There’s something magical about epoxy river pours that’s created a fever on social media, with the trend never fully going away before a new viral video pops up in your feed.

John, of JD Woodworking and Designs, is a 19-year-old woodworker based out of Ontario, Canada, and on Instagram the young maker shows how he makes his own epoxy river boards and sells them as a part of his business.

“Each resin pour is unique, you’ll never see a specific resin board that is the exact same as another,” said John, noting “people enjoy watching it… it’s such a unique process that you don’t see on a lot of places other than social media these days.”

Having made and sold many of these boards himself, as tables, charcuterie boards and more, John offered to go through the steps so you can try your hand at making your own too.

The first step you’ll want to take is to get some live-edge wood which will be a good mix for the resin-pouring process.

Wood that has a lot of “character” with unique grain patterns, voids or other charming quirks to it make for great river boards. A lot of the lumber John says he loves using might be considered junk or firewood by others.

Next you’ll want to cut and prepare your wood for the forms.

You can create your own forms but John says he uses pre-made ones which are one solid piece so resin doesn’t leak out from them. The walls of the form are also set at a five-degree angle so it’s easier to remove the board when the resin is cured.

“You want to remove any bark, any debris that’s on there. That way the resin has a really good surface to bond to,” he added.

When putting your wood in the form, make sure it’s clamped down as it may start to float when you pour the resin into it.

Here’s the best part: the resin pour.

This is the most satisfying step, and it’s the thing John says he includes the most in his social media videos. The slow pour is what makes this process so captivating for so many people.

Make sure every crevice is filled, and don’t worry about overpouring, you’ll be getting rid of any of the excess later anyway.

Once the pour is done it takes four days to let the resin cure, and John says he uses a rubber mallet, tapping on the sides of the form to pop it out.

When the board is out of the form then you can re-plane the top and bottom and cut the sides down to its final dimensions to get rid of any extra epoxy.

The final steps involve finishing your board.

“I spend probably 90% of the time spent on these boards sanding,” said John. “Starting with 80 grit making my way all the way to 400 grit.”

The woodworker says he’s used wax-based and oil-based finish but right now he likes using pure mineral oil, soaking the board for about a day. Then he uses a follow-up coat of wax and mineral oil, buffing it in and wiping off the excess, to give it a “nice, even sheen.”

Now that you’ve finished your epoxy resin board, you’re good to give it another go! John says he’s always learning, growing his skills and continues to try newer and more difficult projects.

And because of just how wild and creative these projects can be, nothing is too crazy to try.

"Just strive for uniqueness, I like the fact they’re very unique,” said John. “You can basically do it however you like.”

“There’s such a wide variety of things you can do with epoxy,” he added.