Yul Lose Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 My oldest granddaughter asked me about live edge epoxy river tables a couple of months ago. She wanted a couple of bedside tables in her master bedroom and wanted to help build them. I’ve done a little colored epoxy work before but none of this magnitude. I found a epoxy resin store in Lake Elsinore and with Sergio, the store managers help I got the stuff that I needed. I built the forms out of some 3/4” plywood and made them so they’ll be reusable. Saturday morning my granddaughter came down and we mixed the epoxy and did the pour. Here’s what they look like after 2 days. One more full day of curing and I’ll knock the forms off and run them through the dual drum sander and then trim to size, finish sand, seal and finish with more epoxy resin top coat. I’ll post more pictures of the finished tops later this week. My stepson is welding up the tube steel cabinet frames and they go to powder coating this week so hopefully next week I’ll have the finished night stands ready for pictures. My wife has already made a couple of small box requests after she saw these castings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 I’ve thought about going down that same rabbit hole. Those sure look nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted May 22, 2023 Author Share Posted May 22, 2023 13 minutes ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said: I’ve thought about going down that same rabbit hole. Those sure look nice! You should to give it a shot. Check out Pinterest for a bunch of examples, there’s a ton of them on there and lots of how to and not to do information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 I've been thinking about some epoxy projects for a while but the cost of materials gives me pause. It could be a very expensive learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted May 22, 2023 Author Share Posted May 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: I've been thinking about some epoxy projects for a while but the cost of materials gives me pause. It could be a very expensive learning curve. It’s pricey stuff for sure. She paid for the live edge walnut and the epoxy and she’s paying for the frames to be built. When it’s all said and done she’ll have $700.00-$800.00 tied up in them. Grandpas labor is free, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Kris Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Looking forward to the pictures of the finished products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 interesting , ill look forward to seeing where you go with this , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted May 24, 2023 Author Share Posted May 24, 2023 I took the 2 tops out of the forms and after about 30 or so light passes in the drum sander this is what they look like. I really like the swirl using 2 different colors of blue dye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 I like the little "tributaries" feeding into the river. Really looking forward to seeing the finished top. Wonder what it would look like lit from the edge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 Well they are finally finished. They were a lot of work and I learned a bunch about epoxy, deep pour epoxy and what not to do. Thanks to a guy up at the epoxy store and many YouTube videos I think they came out pretty good. I can see some flaws and if I ever do something like these again I’ll know not to do what I did this time. My stepson Charlie welded up the frames and even installed adjustable levelers in the legs, he builds desert race cars and knows his way around metal and welding. He had the frames powder coated also. My granddaughter did not want drawer pulls that stuck out because she’s kind of like her Nana and tends to run into things like that so I came up with the flush pulls that don’t protrude. The deep pour (blue dyed) epoxy took 6 days to cure and then many lite passes thru the dual drum sander, I lost count at 65 passes when I had to answer a phone call, I’m guessing 85-95 all together for each top. I used 2 different colors of blue dye to get the marbled look on the deep pour epoxy. I poured the major darker blue color in one layer and then a thin layer of lighter blue and then a final top layer of the darker blue. Once the epoxy started to gel I took a bamboo skewer and stirred the entire depth of epoxy to get the swirl that I was looking for. Another challenge was keeping the bubbles popped in the epoxy as it dried. With the deep pour stuff it took about 12 hours to gel up to where there weren’t any bubbles rising so about every 10 minutes or so I’d have to pass a propane torch over the tops to get rid of bubbles. After sanding from 120 grit up through 600 grit I applied a sealer flood coat and again had to be on bubble patrol until it gelled. Once that coat was dry I sanded with 220 grit paper and wiped the sanding dust off with a damp cloth, let it dry and applied a second flood coat and did the bubble patrol again with far fewer bubbles to worry about. Sanded again with 220 grit paper and removed the dust, let it dry and apply the final coat. Very few bubbles to worry about but I was still diligent about getting the bubbles. I installed full extension, ball bearing drawer guides on the drawers and installed liners in the drawers because I don’t like the looks of the plain plywood drawer bottoms. The finish on the drawer front and cabinet sides and bottom panels is Watco Teak oil and lacquer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax T Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Once again, beautiful work Yul. You always seem to top your last one. Jax T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Very nice Yul. You are the master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Those are GORGEOUS! Great work, Yul. I'm jealous and envious of your skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 my BIL is doing this , i like the look , you do beautiful work , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Bob Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Epoxy gun cart next ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 11 minutes ago, Buckshot Bob said: Epoxy gun cart next ? Probably not, way to much work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Absolutely beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 I am sure glad you posted photos of the finished product. I guess my eyes were out of whack because the first photos of the raw product looked like Shrek puked a blue slushy. BUT, I knew if YOU were doing it the end product would be neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tex Jones, SASS 2263 Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Terrific work. Patience pays off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgavin Posted July 28, 2023 Share Posted July 28, 2023 Absolutely beautiful work. If she takes photos outside the shop, I suggest a polarizing filter on the lens to bring out the depth and detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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