This coffee table was made with a slab of live edge pecan. It has a black colored epoxy river that spans the entire length and joins the live edges together to create a strikingly distinctive table.. The table was finished with a special tung oil/wax coating and then polished to a high sheen.
The Story of this project
On a trip south of Austin and north of San Antonio, I came across the Swift Pecan sawmill. I picked out this slab of wood because I saw that the contours of the live edge would leave to a dramatic ‘river’ if faced inward toward each other. This was the first epoxy river project that I did using a solid black coloring.
Where to Use
This table makes a statement of both beauty and utility. Whether used as an accent table in an office or a coffee table in a salon or living room, it will quickly become a focal point of a room. At 4 feet in length and 18 inches across the table provides ample surface area. The polished black epoxy provides a truly remarkable appearance that works well with almost any color of walls, chairs, sofas, rugs and wall decor.
A room with lots of natural light will make the piece stand out even more.
The Process
The project started by removing all loose bark from the outer edge of the wood. I then cut the pecan slab in half and inverted the live edges so they faced toward each other. I created the ‘river’ by separating them enough to create an 18 inch wide table. At this point I choose which side would be the primary/top side.
I sealed the bottom and sides of the wood with sealing tape in preparation for pouring the epoxy. I choose to tint the epoxy black as I felt it would bring out the color of the wood and highlight the natural wood colors and grain.
Once the epoxy was poured and cured, I resanded both the top and bottom surfaces and prepared them for finishing.
I choose to use two protective coats of a satin Polyxox tung oil/wax coating. Finally, I applied a coat of wax and polished it to a nice sheen.
