Stop Wasting Money On Resin River Tables!
Check out www.glasscastresin.com/less-r... for full project details
Further info and product links ▼
If you're making a solid colour or metallic effect resin river table, save a huge amount resin, money and resources by using this incredible plywood core construction method for your next river table project. Following this process will allow you to produce an identical looking river table, of the highest quality, using only 1/3 of the amount of resin as a conventional river table.
Direct links to the products used in the project:
► GlassCast 50 Resin www.glasscastresin.com/glassc...
► Black Epoxy Pigment www.glasscastresin.com/jet-bl...
► RW4 Spray Wax www.glasscastresin.com/spray-...
► Mirka Abrasive Discs www.glasscastresin.com/abrasi...
► NW1 Polishing Compound www.glasscastresin.com/nw1-ep...
00:56 Preparing the Wood Planks
01:54 Making & Preparing the Enclosure
02:58 Making the Plywood Core
06:08 Pigmenting the Resin
07:23 Base Pour
08:26 Bonding Down the Plywood Core
09:17 Final Pour
10:20 Machining the Table Surface
12:04 Flatting and Polishing Epoxy Surface
If you have any questions, please just ask in the comments below!
Thanks for all your comments, likes and subs - we really appreciate them! To clarify, this tutorial is aimed at DIY'ers and makers that have been put off attempting river table projects due to the cost of materials and not to cut costs in professional production without customers being aware of the core. Additionally the technique is only suitable for solid colour and metallic river tables. 🙂
It might have been that the resin layers weren't poured at the 'B' stage, if this was the case and you hadn't keyed the surface in preparation, the resin may not have had a very good bond. If the wood wasn't fully dry and continued to move then this may explain the separation.
Oh no Blacktailstudio would have make even more profits only selling overpiced wood slabs over and over again...
What the ever loving frig (not the word I really said). People buy these tables and make these tables because they're a premium item that you can own that is a high quality thing that hopefully lasts your entire life. Mentioning plywood and one of these tables only means one thing. YOU are a hack. You're a low class scumbag for making people consider creating their tables with pieces of crap. I hope you catch hepatitus C for the (C)orruption of WOODWORKING (which is the point). If the author has the balls to keep this post alive, I hope you see this and realize that he's telling you things you shouldn't be doing. You're SUPPOSED to be making these tables out of the designs and top notch quality materials. Beside the fact they last longer because you make or buy a table that's been made properly, Have PRIDE in your work or ownership of something. Do you really want to look at your expensive table a couple months down the road and realize that you stuffed it full of junk? I would consider this point, very seriously. Well done, Glasscastresn. Way to make POS Ikea tables out of what should be top dollar show pieces!
This is great if you're making an opaque resin. To me a massive part of the reason to use resin is for the transparency.
Hi Ben, indeed, this only works for opaque resin so there’s lots of situations where this can’t be used but where it can, we feel it makes a lot of sense.
@@glasscastresin sure. I just vastly prefer the resin to remain transparent
@@benorchard78you can make the plywood look like a river bed and still use clear resin. Unless you wanna see the floor through your table
@@minhdaubu2363 maybe he's got gorgeous floors that just need a slightly colored viewport 🤷♂️
I reduced the amount of resin, by using small gardening rocks to imitate rocks/rapids in the "river". Used a similar technique as shown and I figured I reduced the resin required by half. This also allowed a more transparent resin pour.
As the other guy pointed out, it's incredibly noble showing off how to use less. You're absolutely correct about it helping people in a budget get into the craft, and I've never wanted to buy a company's product more if I'm being honest. I'm bookmarking the video for later this week, I'm hoping my stepdad wouldn't mind doing a project like this with me.
That was exactly the aim for this video to help people reduce cost.
U
“it’s incredibly noble” Jfc How are people this naive? It’s called marketing. This vvideo came from the question: How can we get more people to buy our product?
@@cwg73160 I'm absolutely aware its marketing. However, they could alternatively show you how to make a cool table using the regular amount of resin, then advertise their product. I'm aware that they're selling me something but at least they're showing me how to be efficient with what I buy, and not spend double the money. Thanks.
