Bar made of pipes, epoxy resin, ash and 343 different beer caps

Ever since I first saw a composite wood tabletop, epoxy resin And all sorts of spectacular encapsulated objects I knew I wanted to have one, or rather, make one for myself. Since I already loved wood, the only dilemmas were what kind of resin to use and what object/objects to encase in it.

I thought it would be simple with resin, but after an online search about epoxy resin I found out about their whole family. I'm not going to talk now about the types of resins, their areas of use and how to use them, you can find all that information here.

For my project I needed a resin that was transparent, odorless, would not yellow over time, would not shrink/crack, and would allow a thick layer to be poured to facilitate embedding the objects.

I would like to point out that it is imperative that you consult the technical data sheet before using it and that you follow the instructions exactly. An example of what can happen when epoxy resin is not measured and mixed correctly can be seen in the video below.

Coming back to the third item, being a bar top and me being a beer fan since my teens, the choice was pretty simple.. beer bottle caps.

For the support part I used a cabinet of frasin measuring 1400 x 205 x 40 mm, so 343 covers were needed to cover the entire area.

It was quite an adventure collecting the covers because we wanted them to be unique. With a lot of help, I managed to collect thousands of caps and after a rigorous sorting I managed to get the 343 unique caps.

After the wood was brought to its final dimensions we made a formwork of melamine chipboard to be able to pour the resin without it sticking.

Having the final selection, with all sorts of permutations, the lids were glued with silicone to the countertop.

With everything ready, the resin was poured and spread with a spatula. The air bubbles that came to the surface were removed with a hot air blower. In the end, I had nothing to do but wait 72 hours for the cure.

Sanding was carried out in several stages, with different grit levels ranging from 400 to 2000.

Because the style of the furniture in the room is industrial, a subject that can be dealt with in another article, the wall countertop fastening system I made accordingly; from pipes, connectors and flanges.

I would also like to thank all my friends for collecting the covers, without which this project very dear to me would not have been possible. And last but not least, to all those who consumed the beers. Cheers!