- Hey I'm Caleb with YouCanMakeThisToo
and in this video I'm gonna make
this coffee table with LEDs underneath.
This table is for a viewer
that reached out to commission it
after seeing my epoxy
charcuterie boards video.
To help keep costs down,
I try to come up with a design
from things I had in the shop.
With some Photoshop magic
I was able to come up
with a few concepts and
one really struck him.
Now it's time to start cutting.
Using the Photoshop mock-up as a guide,
I lay out my cuts and start
breaking down the slabs
into the three main pieces of the table.
The large slab had a split that made
for a pretty obvious place
to finish splitting it.
Instead of using a planer sled,
I thought I'd try a different technique
for getting the faces flat and parallel.
Even though these slabs
are bigger than my jointer.
It's pretty straightforward.
They just get face jointed
until there is a reasonably flat spot.
The long slab was just
barely wider than my jointer
and only had a sliver
that was left unjointed.
So I was able to finish
it off with a hand plane.
The wider slab though
needed a different approach.
I was able to get a large
reference area flat on it.
So with the aid of some hot glue,
I attached it to a flat board
and then started sending
that through the planer.
This is basically still a planer sled.
But by getting a flat
spot at the joiner first
that was big enough to
safely support this slab,
I don't have to mess with
trying to shim a slab
that's all wonky.
Which is always kind of a pain to me.
Once I get the top flat,
I go ahead and pop off the slab.
I thought a putty knife was gonna work
but when it didn't I switched
to a trick my metalworking
buddy Richard taught me.
Which is just hit it with a hammer.
And you know what?
That worked.
Then I flipped it over and
sent it through the planer
until the side I partially jointed earlier
came out flat and parallel to the top.
And off camera I planed the
other slabs down as well
until all three were the same thickness.
Then I could go get
materials for the form.
Where are we going?
- To Home Depot.
- [Caleb] Where do you wanna go?
- To Home Depot.
- [Caleb] Are you excited?
- Yeah.
- [Caleb] So my Home Depot
doesn't carry 3/4 inch melamine
and here's my options.
So normally I like to
buy the full size sheets
'cause it's a lot cheaper and cut it down.
But since it's all wet,
MDF probably wouldn't
do so hot back there.
So it kinda worked out.
While I was in Home Depot
evaluating my choices,
I did some phone research
and discovered these marker
boards are actually melamine.
Which epoxy doesn't stick to
and bonus it doesn't have all the bumps
of the particle board
melamine you normally see.
But it's really flimsy.
So I just used some Starbond CA glue
to attach it to a sheet of MDF
and then trim the edges.
It wouldn't fit to do the
short sides on my table saw.
So I lay down some blue
tape to minimize tear-out
and then use a flushed
trim bit in my router
to flush up the ends of
the bottom of the form.
Now to lay out for the final trimming
and get these pieces so
they'll fit in the form.
Fortunately it's as easy as
just laying them on the form
and marking out the lines.
I couldn't find the
straight edge I normally use
to guide my circular saw.
So I just went ahead and used my track saw
to make all these cuts right on the lines.
It's the same results.
I just think this went a little faster
than using the straight edge and circ saw.
And there we go.
Now those pieces fit in their spot better
than pretty much every car at
my local Walmart parking lot.
I just need to cut down some strips
to wrap around the edges of the form
to form the walls of the form.
It's a lot of forms.
Because I'm smart sometimes,
I figured it would be a good idea
to make sure epoxy doesn't
stick to the marker board.
Well the CA glue stuck and
the epoxy isn't popping off.
So I set to taping the form.
Fortunately I have
plenty of Tuck Tape left
from when I did the epoxy boards.
Speaking of quite a few
people have asked me
about using other tapes besides Tuck Tape.
If you have experience with that
or would be interested in me doing a video
on what epoxy will and
won't stick to let me know
in the comments below.
Now that I need to buy some
more tape to tuck with,
I can start attaching
the sides to the bottom.
There's not going to be
much pressure on these
and like me they're pretty short.
So I just attach them
with plenty of brad nails.
If you think this will leak and ooze
like you forgot to shake
it before zipping it up,
well you're right.
But some silicone is going to fix that.
First I just need to make a little tool
to smooth the silicone.
A dowel chucked up in my drill
with some sandpaper
makes quick work of that.
But before I start siliconing,
as some extra insurance,
I pull out my shop sock.
You can identify it from the
old wax buildup on the toe
and I liberally lac wax the whole form.
Now I can start laying down some silicone
to seal all the corners.
It's been awhile since I used caulk
and I was really pleased to see
my technique was still pretty good.
Check out how consistent that bead is.
Also I went for almond
instead of white caulk.
I thought that'd be easier
to see against the Tuck Tape
and it seems to be.
Once I went all the way around,
I used the shaping tool I just
made to smooth out the caulk.
It's important here to use a shop sock
to keep the tip clean.
Silicone is pretty sticky
and I don't want that getting everywhere.
I didn't get started without you.
Okay good news and bad news.
Good news you're right I did.
