Every so often a project comes into the shop that wants to fight you a little. These two slabs were beautiful, but they had a serious bow in them, about three quarters of an inch of warp. Here is how they became the blue epoxy river top you see at the end.
Step one: stabilize the warp
Before anything else, the slabs needed to stop moving. Gary taped off the edges, patched underneath to catch the liquid, and poured about a quarter inch of epoxy to lock the two slabs down. Doing it this way instead of using a silicone pan saved one to two gallons of epoxy, which is the kind of decision that keeps a custom piece affordable.
Step two: sand it like you mean it
Once the pour cured, the slab was sanded all the way down to 4,000 grit, smooth enough that the surface feels like glass. Then comes the finish: walrus oil, a food-safe cutting board oil that completely transforms the look of the wood the moment it goes on. Watch it change:
The finished piece
That is the whole story: a stubborn pair of slabs, a careful pour, a lot of sanding, and a finish that lets the grain do the talking. If you have a piece like this in mind, head over to the Custom Orders page and tell us about it.
