River table

How to make a River Table.

River Table
River table top as part of a 600mm x 400mm bedside table after first thinned sanding sealer coat

How to make a River Table.

How to make a River table. That was the question that led me to search online for examples.

Once it was decided to make one a nice piece of oak  needed to be sourced.  A nice piece of live edge planed character oak was listed on eBay (EJTimbers) and bought for £35 (plus just under £12 shipping September 2021 price).

Gathering the ‘ingredients’.

The size of the table top was slightly unusual because of the area available. Namely a space of 600mm by 400mm.  Now this was sorted some whiteboard from a local DIY store purchased.  This was cut to size to form the mould.

Epoxy for the river.

Once the mould was completed and the timber arranged, the quantity of resin could be calculated. The method used was to split the cavity into smaller sections. These then could be calculated by simple volumes LxBxH found and adding together.

This produced a total figure of 3Kg (resin and hardener) in whatever mix ratio they required.

Which Epoxy to use was very important, since some manufacturers products yellow with age.  Additionally the time for the resin to cure and in the temperature range (UK) at the time of pouring resulted in Epodex  being my preferred supplier.

As this was the first time using resin in such quantities the start up costs were much more than any future tables made. Tape, mixing jugs, stirrers, release spray and the like added much to the cost. But I hoped the results would be worth it.

From the reaction of family members and indeed myself,  it certainly was when you consider it is a bespoke bedside table, made from solid oak (and the resin of course). What do you think?

Construction of the Mould and Pouring.

Once the board arrived it was prepared by………. More to follow, please call back to pick up on how the table was made.

 

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