So i know this isnt surfboard related but my auntie has asked me to glass a table she bought. And wanted some advice so i dont screw it !
My plan thus far is to give it a good sand to get the bumps out and make smooth, first question is, is it ok to sand timber with normal surfboard tools disc sander, oscialltor or will this leave visible scratches in the timber ? am I better off using a belt sander ?
After that i was going to seal the timber with resin to fill up any divets. The table has some metal exposed would this be a problem with the resin bonding ?
She also wants it tinted so after the seal I was thinking of laying out the glass and glassing as normal and then either wrapping the glass around like a normal cut lap or just letting it hang and then trim. Any ideas what would be best ?
You have to sand in the direction of the grain when sanding wood. You can seal it and finish with resin (I recommend epoxy cuz poly sometimes reacts with oils in the wood). Why fiberglass?
If the panel is uneven , you would be best advised to find a local woodshop that could put it through a thicknesser or wide belt sander…when its flat , a random orbital sander or straight grained hand sand would prepare the surface for finishing . Best to avoid a circular or belt sander. What timber is that ?..it looks like radiata or hemlock ? Good furniture finish would be adequate for indoor use…or outdoor finish if it goes outside.
Epoxy will interact strangely with certain woods as well. If the surface is lumpy, I’d go at it with a belt sander held much in the same way as a planer when shaping. Hit with a block sand afterward to get any scratches parallel with the grain.
Epoxy will go crazy on you with certain woods. I’d start with a tinted ‘primer’… epoxy mix thinned with up to 10% acetone and a little tint added. If anything weird is going to happen, it will likely show up in the primer stage. I’ve spent days adding multiple primer coats with sanding in between trying to get a decent coat of epoxy over certain woods. Once a decent primer coat is obtained, do a flood coat of epoxy.
I’m with Huck on skipping the fiberglass cloth. And any metal bits shouldn’t cause any problems unless they’ve been sprayed with WD-40 or something.
EDIT… not trying to interupt Kayu or contradict. We just were typing at the same time. He has more experience than I do with wood work.
Actually, I have seen a lot of tables that are routed out about 1/8th to 1/4 inch except the very edges and then filled with casting resin… It really looks cool… If you do a deep route >= 1/4", you can put stuff in there like bottle caps, etc…
Just checked the panel and it is already quite flat kayu, have no idea about timbers so not too sure what it is. ?
In regards to epoxy I havent ever touched the stuff so was hoping to just stick with poly which is more familiar to me. Heres a pic of what she was thinking the ones in the pic are used with epoxy, but I told my auntie i wasnt too sure how you would get such a thick layer as in the pic.
In regards to using the cloth I thought that would be the best way to spread the colour evenly. Ive never done colour jobs with a brush on a surfboard so didnt think it would be possible to just brush on a tinted resin to the table. and rich im not sure if i would cutlap or just let it over hand and then trim the bottom edge off. She only wants the top to be tinted so the bottom can just stay the same.
Heres a pic of one of Genes boards which gave me the idea of just using standard surfboard techniques. Also watched the fibreglass hawaii vid on glassing balsa boards and it seems like it could work for the table.
I would build a dam around the perimeter. Seal the edges, and you could probably do it with masking tape - just keep the edge about 1/8" high all the way around, and make sure you have a good seal - no leaks - all around. Then you could pour the top, and the resin would form a 1/8" thick pool on top. Probably seal it first with a thin layer of resin, to make sure you have a good bond. Fiberglass optional.
I started off building wood boards. I once sealed some wood with poly resin, and it reacted with the wood, and never set up. So I switched to epoxy, and never turned back. But according to John Mellor, epoxy can have issues too. So there you go. Just use what works for you.
That table is done with the table toppers that I mentioned. Make a dam by taping Plexiglas with resease agent on it around the table, pour it and let it sit. Its self leveling.
Hi Zack-The sample picture looks like it has a raised edge, and the resin pool is larger than the table. I wonder if they had a flat mold on the floor, poured resin, and stuck the table in upside down at a controlled depth. Have fun, take pics. -J
am I better off using a belt sander ?