@@cwg73160, for years, I would share my finish formulas and techniques with customers, sometimes going into detail on how to avoid having to hire me. It got me a lot of repeat customers, because others, jealously, guarded their secrets, rather than educating their customers. In the end, only a rare few would apply what they learned from me to do it themselves, and I could only serve so many customers anyway, so the loss of a few sales didn't hurt me.
Excellent, a company showing you how to save money by using less of their product is very very noble, and in my opinion speaks volumes. Thanks for a well presented video. I plan on trying some epoxy projects and glass cast will be my first call.
The cost of resin can be quite off putting for a lot of people so this revised method may make resin river tables more accessible to people for whom a typical table with a lot of resin may be out of reach budget wise.
Doesnt it weaken the strength of the table? Now you only have 5mm of resin (x2). If you want to use less resin just make your gap smaller.
@@tubester4567 Good point but personally I would suggest that it depends on the table frame/skirt which supports the table along four sides or across each end. Remember that the table is not "load bearing" unless you stand on it and nobody is going to try and bend it in the middle.
@@Sly_Wolf_1 Maybe but Its common for people to sit on tables, or stand on them to reach high places. With the high cost of timber slabs I dont think I would risk it personally.
@@tubester4567 and with the correct frame/skirt under the table you will spread any load. But each to their own. I know I could build this and have someone sit or stand on it without issue.
Another option for river tables, especially clear pours, use varying sizes of gravel to simulate stones/boulders in the finished product. You could also use sand under the gravel to reduce the volume further.
Yes encapsulations are a great way to reduce resin usage where they can be made into a feature.
@@glasscastresin Out of curiousity, applying the same method as seen in the video - do you think using an acrylic filler in replacement of plywood match the refractive index *enough* when poured with uncolored/transparent resin to go unseen? Of course cut edges of the acrylic would need to be polished.
@@Raraoolala You would really need to test this out to see how well your acrylic was matched to the resin once cured. The edges of the acrylic where it stops short of the wood may pose the biggest visual problem.
@@Raraoolala Even if you'd get it "close enough", you'd still see it from certain angles or light conditions, really you're just asking for trouble. With the plywood core in the video it's very likely there were still some tiny air pockets trapped between, but it doesn't matter because you can't see them. With clear epoxy and acrylic you simply don't have the luxury of hiding tiny imperfections.
Helpful hint. If you can, put part B in the cup first and add Part A. I've found that as part B is thinner, it doesnt stick to the sides of the mixing pot as easily as part A. Less likely to leave unmixed resin on the sides of your mixing bowl. used about 20 litres from Glasscast now. Great product and great customer service/tech support.
Brilliant. Great to see a company showing you how to save money using their product. It builds credibility and consumer confidence. I'll be using them for my next project. 👍
I think i appreciate this so much more because it’s a resin company telling you “hey, you might not actually need to buy as much product!”
That was the exact intention, we doe hear that some people are put off large projects like this by the cost of resin, unfortunately it is an expensive product. Hopefully this method makes it more accessible to those who still want to create their own river table.
Amazing! Most definitely adding this to the bag of tricks. 🙂 Thanks for posting this. Clear, concise and very informative.
Ive done this on smaller projects, its definitely a resin saver for sure!
Great idea. So refreshing to have your calculations in metric.
Very informative and entertaining. Quite excellent at showing how it is done without making it seem as if it should be simple.
I have been using glasscast 10/50 many times and it has never disappointed me. Brilliant stuff 🥇
Thank you, that’s great to hear 😀
I'll be starting a table build later this year and I will absolutely be using this method. Should save me hundreds of dollars. Thanks.
Yep, I've avoided this due to the immense cost and volume most people encourage. Legit keen to do this since you've shown how to make it economical and environmentally friendly. Strong integrity, very impressed!
The fact you're using metric is enough to leave a thumbs up!
Great video. Super informative. Love that you also covered the mistake with the router 👏
Glad you found it useful. We know how easy it is to make mistakes and always try to be open with our content, it also means we can show how to fix the problem.
Great video. I've known a lot of people who wanted to try out a resin project, including myself, that get put off by the cost of it once they work out what they may need. Even saving a little bit helps.
