How to Make a Circular Resin and Wood Side Table! 2026

How to Make a Circular Resin and Wood Side Table, a side table that highlights the natural edge of the wood, but with a colorful touch.

I decided to make my own table when the cost of a table from a certain company was too expensive and they didn't have the exact dimensions I wanted. This led me to look on Pinterest and look for great table ideas so I could make one myself. I found a bunch of resin/wood tables and decided to make my own because I was already using resin to make abstract flow painting and was very familiar with how to color it.

Below are the steps to build our table…

Step 1: Materials List

Materials:

Thermoforming Box:

• 3 Pieces of 24×48 MDF, cut into 24×24″ squares
• Sierra
• Adhesive tape
• Drill
• Vacuum cleaner
• Tin foil
• Quartz infrared heater
• Polystyrene sheet

Table:

• Live edge wood
• Sierra
• Round wood
• Resin (I used Epoxy)
• Colorant (Liquitex or gold high flow acrylic)
• Transparent packing tape
• Blowtorch
• Orbital sander (60,100,150,220,320 round orbitals)
• Sandpaper
• Regular sandpaper 320 and 420
• Polyurethane
• Cloth rags
• Hairpin legs
• Fixative
• Wood screws

Step 2: Plan

After learning a lot from my first table and having a commission for this one, I decided not to repeat my mistakes and make a table that looked more professional.

While it's not perfect, the amount of mistakes I made with this table was probably only 15% of the amount I made with the first one.

Fortunately, almost all the errors could be corrected, so the end result turned out to be a level that I felt comfortable selling.

Step 3: Thermoforming

My friend wanted a circular table; and realized I would have to create a mold to pour the resin into. My design was intended to highlight the bark of the wood and I knew I wanted a resin channel between two wood halves.

I chose a diameter based on wood.

To make thermoforming, it is very simple. You need a box with a hole in the bottom and holes in the top so you can create a vacuum cleaner that sucks the plastic onto an object. In addition, it also needs a heating element to heat the plastic.

So this is a two part project, make the vacuum cabinet, find a heat source to evenly heat the plastic.

For the cabinet, I bought the 24×48 MDF Pieces and cut the board into 4 24×24″ pieces. Once I got home, I cut 4 of the pieces to 23×23″. Then I went in and drew a grid on top of one and then drilled the vertices of it.to grid, leaving a 2-inch border. This process took about 3 nights as my drill ran out of power and my wrist continued to cramp.

Then I used my orbital sander to finish the extra ends and make the surface flat. With 2 other planes, I traced a square with the edges about an inch from the edges that I cut a window. I saved the “picture frame” for the vacuum former.

Finally with the fourth square, I traced the mouth of my vacuum cleaner, and then let out a large hole. Finally I placed them all together to form the vacuum cabinet.

See the photos. I then took the two 24×24″ boards and cut a 22×22″ window to make the frame for the plastic sheeting. You could clamp the sheet between the two frames to warm and shape.

Thermoforming Video

Reference Video:

Many people use their ovens to heat plastic and form their plastic parts. Since I'm not trying to get cancer... I decided to warm up another way. Since my polyethylene sheets were going to be large, I knew I probably needed something large to heat it.

I originally tried to use just a heat gun, because I only needed the parts of the plastic that were directly on the edges of the wood to form down, but I found that doing so created unnecessary stress on the plastic, even warping it. I knew I needed to make a homemade oven of some kind.

Preferably one where I didn't have to poison myself or the food I made.

I found this tutorial that offered an easy and relatively cheap solution that wouldn't burn down my garage.

I bought four more 24×24″ MDF boards and arranged them to make a 23×23″ box. Watching the video, I wish I had used the thumbscrew like you did, so I would know the clamps on the plastic frame wouldn't accidentally rest the blade, breaking the vacuum seal. Hindsight is 20/20.

After purchasing the heating element from Amazon, I was all set.

The heater was strong enough to heat the plastic to make it flexible, but I still had problems with the vacuum former.

I used the heat gun to help smooth the sides, and although it wasn't perfect (I needed a stronger vacuum). I managed to create a good enough mold for my table.

Step 4: Preparing the wood

I bought a second round of wood and traced about 1/3 of the curve into the wood, making sure to capture the bark.

Then I traced another 1/3 for the other side. Since I only had a saw, I roughly cut out the semicircles, then went in with a Dremel to more accurately shape the semicircle.

Then I sanded the rough edges with my orbital sander.

Step 5: Pour the resin

The next step was to place the pieces in the mold and begin the pouring process. This time I used Art Resin to make my table. I made colored discs where I matched the color to what looked good with the particular wood.

I used gold fluid acrylic and only used about 2-3 drops per pouring session. As with my last table, I poured the resin in several 0.25 inch layers and let it dry for 2 days. With this new mold, I only poured layers that reached half the thickness of the wood. So I decided to remove theplastic mold.

To remove the plastic, I tried to tear it off as much as I could, and then I was able to use my heat gun to soften the plastic and it came right off. Do this carefully and with plenty of ventilation. It is recommended to wear a mask. Then I sanded the acrylic and wood so that it had a perfect circular base.

The next step was to create tape doors for the final pour layers. I did this by placing two pieces of clear masking tape facing each other so that the resin would form cleanly around the perimeter but not adhere to the tape.

When the final coat was poured, I was able to peel off the tape and use minimal sanding to make the edges of the table cohesive. I used my 100,150,220,320 grit orbital sand pads to get a smooth finish on the table. There is one place where the wood splintered, but it felt like that added character to the piece.

Step 6: Varnish and legs

For the varnish, I decided to use regular polyurethane with mineral spirits. It was hand sanded with 320 sandpaper to give the table some grip for the first coat.

Then I used an old rag to polish the polyurethane. After letting the first coat dry, I then sanded with a 420 grit and opened the polish on the second coat.

For the legs I first cleaned them with a degreaser, and then because I liked the look of raw steel, I sprayed them with a clear coat of krylon.

When I was done, I placed them on the B side of the table so they wouldn't show through the resin, and then the pencil marked the holes. I drilled the holes and then fixed the legs with the correct screw to the table.

Step 7: Ready!

Great!

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