Building My First Epoxy Table! Putting The New Router Sled To Work! Learning Lessons!

From start to finish I'm going to share with you my experience with building my first epoxy river table. As a woodworker I’ve wanted to build this for sometime. Now that it’s done I’d like to share with you the lessons I’ve learned.
Here's the link to my video about making the router sled
• Build a Better Router ...
Here's the link to my next table build. This is a must see!
• Epic Fail Becomes Art:...
Here's the link to my video about making bowtie inlays
• Quick and Easy Bow Tie...
Help support my channel by using the links below to buy items used in this video. When using these links I make a small commission.
Mesh Sandpaper
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Steel C-Channel
amzn.to/41ytPve
Rubio Monocoat
amzn.to/3owOgtH
3M Xtract Sander
amzn.to/3H3O6R9
Super Clear Deep Pour Epoxy
amzn.to/43XSF9l

[@slateray]

You are doing a great job producing the videos. Your voice over is concise and easy to listen to. I know this has been said before, but brother, please use a good mask. Please.

[@shas2078]

Well done …. I liked it

[@thomashoffman5632]

Good job

[@marcusburnett22]

I don’t usually like epoxy tables but I love this one. Great work high five

[@SeattlePaulie]

Standoff blocks bolted to the c-channel. Brilliant!

[@immurerecords]

awesome job!!!

[@joewhitney4097]

That is going to be a beautiful table. Great build. Thanks for sharing.

[@michaelkay9442]

Excellent attention to detail and awesome work man! I have been wanting to do some live edge work, I have a solar kiln full of live edge boards right now ready to come out. You have inspired me to get with it and take the plunge. I have a simple flattening sled I built from some lumber I had in the shop. I really like how you designed yours and then made it better with the upgrades. Maybe I need to upgrade mine. Well done Sir!

[@aaronwarner2762]

Good content man. Just watched the series of route rsled videos and finished up with this. I've seen a few router sled videos. Definitely going to go with your style. Holy cow!!! Compared to the finished complete router sled kits out there?! Yeah, I can cut and drill a few pieces of aluminum and plywood. Keep up the great work! Good luck!

[@darrellreed7044]

Black Walnut dust can be toxic, but all dust is dangerous and Pulmonary Fibrosis is no joke!!! Dust masks are cheap compared to hospitals! I wear a respirator and keep it in a ziplock bag! Just my $.02 Your videos are great and that table looks awesome! Keep making great stuff!

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hey thanks for watching and for the comments! I’ve actually been much more diligent about wearing a dust mask.

[@thistledownwoodcraft3426]

What a great build! I watched the flatting jig vid first, loved it. One thing and I am not a safety Nancy, but I have been doing woodworking for 50 years. Get a good dust mask, and use it, like the 3M or like that. For 40 years I never had one and now that I am close to 70, I have damaged my lungs to the point I cough every waking hour. Really, don't suffer.

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hey thanks for watching. I’ve been much more diligent about wearing a dust mask. If you liked that build check out this table! Epic Fail Becomes Art: Custom Epoxy River Table & Matching Bench with The New Router Sled. Amazing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpqQaHiZaZV7gdE

[@kennyawtry7879]

Lots of sweat equity into this beautiful piece! Thanks

[@Drew-zu7jb]

Awesome instructional video. To the point and informative all the way through, just the way I like em'.

[@MrGunner296]

Nicely done. Really appreciate your efforts to not be wasteful - that you took extra steps to seal the underside to minimize epoxy creep.

[@jimray1111]

Great job, thanks. Liked and subscribed 💫

[@jimray1111]

I used your videos on a sled to purchase the necessary parts. They are in the shop now ready for assembly. Thanks so much. Can't wait to put it to work 🎉

[@okanagansawmill]

For your first epoxy table you did a fantastic job, well done indeed

[@275jesuss]

Very beautiful. There is a mysterious scenery in the wooden part of the hole filling.

[@jonasvaleisa]

Great looking table! I just made my first epoxy coffee table and had some similar struggles and lessons as you did :) subscribed and waiting for more videos, keep it up!

[@HuXtheDestroyeR]

Holy smokes man

[@simonmills2375]

Very nice table and great vid. I'm also impressed with your work bench, if you ever fancy doing a video on that would be great! Cheers from NZ

[@gregj2647]

Beautiful table 👍

[@dbalaji07]

love the very detailed videos. shows how much effort involved

[@neiljackson8313]

What a great video! Awesome table and she looks great....router sled held up well but I understand the dust collection. I will probably never do such a big project tho.....to nerve racking.....LOL

[@mtfd554]

Very clear and easy to follow videos 👍👍

[@rebecca5837]

This video is great, should have more views than it does!

