First Epoxy River table - Any tips??

[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.