New 10 seat table build (2 Viewers)

barefooter18

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Hi all. I am new here but looking to start a poker table build and have read some great stuff so far. I am looking for ideas and advance on size, design, suppliers, and all parts of the build. I have done some woodwork and have most of the tools needed.

For size I was thinking 48x96 but have read that cutting down to 44 is good idea.
Was looking at speed cloth but really like Tony's custom cloth with betting line.
For the rail I am wanting to do a raised rail with lighting and Tony's diffuser strips. Ones question I have is on the height of the rail, was thinking between 3/4" and 1-1/2" but would like some input on this.
Cup holders will go in the rail so was planning on a 5.5" rail. Sound right?
No clue on the rail material yet so please give ideas.

Thank you in advance!
 
Most people do go down to 44" width. I think for aesthetic purposes? To me, playability wise, wider is better than longer. Dealing from the end of a 96" table is tough. I prefer a 3/4 inch raised rail. Your plans sound great, good luck with the table!
 
For size I was thinking 48x96 but have read that cutting down to 44 is good idea.
Yes 44 is better so people can reach the other side of the table, only 8 foot tall people can reach the other side.
Was looking at speed cloth but really like Tony's custom cloth with betting line.
Custom all the way!
For the rail I am wanting to do a raised rail with lighting and Tony's diffuser strips. Ones question I have is on the height of the rail, was thinking between 3/4" and 1-1/2" but would like some input on this.
3/4
Cup holders will go in the rail so was planning on a 5.5" rail. Sound right?
No, No cupholders ever, I MEAN EVER, but if you must use the search feature or dig through the posts in this forum
No clue on the rail material yet so please give ideas.
Search 'YAT' or your auto trim
 
For size I was thinking 48x96 but have read that cutting down to 44 is good idea.
Yes 44 is better so people can reach the other side of the table, only 8 foot tall people can reach the other side.
Was looking at speed cloth but really like Tony's custom cloth with betting line.
Custom all the way!
For the rail I am wanting to do a raised rail with lighting and Tony's diffuser strips. Ones question I have is on the height of the rail, was thinking between 3/4" and 1-1/2" but would like some input on this.
3/4
Cup holders will go in the rail so was planning on a 5.5" rail. Sound right?
No, No cupholders ever, I MEAN EVER, but if you must use the search feature or dig through the posts in this forum
No clue on the rail material yet so please give ideas.
Search 'YAT' or your auto trim
Really like the below custom cloth I saw on here and have no design ability, is it bad to copy someone's design?

Why so against cup holders? I feel like those are a necessity.
 

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Really like the below custom cloth I saw on here and have no design ability, is it bad to copy someone's design?

Why so against cup holders? I feel like those are a necessity.
I used the same background in my custom felt from TChan. I wouldn't just straight copy it, TChan will help you with design a little.

I don't like cup holders, they get in the way of playing, or make it odd for comfort. I also don't like drinks (or food) at the table, I'm a germaphobe with a twist of ocd, food specs on the table drive me nuts.

Every aspect of running a game with the nicest equipment available, most of the players at your game wouldn't even have a clue that decent chips cost 600 to 1200, let alone CPC's or Paulsons, the custom felt is 225 on its own, then you have to have glue, staples, time, tool costs .... spill your drink on my floor not my table! lol

Some of us are lining up to pay 20 bucks a chip / plaque.
 
Really like the below custom cloth I saw on here and have no design ability, is it bad to copy someone's design?

Why so against cup holders? I feel like those are a necessity.
That design is from @bsdunbar1 I'd ask him who owns the design. Even if you get permission to copy it, I'd still make changes out of respect for the artist.

As for cupholders, there are reasons people don't like them. 1.) they don't look as good as a solid rail 2.) They somewhat force people to sit at certain locations regardless of the # of players. 3.) some people like them in front of them, others to the side, fixed cupholders make this difficult. 4.) some of us don't like drinks on the table.

Solutions: slide under cupholders, or my favourite, drink carts.
 
So after lots of talk and thinking I am going with the full 48x96 table, hope I don't regret it. Have spent some time with the design and got some help to sketch things up in CAD. The rail took the most thought by far but this might have to do with me deciding to have it raised with LED......cant ever seem to keep things simple.