Exactly what we aimed to do with this video.
much appreciated for the time you have put in to show the process of doing the table, amazing job
As a retired toolmaker/machinist with MANY years under my belt. I have helped manufacture many molds over the years. This is very common what you have done here. For these of you whom don't understand molds, This is how a mold makes a plastic cup, for a simple example. Metal is engineered to make the inside part of the cup, which is turn will make the wall thickness of the cup. Or when manufacturing an engine block, a core made a sand to make the holes for all the cylinders. The molten metal will flow around the sand/core to produce a hole where it is needed. Good way to save $ on materials and machining time. You actually explained this very nicely! 👍
immediately like this guy better than everybody else lol. seems more like a real person and not some hack! cheers from across the pond
Finally someone who uses the metric system... makes this so much more easy to follow
I do this already. I use up my scrap lumber. Be sure to seal the filler boards to reduce bubbles.
Yes, totally agree on sealing the filler boards. Hopefully that came across clearly in this video.
Amen... my scrap pieces get used like this, and if not big enough I slice it into strips and laminate them all together. Quick run through the planer, seal , pour and honestly some of my favorite pieces!
Now this is marketing that is made for the real audience, with noble gesture of showing how it is done with less budget.
Fabulous video! Great idea using the wood insert !
I really cant fathom why people wouldn't do this with opaque pigments, but semi transparent river tables are my favourites
I looked at the thumbnail and I was blown away like god damn dude u are really smart I never thought of that
If I ever get around to building one for myself (wont do it til i live in a house big enough for it), i'll use this technique and add a bit of flair to the river (make it look like a river with a sandy bottom and little additions in the middle). The plywood is a great idea to save on space, and if i have a bit of fun with the middle, it should look great, even with transparent resin
I was amaze when i saw ur comapny showing ideas to save epoxy shows really you guys care about us
I did something similar to this on a lake table I was asked to build, the video is on my channel. The slab was over 5 cm thick and I had a limited budget to build the table on, so I just put a plywood platform in the center and sealed the edges, only casting about 1/5 cm worth of resin, turned out beautifully, so i can vouch for the fact that resin saving techniques work and they worm very well!
The use of resin - for me, the amount of resin featured - is a very personal view. I wouldn’t want a table where the resin seemingly overwhelms the timber but, then, I’m a woodworker. The useful thing - the very green reason - to use resin is that it takes boards which would otherwise be scrapped or cut up with a lot of waste, and make them into objects that can be used. I’ve made many tables that have resin in them but the resin is just used to fill checks and faults in the slab. It’s a far cry from a 40% resin river table. However, there is no denying that river tables are sought after and, whilst I though the fashion would be short lived, it continues. In fact, buying a waney edge slab now costs more (per cubic metre) than processed square edged material. Such is the law of supply and demand plus the opportunistic timber seller. I think that all the tips that I have learned (the hard way) have been noted by Glass Cast. I do use a degassing chamber connected to a vacuum pump for smaller pours (quite often moulds for items such as clock numbers) but it’s impractical for large volumes. So, I do go for coating the edges of the timber the day before if it’s a deeper void but always go for very slow cure (for which you can buy an additive) and regularly a hair dryer passed over the surfaces to release bubbles. If you want to see someone make resin tables very well, and for a living, look up the Manor Wood channel.
Clear and concise, a pleasure to watch.
You could even have the plywood core be a piece of art of it's own that is put in with transparent pigment. That could look really cool also: a disconnected table, or wooden fish, or a photo glued onto the plywood of stars or anything. There are lots of options that could look cool and cut down on the resin without being too complicated.
Indeed you could make a feature of it if you so wished.
To add a little bit more to what you were saying...you could also glue a matching wood veneer to the top and sides of your plywood core or just the top and angle the sides a bit so they're not noticeable. Shape it like an added piece and save some epoxy that way while adding a cool little "island" part to the whole piece.
this idea makes me think of possibilities with a decorated core and transparent resin, there seems to be a more “intentionally designed” space this could go into that’s a little outside the mainstream with most of these wood/resin projects nowadays, I think the gaming table chaps have some good ideas to pull from into more simple, general purpose tables.
Sounds like a good idea, encapsulating visual items could make for a really interesting piece of furniture.
For solidly opaque colours, this is bloody clever,
A great video, really clear and informative and making me want to try it myself.