[@travelwell8098]

Thanks for the video... new subscriber here. I am looking forward to the next one. I am planning to build a walnut dining table this summer so I have been consumed with these kinds of videos for techniques, materials, and ideas. Thanks again... see you soon!

[@RogerC68]

Amazing results! Great video and thanks for the lessons learned. Subscribed and liked.

[@Lennart1995]

Looks awesome 🎉

[@jimrosson6702]

Great job table turned out beautiful can’t wait to see it finished

[@frijoli9579]

I would have like to have seen some of the flattening in real time. Like the beginning and the end. Keep up the good content!

[@sb917]

beautifull 👌

[@DaveEbert]

looks amazing

[@sickwilly1171]

Nice job.

[@mechtwo1]

Great Job Beautiful Table 👍

[@jengineer9405]

Very clean

[@petercyr]

Good vid, and good stuff especially for a recent channel. Love the sled, seems to work really well! As for the dust collection, if you're going straight to your shopvac, I'd definitely either buy or build a dust separator. You can get a cyclone from Oneida or a knockoff and put it on top of a bucket or barrel. I personally just got a knockoff on amazon and then frankensteined a bigger bucket with two buckets, inside another bucket with weights so it wouldn't topple over.. I'll eventually just make a cart for convenience.. Either way you can capture 95-99% of the dust in that collection bucket or drum. I can empty my buckets 10 times and there's still barely anything in the shopvac. As for the a portion of the shavings flying everywhere still, are they coming from the underneath sides of the sled? From the space around the router/bit and the hole in the sled? There doesn't seem to be a ton of space between the sled and the slab, 1/4 inch maybe? Look up "Brush Weather Stripping tape" on amazon or local hardware store.. If you taped that around the perimeter of of the sled then trim the bristles to just a bit longer than the height you have to work with, I wonder if that would reduce a good portion of the chips/dust from flying out, and if tight enough, slightly increase air pressure around the bit to capture more of the dust flying away from there? Hopefully that could work without also getting clogged. Or, if you glued normal weather stripping on the side where the vacuum is to force more air to come from the end where the router is. Anyway... just thoughts. Dust collection is always fun.. I just flush routed a 1.5" thick MDF top for a workbench and I ended up screwing half a bottle of pop to the side of the router, hooked up to my hose and it caught maybe 80-90% of the dust... Sometimes you gotta get really creative.

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hello, thanks for watching! These are all good ideas. Before I make another large slab/table I’m planning on reconfiguring the sled to use my dust collector instead of the shop vac. Also planning to add the sweeps around the perimeter.

[@PaulTurcotte]

Wow !! very nice !

[@dennisdownes9319]

Beautiful! DD

[@MartinAlexandraAdventures]

Personally I like the pure finish without the charcoal but that's my opinion. Still like the table very much, curious to see it done with legs.

[@williamhanna5224]

Awesome video Great work !

[@MegaMike7]

Amazing!

[@johnmclain6535]

New subscriber here. Great channel! Ive done a few dozen epoxy tables and large serving boards...thought i knew it all. Lol. I learned a couple of great tricks from you in this one I'm going to try on my next one. As far as dust control goes, DEFINITELY get a dust separator. They work great! I just got the cheap one from HD and it works amazing. I'd also get the bristle to surround your router to keep stuff from flying around as much cuz damn these things are a mess.

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hello, thanks for the kind words! I’m actually working on some upgrades to the router sled right now. Dust collection included! Hoping to have the video out soon. Thanks for watching!

[@johnmclain6535]

@@Idealwoodworks anxious to see it as I'm building the same sled and am very nervous about it.

[@Lennart1995]

There is an excellent tutorial on a DIY router slide, that deals with dust collection flawlessly. If you want it let me know

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hey, thanks for watching. I’ve actually done some upgrades to the sled and dust collection. Here’s a link to that video if you’re interested. Making The Better Router Sled/Flattening Jig Even Better! Time For Some Upgrades! kzbin.info/www/bejne/porWpXecpbqIkKc

[@franjospajic4905]

Hey the video is perfection i want also to build on my own an epoxy table can you say me is it better to build or to buy. And what cost it table like yours.