Bad news you're right I did
and it's not Netflix so we can't rewind.
But I'll bring you in close
so you can enjoy how satisfying this is.
Then I decided to check the epoxy again
and realized that before
I just made the boneheaded mistake
of not letting it fully cure.
This stuff does actually
pop off the whiteboard.
So all that tape was unnecessary.
Anyway it's time to load the form
except my boards won't fit
tightly into the corners
now that they're siliconed.
But just a few swipes with the hand plane
is gonna add enough of a chamfer
to mostly take care of that.
But before I start mixing epoxy,
I need to know how much to mix.
I came up with a clever way to
figure that out from a photo.
And I released a video
that has that technique
and three other techniques
for estimating volume.
So hit the card above if
you wanna check that out.
As you probably know wood floats
and epoxy's actually denser than water.
So it really has a tendency to float
so I got it clamped down.
I like to take my excess epoxy
and pour it into these
little silicone molds I have
to make these pucks which
are really handy for that.
And I also elevated my mold
off my workbench a little bit
to give myself room to clamps.
Now I just need to level it off
and we'll be ready to pour.
And it's time to mix up a bunch of epoxy.
I start with four liters
and end up having to mix a little more.
I'm using TotalBoat
Thickset which is perfect
because this pours almost an inch thick
and this stuff is the best
at half inch to one inch thick pours.
And yes as you can see.
I did hear you and I
did put my respirator on
while working with this stuff.
Once it was fairly mixed up,
I added some black diamond
deep blue sea pigment
and a little bit of
battleship gray pigment
and then kept on mixing.
And mixing.
And mixing.
You don't want to under-mix epoxy.
Seriously it's bad.
And now for the part that
doesn't need anymore words.
A few days later it's safe
to de-mold this thing.
The question is if I can do it safely.
Here's hoping the tape and
wax didn't let me down.
After cutting the tape off the corners,
I can get to trying to pry off the sides.
Fortunately it goes great.
The sides are a little
taller than the tabletop.
So I can tap them in a down
and away kinda direction
with the hammer and then
they pealed right off.
From the charcuterie boards,
I knew that breaking the seal
between the bottom of the form
and the bottom of the table
was gonna be the really hard part.
Once I realized
that my delicate lady fingers
weren't strong enough,
I tried some really stupid shenanigans.
Then thankfully I realized
that a putty knife
would probably be a smart way to go.
And it was embarrassing
how easy that worked.
Oh man this is gonna look good.
This right here was an exciting moment.
Seeing the top for the first time.
I knew sanding this was
gonna be a chore though.
So I asked a friend of mine
if he'd let me borrow his new Mirka setup
to see if it lives up to the hype
and can make this go easier.
And for some dumb reason
he let me borrow it.
The big thing I'm supposed to
see is great dust collection
and super long life on the abrasives.
And a big part of that is these net discs
that let the dust through a
lot better than regular paper
because well it's a net.
It works great on the
small spots on the bottom
but I knew the real test
was gonna be the hours
I'm gonna spend sanding on the top.
One thing I really liked is it's quiet
and comfortable enough that I
was able to go full lazy mode.
Which I enjoy doing
and catch up on some YouTube
videos while I sanded.
And almost unbelievably I was able
to sand all of the seepage
of epoxy off the top
with a single 40 grit net.
The only thing that would
have made this go better
would be if I'd used
some penetrating epoxy
on the bark before doing the pour.
Because the bark is a lot softer
than all the surrounding material.
So I had to be really
careful not to sand divots
into the bark while trying to
sand the surrounding areas.
Of course there was some
air trapped in the pour
that created little cavities
when I sanded them open.
But they were easy to fix
with a little Starbond CA glue
and some activator and a
little bit more sanding.
There was some seepage on
the sides of the table.
So I trimmed that off the
long sides with the table saw
and for the short sides the
track saw made quick work of it.
If this thing didn't work so good
and much faster than my circular saw,
I might actually be motivated to try
to find the straight
edge for my circular saw.
Probably not gonna happen though.
One detail I really like is the chamfer
on the underside of a table.
It helps widen the feel of a tabletop.
To do this I just use my trim router
with a chamfer bit to
do this in two passes.
And fortunately epoxy responds
to the router really nicely.
So don't ever be afraid of that.
Another must on epoxy and hardwood
is to break the sharp edges.
They're sharp sharp.
I normally use a plane
or sandpaper by hand
but I thought this would be
a good test for the Mirka.
So I slowed it all the
way down and gave it a try
and it impressed me with
the amount of control I had
and the dust collection again.
And since I'll be using a
water-based finish on this,
I made sure to pop the grain
with water to make it fuzz up
and sanded it smooth again off camera.
As with any open grain
wood like this walnut,
it's important to
remember before finishing
not just to wipe off any dust
but also use air to blow any dust out
of the grain pores that
might have settled.
But before I add any finish,
I'm gonna try out this little Ortur.
I don't know how to say it.
Compact laser that Gearbest,
which I do know how to say,
sent me to try out
and do a little engraving on the underside
of the table for the client.
