EightyWon's first table build thread (92"x44" oval, 5.5" rail, 1" raised with diffused LEDs) (1 Viewer)

[eightyWon]

This thread will document my first go at building a poker table. I hope to replace the 2nd table at our monthly game.

Initial planning:

92"x44" full felt oval
5.5" wide padded and vinyl-wrapped rail, 1" raised
Diffused LEDs
Charcoal blank speed cloth
Cheap legs
In-table Shuffle Tech ST1000 with flush mount kit
5 wireless charging positions
Some kind of threaded insert for assembly
Some kind of handles

We may eventually replace the felt with chanman custom but I'm just getting my feet wet here.

3x sheets of 4'x8' ACX plywood, 3/4" for the base, 1/2" for the playing surface and the rail.

I've ordered the stuff from YAT, the diffuser and LED strip, and the game bought the shuffler.

Hoping to grab the plywood, legs, hardware, a harbor freight stapler, and make my own router circle jig Wednesday.

Right off the top, thank you to all the expert builders and their posts here. It's been a big wealth of info and inspiration.

I'll update as stuff happens and look forward to feedback.

 

[eightyWon]

What I've imagined this morning for cut planning with color-coded rail cross-section. 96x48 cut down to 92x44 (scrap in brown), then other cuts made:

I think having the dimensions in AI will hopefully help prevent me from making cutting mistakes (failing to account for bit width, for instance).


Couldn't figure out a way to use the center scrap from sheet 2. I think I've seen some people make a smaller second table?

 

[Irish]

Cheap legs

I would highly recommend spending a few extra bucks on good, solid folding legs, it'll make a world of difference in the table stability and play quality. Otherwise this will be the equivalent of putting a Porsche on 4 used balled tires.....

They don't need to be the big expensive gorilla legs, but get something sturdy - these should probably run you between $100-$120 shipped:

https://www.metalkraft.com/folding-legs/banquet-style-wishbone-legs-2-detail

 

[DeusEx]

What I've imagined this morning for cut planning with color-coded rail cross-section. 96x48 cut down to 92x44 (scrap in brown), then other cuts made:

I think having the dimensions in AI will hopefully help prevent me from making cutting mistakes (failing to account for bit width, for instance).


Couldn't figure out a way to use the center scrap from sheet 2. I think I've seen some people make a smaller second table?

Those are ovals, are you doing that shape or an elliptical shape? I would encourage elliptical over oval.

 

[Nymor]

Personally I'd spread the brown scrap evenly around each piece. Plywood sheet edges can easily be a bit banged up so I'd always want a nice clean cut all round.

I made small bolt-on cup holder tables with my extra - maybe something like that for your spare center?

 

[eightyWon]

Those are ovals, are you doing that shape or an elliptical shape? I would encourage elliptical over oval.

I don't think I'm smart enough to make an ellipse based on the fact that I didn't even know the difference lmao

I'll check it out but if it's more complex I might skip it this build.

now how do I edit that title hah

 

[DeusEx]

I don't think I'm smart enough to make an ellipse based on the fact that I didn't even know the difference lmao

don't sell yourself short, its not hard; there are tutorials on youtube on how to make a jig for it, or you can use a string method.

check out this thread

 

[eightyWon]

I would highly recommend spending a few extra bucks on good, solid folding legs, it'll make a world of difference in the table stability and play quality. Otherwise this will be the equivalent of putting a Porsche on 4 used balled tires.....

They don't need to be the big expensive gorilla legs, but get something sturdy - these should probably run you between $100-$120 shipped:

https://www.metalkraft.com/folding-legs/banquet-style-wishbone-legs-2-detail

After sleeping on your comment I ended up springing a little more for the Hafele legs (but in silver to save a few bucks, hopefully they're not totally ugly).

Being a backup table and my first build, I'm not shooting for top of the line but wobbly poker tables are the pits.

Thanks for keeping me from making a mistake!

 

[eightyWon]

Saw dust in the air!