[@philvale5724]

Hi 👋, great job 👏, But I am very concerned about your health issues as you did not wear any form of breathing apparatus, or dust mask 😷 I have never done what you have done in respect of making a table with resin , however, I have worked for myself since the mid-70s. I’m now in my 70s, and I’ve always tried to be slightly conscious regards as my lungs, even to the respect that I’ll be wearing something by a mask or breathing equipment, and if I’ve been machining in the morning, I will still keep my mask on until the end of the day, then I’ll probably have a clean up before I leave for home as tenderness is next to godliness, and it makes things easier for the next day, you will be very surprised when you come in the next day. As for the cleaning up you’ve done you’ll never find I feel of dust but has now settled overnight on your machines and even the job you’re working on, you are still a very young guy, it’s probably not now but later in life, This is not a very happy point as approximately 30 years ago. My colleague of mine who worked in a organ building shop where he was using a form of CNC router very rarely had any extraction on as for mask used to say well, I’m only in there for a few seconds., Sadly, he passed away, approximately 30 years ago, due to all the dust that he was inhaling, you have only one pair of lungs I want to mess them up you are buggered. So please do some things about your Dust, get your self a 3ms mask 😷 or even better Still a air fed respirator. I know they are expensive, but you only have one pair of lungs.. I know I keep going on about safety issues, but even a pair of headphones, your defenders or else you’ll be losing your earring later in life or even earlier However, great tutorial explaining. How are you build your resin table . I am hoping later in the year to have a go myself. Keep up the great work, Be safe, PHIL FROM THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOULIN FRANCE.

[@gerikbensing]

Great video! I subscribed to your channel because I was so surprised to see your very first video blow up like it did (congrats) as I'm starting out YouTubing (for real) now as well. As I'm learning how to record and voice over and such now myself, I have some constructive feedback for you. Your voice recording sounds a little "canned" like you're talking into a box or something. Not smart enough to tell you what the solution is, but might be something like moving away from the microphone plus speaking loud/inflecting more. Besides that, good video editing and getting angles of everything so we know what all you've done!

[@Idealwoodworks]

Thanks for watching! And thanks for the heads up on that. I’m thinking for my next video I’ll try using an external mic, maybe that will help. Sadly some of it might just be my voice…. I’m sure my wife would prefer if I had a voice more like Vin Diesel but instead she got Ray Romano!! LOL 😂 😂

[@gerikbensing]

haha, we gotta work with the pipes we are given! The lapel mic doesn’t have that canned sound so I’d guess whatever you’re using to do voiceovers is the culprit. Just one nobody’s opinion. 😅

[@mirmushtaqali9388]

With the router on the sledge , what are your trying to do ? I have seen router working on the edge, but not on the center of the wood. I'm new here. Please explain. Thanks

[@Idealwoodworks]

The router sled is for flattening the slabs. Thanks for watching!

[@mirmushtaqali9388]

@@Idealwoodworks Thanks man

[@RazorStrap]

What nobody making or selling router sleds tell. "With such an excessive amount of dust it was actually getting in the bearings and making the sled really hard to use."

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hello, thanks for watching! If you are considering building a router sled you should check out the upgrades I made to the dust collection. It’s still not perfect but significantly improved. At least now I can get through an entire table before having to clean the bearings. Here’s a link to that video. Making The Better Router Sled/Flattening Jig Even Better! Time For Some Upgrades! kzbin.info/www/bejne/porWpXecpbqIkKc

[@ikenmike40]

Do you thinknot really needs c chanel? I thought with epoxy you might be able to skip it

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hello, thanks for watching! I think a good set of table legs act as pretty good stiffeners. With this top I knew it would be a couple months before I got the legs. Thought it’s better to be safe than sorry.

[@ikenmike40]

Yeah that makes sense, thank you for responding, I really like your videos so far and am making a slab flattener based on your design!

[@brendonoliver4483]

You mention dust quite a lot but you don't wear a mask??

[@DavidGunter]

Great work but I cannot stop thinking of just how much walnut and mdf dust you must of inhaled. You're going to to make a doctor very rich soon.

[@LTGold007]

I was nice until you added those bow ties 🥶

[@brigittehaider4401]

Schöner Tisch, Sie sollten jedoch bei dieser staubigen Arbeit eine Schutzmaske tragen. Epoxy Schleifstaub ist nicht für die Gesundheit förderlich.

[@kimnewburn1]

Why on earth did you use a charcoal finish on that beautiful black walnut!!! Sorry not my cup of tea👎

[@Idealwoodworks]

Hello, thanks for watching! The Rubio mono coat natural gave the wood a orange ish color. The customer was shown both options ( natural only or the natural with a charcoal overlay) and the customer choose this one.