Am using 3/4" for the base, 1/2" for the playing surface, and 3/4" for the rail.
Rail is raised 1" above playing surface and am using the sweet suited diffuser from @chanman (huge thanks to him helping me with design) with strips of LEDs.
Rail is 6" with 10 cup holders.
Just started the build so am open to constructive criticism, ideas, and any advice.

here is the cad plan for the table and cup holder placement.
table cad.JPG


CAD detail of the rail. The outer ring of 1/2" will be attached to the rail and what the 1-1/4" spacers will be glued to. Will be using T-nuts in the rail with bolts up through the base. The inner ring will be glued and screwed down to the base to hold the diffuser and hold the playing surface centered. Not sure if this was the best way to do this but it seems like it will work.
rail.JPG


Had my lovely lady in pink help keep things clean when routing the 3 sheets. This is the rail and I laid out the cup holders before the cuts so I had straight edges to pull measurements from.
t2.jpg


Got a sweet jig to cut the radius with the router that worked awesome. Here I am cutting the 1/2" playing surface and inner and outer rings for parts of the base and rail.
t1.jpg


Cutting the 60 or so 1-1/4" spacers for the rail.
t3.jpg


Here you can see the table base with the inner 1/2" ring screwed down and the bottom section of rail with the spacers set out ready for gluing. My glue had hardened so this is on hold until next weekend. (dont mind the washer and dryer, had a set go out and found a quick used set.)
t4.jpg


The worst part so far, getting the cup holders to fit and making spacers. So the cup holders are 3.5" but a 3.5" hole saw is too tight as you can see in the pic. I first thought they would be good and the tight fit would hold them in place however with the rail vinyl I doubt they would fit in at all. The next size up 3-5/8" they are pretty loose.

Does anyone have any pointers on this? Do you want the cup holders to be tight or loose? If loose what do you use to hold them in place and not move around?

I will be using a 3/4" spacer to hold the cup holders up in the 1" foam.
t5.jpg



More to come. Thanks in advance for comments and advice.
 
So after lots of talk and thinking I am going with the full 48x96 table, hope I don't regret it. Have spent some time with the design and got some help to sketch things up in CAD. The rail took the most thought by far but this might have to do with me deciding to have it raised with LED......cant ever seem to keep things simple.

Am using 3/4" for the base, 1/2" for the playing surface, and 3/4" for the rail.
Rail is raised 1" above playing surface and am using the sweet suited diffuser from @chanman (huge thanks to him helping me with design) with strips of LEDs.
Rail is 6" with 10 cup holders.
Just started the build so am open to constructive criticism, ideas, and any advice.

here is the cad plan for the table and cup holder placement.
View attachment 866276

CAD detail of the rail. The outer ring of 1/2" will be attached to the rail and what the 1-1/4" spacers will be glued to. Will be using T-nuts in the rail with bolts up through the base. The inner ring will be glued and screwed down to the base to hold the diffuser and hold the playing surface centered. Not sure if this was the best way to do this but it seems like it will work.
View attachment 866277

Had my lovely lady in pink help keep things clean when routing the 3 sheets. This is the rail and I laid out the cup holders before the cuts so I had straight edges to pull measurements from.
View attachment 866272

Got a sweet jig to cut the radius with the router that worked awesome. Here I am cutting the 1/2" playing surface and inner and outer rings for parts of the base and rail.
View attachment 866271

Cutting the 60 or so 1-1/4" spacers for the rail.
View attachment 866270

Here you can see the table base with the inner 1/2" ring screwed down and the bottom section of rail with the spacers set out ready for gluing. My glue had hardened so this is on hold until next weekend. (dont mind the washer and dryer, had a set go out and found a quick used set.)
View attachment 866269

The worst part so far, getting the cup holders to fit and making spacers. So the cup holders are 3.5" but a 3.5" hole saw is too tight as you can see in the pic. I first thought they would be good and the tight fit would hold them in place however with the rail vinyl I doubt they would fit in at all. The next size up 3-5/8" they are pretty loose.

Does anyone have any pointers on this? Do you want the cup holders to be tight or loose? If loose what do you use to hold them in place and not move around?

