Thanks for all your comments, likes and subs - we really appreciate them! To clarify, this tutorial is aimed at DIY'ers and makers that have been put off attempting river table projects due to the cost of materials and not to cut costs in professional production without customers being aware of the core. Additionally the technique is only suitable for solid colour and metallic river tables. 🙂

This is great if you're making an opaque resin. To me a massive part of the reason to use resin is for the transparency.

As the other guy pointed out, it's incredibly noble showing off how to use less. You're absolutely correct about it helping people in a budget get into the craft, and I've never wanted to buy a company's product more if I'm being honest. I'm bookmarking the video for later this week, I'm hoping my stepdad wouldn't mind doing a project like this with me.

Excellent, a company showing you how to save money by using less of their product is very very noble, and in my opinion speaks volumes. Thanks for a well presented video. I plan on trying some epoxy projects and glass cast will be my first call.

Another option for river tables, especially clear pours, use varying sizes of gravel to simulate stones/boulders in the finished product. You could also use sand under the gravel to reduce the volume further.

Helpful hint. If you can, put part B in the cup first and add Part A. I've found that as part B is thinner, it doesnt stick to the sides of the mixing pot as easily as part A. Less likely to leave unmixed resin on the sides of your mixing bowl. used about 20 litres from Glasscast now. Great product and great customer service/tech support.

I think i appreciate this so much more because it’s a resin company telling you “hey, you might not actually need to buy as much product!”

Brilliant. Great to see a company showing you how to save money using their product. It builds credibility and consumer confidence. I'll be using them for my next project. 👍

The fact you're using metric is enough to leave a thumbs up!

As a retired toolmaker/machinist with MANY years under my belt. I have helped manufacture many molds over the years. This is very common what you have done here. For these of you whom don't understand molds, This is how a mold makes a plastic cup, for a simple example. Metal is engineered to make the inside part of the cup, which is turn will make the wall thickness of the cup. Or when manufacturing an engine block, a core made a sand to make the holes for all the cylinders. The molten metal will flow around the sand/core to produce a hole where it is needed. Good way to save $ on materials and machining time. You actually explained this very nicely! 👍

Yep, I've avoided this due to the immense cost and volume most people encourage. Legit keen to do this since you've shown how to make it economical and environmentally friendly. Strong integrity, very impressed!

For those who don't feel like watching a 15-minute video about something that can be summed up in 30 seconds. The idea here is as follows. 1 - Set up your slabs like you normally do in the mold. 2 - Pour a thin layer of resin on the bottom (1/4"-1/2" - the darker the tint, the thinner this layer can be). 3 - Take a piece of wood or something else solid (almost anything will work) that is slightly shorter than the overall length of your table and place it in the middle, on top of your first, partially cured (but still tacky) layer, leaving approximately an inch or so on each end. This "filler" piece can be cut with a jigsaw to the contours of your slabs in order to take up as much volume in the middle as possible this maximizing your resin savings. 4 - Pour the top layer of resin so that the filler piece is completely encased in resin on all visible sides. 5 - Finish the table like you would any other epoxy resin river table.

Great video. I've known a lot of people who wanted to try out a resin project, including myself, that get put off by the cost of it once they work out what they may need. Even saving a little bit helps.

I do this already. I use up my scrap lumber. Be sure to seal the filler boards to reduce bubbles.

Now this is marketing that is made for the real audience, with noble gesture of showing how it is done with less budget.

I have been using glasscast 10/50 many times and it has never disappointed me. Brilliant stuff 🥇

immediately like this guy better than everybody else lol. seems more like a real person and not some hack! cheers from across the pond

I really cant fathom why people wouldn't do this with opaque pigments, but semi transparent river tables are my favourites

I did something similar to this on a lake table I was asked to build, the video is on my channel. The slab was over 5 cm thick and I had a limited budget to build the table on, so I just put a plywood platform in the center and sealed the edges, only casting about 1/5 cm worth of resin, turned out beautifully, so i can vouch for the fact that resin saving techniques work and they worm very well!

Great idea. So refreshing to have your calculations in metric.

