I was never a big proponent of the whole 'river table' trend where you fill up the void in a live edge slab with a bunch of synthetic resin, add some glitter and call it a piece of art. However, I did like the idea of using scrap wood and turning it into something and with this piece of walnut resin, it was just the right way to go.

This was a quick side project while I was at school, I found this piece of walnut and thought to make something with it. I came up with this design of a 'river lamp' as a way to accentuate the material and the warm light that might shine through it.

I created a melamine mold and filled the void with sand to measure the volume of resin I was going to need (didn't want to waste expensive resin). I poured it into one piece, then cut in the groove (dado) for the steel bar, and then cut it up into three parts. I used some nice brass hardware to hold the panels to the steel bar and did a little work to embed the lamp parts (that I just bought from Ace Hardware) into the bottom part. I also picked out a toggle switch that looked a little vintage to match the look.

I was quite happy with the final product, it was my first use of resin and is a true testament to using the right materials for the right uses.