I will be using a 3/4" spacer to hold the cup holders up in the 1" foam.
View attachment 866268


More to come. Thanks in advance for comments and advice.
Glad you didn't listen to the cupholder angry man. People have strong opinions, and I'm not sure there's a majority opinion on this. Do what you want.
 
Glad you didn't listen to the cupholder angry man. People have strong opinions, and I'm not sure there's a majority opinion on this. Do what you want.
Yeah I def see the reason to have no cup holders on the table but at this point I dont have carts or tables and know I need places for drinks. The next table will be all business.
 
Yeah I def see the reason to have no cup holders on the table but at this point I dont have carts or tables and know I need places for drinks. The next table will be all business.
Valid point about having seating flexibility by having no cupholders. But have you ever played with those slide-unders? To me, they're annoying as hell, because aside from cluttering up the playing surface, they do a great job of blocking people's views of other people's chip stacks. Tables and carts? Do I want to turn around every time I want a sip of my drink? No I do not. And people trip over them and spill things off of them.
Like I said, plenty of opinions . . .
 
So after lots of talk and thinking I am going with the full 48x96 table, hope I don't regret it.
As long as your room is big enough, go big! If you often have 10 players, you will like the extra elbow room. A smaller table is nicer when you commonly have less people, easier for people to deal. Looks like it's going to be a great table!
 
The design looks great!

I've done similar to you and also went with cupholders in the rail, for a few reasons:

1. My friends like to drink with poker, it's a social activity and they're not poker die-hards, so a no drinks near the table environment would mean no people near the table :LOL: :laugh:

2. I didn't want to store a heap of drinks carts somewhere to be used at best once a month, and the room would make it annoying for people walking around the table.

3. I don't like the look of slide under drink holders on the table, or having a gap under the rail where they can force a piece of metal (I have a raised rail with light diffuser too).

4. I know that if drinks were off to the side in a cart or whatever, people would be taking a sip and action would come to them, and they'd place their drink temporarily on the playing surface for convenience and then likely knock it over. With cupholders in the rail, I think less likely as it is right there. I also went with the dual-stage deeper cupholders, so it's impossible to knock a drink over/out of these.
 
The worst part so far, getting the cup holders to fit and making spacers. So the cup holders are 3.5" but a 3.5" hole saw is too tight as you can see in the pic. I first thought they would be good and the tight fit would hold them in place however with the rail vinyl I doubt they would fit in at all. The next size up 3-5/8" they are pretty loose.

Does anyone have any pointers on this? Do you want the cup holders to be tight or loose? If loose what do you use to hold them in place and not move around?
Have you tried putting the cup holders into the 3 5/8" holes with the foam/vinyl attached (use some scrap pieces on a section of scrap board)? That would be the true test if they are too loose or not. You may even have to increase the hole size > 3 5/8" depending on the thickness of the vinyl.

You can also get round sanding cylinders to attach to a drill chuck and increase the 3.5" hole size a little, just don't hold it in one place too long or you will end up with oval holes instead of round.

1645572827705.png
 
I've heard that if you use the 3-1/2" hole saw and make a "sloppy" hole, by wobbling the drill around as you cut, it bores out some extra material that makes the cup holder fit better.

3-5/8" is usually the next standard size up, which is too loose. You can wrap tape around the cup holders to make them a tighter fit.

You can make a miniature circle jig so that your router can cut a custom size hole instead of using a hole saw.

I just cheat and use our CNC.
 
I guess the cupholders can vary in size a little (I got the large brass ones off Amazon).

I made 3-5/8" holes which were loose on their own, but perfect when the vinyl over the hole was cut in quarters and folded in. Left a snug fit with my cupholders...I guess YMMV.
 
The design looks great!

I've done similar to you and also went with cupholders in the rail, for a few reasons:

1. My friends like to drink with poker, it's a social activity and they're not poker die-hards, so a no drinks near the table environment would mean no people near the table :LOL: :laugh:

2. I didn't want to store a heap of drinks carts somewhere to be used at best once a month, and the room would make it annoying for people walking around the table.

3. I don't like the look of slide under drink holders on the table, or having a gap under the rail where they can force a piece of metal (I have a raised rail with light diffuser too).

4. I know that if drinks were off to the side in a cart or whatever, people would be taking a sip and action would come to them, and they'd place their drink temporarily on the playing surface for convenience and then likely knock it over. With cupholders in the rail, I think less likely as it is right there. I also went with the dual-stage deeper cupholders, so it's impossible to knock a drink over/out of these.
say no to cup holders in the table.
 
I've heard that if you use the 3-1/2" hole saw and make a "sloppy" hole, by wobbling the drill around as you cut, it bores out some extra material that makes the cup holder fit better.

3-5/8" is usually the next standard size up, which is too loose. You can wrap tape around the cup holders to make them a tighter fit.

You can make a miniature circle jig so that your router can cut a custom size hole instead of using a hole saw.

I just cheat and use our CNC.
The CNC would be sweet for sure!! Just got your tracking number, excited for the cloth and diffuser!!
 
Thanks for all the great responses! Ended up doing the 3-5/8” whole saw. Hope the vinyl fills it in, if not will add some tape.
I beileve I used 3-5/8. When you cut your x mark into the rail fabric/vinyl just make it smaller than the witdth of the cupholder and push down slowly. With that method it should be a tight fit and won't be moving around.
20211028_234555.jpg
20211029_121604.jpg
20211028_235446.jpg
 
Was able to get the table finished a couple weeks ago but just getting to the post now. Overall the build was fun and nothing too difficult but the vinyl for the rail was a pain and I have to think there is a better way. Feel as though it came out pretty sweet though and enjoyed it enough I may do another one soon.

Here is getting the playing surface done. I did 1/4" foam on a 1/2" lay of plywood. Then did a 3/4" tall rap of 1/8" hardboard to keep a square corner for the cloth.
IMG_2628.jpg

Lots of back and forth moving it 1/4" instead of the needed 1/8". Cloth looks great from Chanman!
IMG_2631.jpg


I did a full 48x96 rail and the 55" foam was a little too small but was able to make it work.
IMG_2649.jpg

IMG_2651.jpg

The T50 stapler I had would not go into the plywood so used my 1/4" crown....this might have added to my frustration as the vinyl would tear around the staples very easily.
IMG_2662.jpg

IMG_2672.jpg

IMG_2673.jpg


Installed the 10 oversized cup holders and looks pretty good. They do not move much but you can pull them out, do most leave them loose or fasten them in some kinda way?
IMG_2678.jpg


Was a very tight fit to get the suited strips and acrylic in the 1/4" gap but with some extra hands was able to get it all together. The surface is held down with T-nuts and bolts up through the bottom.
IMG_2685.jpg


Still working on getting the lights wired.
IMG_2702.jpg


Here is the 'almost finished' shot. The rail is also attached with T-nuts and bolts up through the base.
IMG_2688.jpg


First game! Still need to get the lights wired and put legs on. Was planning on the Gorilla Legs but they are still not available. Might have decided to convert a room for poker as well so may get fixed legs instead of folding.
IMG_2741.jpg
 

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Great job. Add some sliding snack trays under the table directly below the cup holders and it will be complete. My guys love this feature.
Where did you get the sliding cupholders?
 
Great looking table! Thanks for all the great info. I just joined the forum and there's so much great info here for table builds!
 
Great job. Add some sliding snack trays under the table directly below the cup holders and it will be complete. My guys love this feature.
Where can I get sliding cup holders I’ve been looking for something like this
 
Where can I get sliding cup holders I’ve been looking for something like this
The sliders I have under the table are for holding tupperware bowls for snacks. These can be closed even with snacks in the bowl, so it keeps everything off the table and rail. They are made with plywood sides, extended flat top on the sides which screw in to the table, and the bottom of the sides routered slots to slide in the cut out 3/16" flat piece that the bowl sits on. The sides of the holders have 8" sliders screwed to them.
My cup holders are on the race track, with the snack sliders directly below them.

Here is a thread on here with sliding cup holders
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/round-table-with-adjustable-swing-out-cup-holders.93934/
 

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Hi,
I just started making my 2nd table.
I didn't want any drinks on the table, so no cup holders inside the table, but I found a way to include them below the table that you can reach when sitting down.
 

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