I opted no ellipse because I don't like the pointier ends. I might try a super ellipse for the next table for the improved sightlines.

Everything is ripped down to playing dimensions and I'm working on the remaining cuts.

I think my homemade jig is slightly off because none of my arcs have been perfect yet but they're close enough for a poker table (I hope).

 

[eightyWon]

Got all the main cuts done yesterday. They're not perfect but I learned a lot and they'll be better next time. My family motto is "do your best and caulk the rest!"

Also, YAT don't fuck around. The foams, speed cloth, and rail vinyl came in this morning. Ordered Monday.

LEDs came in as well. I'm not happy with the spacing of the diodes themselves at about 3" apart on the strip but there's 100' so I can probably triple up if needed. I may have to double diffuse, too, we'll see.

Oh, and my 5.5" rail became a 5.25" rail because I positioned the cut wrong of course. At least I didn't make that same mistake on the remaining arcs. Hopefully it still works.

Having fun, though!

 

[eightyWon]

Got off work, cut the grass, and then sanding day!

Sanding day made me question my poker table and my general life decisions a little less. I now have (possibly false) hope that everything is going to work out after all.

I swear there'll be more interesting pictures eventually.

 

[eightyWon]

I bought my wife a table saw for mother's day so I used that today to rip some 1.25" rail spacers from 2x4:

Then I started to do some fit testing:

Just like my old highschool girlfriend, my sloppy cuts left the table too tight in some places and too loose in others.

I had to jet to get the kids from swimming but hopefully I've got a little more time tonight to see where we're at.

 

[Benjaminotaur]

Following along. This looks like a fun build!

 

[eightyWon]

Good progress yesterday, top and bottom rail sections with risers glued and brad nailed:

I almost royally fucked up the rail padding by spraying the foam and the rail and then trying to place the rail onto the padding by myself.

When I laid it down, of course the size made it awkward so it was askew from where I'd traced and sprayed. It immediately bonded in some places because of spraying both pieces. Fortunately it was only off a bit and still centered enough to get a full wrap on all sides.

Trimmed off the excess with my brisket slicing knife and we've got a padded rail (and we need a new brisket slicing knife):

Not seen, I aligned the base and rail and installed t-nuts (prior to foam) as standard.

I set up to start wrapping the rail but by then it was after 11pm and I didn't want the 3gal compressor bugging the neighbors.

My work schedule of 4 10s leaves me with Wednesdays off so we're getting after it this morning.

I also found out that our next game, originally scheduled for the 28th, would be this Sunday instead due to low reservations because of Memorial Day, so we're gonna crunch to get this done. The wireless chargers won't be in for at least another week (coming from China) so those are getting skipped for this build. If we upgrade to custom cloth I'll install them then.

 

[Irish]

You can't expect a quality product using shitty tools like this.....

- my college roommate is a huge chubbies fan, so after 20 years of ribbing him my eyes are trained....

 

[eightyWon]

Progress being made (I'm using this post as an excuse to rest my fingers):

Not sure if this sucks or not but at this point I'm not sure I care (half kidding)

During my fifth break I invented a a new table building drinking game:

• Every time your brain says "my friends won't notice the wrinkles," take a shot
• Every time you quote Happy Gilmore "my fingers hurt," take a shot
• Every time you have to reload the cheap HF stapler, take a shot
• Every time you think "why did I miss the Wayfair Barrington fire sale," take a shot

Please feel free to contribute your own rules

 

[BGinGA]

Are you stapling around the rail in a linear fashion?

 

[eightyWon]

Are you stapling around the rail in a linear fashion?

I'm trying to follow https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/re-upholstering-poker-table-rail.41438/post-769619

 

[eightyWon]

I'm trying to follow https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/re-upholstering-poker-table-rail.41438/post-769619

I also might be drunk

 

[eightyWon]

Outer rail stapling pretty much done.

It was at this point that I realized I'm basically the white Chanman (this is obviously a joke):

...really though, the straights are pretty good, the arcs I might pull some staples and adjust, we'll see.

