DIY Epoxy Resin River Table— Garage Workshop
So I’ve made two of these tables now. The first using cheap wood to gain experience, the second table was where I went for perfection (didn’t quite get it but that’s ok). Unfortunately I didn’t get as many intermediate-step pictures with the second table, so I’ll be intermixing images to get the point across. I had little to no woodworking experience and was high on “YouTube DIY” videos when I decided to take this on, and I have to say, I’m now addicted to everything woodworking. So I’ll start this post off with, don’t worry if you’ve done nothing like this before, you can do it from the comforts of your garage.
The Wood
The first yet most important step imo is selecting which species of wood to use. I went back and forth for days on this. Being that I lived in Texas, red cedar slabs are extremely easy and cheap to come by. So that’s what I used for the first cheap table. However I wasn’t a fan of the red tones of the wood. For the “perfect” table, I went with pecan (Although I wanted black walut, but not for the $3000 sticker price for a slab in the dimensions I wanted). The pecan was actually one slab that was ~7' long, 3' wide and 2" thick. The red cedar table was actually two individual slabs, each about ~7' long, 18" wide, 1.75" thick.
Other Items
I won’t be listing out exact measurements of everything because yours will undoubtedly vary depending on the size and thickness of wood you use. But all steps and tools will be relevant no matter what you go with
- MDF or melamine— for building the table mold
- Tuck Tape (or packing tape)
- Caulk — to seal the mold
- Epoxy and hardener (You’ll have to calculate how much you need depending on how deep and wide your river will be — this stuff isn’t cheap)
- Coloring pigment
- measuring buckets (Sizes will depend on how big of pours you’re going to do. Deeper tables require bigger pours, so larger measuring buckets)
- Stripping sander
- Finishing sander
- Sanding paper
- Sealer and finisher
- Router — for planing and jointing
- Beefy router bit
Note About Epoxy
I did a lot of research on which epoxy to use. I wanted one that was a little more forgiving, no toxic fumes, self leveling, and most importantly — DEEP POUR. The problem with epoxy, especially in hot Texas, is that it goes exothermic and can cure way faster than it should if the temperature is not controlled the entire cure time. This leads to a weak, brittle, cloudy finish. Ecopoxy has a 10 hour pot time (which gives you plenty of time to fix any leaks or mistakes that may happen when you start pouring), has no VOC, and not only self levels but self pops air bubbles as well. Also, it is a deep pour epoxy, so you can pour one layer up to 2" thick, just watch the temperatures very carefully. When doing a deep pour, it’s best to keep ambient temperature between 72 and 74 degrees. Again, it’s not the cheapest, but it is definitely the best for beginners. But more on this later.
Preparing the Wood
This wasn’t the case with my pecan slab, but the two red cedar slabs came with the bark fully attached. I just took out a hammer and chisel and tried to strip away as much as could. After getting down to as much pure wood as possible, I took my belt sander to the sides to rough smooth them out, and remove whatever left over bark there was.
Next, I had to flatten the boards out (because they were severely warped) and plane them down to the exact same thickness. Again, this wasn’t an issue with my Pecan slab, because it was just one massive piece. If you have a local wood shop near you and they have one that is large enough, use their jointer and planer!!! Seriously, this will save you hours on hours of work depending on how much you need to shave off of each slab. Unfortunately there was no woodshop near me with a large enough planer, so I had to get creative.
Using MDF board, I made a planing/jointing jig for my Bosch router. There’s more than enough tutorials on youtube on how to make these, so I’ll spare you my jerry rigged instructions.
Next, you need to prepare a flat surface as the datum for flat referencing. I utilized the MDF board I bought for the mold as a temporary flat, consistent surface on top of my work bench. Be sure to check with your level in multiple spots at multiple angles that your surface is flat. This will only open up major headaches down the road if it isn’t.
Next, place the wood on the flat surface and position your jig over the wood, leaving just the smallest gap between the bottom of the jig and the wooden slab. You’re going to work your router side to side on the the slab, shaving off the top. Since the wood is on a flat surface, the top will be planed down to a flat and level surface (even though the bottom with still be warped). After you have planed down the top side of the slab, flip it over and repeat. Be warned, this will take alot of time, and will create ALOT of shavings. Have a shop vac nearby or a massive shop broom and a dumpster. After planing down both sides, your wood should be flat and level. Obviously you will keep planing down to your desired wood thickness. If you’re going from, say, 2" slab to 1.25" slab, you’re going to be making a few passes at the wood. 3/4" is too much to take off in one pass for most routers and bits.