I was amaze when i saw ur comapny showing ideas to save epoxy shows really you guys care about us

For solidly opaque colours, this is bloody clever,

Just used this technique on a 40 liter pour. Saved me $300 in epoxy. Turned out awesome !! Thanks

Finally someone who uses the metric system... makes this so much more easy to follow

this idea makes me think of possibilities with a decorated core and transparent resin, there seems to be a more “intentionally designed” space this could go into that’s a little outside the mainstream with most of these wood/resin projects nowadays, I think the gaming table chaps have some good ideas to pull from into more simple, general purpose tables.

The style of presentation resembles easy composites channel. And that is a compliment.

If I ever get around to building one for myself (wont do it til i live in a house big enough for it), i'll use this technique and add a bit of flair to the river (make it look like a river with a sandy bottom and little additions in the middle). The plywood is a great idea to save on space, and if i have a bit of fun with the middle, it should look great, even with transparent resin

Ive done this on smaller projects, its definitely a resin saver for sure!

You could even have the plywood core be a piece of art of it's own that is put in with transparent pigment. That could look really cool also: a disconnected table, or wooden fish, or a photo glued onto the plywood of stars or anything. There are lots of options that could look cool and cut down on the resin without being too complicated.

I'll be starting a table build later this year and I will absolutely be using this method. Should save me hundreds of dollars. Thanks.

Great video overall. One thing that did strike me is that while this is most obviously of use for opaque and metallic resins, it seems like you could do a transparent effect finish quite easily too. Maybe reduce the plywood thickness by another 5mm and use that depth to add and progressively more transparent layers to the top to create the illusion of a deeper pour (much like how people do those fishes swimming in water illusion paintings on resin).

Pretty smart to conserve resin wherever possible by filling the volume with more economic materials. I never thought about that.

Great video. Super informative. Love that you also covered the mistake with the router 👏

I looked at the thumbnail and I was blown away like god damn dude u are really smart I never thought of that

I'm not a potential customer, but I like watching this sort of thing.

The use of resin - for me, the amount of resin featured - is a very personal view. I wouldn’t want a table where the resin seemingly overwhelms the timber but, then, I’m a woodworker. The useful thing - the very green reason - to use resin is that it takes boards which would otherwise be scrapped or cut up with a lot of waste, and make them into objects that can be used. I’ve made many tables that have resin in them but the resin is just used to fill checks and faults in the slab. It’s a far cry from a 40% resin river table. However, there is no denying that river tables are sought after and, whilst I though the fashion would be short lived, it continues. In fact, buying a waney edge slab now costs more (per cubic metre) than processed square edged material. Such is the law of supply and demand plus the opportunistic timber seller. I think that all the tips that I have learned (the hard way) have been noted by Glass Cast. I do use a degassing chamber connected to a vacuum pump for smaller pours (quite often moulds for items such as clock numbers) but it’s impractical for large volumes. So, I do go for coating the edges of the timber the day before if it’s a deeper void but always go for very slow cure (for which you can buy an additive) and regularly a hair dryer passed over the surfaces to release bubbles. If you want to see someone make resin tables very well, and for a living, look up the Manor Wood channel.

Something to try (whether or not you are using a Filler material) - Put a Mirror on top of the filler material and under Translucent Epoxy. For the best look, use a Front surface mirror. They are more expensive but they're worth it for a real River / Lake look.

Fair play for putting this out there. Considering you are essentially doing yourselves out of sales. Brilliant way to make extra money on commissions from a creator perspective.

Very informative and entertaining. Quite excellent at showing how it is done without making it seem as if it should be simple.

Good idea. One other key way to save money when making river tables is not buying the release spray. I did some work making aerospace and autoracing carbon fibre parts and we used basic car wax.

I feel that this is all well and good, up to a point. When you factor in the cost of resin only poor compared to the cost of: 1. Resin base pour - Cost of mixing small batch, clean-up and cost of time waiting for cure. 2. Cost of a plywood insert and the cost of man hours cutting, shaping and finishing so you don't have unexpected wood fiber floaters. 3. Cost of time mixing up a second batch of resin, pouring and clean-up and waiting time for cure. I think that from an accounting standpoint, it really may be less expensive to make one resin pour and be done with it. Especially if there is paid labor involved. Even a business owners time has financial value.