On to inner rail.

 

[eightyWon]

Sanity check before I trim the reaming vinyl.

Ship it, I say!

 

[eightyWon]

Mocking the legs to find a good position to install the Shuffle Tech:

If you've ever had reservations about getting the less expensive Hafele silver instead of the black, don't. These things are great and I'm glad I did it!

ST cutout pattern traced, drilled some starter holes with a big ass spade but:

Next I'll route the straights, then flip the table and route the 45° angle on the short dimensions. A little nervous about that but we'll see...

 

[DeusEx]

Looks fantastic so far!

 

[DoubleEagle]

Outer rail stapling pretty much done.

It was at this point that I realized I'm basically the white Chanman:

View attachment 1136206

...really though, the straights are pretty good, the arcs I might pull some staples and adjust, we'll see.

On to inner rail.

Use a heat gun. Works wonders.

 

[bigblind]

looking great

 

[eightyWon]

The 45°s turned out well. It was a fight, though.

My router is 15+ years old. Not used a ton, but old. When I did the main cuts, the router body wasn't sliding very well inside the depth housing thingy so I lightly sprayed some dry lube on it.

Today while I was doing the cuts for the Shuffle Tech, the depth housing thingy fused to the router body. No matter what I did, I couldnt get it to slide up or down.

I ended up having to take a screwdriver and a prybar to split the depth housing thingy enough that I could force it off.

You could see spots on both pieces that looked like the plastic had basically friction welded or something.

It still works. I lightly rubbed some regular oil on both parts and it's ok for now. Only thing I can figure is it was caused by the lube I used the first time.

Anyway:

I didn't grab a pic of the ST body but everything fits nice and flush.

I ripped the 1/8" hardboard for the play area wrapping and am working on padding next and wrapping it next.

 

[eightyWon]

Edge-banded and padded:

Question, should I be disappointed in the wrinkles creases in the Volara from YAT or is this pretty normal?

I left my entire order rolled as delivered until today. Maybe that was part of the issue?

Any thoughts on how bad these wrinkles will show through on the unsuited speed cloth?

Hopefully, if pulled tight, they won't be an issue.

 

[Irish]

Damn, you got a lot done yesterday, usually after I pull a rail, I pour a drink or two, pop 3 advil and I'm done for the day.

Creases/wrinkling in volara happen frequently with shipping. Speed cloth is pretty forgiving (fairly thick material), you may see some of the bigger creases but should be OK for the most part.

 

[eightyWon]

I know I've been quiet for a while but there is progress being made.

In every build some rain must fall and mine was in the form of the aforementioned Volara creases. I think they're worse in person than the pics represent and that, combined with the color and material of the unsuited speed cloth I used, are making for an ugly and bumpy play surface. In top down light it's not very noticeable, but if light is cast from an angle, it's pretty bad.

I haven't grabbed any pics yet but I will.

Anyway, after getting the felt stretched and stapled, I found that the channel for my LED diffusers was just a little too narrow at the arcs. I want the channel to be tight, but this was too tight. I set the router circle jig back up and took just a little off and we were golden! Everything bolts back up and mates nicely!

Here's a sneak peek from last night:

Todo still is installing the LEDs keeping in mind allowing the remote to work, mounting the legs, and cutting and stapling the felt for the Suffle Tech hole.

As mentioned before, I may have to double diffuse the LEDs, we'll see.

As for the play surface, I'm pretty sure I'll redo it at some point in the near future. It's not worthy of the build. I'm interested in hearing feedback on anything I may have done wrong once I post pics.

Hoping to pretty much finish up tonight.

 

[eightyWon]

I'm also curious what I'll be facing in terms of stripping the Volara off the 1/2" plywood play surface after having glued it with Super 77. Has anyone done this? How much of a hot mess will it be, or should I just plan to cut a new play surface from a new sheet of ply?

I think I'll go search for re-felting threads.