All tables are the same except that they usually have a tabletop and legs. Otherwise they are very different. Different shapes, materials and even manufacturing ideas. The industry produces large quantities of comfortable and inexpensive standard furniture.
But the most interesting specimens are presented to us by artist-designers. They not only change the shape and finish, but even create their own unique technologies for making objects. The talented artist Greg Klassen lives in Washington.
He is young, has a degree in theology, but works as a carpenter. The furniture he created is distinguished by its natural beauty and naturalness. Greg tries not just to make a household item out of a log, but to see the natural beauty of the material and emphasize and enhance it with his skill.
The American artist's design table looks like a river. To achieve this effect, the author uses wood defects. Knotted boards cannot be used for making traditional furniture because they will easily split under stress. But for original product it will come in handy.
Greg separates the array along the natural fiber line in areas of weak adhesion. Having large quantity various inclusions, a thick board breaks easily, revealing uneven edges.
The second component for creating the image of a river on the tabletop is blue glass. It is this that creates transparent shallows in places where there is a tight fit and tints the uneven edges of the board, turning them into steep banks and pools.
This is what a round one looks like unusual table. High-quality material has been added to the sides. This is necessary for the strength of the product. The legs are carved from hard wood, capable of supporting heavy loads. Everything is covered with colorless matte varnish. This protects the wood from wood pests and destruction of moist air. At the same time, its natural appearance is preserved.
At the bottom of the river, a metal frame made of sheets is visible, which serves as a support for the tabletop and holds the entire structure. The glass is placed in a groove precisely made according to its shape and glued transparent glue, giving an additional effect of water.
The second method of fastening glass, when it is inserted into a groove, adds steep banks to the river. The surface of the table in this version is uneven, but unique.
Creative table in avant-garde style. It was made like this by rectangular legs from a metal corner. It is enough to change the design of the product, and glass waters belong to a different era.
Deep mountain lake of volcanic origin. The steep banks drop down almost vertically and look hard and rocky. You have to have an unusual gift to see such beauty in a simple hemp with a loose core and create it.
Notice how natural everything looks. It was as if lava was flooding the mountainside in waves. Then the depths cooled, and water filled the depression of the former crater.
A fragment of another masterpiece is in the workshop. Knots prepared for polishing are visible, fixtures and the floor glow through artificial water.
Artist's workshop. The new designer table is already partially ready. The contours of the glass are outlined and a sample will be made along the intended line. The glossy surface, like real water, reflects light and surrounding objects, giving them a bluish tint.
Even in defects you can see beauty and create a miracle.
In modern interior design, extraordinary and exclusive interior items are increasingly being used, capable of attracting all the attention of the people present in the room. Such an original interior solution includes tables decorated with epoxy resin.
This interesting thing You can do it yourself, turning an ordinary piece of furniture into a true work of art.
Properties
In furniture production, epoxy resins are not used in their pure form, since the magical qualities of epoxy appear as a result of its contact with a special hardener. By changing the ratio of these two connected parts, you can obtain a composition of different consistency. Depending on the specific purposes for which it will be used, these may be:
- liquid essence,
- viscous or rubbery substance;
- solid;
- high strength base.
The process of manufacturing any furniture with decor using epoxy resin involves coating a wooden base with this polymer and thoroughly polishing the product after the resin has hardened, resulting in a product with high wear resistance. The overall properties of the entire composition will depend on the correct ratio of ingredients. The incorrect amount of hardener can significantly reduce the strength of the finished product, as well as its resistance to impact. environment and household products. Therefore, when preparing the mixture for work, it is so important to follow the ratios recommended by the polymer manufacturer, Most often these indicators are 1:1.
According to the method of use, epoxy resin can be hot-cured or cold-cured. When creating pieces of furniture at home, the second type is most often used.
Advantages and disadvantages
Compared to conventional tables made of natural wood, tables with processing epoxy resin have whole line advantages:
- When dry, the resin composition has virtually no shrinkage, holds its shape well, retains its original color, does not deform and is not susceptible to mechanical damage;
- exclusivity of each product and limitless design options;
- the ability to use various additional materials for decoration (coins, tree cuts, shells, stones, starfish, etc.);
- the ability to add multi-colored dyes to the mixture, including phosphorescent paints;
- impermeability to moisture and dampness;
- excellent tolerability chemicals cleaning.
The main disadvantage of these tables is the very high cost of the product. To cover one copy, depending on the size and shape of the product, it can take up to several tens of liters of polymer substance. Another possible unpleasant drawback is the presence of air bubbles that form in the epoxy mixture as a result of non-compliance with instructions and technologies during production.