Man this is great quality. Like top quality filming, great editing. Great sound. Pleasant yet spicy. Professional yet educational. Long enough but to the point. This is a sience. Proficiat

OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING video!!! Thank you soooooo much for the concept and ideas!!

Amazing! Most definitely adding this to the bag of tricks. 🙂 Thanks for posting this. Clear, concise and very informative.

if you use clear resin you could allso lay down a bottom in resin fill most of the space with fancy sand or pebbles than fill it to the top with more clear and finish it off , should save up to about 2/3ths of the resin used ans looks a little different than a solid colour

To get a more accurate pour measurement, take a photograph of your layout, import it into software like sketchup, scale the image to your known length and width, draw along the live edge, to create an area.

Now all we need is for blacktail studios to make a glowing core inside the resin

This is a great tutorial, so clear, great pace, I don't think I've seen better

much appreciated for the time you have put in to show the process of doing the table, amazing job

Clear and concise, a pleasure to watch.

I do use "chipboard" (i don't know if this is the good term), the cheap version of plywood. Essentially saved from waste disposal (Ikea and stuff). Also, i use wood shavings , that i like the render within epoxy ! This way, i save barely 80% of epoxy. And the weight is barely the same.

Beautiful piece and great intent behind using less of your product to make it more accessible and affordable to your customers. The possibilities of using the filler material as an effect when using transparent resin is exciting.

Less weight & cheaper, very pragmatic, I like it!

Excellent idea! Less cost means more profit!

This is a great idea! Congratulations on the project, this is definitely going to help a lot of newcomers to get into the resin world and not spending a lot of money/ product, including myself. Thank you for the idea, keep up the great work!

Fantastic title, so good that I don't have to watch the video. But I thought I would at least post a comment and a like. Be seeing ya.

Don’t you wish you could make a table without resin and feel satisfied.

> sells resin > gives tips on how to use less resin he real asf for that one

Me as a guy who never buy resin nor does river tables or wood work : I'm not waistin any more money on resin

Fabulous video! Great idea using the wood insert !

haven't even watched this but the idea of making a core is very interesting, especially if its not transparent.

This is a great trick for non-clear resin. Once you go even somewhat transparent - you will quickly reach the point where plywood shows. I personally don't see any point in opaque river tables. If you make that table - it's much better to see some depth in both the live edge and the resin

what a good idea. im surprised the resin company doesnt hate you for spreading this technique lol

How the hell do you only have 12k subs? This is amazing content.

I was hoping this was a video telling people to stop making river tables. This trend needs to stop.

not to mention it's also a superior product... Modustrial Maker made a massive door with a boatload of resin about a month after this came out and I still think about it...

I think non-transparent river tables are goofy, but I'd definitely fill up internal volume with wood to save on resin if a solid color was used.

I have done this before with scrap wood to fill the cavity but my one recommendation is to weigh all of it down. As I have had it shift and float to the edge.

The amount of effort and time it takes into building one of these tables puts these tables at a premium price. A client that finds out the majority of the centre is done with cheap plywood would not be happy, if sold at acceptable rates. Ok for a craftsperson but to turn an expensive luxury piece of furniture into this I have qualms with. I will also note that you have made three pours, one the first pour you sealed the live edges with epoxy, by the time the final third layer came this live edge will be fully cured by this point so the resin will not make a chemical bond, thereby weakening the table - that is already weakened by the link of plywood core. Overall this line of advertising for glass cast resin is quite disappointing from a loyal customer of many years. From a client that has followed your company since the start, you neglected to mention the reasoning for not doing a 2mm seal pour for the base, reducing air bubbles from the base of the wood. Although this has been a practice avoided by most river table makers since you released the video many years ago, you fail to explain the reasoning for now neglecting this step. Perhaps previously you wanted to increase volume sales of your product and now the realisation of the unavailability of these products on financial grounds for ground up companies now want to cut more and more corners to get people in the game. Your complete lack of PPE when dealing with the resin during the curing stage with no respirators in sight, eyes and skin exposed is highly irresponsible. Your product of glass cast 50 or others in the range are not BPA free and so should be dealt with the respect they deserve. Your amateur router sledding of the table failing to have any extraction just adds to the neglect shown to safety- although noted in these shots you did not actually film the persons face whilst routering - which I do hope for his sake was adjourned with an appropriate mask. I’d have also liked to have seen a full body suit overall covering the skin and eyes completely. For those reading this and think I’m some keyboard warrior not knowing what I’m talking about, I have been making tables exclusively from the glass cast resin since 2018.