Just used this technique on a 40 liter pour. Saved me $300 in epoxy. Turned out awesome !! Thanks
Gad you found it useful and offered a good saving!
great idea for solid pours, I haven't done a table yet but I have practice with some charcuterie boards, this makes me want to try a table
Thanks, you know where we are if you decide to give it a go.
Pretty smart to conserve resin wherever possible by filling the volume with more economic materials. I never thought about that.
Great video overall. One thing that did strike me is that while this is most obviously of use for opaque and metallic resins, it seems like you could do a transparent effect finish quite easily too. Maybe reduce the plywood thickness by another 5mm and use that depth to add and progressively more transparent layers to the top to create the illusion of a deeper pour (much like how people do those fishes swimming in water illusion paintings on resin).
Yes you could certainly do that and make it into an effect.
OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING video!!! Thank you soooooo much for the concept and ideas!!
Thank you for your fantastic feedback! 🙂
great idea, reminds me of putting backing of cheaper line on a fishing reel!
Good idea. One other key way to save money when making river tables is not buying the release spray. I did some work making aerospace and autoracing carbon fibre parts and we used basic car wax.
Fabulous job love all your products
Fair play for putting this out there. Considering you are essentially doing yourselves out of sales. Brilliant way to make extra money on commissions from a creator perspective.
The cost of resin can be quite off putting for a lot of people so this revised method may make resin river tables more accessible to people for whom a typical table with a lot of resin may be out of reach budget wise.
haven't even watched this but the idea of making a core is very interesting, especially if its not transparent.
This was an excellent video and particularly informative. Thank you.
You're welcome 🙂
Excellent video thankyou. Please can you supply details of how you made your router sled and where you got the materials. Thank you again.
Man this is great quality. Like top quality filming, great editing. Great sound. Pleasant yet spicy. Professional yet educational. Long enough but to the point. This is a sience. Proficiat
Glad you enjoyed it. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, but we think it's worth it.
This is a great idea! Congratulations on the project, this is definitely going to help a lot of newcomers to get into the resin world and not spending a lot of money/ product, including myself. Thank you for the idea, keep up the great work!
Something to try (whether or not you are using a Filler material) - Put a Mirror on top of the filler material and under Translucent Epoxy. For the best look, use a Front surface mirror. They are more expensive but they're worth it for a real River / Lake look.
Would certainly give a different look and maybe more depth.
The style of presentation resembles easy composites channel. And that is a compliment.
We're in effect the same company; we broke off the GlassCast brand to keep the two areas of the business separate from a tutorial and website perspective but the tutorials are filmed in the same studio with the same team :)
Great idea 💡 this idea is good for environment. Most of river tables are filled with black resin. For opaque ; can we replace cardboard with glass?
Outstanding! thanks so much!
Impressive workmanship!
Excellent idea, I will try it. 👍
Great video !! Really clear with steps. Thank you
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for the feedback.
I had never considered adding the dye to the resin before mixing the 2 parts. You can dye just the resin part, then store it for later, and only mix in the hardener as you need? I always thought you had to mix the parts, then add the dye. Always wondered how you do a partial pour, then add the core, then add more resin to top it off, while keeping the color the same for all the mixes.
I do use "chipboard" (i don't know if this is the good term), the cheap version of plywood. Essentially saved from waste disposal (Ikea and stuff). Also, i use wood shavings , that i like the render within epoxy ! This way, i save barely 80% of epoxy. And the weight is barely the same.
Great idea! How much do you have to worry about dust in the shop when letting the resin set? I'd be doing this in my woodworking shop, so it can get pretty dusty (though I do have good air cleaners).
Ideally you want the dust to have settled and also not do dusty work while it is curing. You could even make a card box cover to keep dust off it. However in this specific case where the surface is being routed, sanded and then polished; any odd dust specs that fall on the surface, while the resin cures, would be removed during post processing.
Hi there, great video! Love how you touched on many practical aspects a hobbyist will run into when making such a table. Often you see people using a heat gun or small torch to get rid of any bubbles. I didn't see you do this. Was this done off-camera, or does your resin somehow not have bubbles?
Hi Christopher, thanks for your comments. The GlassCast resin is very good at releasing entrapped air by itself so generally not needed. If there are any stubborn bubbles that are refusing to pop then yes you can use a heat gun or blow torch to help them on their way.
How the hell do you only have 12k subs? This is amazing content.