Manufacturing process
The very first and one of the most important stages in preparation wooden structure before pouring with epoxy resin - thoroughly remove dust and all other contaminants from the surface of the wood. After which the surface of the table that will be poured must be primed. If this is not done, then the resin, absorbed into the porous wood, will form air bubbles that will spoil appearance products.
Only after the preparation stage is completed is it prepared required amount mixtures of epoxy resin and hardener. On at this stage the most important thing is strict adherence to the proportions specified in the instructions for use. Depending on the chosen design, dyes or additional decorative materials can be added to the finished mixture. Next, the resulting mixture is applied to the prepared wooden surface.
If the countertop has a specific design made of additional materials, then they need to be placed on the table surface before pouring. Moreover, lightweight materials such as wine corks or shells, must first be glued to the surface in accordance with the intended pattern. It is necessary, so that they do not float while pouring the mixture, thereby turning a thoughtful composition into a disorderly and uninteresting structure. If unwanted air bubbles appear during the pouring process, they can be removed using a hair dryer by directing a stream of hot air to the problem area.
The mixture will begin to set within fifteen minutes, but the final stage, namely grinding the product, can be started only after the resin has completely hardened. It is advisable to keep the product for a week, since after this period it will be fully established and ready for use.
After sanding, it is advisable to coat the product with several layers of protective varnish. This will prevent the release of toxic substances into the atmosphere, which may be contained in small quantities in resin compositions.
Variety of options
To create a table with an original tabletop, decorated with epoxy resin, you can take absolutely any type of tree, including various fragments, saw cuts, wood chips and even sawdust, the main thing is that everything, even the tiniest particles of the future tabletop, are thoroughly dried. Antique and rough wood looks amazing in epoxy resin. For decoration, you can also successfully use sea and river shells, pebbles, dried herbs and flowers, coins, and other inclusions that can give the product special originality or a specific theme. And by mixing luminescent dyes with epoxy resin, you will create a magical glow effect.
A tree that has been eaten by bark beetles or damaged by dampness looks very unusual in resin. Natural damage filled with epoxy with the addition of dye or luminous paint can create unrealistically beautiful cosmic patterns on the countertop. All kinds of holes, cracks and paths in wood can be created and artificially by creating your own drawing. All small holes are filled with the prepared mortar using a construction spatula. After curing, excess resin is removed using a sander.
The process of making countertops using the pouring method is the most expensive and labor-intensive, and also requires special care in work. It is used in the manufacture of tabletops with attachments, as well as for creating original design pieces with fantastic ideas and unusual solutions. Like, for example, the famous American designer Greg Klassen, which creates original models of tables with “natural landscapes”. The “river” or “lake” frozen in the tops of his amazing tables amaze with their grandeur and incredible beauty.
About how to do wooden table with a river made of epoxy resin with your own hands, see the next video.
She started with work on furniture restoration, then switched to interior items made from wooden pallets, and now she has become interested in making furnishing elements in the loft and living-edge style - the team has collected all the designer fashion, including hit tabletops made of wood and glass. We tell you how they are produced and how to catch the current trend.
From restoration to production
The emergence of a full-fledged carpentry shop in the restoration workshop became a natural stage in the development of Lemon Oak. For renovation, it was often necessary to produce parts of furniture dear to the customer’s heart that had been lost over time. Then the team caught the trend for interior items made from pallets, or pallets. The mini-factory is still engaged in it today and still approaches the choice of material with pedantry that is not typical for this direction. For example, they do not use raw materials that served as containers for transporting petroleum products or household chemicals. “Wood absorbs odors. I think it’s not very pleasant to sit on a sofa that exudes the spirit of powder,” explains the head of the company, Alexey Nikolaev.
Craftsmen not only use ready-made pallets, but also assemble them themselves, after which they are sure to be sanded and coated with Italian paints - durable and without the characteristic amber. Alexey admits that the price of one item in his company is higher than the market price. You can buy a sofa made from pallets from handicraft workshops for 5,000 rubles. At Lemon Oak, this will cost 11,000 rubles, excluding upholstery - it is ordered separately, and the price ceiling in this case is 15,000 rubles. Such objects are still popular among commercial spaces - cafes, hookah bars, and less often - among private customers who understand how such furniture can be integrated into a home space. One of these clients was a famous Samara architect, for whom they put together a large corner sofa.
