A good gift for yourself, your family will be a coffee table made of epoxy resin. It’s not so easy to make it, but how nice it is when you get a work of art. This design solution requires skill, some experience, the necessary tools and patience. This table is not immediately done. Gradually, step by step, all the necessary actions are performed. There is no hurry here. To think first, then to do, this should be the rule.
For a coffee table made of epoxy resin, a thoroughbred tree is suitable. Solid wood is expensive. An oak or an elm will do here. The wood must be dry.
The shape of the master’s table is made in different ways. There are round and rectangular variants, which have the main coffee color, and in the middle there is a blue clearing, as if a river flows. A very beautiful sight.
They make tables with alternating boards, and between them in the tabletop ornaments of pebbles and colored patterns. There are other embodiments of tables, no less interesting in their design. The design solution can be any in execution, if conceived and executed successfully.
Tools for work
They can be useful for work:
- circular saw;
- hacksaw;
- clamps;
- welding machine;
- drill;
- grinding machine;
- improvised tools.
Drill and screws are needed to create a base of wood, not metal. The metal base of stainless steel crosspieces is welded by welding.
The base on which the countertop is installed is referred to by furniture makers as a subfloor. At high bar counters, it is called a support.
How to get started
When buying epoxy resin, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with its composition. Each package has instructions. Resins come in different quality and execution. Not every mixture is suitable for the table. It is necessary to choose the one that is suitable for such work.
Since the resin is poured in sufficiently large quantities. Preference should be given to compositions similar in consistency to vegetable oil. It is this viscosity that allows even the smallest air bubbles to successfully exit the liquid resin thickness. For the same reason, it is better to use resins poured at a time with a small thickness. Usually such polymers have maximum strength after curing.
After choosing the epoxy, you need to choose the texture of the wood and the shape of the future table. If a rectangular table with two parallel rivers is made, three oak boards are selected. One board will be on one side, the other on the other side, the third – in the middle between the rivers.
The boards should be of the same thickness, as close as possible to the desired thickness of the countertop. This will greatly simplify further grinding operations.
In order for the rivers to have wavy banks, you need to pick up the boards of the appropriate shape. It is desirable that their surface be almost the same color. Those boards that will be on the edges must be processed smoothly from the edges, and the inner part should be left with a wavy line, for the view of the river on the table. The same thing needs to be done on the other side. Pick up the middle board on both sides with a wavy line.
Coffee table preparation and processing
After preparing the invoice, you should come up with and make a fixed structure of boards for pouring epoxy resin. To do this, it is necessary to press the boards with clamps, and the places where the rivers will be, from the end and from the bottom, equip with a neat but strong formwork. There should be no leak at the bottom when filling. If this task is solved correctly, then everything should work out. A step-by-step algorithm for creating a table should be performed.
The requirements for the formwork are quite serious. In order for it to be easily separated from the epoxy river after the work is completed, it must have weak adhesion to the cured resin. Or cover it with the appropriate material. For example, polyethylene, PVC tape or special separating wax. It should fit very tightly to the boards to avoid leaks. The uncured resin has excellent fluidity even through a small gap.
- Preparation of epoxy resin. The epoxy resin is mixed with the hardener in the right proportion. Carefully and slowly mix the contents. Then add the dye. The river should be blue, but you can achieve a certain effect in the design of the color when the backlight is installed. But these works are performed with the following fillings. The first filling should be done smoothly and without any special frills.
- Epoxy resin pouring. Pour, wait for the composition to dry. Different brands of resin harden differently. It will take from a day to solidify the first layer. With the following fills, you can add slightly different colors, make them brighter or lighter in saturation. You can embed different design elements, improving the color. Full filling is done in several stages. Pouring the composition level with the boards, the whole structure should be allowed to harden properly.
- Table polishing. After the mixture has solidified, the entire surface of the table should be sanded with a grinding machine. Next, treat with skins of different brands. It is best to sand by hand. The machine does not polish so well. After polishing, it is permissible to cover the entire space of the table with a colorless varnish from the spray gun.
- Production of a podstole. In the end, you should make a podstole. The base can be made of metal or wood to choose from.
Varieties of coffee tables
The described algorithm is just one example of creating a table. Craftsmen can make works of art from epoxy resin and wood products. For example, a slab can be made so that a short section of the log cut in half will be filled with a solidified amber liquid with emerald inclusions. This piece of log is burnt and stands on a metal stand of four petals, connecting at the bottom into two powerful supports.
The price of such a work is quite high, the masterwork is always appreciated. Similarly, experienced craftsmen make other exclusive things.
Coffee tables can be purely made of epoxy resin, without wood. Good and high-quality formwork already plays an important role here.
Another interesting option is when a circle is taken as a basis. Some craftsmen make a round table top from a cut of oak or elm. The cut is made hollow inside, then polished, processed. They are pressed with clamps to any base with a food film at the bottom, poured with a mixture of epoxy resin with a hardener in several stages. In the middle of the countertop, patterns coming from the depth of the table, made of transparent material, can be decorated. You can create different shapes of this amazing product.
When working with epoxy resin, we must not forget about safety precautions. Be sure to use gloves and a respirator. You should also follow all technical instructions for working with related chemicals. Carefully consider the choice of resin, its compatibility with other materials to be used.
If you put in the effort, tools, patience and talent of the discoverer, then everything will certainly work out.