This might be an ad for your own resin, but at least you aren't telling people that they need to spend 3 times as much to get the same effect just to make more money. I think you realised the selling more smaller batches is better in the long run.

great idea, reminds me of putting backing of cheaper line on a fishing reel!

Never heard of hackberry in the U.K. but nice colour and grain to it . Looks similar to ash

I don't like often, but when I do, they're great videos like this one.

Why am I being recommended resin infomercials lmao

If you insert dowels into the live edge and routed little rebates in the ply and placed it onto the dowels, you can save yourself 12hrs, well 11½hrs :o)

you can also use pieces of scrap wood , just cut them up in small blocks and fill in the gap.

You can also simply use a router to mill out the river to half of the depth or maybe slightly less if you want to add sand or pebbles as a base. You can rout all the way thru on the ends to match the width of the river to create a all the way thru illusion. There is no need for a plywood core to save epoxy..

While I like the notion of saving on the amount of resin needed, I think this idea could be taken a step further to reduce the resin usage further and increase the stability of the table by milling out a pocket in the slabs to accept a plywood core that not only takes up space in the "river" but inserts into the slabs so that it can be glued and doweled in place. It would take a bit more woodworking, but the two sides of the table would be fixed by a solid wooden core that would help insure that everything remains in alignment and take up even more room that otherwise would need to be filled.

I made my table exactly the same way 🙂

I absolutely love how you tinted one part of the expoxy to get a consistent colour through multiple pours. Great tip!! Plus yes using a fill method to save epoxy I’ve done before just not in that scale. Well done! You have inspired me to try now

This was an excellent video and particularly informative. Thank you.

I had never considered adding the dye to the resin before mixing the 2 parts. You can dye just the resin part, then store it for later, and only mix in the hardener as you need? I always thought you had to mix the parts, then add the dye. Always wondered how you do a partial pour, then add the core, then add more resin to top it off, while keeping the color the same for all the mixes.

I think you have a great idea as shown.

A great video, really clear and informative and making me want to try it myself.

Besides that these method needs some extra time, that creates extra costs (if you’re not making this desk for yourself) it’s worth to think about this. BTw, it reminds me about the way waterbeds are made with a core using less water, means weight and heat up time.

Im doing that about 3 years now but it works only with non transparent resin colors

Beautiful

great idea for solid pours, I haven't done a table yet but I have practice with some charcuterie boards, this makes me want to try a table

The idea to use a cheap plywood core instead of resin is so stupidly simple But i would have never thought about it lol

Very nice. Why didn't I think of that??

Tables with a more translucent river look nicer though

Now there’s a fab idea. I’ve got a slab, but the cost of the resin has put me off. Now I’m buzzing with the thought of getting down to the project as it’s a lot more feasible.

You should use like a wire wheel to cleanup live edge. A sander flattens the edge.

Modustrial could have saved so much money on his latest bathroom barn door.

What a great tutorial, and super to see you in the comments throwing ideas about with viewers. Great interaction 👍

Fabulous job love all your products

Excellent video. Good work sir

Outstanding! thanks so much!

Great video !! Really clear with steps. Thank you

Doesn't it make the table weaker? With a slab of resin it's a solid shape tightly gripping wooden slabs on either side. With a "bulking" piece of wood in the middle the resin will look something like this (|), a doughnut of resin around the bulking piece. Will that make the resin weaker, especially the thinner you make it?