River top question, sort of???

River or Pond?

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

A photo would help, Barry.

As you know, I've done one.

Mine doesn't depend on the epoxy bond as I used long dominoes between the halves. Thru several years, it remains tight.

I also use a lot of epoxy to fill and emphasize "defects". 10 years on, and these are still tightly joined.

As white oak is pretty stable, I would think your inclusion should be fine over time.

I wish I could remember how to post Pics

Barry Irby

This is a crotch about ten inches long and maybe up to 1 1/2" wide tapering to nothing.

Based on your pics, mine would be fine. Thanks for the response, I may have been overthinking this. Great looking stuff by the way.

Now you have gotten me to thinking about a bowtie.

What product did you use?

Thanks again.

Product

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Been using System Three resin. For the Maple river/creek and the Walnut pit I used medium hardener to give entrained air more time to float up and out; the others used fast hardener. I've now switched to Total Boat epoxy since I've been using their penetrating super-thin resin on some spalted Sycamore.

Send me a pic by email and I'll post it for you. Just mind the WC 100kb size limit.

Re: River top question, sort of???

Dick Coers

Definitely a fad, and not an heirloom feature. 10-15 years from now he will likely wonder why you didn't use a board of quality and had to show a streak of cracking and yellowing plastic in the top of his chest. Longevity and plastic don't go together. No one knows what these thick pours of plastic will look like in that 10-15 years, let alone 100 years. Ask an old fiberglass boat guy, or an old Corvette restoration shop about old resin. Stick with tried and true and make it a real generational heirloom for his kids too. Done right, you could make something good for 200 years.

Re: River top question, sort of???

kneale brownson

I made a corner lavatory for a small bathroom and poured a plastic finish for the top. That was in the 1970s. Sold the house last year, but the plastic looked like it did right after it cured.

Boats and Vetts

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

are, of course, subject to full-on UV as well as chemical assault and wide variations in climate that would tend to degrade resins like any other finish. Ever seen glass crystal change color with used outside? Can take on lovely colors depending on the trace minerals in the glass. We had some crystal door knobs that turned yellow and blue from sunlight.

Use indoors in furniture would be expected to be a different story.

Was the resin an inch thick?

Dick Coers

The thick pours and possibility of having a dresser near a window may put it in a different category.

Re: River top question, sort of???

Clint Searl

Epoxy rivers are a just-about-worn-out gimmick. Water jet cut dichroic plate glass inserts are the leading edge.

Using epoxy

Johanna Johanson

I use epoxy to fill voids. Here's the thing - what are good ways to color epoxy? The only time I have colored expoxy I used some coffee grounds. I have also mixed sawdust in to have a void look sort of like the wood. I need an epoxy lesson, for sure!

Re: Using epoxy

JL

You can use Transtint and some of the other dyes to color epoxy.

Transtint has recommendations on their website.

The easy way...

John in NM

Is to tint black (predictable, looks good as a uniform color). When I worked in a shop that did a lot of mesquite work we used West System 2 hour epoxy with Proline Universal black tint. You only need a little tint, especially if using black (blackish in a hole looks black). Too much retards the cure.

Proline comes in pretty big bottles, something like a pint, which is a lifetime supply for hobbyists like us using 6 drops per mix of epoxy. You can usually buy it at real paint stores (ie not Home Depot), I have a bottle I bought at Custom Paint Center in Albuquerque (Lomas, couple blocks west of Louisiana).

If you want to email me your address I'll pour some in a small bottle and send it to you, should only take a day or so to get from my place to yours (assuming you still live out past Jesse that is )

Re: Using epoxy

roger lance

There is a product that comes already tinted black on Amazon.

Look for Starbond KBL-500 black medium thick epoxy.

Re: Using epoxy

paul in AZ

It doesn't take very much dye to color an epoxy filler.

Mix up a puddle of epoxy, add a drop of dye, mix it in well. From there you can titrate any dye addition to get the tint you want. For filling small voids one drop of dye is usually enough for me.

I use Mixol Universal tints. I use a reddish brown most commonly as I mostly play with cherry and walnut. Black less often. They come in all kinds of other colors.

There must be other brands. I just happened to pick these up maybe 15 years ago. A small bottle has lasted and lasted.

addendum

paul in AZ

I should have made clear that my use is not for rivers or gaps you can put your hand through.

I use epoxy to hide smallish defects in the lumber and all too often in my workmanship.

Re: Using epoxy

jerry cousins

for small nicks and holes i use 5 minute epoxy and gamblin dry artist tints.i have several jars of colors and can mix and match to get the tone i need to match.

squeeze out the resin - add the dry tints and blend until you get what you need - there's no rush here so you can work it - then add the hardener - mix it up and fill the voids.

jerry

Re: Using epoxy

William Duffield

That's interesting, very useful information. I had tried something similar, but it didn't work. I used TransTint (alcohol carrier) but added it before I mixed the resin and hardener. It never cured. It worked fine when I thoroughly mixed the resin and hardener and then added the dye. I suspect I would have the same problem with artists pigments in oil, or acrylics. I'll have to try it again with dry pigments. It should be a lot less stressful than trying to adjust the color while the resin and hardener are heating up and starting to kick. BTW, I use vegetable black and Sennelier dry pigments.

Re: Using epoxy

Don Stephan

Johanna

Years ago a finisher pointed me to a touchup set of dry pigments from Mohawk, about 2 teaspoons each, some 16 or so colors. I mix 5 min or 30 min epoxy from hardware store, mix in the pigment, and fill cracks and voids in bowls.

Re: River top question, sort of???

TomD

Epoxy and wood are a marriage made in heaven.The really gigantic pours like river tables, if you get a lot of sunlight, you will get yellowing and degradation. But the opaque tints, and smaller sections should be there for the long haul. If i was doing a huge pour with transparent materials, I would use a UV resistant resin.

You can get away with some pretty weird combinations when tinting. I have even used Testors paints. Don't recommend it, but it has held up better than I thought. Black, the classic is graphite powder, this is just that, not some graphite powder chaff.. It used to be a real classic on the bottoms of boats, but that faded from the scene after a while. But it works really well as a dye, and is compatible. West sells it in cans and you can get small amounts in auto body shops. Around 20% by volume. If using batch of 5 minute just be sure you get your colour, but do not make the mixture too dry.

Colorants

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

TransTint liquid dye concentrates mix perfectly with epoxy and don't effect transparency of the final product. They can also be used with thickening agents like micro-spheres or wood dust.

Re: Colorants

Clint Searl

Dry mica based pearlescent and candy color pigments should also work well. I get them from paintwithpearl.com.

Re: Using epoxy

jerry cousins

it is way less stressful to mix colors in just the resin - then add hardner. the times when it has not cured is when i have overloaded the mix with too much dry pigment - so larger batches to mix even though i may not use it all.

jerry