Have you ever tried to mix thin sawdust to the resin? I always think I would do that if I used to make that kind of stuff.
Excellent video. Good work sir
if you use clear resin you could allso lay down a bottom in resin fill most of the space with fancy sand or pebbles than fill it to the top with more clear and finish it off , should save up to about 2/3ths of the resin used ans looks a little different than a solid colour
This is a great trick for non-clear resin. Once you go even somewhat transparent - you will quickly reach the point where plywood shows. I personally don't see any point in opaque river tables. If you make that table - it's much better to see some depth in both the live edge and the resin
Now all we need is for blacktail studios to make a glowing core inside the resin
I think you have a great idea as shown.
Beautiful
nice, will start to do this.
Thanks, glad you like the suggestion.
Beautiful piece and great intent behind using less of your product to make it more accessible and affordable to your customers. The possibilities of using the filler material as an effect when using transparent resin is exciting.
I feel that this is all well and good, up to a point. When you factor in the cost of resin only poor compared to the cost of: 1. Resin base pour - Cost of mixing small batch, clean-up and cost of time waiting for cure. 2. Cost of a plywood insert and the cost of man hours cutting, shaping and finishing so you don't have unexpected wood fiber floaters. 3. Cost of time mixing up a second batch of resin, pouring and clean-up and waiting time for cure. I think that from an accounting standpoint, it really may be less expensive to make one resin pour and be done with it. Especially if there is paid labor involved. Even a business owners time has financial value.
Considering most people considering this are DIY/hobby users, time is generally not a financial cost. You could do the math for a business to determine if it is viable.
Less weight & cheaper, very pragmatic, I like it!
Thankyou for this, very clear to see and follow. When letting the first resin pour tack off, how long / tacky can it be left? is there a guide for time v temperature? My concern is the development of amine blush and waxing that could affect the effectiveness of the second bond to the first. Thanks
Depends on volume of pour, how long mixing, ambient temperature etc so no easy exact time. You need to check it with a gloved finger to see when the exact point is reached. Properly mixed resin at a decent temperature is extremely unlikely to have amine blush or waxing issues.
For those who don't feel like watching a 15-minute video about something that can be summed up in 30 seconds. The idea here is as follows. 1 - Set up your slabs like you normally do in the mold. 2 - Pour a thin layer of resin on the bottom (1/4"-1/2" - the darker the tint, the thinner this layer can be). 3 - Take a piece of wood or something else solid (almost anything will work) that is slightly shorter than the overall length of your table and place it in the middle, on top of your first, partially cured (but still tacky) layer, leaving approximately an inch or so on each end. This "filler" piece can be cut with a jigsaw to the contours of your slabs in order to take up as much volume in the middle as possible this maximizing your resin savings. 4 - Pour the top layer of resin so that the filler piece is completely encased in resin on all visible sides. 5 - Finish the table like you would any other epoxy resin river table.
I got all the just by looking at the thumbail.
And “stop wasting the video” with the hand gestures (its like a contagious disease of stupidity)
@@OU81TWO Congrats! Most of us probably got it from the thumbnail. However, some people probably did not quite get it as well, so I figured I would summarize. Not sure how this guy thought a 15 minute video was necessary though.
@@TheRealJohnHamp He's making content. Needs watch time to generate more $$$.
Don't forget: 1) the tip to tint one of the parts of the resin so you can get multiple pours of the same colour; 2) the sealing of the live wood edges to minimise the generation of bubbles from the pores; 3) the Danish oil sealing of the wood prior to polishing the epoxy so the polishing compounds don't get embedded in the wood and discolour it. Just to name a few things one does not get from the thumbnail...
Thank you!!
Wow 😮 great idea. Do you have any examples of finished tables? I’ll be using Glass Cast resin for sure now 👍 I was really put off the idea by making these pieces because of the price of the resin. This has definitely made me rethink!
Have a look on the Project Gallery on our glasscastresin.com website and you will see loads of examples of customer completed river tables.
Beautiful...Thanks
ive tried this once before, and the wood inside the pour "ghosted" through, so you could see the very slight divets when looking across the piece. That was some time ago though, so maybe casting resin is getting better about shrinkage? I have not tried this recently, and this would help out a ton on saving me money on resin!
