Can you tell if the rail comes off? Usually the rail is a separate piece that bolts onto the table can be removed, you take it off & flip it over to access the staples holding down the vinyl. It's tough to tell from the photo, but it looks like the rail covering is directly stapled to the top of the table, which makes replacement (and re-upholstery) a pain. If you're not doing this for a couple of days, I had actually planned on posting a rail re-upholstery thread with some pics from when I redid my own table last month. My rails separate from the table so it'll be a little different but may offer some ideas for your project.
Can you tell if the rail comes off? Usually the rail is a separate piece that bolts onto the table can be removed, you take it off & flip it over to access the staples holding down the vinyl. It's tough to tell from the photo, but it looks like the rail covering is directly stapled to the top of the table, which makes replacement (and re-upholstery) a pain. If you're not doing this for a couple of days, I had actually planned on posting a rail re-upholstery thread with some pics from when I redid my own table last month. My rails separate from the table so it'll be a little different but may offer some ideas for your project.
Another consideration is, are you planning to have a dedicated dealer? If not then I would consider filling in the chip tray with plywood. That foam on the play surface looks like it’s had better days, so I’d probably redo it all.
Looks likes it may be a separate piece, unfasten all the screws holding it down from underneath the table, the rail should then pop off as one piece and look like this:
View attachment 280427
Foam looks in good condition except for maybe that bump/bulge in the middle opposite the dealer. Sweep your hand across the foam to see if you can feel any bumps or dents, then you should be able to decide if it needs to be replaced or not.
Your best resource for determining whether you really need to replace the foam are your dealers - ask them Depending on the foam, that area in front of the dealer will either start to compress/loose it's "bounce" (closed cell foam) or get too soft (high density foam).
In general though, I'd recommend replacing the foam - it's cheap and you have the felt off, unless it's in superb shape, you might as well.
Most either use high density foam or closed cell foam like volara. Some more info on the various types here:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/poker-table-question.30485/post-561441
I just noticed you're in the UK, not sure what your options are on that side of the pond...
Very useful write up my friend, yeah being the other side of the pond doesn’t help everything in the UK is harder to source for things like this I’ll see what I can find, edging towards the HD Foam as the only downfall is it’s non water resistant, but normally drinks carts be present so shouldn’t be a problem.
Plus Tony's cloths are water repellent, so even a minor spill shouldn't be an issue.
Looking at the link looks cheap enough to do and looks good stuff so May aswell do it, not any more hassle really, thanksHey Williak7 just stumbled upon this thread after our descussions I'd defo redo the foam on yer table. Go with closed cell polyethylene sheet from efoam. Get the 5mm it works great not too soft but soft enough to peek at your cards and chips stack great plus its waterproof!
https://www.efoam.co.uk/closed-cell-polyethylene-foam.php