Chuck Collier Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 (edited) I'm making a farmhouse table for a friend that wants it made out of pine. He can't spend the money for walnut or a hardwood so my question is can I use epoxy resin to finish this table top with expansion and contraction without cracking? The table is 42 x 72 x 3 with breadboard ends. The pine I'm using is yellow pine glued with biskets. All surfaces have been jointed and planed. Moisture content is 10-11. Any ideas? Can someone help me? Thank you in advance. This is tabletop epoxy. 1/8 inch thick Edited September 23, 2019 by Chuck Collier didn't maybe explain what I was using correctly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 My bet is that it will crack. Why epoxy? Looking for a hard, durable finish? Unless you completely encase the top in resin, moisture changes will still occur, making a cracked finish almost inevitable. Besides, "farmhouse table" and epoxy finish go together like tuna and ice cream. I'd use a typical polyurathane finish. If you want a harder surface, scorch the wood lightly to remove surface moisture. Not burned to charcoal like sho shugi ban, but warmed enough to carmelize. A paint stripping heat gun is good for this. It would be tedious on a table that large, but it will darken and firm up the surface. 10% moisture might be high, if the table is going into an air-conditioned house. I built a red oak table, 2" thick, that turned potato chip in 3 months of HVAC. It went from 10-12% to 6%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 It will most assuredly crack unless the core is something more stable like plywood with just a laminate layer of the pine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted September 21, 2019 Report Share Posted September 21, 2019 I’d ask them why they want epoxy. Chances are they don’t really understand and think it will just make the table last longer and more durable. There are few reasons TO use epoxy as a topcoat and many reasons NOT to. A clear penetrating epoxy sealer (CPES) could be used, but it would still need a topcoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workswood4food Posted October 20, 2019 Report Share Posted October 20, 2019 Hmm... around here I can get poplar or alder as cheaply as pine. They are somewhat harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.