Epoxy Resin and Wood Slices Table- Easy, No Fuss and Only Few Steps

I love the idea of having some organic accents at home, especially things that can be gathered and hold some meaning- such as drift wood from your favourite beach, rocks from a local forest, stones, shells picked up during holiday abroad...

I've wanted this type of table for years and finally, after many tries, I managed to made it work without any tools or specialised equipment.

This project is much simpler than the usual epoxy and wood projects, there is no need for tools, workshops or expertise here. I'll present you with a way to work around it, just keep in mind the only limitation is the size of the table- it can't be too big.

Gather some wooden logs from a nearby forest and cut them to size or order them online. There are many shapes and sizes to choose from, each tree provides different visual effect. Choose regional wood or go for something more exotic.

Whatever the wood type, black epoxy will be a perfect background for showcasing beautiful tree rings and organic textures of the wood slices. This table would be a great accent piece furniture in any apartment.

1.Large wooden tray (or plastic/metal/bamboo) or small table with a tray-like table top (see GLADOM table from IKEA); size is up to you, just make sure the depth is sufficient for the wood slices.

2.Several wood slices in various sizes- get them online, already sliced into even pieces or, if you have the tools, get some wooden logs and cut the slices yourself.

3.To seal the wood slices- acrylic varnish or clear drying wood glue.

4.Clear epoxy resin - I used 1L of this brand.

5.Black pigment - I used this one.

6.Table legs.

7.Sundries: disposable gloves, disposable cups, stirring sticks, kitchen scale, newspapers to protect the surfaces from drips, squeezy bottle for epoxy application, electric drill, screws, screwdriver.

Here is a short list of some wood types with interesting patterns:

1. olive
2. yew
3. birch
4. plum
5. teak
6. red cedar

Each slice has to be the same thickness in order for this project to work. If you are off by a few millimeters you have to sand that slice down using a sanding paper.

Pick up each slice and choose more interesting, prettier side, then, mark the ugly size with a marker. It will save you some time down the line. If your slices are not even or need some polishing- sand them lightly with a medium grit sanding paper.

You can get some leftover/ugly/damaged wood slices and do some experiments before committing to the final version of this project.

You can see how the wood will behave if you paint it with some wood stain, if you want darker slices.

If you dip the raw wood in some water the colour change will mirror how the wood will behave once exposed to epoxy. In most cases raw wood will get much darker or even a bit yellow when exposed to epoxy. If you don't like it and would rather preserve the original colour of the wood slices, you have to seal the wood with acrylic varnish or clear-drying wood glue (PVA).

All wood is porous, so just to be on the safe side, you could also apply varnish or wood glue to the sides. That way, the wood won't act as a sponge and soak up all the epoxy before it has a chance to harden.

If you have some tipp-ex or white nail polish or anything like that, you can carefully brush some along the edges of some wood slices to create a bit of interesting colour contrast especially in contrast with black epoxy background.

Arrange the wood slices inside your chosen tray. Start with bigger pieces and then use the smaller ones to fill the gaps.

Use whatever glue you have on hand to glue the slices to the bottom one by one. It can be hot glue, epoxy glue, PVA or all purpose. Leave to set completely before the next step, otherwise the wood slices will float to the top.

Mix a portion of black epoxy resin. I wasn't sure how much I'd need, so I just mixed several 100g batches.

Epoxy takes a while to set,so you can mix a new batch and come back and pour more if needed.

I used a plastic squeezy bottle (it's kitchen quality for pancake batter) for better control and to prevent spillage and waste. Only pour black epoxy in-between the wood slices. If any resin gets on the wood slices, wipe if off immediately.

You want the black epoxy to fill the cavities as high as possible without flooding the wood slices.

Once you think you are done, set the timer for 30-40 minutes and leave the epoxy to level off.

Then, after 30 min or so, come back and examine the epoxy levels. It's possible you will have to go back and mix one more batch and add some more resin while everything is still liquid. There is a possibility some of the resin will get soaked in by the wood.

Several hours later, once the black epoxy is set and hardened, it's time to finish the table with a coating of clear epoxy.

As before, mix several batches of clear epoxy resin and pour on top of the wood slices until you are happy with the thickness.

Resin will self-level and spread evenly on it's own, but you can help it along by spreading it around gently with a spatula.

Leave the table to rest for several hours in a place where it won't be disturbed- no kids, pets, dust or vibrations.

Afterwards, leave the table to harden further for a few days if necessary (depends on the weather and humidity).

After a few days, you can drill through the tray, wood and epoxy and affix the table legs of your choosing.