This project started out with modest ambitions. Build an epoxy and walnut river table top for a sit & stand desk frame which was provided to me (without tabletop) in the mad-dash scramble of an employer at the beginning of covid pandemics to support employees in a remote-work first/only setup. As I priced out materials and build approaches, I decided to aim a little closer towards a magnum opus level project that brought many of my talents and preferred mediums to work in together.
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss,
Norman Vincent Peale
you’ll land among the stars.
Why Zelda?
During the early “lockdown” parts of pandemic, I was both playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Zoom streaming the digital adventure with friends. While it lacked the pass the controller around the couch vibe that I most often associate with puzzle platform console games, given where the world was it was an excellent next-best social option. The idea of turning the topographical map from the game into the workspace where I would map out future projects seemed as good as any. Especially when I decided to do the first portion of build through a KJP Select Hardwoods river table class and I found a great big piece of walnut that had a grain pattern which kind of matched the landscape lines of the game.
How was it made?
This one felt so ambitious, and I took so many photos during the build, that I decided to make a making of video about it which also includes the sizzle real photos from as many angles as I could manage.
The highlight timestamps are:
- 0:10 – The plan to cut a very large/expensive piece of wood into pieces
- 0:30 – Using a CNC was the only way that would be viable.
- 0:45 – Beginning to cut the lakes, cities and landscape landmarks
- 1:05 – Pouring many colours of epoxy at once was high risk/reward.
- 1:20 – More CNC – lateral support bar and relief cuts for LED lighting
- 1:30 – Hot glue dams to make islands and touch up where the epoxy pour wasn’t full height on first pour.
- 1:50 – Clear coat top coverage (i.e. oooooh shiny!)
- 2:10 – Sizzle real shots incl. some laser cut acrylic landmarks
- 2:20 – Building an oak frame to encase it all…just in case.
- 2:50 – Lights in action
- 3:10 – Video walkthrough and paying the cat tax
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