For less than 200 bucks
this is a great way
to personalize the pieces
and I really like that I
can just set it pretty much
on anything that I wanna engrave.
They didn't pay me.
They just sent it to me to try out
but so far I'm really enjoying it.
To finish this I'm going
a little off script.
I wanna add some warmth to the table
but don't wanna muddy the blue
with an amber finish on top.
So I took some TotalBoat Halcyon
and diluted it about 60/40 with water.
Which is a lot more than they recommend
and liberally applied it to the wood.
I took care not to get
too much on the epoxy
and after giving it just
a little time to set in
I wipe off the excess.
Halcyon is not a wipe on wipe off finish.
Water-based polys just aren't
but by diluting it more I was able
to get the color to
penetrate into the wood
but it's not gonna penetrate in the epoxy.
And then by wiping it off I'm not going
to leave any amber haze on the epoxy
but I'm getting the warmth
and the walnut that I want.
I do that twice before
giving it an hour to dry.
And then I coat everything
with TotalBoat Clear Halcyon.
This will build up the
protective film over anything
and get the shine back on the epoxy
but without changing
any of the color tones.
Of course I need something
to put this tabletop on.
So it's time to work on the base.
The base is an open cube.
Just 12 pieces.
Four pieces that are three
different dimensions.
I make these by measuring
and cutting one piece
and then using that piece
to mark and cut the rest.
I broke my hacksaw blade
the other day though
and didn't have a spare.
So I figured I'd use my portable band saw.
Of course the angle grinder
would have also worked.
And this actually gives me
pretty consistent results
as you can see.
But some of them still weren't quite
as consistent as I wanted.
So I used the cutting grinding disc
that Millner-Haufen
sent me to even them up.
Then I used the same
disc to grind the bevels
into pieces to have room
for the weld filler to go.
The awesome thing about these discs is
if you ever wear it out
or break one somehow
they'll send you another for free.
I don't weld enough to have any luck
getting things even close
to square on my own.
So I invested a little in
this Minion Fireball
Square set to help me.
This is my first time trying them.
My dog wasn't any help in
getting them clamped up
but once I did have them clamped up
they definitely worked as advertised
and prevented the pieces
from coming out of position
as the weld cooled off.
I don't know enough about
welding yet to share much
but I can get some cool video of it.
So here's that.
And if you're having problems
rolling things square too,
consider giving these a try.
They definitely helped me.
The first thing I welded up
was the two rectangles
that'll be the ends.
Before I get farther,
I grind down my welds using
the Millner-Haufen disc
to hock off most of the material
and then a flat disc to blend it.
Then I switch to a quick strip disc
and set to removing the scale.
This is the metalwork
equivalent of sanding
except there's not any cool tool yet
that makes it quiet and dustless.
But now I'm set to clamp
the long stretchers
to the end rectangles and get
this base to come together.
I use the Minion Squares
to get the first two long
stretchers on both rectangles.
But for the last two pieces
I just use some magnets
to hold them in place
and a square to make sure they're aligned
before welding them.
At this point there isn't much
room for these to move around
so this is plenty adequate.
To attach the top to the base,
I ordered some pre-made tabs from Amazon.
My many magnets did a great
job of holding them in place
and I just zapped them on.
And of course ground down my nasty welds.
Now to finish the base I use
some appliance epoxy paint
after wiping the whole base down
with denatured alcohol again.
This stuff has worked really well for me
and goes on fast and
really is scratch resistant
for the price.
The last finishing touch on the base
is to tap some plugs that'll act as feet
into the bottom corners.
And now for the two to be joined into one.
I'm going to use those tabs on the bases
to locate the positions for
the underside of the table.
A punch helps me make sure
my drill bit doesn't wander
and then I drill a hole
to the proper depth
for my threaded insert.
It would be just fine to
screw the base to the top.
Especially since something
like this is unlikely
to ever be separated.
But when someone spends a
couple grand on a table,
I feel touches like this
are part of the kind
of quality that should follow.
Then the base can get put back
on the table and installed.
I used 10-24 inserts.
So some 10-24 bolts
with washers are perfect
to hold it all together.
The last finishing touch is adding
some LED strips to the bottom.
My thought was putting
them on just the underside
of the table would be best.
So the top could be
taken off the base easily
without anything connecting them.
To make changing batteries easier,
I attached the battery packs
to the underside with Velcro.
I could of ran both of the LED strips
off a single battery pack
but the battery life would
have gone down a lot.
And both strips are gonna
respond to a single remote.
So I think this was the way to go.
The LEDs ended up bleeding
through the epoxy more than I thought
and the strips were super obvious.
So I moved them to the frame
and put the sensors on Velcro too.
So everything can be removed
from the underside of the quickly.
And there you have it.
Now it's just time for some glamor shots.
Anyway I hope you're inspired,
learn something,
or at least entertained.
If you feel I've earned it,
please make sure to hit that
subscribe button and bell.
And until next time make
time to make something.
