How To Make An Epoxy Resin River Table
Making an epoxy resin table can be a challenging process, but when finished properly, the table will speak for itself. We get a lot of requests for custom river tables and epoxy is among the most popular of all the finishes we use. If you want to build a trendy table for your dining room, keep reading this guide!
What Is A River Table?
A custom epoxy river table is a table made from two pieces of live edge slab, often from the same slab, with epoxy resin poured in the middle. The epoxy hardens and creates a "river" of epoxy through the center of the two slab pieces. Below is a picture of a finished river table.
How To Make a River Table - Step By Step
Do you buy live edge black walnut slabs from anyone if they are nice.
We typically mill our own or purchase from a few select locals at this time.
I’m a firm believer in, “There are hundreds of stupid questions.” My goal is to not ask more than my share. Can you make an epoxy table 4 feet x 2 feet utilizing 4 slabs approximately 12 inches wide x 24 inches long?
Does the epoxy afford enough strength to hold it together?
Epoxy can hold just about anything together. When cured properly, it’s often as strong as the wood itself. If you’re looking for a quote on a piece, please reach out via our quote form. Thanks Mike!
I have a 36” by 72” slab of ash that’s been cnc’d down to 1-1/2” but I have a low spot about 6” round and about a 16th plus deep
My question is can this be filled with a clear coat or should I have another 1/8” taken off
My concern is that it’s for an island and I think it’s already too thin
Typically we’ll go until flat. A finish should lay evenly on a piece vs using it as a filler. In most cases, the 1/8 of thickness is worth trading. That’s not enough in my opinion to make a huge difference in the structural integrity of the piece.
I have a carved table top that has an elk carved into it. it is also painted. can you epoxy over the painted carving to make a table top?
Hey guys,
Looking to start my first River Dining Room table pour over the next couple of weeks. Once the pour is complete can I bring the top to your shop to get it flatten? If so, what would the cost be for about a 6’x3′ top? An estimate is fine! The pieces I am looking at are 2 1/4″ thick and will most likely want it down to about 2″ or just under 2″
I have been looking into making my own router sled but might want to get it professionally flattened since this is my first deep pour table for my house.
Thanks!
Hey John,
If you’re still in need here, please call us! I’m not sure if this is a service we still offer. We had a lot of issues in the past with this as people would bring us very warped wood, then be upset when it wasn’t a thick as they would have liked it to be, which comes down to a root issue during the drying process that we couldn’t account for.
How do u stop epoxy from leaking under the wood
We use caulk all around the wood itself, the river, and the mold to stop this!
what should be the minimum thickness of epoxy table for 8 foot long ?
If dried properly, the thickness shouldn’t matter as much. Obviously the thicker a table is, the more structurally sound it will be in turn. We typically shoot for a 2″ thick table, though if it ends up thinner due to flattening as long as it’s dried properly there typically aren’t issues.
Making A River table. Just finished the pour. Started with deep pour. Let it cured for 2 weeks then finished with two more layers of table top. My question is how long should I leave I’m in the mold before moving on to the next steps/
Most deep pour epoxies we’ve used will cure in a week or so. It varies slightly from brand to brand, as well as temperature and pouring environment.
Very informative work in your article Nolan. I have watched my fare share of videos and wish I would have came across your information first. It will be my first attempt on a River table. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
We’re glad it was helpful Gordon! We’ve been slowly but steadily trying to build out a lot of resources for live edge topics!
Very helpful post. I’m just about to make one my own (home project).
How strong is such river table? I mean, the epoxy basicaly only bonds the two pieces of wood on their edges – I’m a bit concerned about the strenght of the bond and what would happen to the table if you put pressure in the middle of it…
Another question – would you vax the wood parts before pouring the final top cover of epoxy? Wood looks so much nicer if waxed or oiled…
Cheers,
Ales
If the wood is dried properly and the epoxy is cured properly, it’s extremely strong. The wood will break before the epoxy pulls from it in most cases, so that shouldn’t be of concern unless larger issues are at play with the tables stability.
Epoxy is going to give a glossy look if it’s used as a finish. Even if pouring a river table with epoxy, you can still sand and finish it with oil. We use an oil finish on most of the epoxy river tables featured here. Only the river is epoxy, and even that has the oil finish on it.
Hi, great info, thanks for it. Just wondering how profitable epoxy resin table business is?
It varies! Our first year was a lot of learning. At $80 a gallon for epoxy, mistakes can get very expensive. I will say that a lot of the price that goes into these tables go toward the lumber, 10+ gallons of epoxy and the equipment to build them, so it’s not as profitable as some may think when they see the prices on these tables!
Very helpful post
Hi, my girlfriend asked me to build her a small table or bench for her bathroom. I was thinking I would like to make an epoxy river top on it. It’s only going to be 32″x14 and 18″ tall. Was looking for suggestions. I would want a slab or even two narrow boards so I could put the river down the middle. I don’t want to spend to much and I have limited tools. I have a sander, saw, and some clamps that’s about it. I could buy a router. I would like to purchase the wood from you and maybe have it flattened. Thanks, Ray
Hey Ray,
Apologies for the delay – we’ve been closed for the past few months to get our kiln installed and get fully operational for 2022. If you still have a need for your project, give us a ring or fill out our contact form and we’re happy to help. We plan on opening our doors back up the first week of 2022!
I’m building a vanity top with Cherry. I have one live edge, and two more pieces that I’ll join to get the depth of the vanity. My question is, after I get the joints glued, can I take a router and cut a design along the joints to fill with epoxy, and if so, how deep should I route?
We do not typically recommend doing a river table top by routering the wood partially. The epoxy and wood expand and contract differently and that can cause cracks. It also doesn’t look as good in our opinion. The only real win on this would be saving money. Sorry we can’t give a definitive answer, this isn’t a way we build our tables.