PapaDrew
Sitting Out
Long Story Short - I wanted a large customized round table for my themed mancave. I shopped all the builders looking for the table I wanted, couldn't find it. And I kinda got pissed off with some of these builders asking ridiculous prices for some upgrades. ($1k to add LEDs? GTFO!).
So I went ahead and built one myself. 60", wood pedestal, custom white vinyl, custom felt, LEDs, raised rail, etc.
All in, I spent about $1500-$1600 and about a week building this myself in my cramped garage and basement.
That's about $1500 less than the nearest quote - and that's AFTER buying tools, high-end materials, etc. I could have built for at least $400 cheaper if I'd stuck to standard speed-cloth and didn't splurge for Chanman's diffuser. I'd have saved another $500 if I didn't buy the circle jig, the stapler, and burn through CNC bits.
Note that I don't have any furniture-building experience. I'm a hobby woodcarver and I once played with legos when I was 6.
All of my design ideas and information came from PCF and YouTube. So thanks to those who post and blaze a path for us lowly followers.
Design:
This is a raised rail design. To that end I had an outer riser and an inner riser. The inner riser was set back about 1.25 inches from the inner edge of the table to accommodate the LED lights and the diffuser/channel. I used 18mm Baltic Birch wood, and cut the two risers. The leftover was used as the base underneath. Everything else was made with 12mm plywood.
The diffuser channel is cut about 3/8th from the edge. I was going to cut it at 1/4 but I was concerned about the stability of the plywood.
Build Notes:
I bought the large circle jig from Woodhaven. It was expensive, but it makes cutting circles much easier.
Don't cut too deep. I busted about $100 worth of bits trying to be too aggressive. This baltic birch plywood is a heck of a lot harder than basswood.
Make sure you have 6-8 clamps.
\
FYI, embroidery hoops work very well as a riser for your cup holders.
I did find 61-inch vinyl. It was a tight fit, and thank goodness for others that have documented the technique of cutting a star pattern to help with stretching.
I didn't get as much of the wrinkles out as I had hoped, and I'm not inclined to go back and redo. It still looks OK and I'm thankfully not that OCD.
Things I wish I had known or done differently (or that I still have to fix)
1. UPS isn't honoring paperwork to charge correct tariffs on products from Canada. It's shady as hell and I hope someone from UPS sees this and experiences intense shame.
(Got charged $73, should have been charged $25) Not the fault of the shipper.
2. Dumb me, 12mm plywood plus 6mm foam means my playfield is sitting too high/too thick. I'll have to find a sheet of 1/4 ply and redo my playfield so it sits properly.
3. Gorilla Glue spray adhesive doesn't seem to work well with poly foam. I should have used 3M Super 77 which reportedly works better. The felt did not adhere permanently to the foam so it will pull up or wrinkle slightly. It's not a huge problem as I have it stapled down pretty snugly, but something to note. Since I'm going to eventually redo the playfield I'll fix it then.
4. Black felt/playfield was possibly a bad choice. As with black cars or black flooring, it tends to highlight dust/dirt.
5. 8 cupholders feels too snug. I feel like I should have done 6 instead.
6. Pick your foam/retailer carefully. I got some absolute crap 1/4in closed-cell poly from one retailer that had so many flaws that it was unusable. I ended up ordering from another retailer and that was a 4-day delay.
So in the end, I'm pretty happy. My wife and in-laws are impressed, my kids think I'm superman, and I've got the table I wanted.
Unfortunately my 5yo is the big stack in our ongoing family 5-card draw poker game. The little turd's a shark.
So I went ahead and built one myself. 60", wood pedestal, custom white vinyl, custom felt, LEDs, raised rail, etc.
All in, I spent about $1500-$1600 and about a week building this myself in my cramped garage and basement.
That's about $1500 less than the nearest quote - and that's AFTER buying tools, high-end materials, etc. I could have built for at least $400 cheaper if I'd stuck to standard speed-cloth and didn't splurge for Chanman's diffuser. I'd have saved another $500 if I didn't buy the circle jig, the stapler, and burn through CNC bits.
Note that I don't have any furniture-building experience. I'm a hobby woodcarver and I once played with legos when I was 6.
All of my design ideas and information came from PCF and YouTube. So thanks to those who post and blaze a path for us lowly followers.
Design:
This is a raised rail design. To that end I had an outer riser and an inner riser. The inner riser was set back about 1.25 inches from the inner edge of the table to accommodate the LED lights and the diffuser/channel. I used 18mm Baltic Birch wood, and cut the two risers. The leftover was used as the base underneath. Everything else was made with 12mm plywood.
The diffuser channel is cut about 3/8th from the edge. I was going to cut it at 1/4 but I was concerned about the stability of the plywood.
Build Notes:
I bought the large circle jig from Woodhaven. It was expensive, but it makes cutting circles much easier.
Don't cut too deep. I busted about $100 worth of bits trying to be too aggressive. This baltic birch plywood is a heck of a lot harder than basswood.
Make sure you have 6-8 clamps.
\
FYI, embroidery hoops work very well as a riser for your cup holders.
I did find 61-inch vinyl. It was a tight fit, and thank goodness for others that have documented the technique of cutting a star pattern to help with stretching.
I didn't get as much of the wrinkles out as I had hoped, and I'm not inclined to go back and redo. It still looks OK and I'm thankfully not that OCD.
Things I wish I had known or done differently (or that I still have to fix)
1. UPS isn't honoring paperwork to charge correct tariffs on products from Canada. It's shady as hell and I hope someone from UPS sees this and experiences intense shame.
(Got charged $73, should have been charged $25) Not the fault of the shipper.
2. Dumb me, 12mm plywood plus 6mm foam means my playfield is sitting too high/too thick. I'll have to find a sheet of 1/4 ply and redo my playfield so it sits properly.
3. Gorilla Glue spray adhesive doesn't seem to work well with poly foam. I should have used 3M Super 77 which reportedly works better. The felt did not adhere permanently to the foam so it will pull up or wrinkle slightly. It's not a huge problem as I have it stapled down pretty snugly, but something to note. Since I'm going to eventually redo the playfield I'll fix it then.
4. Black felt/playfield was possibly a bad choice. As with black cars or black flooring, it tends to highlight dust/dirt.
5. 8 cupholders feels too snug. I feel like I should have done 6 instead.
6. Pick your foam/retailer carefully. I got some absolute crap 1/4in closed-cell poly from one retailer that had so many flaws that it was unusable. I ended up ordering from another retailer and that was a 4-day delay.
So in the end, I'm pretty happy. My wife and in-laws are impressed, my kids think I'm superman, and I've got the table I wanted.
Unfortunately my 5yo is the big stack in our ongoing family 5-card draw poker game. The little turd's a shark.
