$10,000 Dining Table in My Garage - Woodworking Projects

Summary by Krater

A woodworker builds a live-edge walnut and epoxy resin dining table, documenting slab selection, moisture checking, trimming, mold making, sealing, multiple epoxy pours, flattening, sanding, attaching a custom steel base, and finishing.

From the video

Answers: How do you build a live-edge epoxy river table from start to finish?

• live-edge slab selection
• moisture content measurement
• mold building for epoxy
• epoxy resin pouring techniques
• surface flattening and sanding
• installing steel table bases
• threaded inserts in wood
• C-channel installation
• satin and gloss finishing

What it concludes

• Slabs should be checked with a moisture meter to ensure they are around 7 or 8 percent moisture before starting.
• Applying shellac to the edges and bottom of a slab prevents color staining from drips and helps prevent warping during the epoxy curing process.
• Pouring epoxy in multiple lifts up to 1 and 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 inches prevents overheating that can cause the epoxy to crack and split.
• Waiting for the epoxy to reach its peak temperature and become tacky before doing the next pour ensures a perfect chemical bond between layers.
• Using a sanding buffer or sander to slightly warm up epoxy touch-ups before scraping makes them gummy and prevents chipping.
• Wiping the surface down with an optical clarity spray or using a fine finish like Rubio Monocoat provides a durable, bubble-free, and easy finish for live-edge tables.