. Then I dripped some CA glue into the crevices, hit it with accelerator and sanded it smooth. I was pretty surprised how it came out. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Looks great, Julie. If that’s your worst dovetail, I’d say you did good!

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    1,950
    Looking great Julie. I used thinned 50/50 poly on my slab coffee table and I think it took about 30 coats with sanding to 400 grit in between to build up the finish I wanted. Probably should have tried the epoxy approach. Can’t wait to see it all finished up.

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Mueller View Post
    Looks great, Julie. If that’s your worst dovetail, I’d say you did good!
    LOL...I was going to say that but you beat me to it!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #43
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Amsterdam, NY
    Posts
    230
    I cannot wait to see the final table. It's been great following along and learning.
    Thank you for keeping us updated.

  14. #44
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Thank you, guys! I was working today filling in the rest of the dovetail boo-boos. Whatever imperfections are left won't be seen unless someone gets down on their hands and knees with a flashlight and magnifying glass.

    I've been debating between doing another epoxy pour or using some other method. The epoxy takes three days to cure. Good for filling all the voids, bad for doing any dusty work in the shop. We're going to Savannah for Christmas so maybe I'll do a pour on Saturday before we leave.

    Looking at how I'll tie the legs to the top, I was planning on using table buttons but the grain of the wood means buttons along the narrow side of the legs. Maybe I can mortise deep into the legs to allow for expansion and contraction while utilizing the 8"width of the legs. I feel some engineering coming on...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    Throwing a little light under the subject...
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •