Question for table builders (1 Viewer)

[MikeNV79]

Do you router the edge of the arm rail before you wrap it in with foam?

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

I always router the outer edge but only sand the inner edge (My rails do not have foam on the inner edge so no need to router it).
IMO, the foam just wraps over that edge a little easier , and since the foam has a natural roundness to it inside the bend why try and wrap it around a sharp 90 degree angle.

 

[Irish]

Yes - 1/4" roundover bit to take the edge off the corner of the plywood.

 

[Trihonda]

Yes. I round over the edges. I've played tables without foam or rounded inside edges and they suck... IMHO. Sitting there for hours, you feel that inside corner... annoying. However the reason ive heard given for them is that cards don't get stuck under the lip. Never had cards get stuck under a rounded over foamd inner rail lip.

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

I've been playing at tables without a rounded or foamed inside edge for 10 years and never had it bother me nor has anyone mentioned it bothering them. I guess you just have to know how to do it correctly.

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

^^ All that being said ^^, if I had a customer request the foam be wrapped over the inside edge/lip of the rail, I would definitely knock that edge off with a router too, just like the outside edge.

I think it's unanimous.
If foams goin' over it, router it.

 

[Trihonda]

Yes. I round over the edges. I've played tables without foam or rounded inside edges and they suck... IMHO. Sitting there for hours, you feel that inside corner... annoying. However the reason ive heard given for them is that cards don't get stuck under the lip. Never had cards get stuck under a rounded over foamd inner rail lip.

Some of the tables I've built with rounded inside edges. Never had anyone complain about cards getting stuck. Is there some advantage ppl find by not rounding them? Other than it just be less work to build? I really Dont know. Thx

 

[Tommy]

I haven't had a chance to play on my new table yet, but as long as I do not feel a sharp edge, I'm OK with it.

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

To me, foam on the inside edge has nothing to do with the cards getting stuck. I realize that my pics are of "raised rail" tables but I can build a table either way, raised or not, foam on the inside edge or not, and still prevent cards from getting stuck under the rail.
I look at it primarily as a matter of personal preference. I like the look that you get with no foam and very tightly wrapped vinyl. It's just different and I try to incorporate new ideas into my tables whenever I can, otherwise your table looks like all of the other tables that we've seen for the past 10 years.
Also, if you plan on installing upholstery nails on the inside edge, which is rare but I see it occasionally, this is a great way to do it. It's much easier to align the nails when you have that pronounced edge as a guide versus trying to nail through 1" foam and keep your perfect alignment.


However, even with no foam on the inside edge, you can still adjust how much that edge shows through the vinyl by adjusting how tight you are pulling on the vinyl to the inside when you staple it. If you don't pull really tight on it you can practically keep the edge from showing through at all. Like this:


In my experience, your arms will never come into contact with that inner edge as long as you're using a very high quality 1" HD foam and you at least sanded off the sharp edge before you started any upholstery. But I guess I could see how it's possible if you used cheap foam on a skinny 4-5" wide rail and you didn't even sand the edge down first. I use the best HD foam I can find and my rails are usually pretty wide too (6-7") so that inner edge is pretty far away from resting arms.


To each his own. I have done my rails both ways and I'm cool with either. :

 

[Tommy]

Hey that second to last pic looks awfully familiar! :

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

Yeah I thought you might recognize it.

 

[MikeNV79]

Thanks for all the replies to my question.

 

[Trihonda]

Your tables look beautiful! I've no doubt they are comfy. My main experience with tables that didn't have foam on the inside was at a weekend-long poker event. When I would lean forward I could totally feel the inside edge. On my personally built tables I've always used 65lb foam from yat.

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

Thanks, your tables look pretty nice too. I get my foam from The Foam Factory. I'm pretty sure it's similar to YAT's as far as quality goes.

I guess if your leaning in towards the table that much then you must have been raking in quite a few pots that weekend. Nice! That's a problem I wouldn't mind having.

 

[Trihonda]

Thanks, your tables look pretty nice too. I get my foam from The Foam Factory. I'm pretty sure it's similar to YAT's as far as quality goes.

I guess if your leaning in towards the table that much then you must have been raking in quite a few pots that weekend. Nice! That's a problem I wouldn't mind having.

Thanks for the compliment. I'm relatively new to table building. I've done 10-11 or so. However each one has gotten better. I'm nowhere ur skill level but I am a bit of a meticulous craftsman. I'm done doing tables for a while but I'd love to do a lighted rail down the road.

Ya I did OK at the poker weekend but ironically poker is about the fun and camaraderie for me, not about the money...

 

[DiamondPokerTables]

I'm only building #25 since I got serious about it 3 years ago. I can't see having time to build more than that. Prior to that I built 3 or 4 very basic tables over the years, but nothing to show off that's for sure.

You're right about learning more with each table you build. I'm sure I still have a lot to learn.

One thing that I have learned is that it's difficult to make much $ building custom tables so I'm glad it's one of my favorite hobbies as well as a way to make a little extra dough. I haven't quit my day job yet, unfortunately.