Lemon Oak constantly studies the market, and the result of one of these studies was the launch of a line of loft-style furniture - today only the lazy do not engage in it. True, the start came at a time when the Internet had not yet been flooded with such offers. However, Alexey still insists on exclusivity. “I come up with the design together with the designer and the client - it’s a team effort. If the customer comes with a photo of the finished product, we still redo everything - no copies,” the general director voices his position. The situation in the competitive market is difficult. Alexey complains that many people trust students or non-professionals who do it cheaper, but the quality of their products leaves much to be desired. Loft is loft, but a “raw”, uncouth look and “raw” work are two different things. At Lemon Oak, according to the manager, they don’t allow themselves to do the latter.
How to make a table with a river
You can make a table with a glass river in the middle from any wood, the craftsmen are sure. Most a budget option- pine. However, there is one disadvantage to which many turn a blind eye, and some do not believe in it until the very end.
The point is that pine secretes resin, and at one point your table may become “myrrh-streaming.” The plus for which the customer is willing to endure this amber madness is the price: an average-sized table will cost about 30,000 rubles.
Glass, too, at the request of the client, can be anything, but by default its thickness is 4-5 millimeters. Lemon Oak uses tempered glass. Firstly, at such a thickness it is super durable. Secondly, even if the unexpected suddenly happened, it would not break into large pieces, but into small ones - like a car. The palette is wide. One of the last orders - Coffee table with blue glass.
In general, the process of making such an item differs little from the production regular table. At the final stage, when everything is assembled, a stencil is made along the contours of the array, then a template is made, according to which a panel of the necessary parameters is made in a glass workshop. This is where the fun begins. Alexey says that in his lifetime the glass has never stood up as it should - the craftsmen always have to adjust inner edges array for the manufactured surface. No glue is used - everything is held together due to a precise fit. They even transport the item assembled.
Favorite instrument
Alexey knows by heart all the processes that take place in the workshop, but admits that he is first and foremost the manager and ideological center of Lemon Oak. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make anything worthwhile out of the boards. At the stage of forming the equipment fleet, he, as an experienced manager, trusted the professionals - his craftsmen.
It is difficult to imagine an interior without the usual table. This is an integral part of any environment and an important functional element. Currently, river tables with an extraordinary design have become widespread.
Materials
There are a lot of materials that can be used to create such an interior item. The main component is wood. Glass and painted epoxy are used to simulate water in manufacturing. Designs with a glass top and epoxy are spectacular, creating a feeling of ephemerality and purity, thanks to the alliance of a thick, rough cut of wood and a transparent glass cutout.
The most durable and effective method of making a river table is to pour tinted epoxy resin into the cracks of the wood.
Application of the slab
To create unique designer furniture, chips, planks, and scraps of wood are used. Ideal option are longitudinal cuts of untreated wood, called slabs. In its production, exclusively valuable wood species are used. Often such countertops are made from Caucasian oak, elm, and ash.
These saw cuts attract attention due to their uniqueness and natural beauty.
To make a river table, a natural edge is left, preserving the bark and natural irregularities. The more unusual and intricate the natural defects and lines are, the more interesting the result. All natural curves and imperfections imitate the peculiar flow of the river; all that remains is to insert glass, cut along the contour, following the curves of the wood in a bizarre and intricate way.
The ideal combination of natural and industrial design gives birth to a river table, the dominant feature of any interior and a practical piece of furniture.
In the interior
This design will be bright accent interior in loft style. Its industrial spirit is emphasized by a tabletop with luminous “water” cavities. To make such a table, glued wood assembled from strips is used. The more different the chips and pieces of wood are, the better.
It is important that there are more gaps, cracks and holes between them. This will make it possible to fill them with tinted blue epoxy with the addition of luminescent powder.
The tabletop looks most impressive in the twilight (the powder added to the resin glows in the dark). Doors can also be decorated in this style. They will make a stylish duet with the table.
Tables from white oak using glass can be used as dining rooms. They will fit harmoniously into the rustic and modern design. The loft style model is appropriate in ethnic and colonial interiors. Its closeness to nature is emphasized by details made of stone and wood.
Slab - a cut from a tree trunk, the edges of which remain untouched finished product. The term was borrowed by the carpentry industry from the stone industry. Initially they were called slabs monolithic slabs, which were obtained by cutting stone blocks. In the woodworking industry, slabs are called a solid longitudinal cut of wood - an array that excludes gluing and other types of joints.
