Forest 2 Home community member, Amy Cutaiar (@amysacutabove on Instagram) crafted this gorgeous DIY table from Forest 2 Home Walnut hardwood and epoxy resin! Amy provided us with her project plans so that you can DIY your very own epoxy resin table in the workshop!
Amy's start with DIY and woodworking
I have always liked DIY and crafting. My dad always had a lot of tools as I was growing up and I loved learning how to use all of them. I started using Epoxy Resin because I wanted to make gifts for the holidays and got absolutely hooked. I have been using it ever since and have been trying new ways to use it whenever I can, like the Walnut Resin Table.
Woodworking and epoxy resin materials
Amy’s A Cut Above Creations Resin Table
I had the idea to make a resin ocean table with waves that you could see through and although the plan changed it still turned out well. This was my first time using a deep pour resin and there were some learning curves along the way.
Materials:
- Wood-I used Rustic Walnut from Forest 2 Home
- Mold-Makers reusable mold in 16x12
- Deep Pour Epoxy Resin- I exclusively use Mas Epoxies (you can use code AMYC for 10% off and free shipping)
- Tabletop Pro Epoxy Resin
- Silicone
- Mixol tint in #99 Deep Ocean
- Threaded inserts and bolts
- Table legs
- Super glue or 5 Minute epoxy
- Paste Wax
- Silicone cups/bowl to mix resin
- Stir Sticks
Woodworking and epoxy resin tools
Tools:
- Sander
- Benchtop Planer
- Drill
- Wrench
- Saw
- Rubber Mallet
- Heat Gun or Torch to pop bubbles in the resin
- Chisel is optional to help remove the resin from the mold and the silicone from the piece.
Step 1- Assembly and epoxy resin mold preparation
Assembling and prepping the mold. This mold requires silicone on all joints, so the resin does not leak out. It has also been recommended to me to use a paste wax as well so the resin is easier to release from the mold once cured.
Step 2- Take measurements of Walnut wood dimensions
Once the mold is set to its assembled dimensions, I measured to see how long I needed to cut the walnut. The assembled interior of the mold was 16 inches, so I cut at about 15 ¾. The Forest 2 Home Rustic Walnut comes rough (not planed), and it required planning and sanding to get to the smooth finish I was looking for.
Step 3- Mix epoxy resin and seal Walnut wood
Wood will naturally soak up some of the resin so at this point I mixed a small amount of tabletop epoxy resin to seal the sides of the wood and let that cure overnight. Once cured I used the same silicone, I used to seal the joints to adhere the wood to the bottom of the mold and let that fully set up overnight.
Step 4- Mixing and tinting epoxy resin
Following the instructions for the deep pour epoxy resin I mixed and tinted the resin to fill the mold. Mas Epoxies has a resin calculator on their website that I used to make sure I was mixing the correct amount for the size of my mold.
(This is where I messed up and mixed and added more resin thinking it was not enough and my resin had an exothermic reaction, meaning it cured faster then it should have. This caused the resin to pull away from the sides of my mold and I had to do some repair by adding an additional layer of resin.)
Step 5- Let epoxy resin cure
After the cure time of 24-36 hours, I was able to unmold the tabletop and begin removing any silicone that had stuck to the piece.
Step 6- Planing, trimming and sanding Walnut wood and epoxy resin
Plane and trim to final dimensions. Sand for a smooth finish.
Step 7- Woodworking and epoxy resin table top finish
At this point I did a topcoat of Tabletop epoxy resin on the top and bottom and letting it cure. This is optional if you have sanded the tabletop and oiled it to your liking. It is not necessary, but I wanted the whole top to have a shine to it and it makes for easy cleanup.
Step 8- Securing hardware to workshop project
Drill for the threaded inserts to match the table leg holes, screw in the inserts with some super glue or 5-minute epoxy and let cure. Attach table legs with bolts.
You can find this DIY project and more of Amy's incredible projects on her Instagram, Facebook page, Pinterest and TikTok @amysacutabove. If you are interested in purchasing one of Amy's DIY woodworking and epoxy resin projects, they can be found on her Etsy page.
Are you ready to bring epoxy resin into your next workshop projects? Email all of your Forest 2 Home lumber and epoxy resin woodworking projects to marketing@forest2home.com. If you share project photos on social media, be sure to use #BuiltWithF2H and tag us with @shopf2h! Happy Woodworking!
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