Resin Tables: Game Plan

Now back to my regularly scheduled back-log of resin table posts.

The Plan

Before I get too deep, I want to get my hands dirty and build a small test table with minimal upfront expenditures and commitments as possible.

To do this, I need to outline some of the following logistical details:

• Where can I build this?
• Where to get equipment?
• Materials to be used?

1) Build Site

The largest problem I have to figure out is where I can build my resin tables? I will need some sort of open space/work shop with electrical power and ventilation to use power tools. It will need to be secure enough that I can leave a resin table to cure for about a week and not worry about it being touched by others to get dirty or damaged. Since I rent out a 1 bedroom unit, I don't have a lot of space in my current home (a garage would be ideal, but I do not have access to one).

I ran through a couple ideas on this one throughout this planning phase in late February. The first one I entertained was getting a local storage unit and setting this up as a pseudo-garage space for myself. I recalled watching a couple Ryan Pineda videos where he detailed his couch flipping business and how he highly recommended getting a storage unit. For his furniture flipping, he not only used the storage unit to store the couches/etc., but also had one with electrical power so that he could do his clean up/vacuuming right here. He would also use the storage unit as a "warehouse" for whenever he had someone coming by to pick-up a couch, he always had other items laid out for them to take a look at and make sales. I figured a similar concept could apply to me with my resin tables.

So I got busy and called up a few of the local storage rental companies in my area. As I thought might be an issue, a lot of these places could a) not supply electrical power and b) doing some wood working would not be approved. However, the receptionist that picked up my call for one of the storage unit companies that I called was very helpful in trying to point me in a better direction. She mentioned their commercial real estate agent may have some contacts for something like this and was kind to pass the contact info to me.

I gave the commercial real estate agent a call. He was also very enthusiastic to help me out on this. After answering a few questions to describe my use case and discussing what I do for a living, he was excited to ask to come see a few of my final resin table designs one day and then connect me with his other business contacts to help grow my small business if it launches.

The real estate agent called me a week later with an update, and also out of luck here. Most of what he could find were large commercial areas, requiring a minimum 3-year lease on average, and a couple thousand dollars in rent pricing. I may not have gotten the end result I was looking for, but the pursuit led to a great connection for later down the road.

I tried checking out some postings on Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, etc. for short term garage workspace rentals. I looked into options both in my city and neighbouring cities. Unfortunately, this idea also didn't get far as most places were expensive and almost costing half my rent.

Last option I ran through, was to split some space with a friend with some sort of arranged compensation (e.g. either a fixed flat rate, or percentage of sales). I had a friend approach me offering to use her deck space to build some tables in agreement for a percentage of the sales. This seemed like an exciting partnership idea at first. But after doing some more quick research in the build process, an indoor space is important. When curing, the resin cannot go above or below certain temperatures (21-27 degrees Celsius). It also is important to keep out any sort of dirt or debris when curing to maintain the aesthetics of the final design. This idea was also a no go (for now at least).

So where does this leave me? Fast forward into mid March, I decided that at least for the first test table, I could do a small build in my home. It was original option, but not ideal option. But for testing purposes, I can be sure to make do. And after testing, I can formulate a better idea of what I really do and don't need for a more permanent workspace.

2) Equipment

The next question comes down to, where can I get the equipment? When discussing my resin table idea with my sister, she reminded me that our city has a tool rental program where I should be able to access a library of tools for free/low cost. I looked into this, and a yearly membership is $60 for new users.

I also had another friend mention that Canadian Tire has a tool rental service as well. Essentially I pay for the price of the tool as a deposit. If I return it safe and sound, I get the the deposit back.

Both are good options and would work well while testing out the first table.

3) Materials

Doing some quick research, there are a couple raw materials needed for each resin table. The cost per table will vary depending on the amount of material used and the size of the table. But as a rough break down:

1. Resin - Amazon shows this as being roughly $150 for about 3 Litres. (I have worked with ArtResin in the past and this was used for the estimate).
2. Wood - HomeDepot wood is typically around $50 for past projects. I am assuming this to the cost for the wood.
3. Table Legs - Amazon has several table legs in the range of $35-50.
4. Misc. costs - wax, resin dyes, etc. Putting this around $50 as an estimate.

Rough estimate for the total cost of a small resin table (about the size of a coffee table) comes to approximately $300.

Assuming it turns out well and sells for about $600, I would consider this good profit margins.