Jarrah slab queen bed finish

[.Oxy]

Hi,
Usually I finish most of my work (read casual hobby only) with a nice varnish coat (paint brush application), however this project is kind of special.

I'm about 80% through a long term project building an all jarrah bed. Slab head board 750-850 high about 40 deep (yes heavy) cracks, hole etc have all been filled with Megapoxy Hx and left to cure for about 6 years - no shrinkage or colouring, some bubbles with my first bits, but overall nice finish. All sanded back smooth etc.

My question - what would the more knowledgeable (you) recommend to finish off this lovely project given the epoxy filling of cracks? My initial vision was to have a hard finish more towards a matte rather than gloss, but can be persuaded in any direction at this point.

I have searched in the forums for megapoxy and found Daz-Za's fantastic Slab Dining table from two years ago that he finished with megapoxy hx - however did he spray, paint, pour? How many coats etc? Sanding between coats?

If oil or varnish finish have you had any experiences of the interaction long term with the epoxy?

Thanks in advance - long time forum stalker, first time poster.

Ian

[.Oxy]

Got some advice from the team at Carbatec who recommended Danish Oil with a wax finish, so I have bought that. No idea how it will interact with the epoxy - or in this case, probably not interact with it at all.

Now all that remains is to sand from 120 through to 400. Will post some pictures if anyone is interested.

[Dengue]

We are very interested, and would love to see photos, tha's how we learn from others.

There has been quite a bit of interest recently in use of epoxy - many had never heard of using it to fill cracks. I first saw it in a visit to some regional shops in WA last year in Margaret River and Pemberton.

Many thanks for sharing

[.Oxy]

I am hoping that the images uploaded.
First should be a crappy self portrait showing two of the side beams and the start of the tenons.
Next should be the side beam assembled with two posts visible - in this photo you will see the overflow of the epoxy onto the exposed outer bark - this is going to be the greatest problem to me in finishing this nicely - the epoxy is already "smoothish" and I don't want to sand the bark, so will probably leave it like seen in the picture with the danish oil to the bark
Next should show 3quarters of the bed frame assembled - also my workplace safety supervisor making sure work is up to scratch
Final shot is of the bed assembled, pinned and glued (at least the head and footboard are) the side boards use a mortise and tenon to set position and a right angle to hold in place with screws (not fitted yet)

Now comes the final sanding journey - by final I mean 120 180 240 320 400. Should take another 12-20hours (and then some) to sand back by hand.

[Dengue]

Well done .Oxy, very impressive Many thanks for sharing.

That should finish very nicely, especially that headboard. Is that just the one board, or is it a glue up of several boards?

What are you doing with the centre of the base slats, as shown in the last photo? Will there be any support structure under the centre if the bed? What size are the slats?

Can you tell us a bit about the coloured epoxy you used?

[orraloon]

Oxy,
A ripper of a bed there. I think the choise of danish oil and wax will come up great.
Dont skimp on the sanding first and give the oil about 10 days to cure before you apply the wax. Going to be a bit of work but will be well worh it.
Regards
John

[.Oxy]

Thanks for the encouragement.
@JillB - that is a single slab 41-45mm thick and 820-750 in height and around 80-100kgs!
The shorter support slats are offcuts from the recycled flooring in order for me to get the spacing correct. Will cut them and secure neatly to the side beams. There is a 68x68 floating beam running down the centre with 4 legs to distribute the weight of the mattress and ... occupants...

The epoxy is megapoxy Hx with 1% catalyst. It is clear, not coloured and has been poured into cracks that were tape sealed to prevent leakage. The worm holes were injected with the epoxy, then sanded back, rinse and repeat. The oil will not impregnate the epoxy of course so there is going to be some interesting colour variation. The slab was originally just shy of 1800 (about 80 short of making a King!) So I managed to cut out the worst of the cracks at the end of the slab

@Orraloon - thank you for your tip about letting the oil cure

[Dengue]

That is one heavy bedhead, Oxy. Not going to be easy to slide around while vacuuming underneath

thanks for the information about the bed, that explains a lot about the pics.

The epoxy I saw used recently in my WA furniture shop tours was a black epoxy that looked quite neat too. Do you know where you can get that, please?

[.Oxy]

Hi JillB,
I'm not sure what they use down south (Margaret River), but I think it is standard epoxy with a dye added.
Probably ask the guys at PERMATECH
I do know that a lot of the furniture galleries finish their work with the epoxy - spray finish, however it does leave the work looking and feeling very smooth and a little plasticy.

All Furniture | Boranup Gallery
gallery - Jah Roc Furniture