Resin & Wood - the Gentleman's End Table

Hello, and welcome to my first Instructable.

You can visit my YouTube video of making this piece here:

https://youtu.be/dQ72j7Xi9cg

This was a commissioned project by my team at the “Day Job”. My former boss is retiring after 36 AND A HALF years (he hates when we shortchange him that half year) and I was tasked to come up with something to commemorate his time with us. I landed on creating a “Gentleman’s End Table” that housed his libation of choice, some etched glasses with the company logo, and anything else that I thought would make sense. I’ll show everything I added at the end.

What you will need to make this project: (affiliate links where applicable)

Tools:

Band Saw (optional)

Planer (optional)

Jointer (optional)

Table Saw

Table Saw Sled

Speed Square

Router

Heat Gun

Buffer

Lathe and lathe accessories (optional)

Drill

Random Orbital Sander

Supplies:

Wood of choice, about 10 board feet

Burl slice (I get mine from https://www.cookwoods.com/ - tell them I sent you!)

Double side tape

Scrap wood with one straight edge (or a jointer)

One 2x4 for a router sled

Spray paint (your color of choice)

Silicone tube & gun

Wood Glue

Envirotex Lite epoxy resin (64 ounces)

Mica powder (color of choice)

White PearlEx

Alcohol inks

Howards Feed & Wax oil

Denatured alcohol

Yorkshire Grit (optional - I get mine here http://www.thewalnutlog.com/yorkshire-3/ - tell them I sent you)

Hardware of choice (hinges, lid stays, handle, and clasps)

5-minute epoxy (optional)

Kaizen Foam (optional)

Hairpin legs

Baking Soda (optional)

The first step to any woodworking project is breaking down the lumber. I used 8/4 cherry for the carcass, and I needed to get ¾” thick boards for the sides and ½” thick boards for the top & bottom. For me, this started with re-sawing the board.

• Pro tip: You could make this easier on yourself and buy the wood in these dimensions to begin with.

Once the wood is re-sawn, you’ll need to remove the band saw marks and flatten the wood. I do this at the planer. I run the board on both sides through the planer. This is called “skip planing”. Ideally you’d use a jointer here to make one side flat and then running the piece through the planer, but I don’t have a jointer, and this process works for me.

Now that you’ve got your boards to the desired thickness (3/4” for the sides and ½” for the top & bottom), it’s time to move on to getting the boards to the desired length. I do this at the table saw, and I was aiming for 24" long for one side, and 18" long for the other side.

The last piece of dimensioning the lumber is to get the box to the appropriate height. Again, a jointer would be handy here, but I still don’t have one… Instead, you can make your own jointer sled by using a scrap piece of wood that has one flat side on it. It needs to be at least as long as your longest piece, and wider than your widest piece. This board will be what you reference against the table saw fence. Place some double-side tape on your reference piece, and stick the board you need a straight line on top of the reference piece, letting about an 1/8” hang over. Once you have one flat edge on your wood, then you can remove it from the reference piece and run it through the table saw at your desired height – My table is 6" tall.

I bought a Red Collibah burl slab to use for this project. It was about 7/8” thick and I didn’t need it that thick, so I re-sawed the piece to get two pieces to use. But first, I needed to make two cuts so I could get a 90 degree angle on the piece. Pasty legs are optional :)

I use a speed square to help get a 90 degree cut on the other side. Be sure to save these off-cuts, we’ll use them later.

I used rabbits to add strength to the joints. I prefer this type of joint to a butt joint since you’ll get more surface area to glue your pieces together. I achieve this through making multiple passes on my table saw sled. You’ll want to make it 3/4” long, and about 3/8” deep. These cuts go on each end of the two long pieces of wood. This will hide the joint from the front.

To join the top & bottom to the sides, I use my router to create a rabbit. I prefer to do it this way vs. using the table saw, but do what works for you. The bottom rabbit should be just a hair over ½ thick, and the top should be about 7/8” thick.

• Pro Tip: I use hot glue to glue a scrap piece of wood to my router to provide more stability.

Rather than trying to math the length of your top & bottom, I prefer to use a relative measurement. Put your ½” stock into one end of your rabbit, and then get your length measurement by seeing where your board falls on the other side.

Rather than building the top and bottom separately, I prefer to cut them apart from the same stock. You get better grain and color matching like this. Start with the short side, and make your final cut on the long side. This ensures you have more stability when make that 4th cut. You’ll want to make the bottom 2/3 of the total height, and the lid should be 1/3. Dividing proportions in three’s ensure the box is visually appealing.

Since we’ll be adding resin to the top, it needs to be sealed. You don’t want the resin to leak through and create a big mess. I’m speaking from experience here – SEAL IT WELL!!!

I use silicone along all 4 edges, and I glued the top boards together to make a panel. I also spray painted the top panel black since I don’t want any wood to show through. You can paint it whatever color you plan on making your resin.

I added some black mica powder to the wood glue in case there was any squeeze out. I didn’t want to see the glue and detract from the burl/resin combo. I also sanded the paint away from where I put the burl to ensure good adhesion.

This is about impossible to clamp, so I simply added weights. It worked fine.

I used Envirotex Lite epoxy coating for this. You’ll need two full boxes or 64 oz.’s for this project. I added the entire contents of one box (32 oz.) to a mixing bowl. You’ll need to mix it for three minutes solid. Not 2:45, a full three minutes. Most problems people have with resin is not mixing it thoroughly. Read the directions on the box, and don't do this project when it's cold and/or humid.