Shrinkage on some types of resin can be significant. Epoxies in general, and especially the GlassCast range are exceptionally low shrinkage.
I absolutely love how you tinted one part of the expoxy to get a consistent colour through multiple pours. Great tip!! Plus yes using a fill method to save epoxy I’ve done before just not in that scale. Well done! You have inspired me to try now
Yes pigmenting the resin in one go means that you don't need to worry about colour matching, or ending up with patchy colours.
@@glasscastresin I have a very small utube channel. I do resin art. I’d love to share this knowledge if that’s ok with you?
@@MissKikiDee4Me Yes, that would be fine :)
@@glasscastresin thank you so much xx
I dig your accent I think I might start talking like that. great video. Do you ever think of adding lighting to your builds to make a more luxury dynamic table?
Thanks, it's not an accent you hear a lot online! Market Drayton, in the UK! RE lights in our projects, it's certainly something we've thought about and would like to do in a future video : )
@@glasscastresin The guy at Stone Coat has a video about adding lights. (But their product seems to need a few passes with a torch or heat gun) Sooo-ooo, I think I'll use their expertise..... and your product.... and maybe take over ..... the WORLD 🙃
Hi there! I saw this it's amazing - THANK YOU!! What about using Perspex for a clearer pour? will it bond and still be strong?
This technique is really only really suited to projects with a pigmented opaque resin that hides the filler material. If you were going for a semi translucent then it you may be able to get away with using clear filler material but its not something that we have tried.
not to mention it's also a superior product... Modustrial Maker made a massive door with a boatload of resin about a month after this came out and I still think about it...
Great video! I’m definitely considering using this technique when I build my own table however, I wonder if this would compromise the strength of the table at all?
Certainly no more so than with any river table in general. The wood has its own inherent strength and its all bonded together by the resin.
It's awesome that we came back to use plastic in our furniture.
Don’t you wish you could make a table without resin and feel satisfied.
For many people a simple wooden table is fine. Personal taste would be different.
A simple wooden table. Easier said then done. You didn't answer the question.
Never heard of hackberry in the U.K. but nice colour and grain to it . Looks similar to ash
Now there’s a fab idea. I’ve got a slab, but the cost of the resin has put me off. Now I’m buzzing with the thought of getting down to the project as it’s a lot more feasible.
Thanks Antony, that’s exactly what we were hoping. Obviously we sell resin but we also know there are a lot of people who have been put off a river table project due to the amount of resin needed (and therefore cost). I hope you consider GlassCast for your project 😀 and wish you all the best.
I made my table exactly the same way 🙂
great tip
To get a more accurate pour measurement, take a photograph of your layout, import it into software like sketchup, scale the image to your known length and width, draw along the live edge, to create an area.
You could go as far as drawing it in CAD if you have the skills. Although probably a bit overkill for most people!
Hey! im new to this, would the core effect the strength of the build at all?
Not really as the epoxy soaks into the surfaces giving you a strong bond on the interfaces. Its also worth noting that this also makes the table lighter; the plywood we used was a 600kg/m3 density, whereas the resin it displaces is over 1,000kg.m3 so there would a bit of a weight saving overall as well.
Fascinating! How do you clean up your tools and buckets when working with resin?
You can use a solvent like acetone before the resin has cured. Our buckets are made from PP so alternatively wait until the resin has cured and peel out the cured resin.
great idea
I think non-transparent river tables are goofy, but I'd definitely fill up internal volume with wood to save on resin if a solid color was used.
Could you put glass in the table, would broken glass chunks take up space while allowing for the depth and transparency? The broken edges could add a different look too?
@@darrinblackhurst9266 I would expect whatever transparent medium you used to have some effect on the look, even if you were using perfectly clear resin. I think broken glass would produce a pretty cool effect
Do you ever have to worry about thermal expansion of the core you use?
Awesome video 😊
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Do you have a video on how to perfect or make a clear see through epoxy river table ?
Our main river table tutorial uses a tinted blue resin. If you wanted a completely clear 'river' then you could skip adding the pigment. www.glasscastresin.com/river-table-tutorial
Amazing epoxy!!
What a great tutorial, and super to see you in the comments throwing ideas about with viewers. Great interaction 👍
Thanks Joe, we do like to hear back from our customers and followers. It helps us to understand what projects to work on next!