The exposed section demonstrates the unique natural structure of the material - color transitions, small knots, natural growths - suveli and burls. When processing the slab, the natural cut lines are preserved - the free geometry of the slab follows the natural curves of the tree trunk. The edge is not only not leveled, but its natural original relief is also emphasized.
More often, slabs are made from the lower part of the tree - it is distinguished by its large width and increased strength. Cuttings in places of bends and branches of the trunk are especially valued. The thickness of a wooden slab is usually 5-15 cm. The most impressive are slabs made from solid wood species - elm, oak, larch, walnut, poplar, acacia, mahogany, ebony, rosewood, teak, wenge, merbau and others.
The material is used for the manufacture of unique designer furniture and interior items: massive tables, kitchen countertops, chairs, benches, bedside tables, bar counters, shelves, headboards, shelving, window sills, lamp bases. The production of products from slabs is separated into a separate design direction Live edge - “living edge”, “natural edge”. It implies an emphasized miraculousness and an emphasis on the uniqueness of wood.
Today there is a “slack mania” in the furniture market. Interior items made from slab create an atmosphere of native closeness with nature, which is why they are extremely popular among residents of megacities. Live edge elements look organically in loft and eco interior styles. They are also used as accents in minimalist, eclectic, rustic and ethnic interiors.
Particularly popular are the combined tables made in the Live edge style, made of slab and figuratively cut glass or a layer of epoxy resin, called “flowing river”. Slab tables look extremely impressive in the interiors of offices and meeting rooms, as dining, coffee and magazine models.
The author of the idea is furniture designer from the USA Greg Klassen. When creating the tables, he used waste from sawmills and construction sites - wood with defects that did not meet standards furniture production. He turned the apparent disadvantages of the material into advantages. Complex glass patterns imitated river beds with ornate banks and crystal clear water.
Each river table is unique. It is logical that the price tag in this case is also exclusively “cosmic”. However, the master never hid the technology for making his masterpieces, so the table-river became public property. Almost anyone can do it if desired.
Stages of making a table from a slab of wood with filling
Tool preparation
To make a river table from solid wood with your own hands, you don’t need professional equipment and skills. You will need:
- manual frezer;
- tabletop a circular saw;
- eccentric sander;
- electric drill.
Material selection
A slab of elm or elm is especially popular as a base - it is durable, does not rot, can be processed well, has a dark brown core, light bark and a moiré wood texture. The residual moisture content of the massif should not exceed 10%. Pre-heat-treated wood acquires an even richer and brighter shade.
The cheapest resins - such as ED-20 - are difficult to work with, viscous, and have a yellowish tint. A good value for money epoxy - Cristal two-component cold-curing compound: colorless and optically transparent. Due to the low viscosity of the composition, bubbles come out of its volume on their own.
The resin can be given any color using special tinting pastes. However, it is not recommended to choose compositions based on water based, as they promote the formation of bubbles.
Wood preparation and processing
Depending on the functions of the table, determine the size and make a sketch. The slab is milled, after which the tape grinder Carefully sand down the marks from the cutter and polish. The natural curvature of the edges is preserved as much as possible.
After that manual router with a special carriage, the slab planes are aligned, which will be installed parallel to each other. At this stage, the largest irregularities are removed and boards of the same thickness are obtained.
Afterwards they make formwork from chipboard sheet. The joints of materials are coated with transparent silicone sealant so that epoxy does not flow between them. To prevent the resin from getting onto the outer surface of the tabletop, the edges of the slabs are glued with masking tape.
After this, the river “bed” is primed with a thin layer of epoxy. Thus, they close the pores and stabilize the wood. The resin is prepared in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
To prevent air bubbles from forming in the voids, epoxy is poured in small doses - layers ~1 cm thick every 24 hours. If air bubbles form on the surface, they are heated with a hair dryer and they burst. The gelation time of Cristal epoxy is 60 minutes, complete polymerization is 1 day, complete curing is 5 days. After this, the formwork is dismantled.
At the final stage, the tabletop is sanded with a step-by-step reduction in grain size - from P40 to P320. Before final grinding and polishing, the legs are screwed to the product. Final sanding wood - grain P600, resin - P1500. After this, the wood is covered protective oil usually in 2 layers. Its shade is selected taking into account the type of wood and the color of the “river”. After drying, the tabletop is rubbed with lint-free textiles.
Loft style table made of slab oak and epoxy
The cost of the finished table will depend on the chosen material (beech, oak, elm) and will average 50-70 thousand rubles. Budget ones can be viewed in our catalogue.