The Mold
After the wood is prepped and ready to go, it’s time to make the containment mold. You’re going to cut the MDF board to the length and desired width of your final table. You’re then going to cut the side railings out of the excess MDF. However thick you’re going to be making your tables, make the rails at least half an inch higher to prevent an epoxy resin overflow. Once everything is cut to proper dimensions, wrap everything in the Tuck tape (or packing tape). This is so the epoxy, when cured, won’t stick to the containment mold and you can pop your final table out easier. I used plain old packing tape on the first table, and it worked OK, I guess. But the Tuck tape was much better and I highly recommend it. After you have wrapped everything, simply screw the sides of the containment to the base to finish the mold. You’re next going to take your caulk and caulk all the seams and corners of the containment mold. This will really prevent any leaks when pouring the epoxy.
THE POUR!!!
This is the most nerve wracking part. You’ve spent hours prepping the wood. A few more hours preparing and sealing the mold. Now, it’s the point of no return. As I said earlier, I elected to use Ecopoxy for several reasons, but the most important being I wanted to do one or two pours max while making my table. Non deep pour epoxies can only be poured up to 1/4" thick at a time, then you must let it cure 24–48 hours before you can pour the next layer. If you’re doing a 2" thick table, that’s about 2–3 weeks for a completely finished product. The first table I did in one big pour and was completely cured after 3 days of sitting, the second table I did in two separate pours and was completely cured in 4–5 days.
The first thing I recommend is test in water how much pigment to mix. You only need a little pinch of the pigment to get a decent amount of color. But not enough will leave a semi transparent finish. Conversely, too much pigment will see it settle at the bottom and it will look blotchy. Also, it’s just a great way to get an idea of what the color will look like when finished. Follow the instructions on the bottles and mix the Epoxy with the hardener. Pour in the pigment while stirring and let the mixture rest a little. Place the wood slabs in the mold in their final resting place. Either with clamps or heavy objects, secure the slabs down in the mold to prevent them from floating up and around when you introduce the epoxy. Next, pour!!!
Finishing
After the epoxy has had ample time to cure, pop it out of the mold and marvel in your accomplishment! — momentarily, the get prepared for hours of sanding.
Sanding is my absolute least favorite part, but it is a necessary evil. I have 4 different sanders, but you can get by with just one or two. I typically will start off with the orbit sander and 80 grit sand paper to strip away excess resin as well as any caulk I may have added to the wood to contain pools of resin. I’ll then work my way up to about 120 grit, then switch to the random orbit finishing sander. From here I’ll work up from 120 to 340 if I want a good finish. But if I want a drop dead amazing finish I’ll work all the way up to 1500 grit. The real fine stuff. It’s hard to see in the pictures of the table I have, so I’m supply an image of a cutting board I did that I sanded from 80 to 1500 grit sandpaper below.
Next, I take my palm router and and with a 1/4" round over bit, I round down the edges from a sharp point to a smooth contour. Again, I didn’t get any pictures of this on either table, so I’m substituting the cutting board I did. BTW, I’ll be doing a later post on making epoxy cutting boards. They’re a little simpler and cheaper to make than a full on table. After sanding and routing, finish the wood with the rubio monocoat sealer and finisher.
The Legs
Congratulations, you’re at the finish line. All that is left is to screw on the legs. I couldn’t find any legs that I truly liked, so I settled with what I thought looked adequate. But due to my disappointment in choices/cost, for my next table I will be wielding my own — which means wielding classes are in my future!!!
Closing Notes
Overall this second DIY table costed me just under $2,000 to build. Similar tables of size, thickness, and species to buy, go in the range of $5 to $15,000 dollars. So doing it myself, although not cheap, still saved me in upwards of $13,000 dollars. Also, you probably noticed that I did one table inside my house and another table my garage. This was because I did the first table in the dead of summer where it would get to well over 100 degrees in my garage. This is a huge no bueno for the epoxy. Like I said earlier, you have to control the ambient temperature due to the exothermic reaction. The second table I did in October or November. Again, I’m in Houston where the winters are about 65–75 degrees, so my garage was the perfect setting then. If you have any questions or need any help or guidance for your own DIY table, please reach out and I’ll do my best to be at your service!
