Being thrifty.... Without saying cheap! (1 Viewer)

[Junior24xx]

im trying something out with left over foam. I've glued and pieced together a rail from all of my leftovers. I've used masking tape to hold it all in place now. I was wondering if anyone had ever tried to cover the entire rail woth cotton batting(or something else) to try and hide all the seems that I've created.
I know about the dryer sheet trick and I've used it several times, I was hoping for something a little more "significant" that may or may not work.

Thanks

 

[DrStrange]

I think the rail is THE most important part of a table. I spent more on my rail than the rest of the table and never had regrets. I am not sure this is a good place to be thrifty.

DrStrange

 

[MikesDad]

As usual, the good doctor knows whereof he speaks

 

[Mental Nomad]

Can't think of a great material to use that isn't going to ruin the "thrifty" aspect.

You might get away with a double run (at cross angles) of something like athletic tape - http://www.amazon.com/Athletic-Tape...sim_121_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CX9KGESNE4X45E7YGDV - but I don't know how well that will hold up over time.

Maybe you should stop by a fabric / upholstery supply, and see what materials they may have available?

In the end, you're likely to be minimizing the seam problem, not eliminating it, at the cost of some expense and a lot of effort. Unless you can save a lot of material while producing a minimum of seams, you're probably spending too much time inventing a workable solution to really "save..." and it may never be as good as fresh.

 

[BGinGA]

Sorry, Junior, but I busted a gut laughing so hard when I saw your frankenrail pic..... please cross-post this in the fugly table thread. And thanks for the early-morning chuckle.

As far as good/forgiving cover materials go, you might try wrapping the entire atrocity with carpet underfoam prior to applying your vinyl covering, but I don't know how 'thrifty' that may be overall.

 

[Junior24xx]

No need for apologies.
I'm just trying something out.
I hate all the left overs I end up with. And this table will be like an overflow table for my game.
If it works out great if not I'll just rip it all off and star over.
Carpet underpad is not a bad idea.
I was really hoping to see if anyone else had tried the cotton batting?

Thanks

 

[BGinGA]

I have, and it's nearly impossible to get all the lumps out.

 

[Junior24xx]

Ok thanks.
I'm gonna go ahead and try the drier sheet method and see what happens. Pics to come.

 

[courage]

I would try lighter fluid or gasoline, and a match. j/k [emoji12]

Applaud the frugality and determination but not sure this can be salvaged.

 

[Junior24xx]

I'm not kidding myself..... That may be exactly where this rail is headed.

 

[Strike1st]

If you lived closer you could pick up the 3" king size memory foam topper on the floor In my garage...

Should be stain free....

Doh!

 

[Gear]

What's the dryer sheet trick?

 

[BGinGA]

Wrapping a dryer sheet (foam or fabric) over a rail foam seam/junction between two foam pieces helps hide the seam, once it is covered by vinyl. Works decent (not perfect) for rails that are constructed using pieces of foam (vs a single solid piece).

 

[Gear]

I see! Cool, thanks.

 

[Junior24xx]

FYI,
I haven't given up, but I haven't had time to put into it. I will share results.

 

[T_Chan]

I once hired a professional upholsterer to try to seam foam together and then use cotton batting. Lets just say when I looked at the rail it reminded me of cellulite...

GL with using the scraps. The amount of scrap foam I generate is probably enough to build a couple dozen tables a year.