• Pro tip: Use a paddle mixer in your drill to make this easier.

I added a ton of black mica powder and liquid dye. I wanted this really opaque. I also added a silver mica and a white PearlEx powder. These will add some depth and shimmer to your color. Feel free to make whatever colors you want here, but I would advise to add some white PearlEx to your piece. I use it every time, no matter the colors.

Go ahead and read Step 9 too, and you’ll need to do both steps at the same time.

Once you have your first layer of resin mixed, it’s time to pour it on your table.

• Pro tip: Pour just a little bit to see if you have any leaks. Once you’re sure it’s sealed, then add the rest of the contents.

Now that you have the resin poured, you’ll need to use a heat gun to pop any bubbles. I prefer to use a heat gun vs. a torch since you can move the resin with it, not catch anything on fire (!), and you don’t run out of propane in the middle of a pour which could ruin your piece.

Let this layer cure overnight, or until it is hard and cool.

Next you’ll make a second layer of resin. Mix up the second bottle of resin the same as before (3:00!) but do not add the colors yet. Split the resin into two separate containers. Leave one half of the resin clear, and split the other half into however many colors you want. No more than three. I don’t have picture of this here since I only did black, but I’ve made a ton of resin pieces and the trick to making these beautiful is to get depth through multiple pours. Each layer you add, make it more and more translucent.

We’ll be making the handle from the piece out of the same resin and burl. Remember the burl off-cuts from way back in Step 2? We’ll use them here. First, you’ll need to make a quick mold. Construct a small box with an open top, leaving the inner dimensions 2” x 4” x 6”. Glue and screw the sides together and seal the inside with silicone, just like we did in Step 5.

Add the burl off-cuts to the mold, and the resin mixture from Step 8.

Let the handle cure for a few days before you turn it. If you do not have a lathe, you can simply buy a handle from the hardware store and skip Step 9 entirely.

I’ve tried multiple methods for flattening the top, but the best method I’ve found is to use a router sled. You can make one very easily with a few 2x4’s clamped to a flat table (I used my table saw). When I make my next sled, I’ll definitely make the 2x4’s much longer than the table top. My sled might have fallen off the edge and damaged my piece. Bonus internet points to you if you can find the damage I had to repair.

I hot glued the router to a 3/4” piece of plywood with a hole in it. Don’t use anything thinner as it might flex. Run the sled over the whole piece until the whole top is flat.

I am not a fan of pigmented stains, so I used a chemical stain for this piece. Before brushing the mixture on your wood, sand your table (not the top yet – we’ll tackle that later) up to 220 grit. For the mixture, simply mix 2 tablespoons of Baking Soda into 250ml of warm water. Brush this onto the wood, then sand using 220 grit again once it dries. The water will raise the grain of the wood, but a light sanding will smooth it right out.

I prefer a natural finish to my pieces, and I love the Howards Feed & Wax. It’s a mixture of bee’s wax and orange essence. It really adds a warm glow to the color of the piece.

The top will need to be sanded to a much higher grit due to the resin. Sand it up to 600 grit using your random orbital sander, wiping off the dust between each coat with denatured alcohol.

Optionally, you can add a woodturners paste wax (I use something called Yorkshire Grit). Wipe it on generously, then buff it out with a buffer.

Next, work the wax in fully - it’ll feel gritty at first, then the buffing will slowly make the grit finer and finer until it’s gone. This achieves a much higher grit than paper will get you. Then add the same Howard's Feed & Wax to the top and buff it out.

Again, be sure this has cured a few days before you attempt to cure it. Remove it from the mold you made. I prefer a band saw here, since a table saw needs a super sharp blade to cut resin well. Just be sure you remove any screws before you run it through a blade. Don’t ask how I know this.

The dimensions I gave you earlier will produce two blanks that are 2” x 2” x 6”. One to turn, and one backup. Mount it on your lathe and turn it into a simple cylinder. A more complex shape will only detract from the burl/resin combo (in my opinion).

• Pro tip: The easiest way to hold the blank is in a chuck.

To finish the handle, add a CA finish that turners use for pens. It is much more durable than a light waxing. There are numerous videos that show how to do a CA finish for pens, so I’ll omit that here. Once you have finished your turning, you’ll need to add the hardware to attach it to the box. Buy one of these Euro-style handles, and disassemble the spacers from the handle.

Counter-sink a hole into your top to accept the hardware spacers from the front, and drill a through hole for the screws from the front.

Lastly, you'll need to drill holes into your handle and then epoxy them into place using 5-minute epoxy. Simple painters tape will hold it in place.

To wrap up this project, you’ll need to add the hardware and your own customizations. You’ll need hinges, clasps, and lid stays.

After the hardware is installed, I chose to add Kaizen Foam and then personalized this gift for the recipient. I added hand-etched glasses with the “Day Job’s” logo, a bottle of top-shelf Tanqueray, coasters, and the annual report from the year he began work. It’s held in place with leather straps and snap clasps. The salt and pepper shakers are an inside joke. Be creative and come up with your own "fiddly bits"!

I also added some hairpin legs. I feel they complement the design by being simple and not detracting from the top. I want that to be the focal point.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this Instructable. If you’ve like what you’ve seen, you can follow me socially here:

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