Building Some New Tables

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ssbn743

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I have run a regular game out of my house for years. Years ago I built a very basic table (pic attached) that has served me well. However, after nearly a decade, I’m frustrated enough with some of the things I did when I built that table and have decided to build a couple of new tables.

My table, I built at 4x7 feet with rounded corners and feel it is too wide; it wobbles something awful. Part of the wobble is due to the cheap folding table legs, but the largest factor is the table width. I have seen a guy online that builds finished sawhorses to use as table legs. This seems like a good idea to me since the table is still portable while gaining some stability. Anyway, I was thinking of collapsing the table dimensions to 44”x 84” – does anyone have any thoughts on those dimensions?

My table felt is velveteen and it has been awesome; it has held up extremely well over the years and is my clear preference for felt. However, I have recently found a material online made of wool:

http://www.casinosupply.com/wool-casino-poker-table-layout-cloth-sold-per-running-foot-purple/

In fact, the site above doesn’t even offer velveteen. I am wondering if I should go with wool or keep on with velveteen; anyone? I really don’t think I want speed cloth but will consider it if someone thinks it’s better for some reason.

My idea for these new tables is still very simple. I don’t like racetracks, as good as they look they’re not very good in reality, and they’re kind of a pain to build. So, I am just planning on a 44”x84” table with some vinyl rail padding; unless anyone has any reason to suggest something different. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
 

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ssbn743

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OK, well, after a couple weeks of work, here's what I ended up with!

I used 3 sheets of 3/4" oak plywood; I would have used 1/2” if I could have found any - I've since learned that Lowes and Home Depot are not the best places to get lumber - so next time, I'll get exactly what I want.

I altered my original plan quite a bit. The table is 92" x 44", so just 4 inches off of each side and a 22" radius on each end. The rail is 4" wide and the racetrack is a total of 9" wide with only 5" visible.

I used blue speed cloth, black vinyl, and mahogany stain with 7 coats of polyurethane, oh and a whole f*&^ing box of staples – the upholstery is not going anywhere! :)

I think it came out really well - the vinyl could be better but it was my first time with upholstery - and there is a learning curve. So all-in-all it came out well.
 

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Bob23bk

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I used 3 sheets of 3/4" oak plywood; I would have used 1/2” if I could have found any
...
I altered my original plan quite a bit.

Bet that sucker is heavy! Also bet it doesn't wobble anymore lol. I think it came out very nice as well... Looks amazing, great job! ;) Quite an upgrade there from your last, and surely you'll put it to good use. Curious about your changes in plan: why'd you end up using blue speed cloth, what changed your mind about racetracks? I'm guessing the dimensions changed to get the right shape for the track?
 
timfbmx

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wow that's freaking awsome :D You got skills man. Makes me want to do something similar. Way cheaper than buying one brand new. PRob better quality too.
 
OzExorcist

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Looks fantastic, nice work :)
 
almanik

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Good work! I really want to have such table in my home to play with friends. But now I even don't have my own home... So it's just a dream! ))
 
WVHillbilly

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Love it. Speed cloth is great. Rail looks pretty good especially for the 1st time. Getting all the wrinkles out takes a lot of practice.
 
topper39

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Wow! :eek: Looks fabulous really. Actually, it looks so good you can even make them bespoke, have you thought about it?
 
_xrolex_90

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Amazing.Nice work dude,it's excellent tables.
 
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ssbn743

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Bet that sucker is heavy! Also bet it doesn't wobble anymore lol. I think it came out very nice as well... Looks amazing, great job! ;) Quite an upgrade there from your last, and surely you'll put it to good use. Curious about your changes in plan: why'd you end up using blue speed cloth, what changed your mind about racetracks? I'm guessing the dimensions changed to get the right shape for the track?

It’s not as heavy as you would think believe it or not – but it’s pretty heavy. I can move it around by myself, but if I had to move downstairs or even off my front porch I would need help. I built in handles in the hopes that I could move it by myself, but that turned out to be more of a nice feature when your buddy helps you move the table.

I actually stole the dimensions from BBOPokertables.com

One of their 10-seat tables was 92” x 44” and I’m glad I went with those dimensions now. My main concern, at the time, was how wobbly the old table was. I was pretty amazed how cutting 4” off each side reduced that wobble. Also, the new table is much heavier and the folding metal legs (also from BBOPoker) are twice as wide as my last set of table legs. The BBO legs were a little pricy, but turned out to be well worth it.

As for the racetrack, I just figured that if I’m going to do this I’ll go ahead a build a racetrack table. In my experience, racetracks are much more for looks than anything else; in fact they’re kind of a pain for the players. One of the things I really hate is when the felt is 1/4” higher than the racetrack, as I see on just about every table I’ve seen – even professionally made tables. So, I actually added a 1/4” sheet of plywood under the racetrack to prevent the height difference. Plus, I made the racetrack much narrower than suggested by most websites I looked at; the cup holders are just inside the rail – so it was kind of a balancing act and it turned out pretty well – I’m very pleased.

As for the felt – In my earliest playing days, at some real run-down places, the speed cloth was terrible and absolutely sucked. From those days forward I have had that experience in my mind – but if you do speed cloth right – it’s really nice – I only wish I would have gone with it on my last table – it’s not all that much more expensive; about $10 more than velveteen is all.

wow that's freaking awesome :D You got skills man. Makes me want to do something similar. Way cheaper than buying one brand new. PRob better quality too.

You can buy them with shipping and all (and folding legs) for $600-ish, $1200+ with actual legs; I’ll bet I spent more like $800-$900 on this one – but there were lots of things I had to buy that I didn’t have; a pneumatic staple gun for example. I’ll bet I could build it again for $600 – but, I know I built it rather than bought it – plus I think those $600 tables you can buy have lots of MDF as opposed to wood – mine is solid oak.

Wow! :eek: Looks fabulous really. Actually, it looks so good you can even make them bespoke, have you thought about it?

I have actually, quite a bit to be honest. The trouble is that in order to make any real money, I would need to be charging $1200-$1500 and you can buy them for half that. Bespoke may be the selling point though – “spend a little more and get exactly what you want.” My brother already wants one that has a racetrack in the shape of the track at Daytona National Speedway, minus the embankments – a little planning and I could do a NASCAR themed table – who knows, there might just be a market for that kind of thing.

I did think about putting an ad on Craig’s List and seeing what kind of responses I get…we’ll see.
 

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mcbogart

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Wow that's an amazing job. Would def play some home games at that table :)
 
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waterboy73

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Very nice looking table! I have made a few myself over the years but they never turned out quite that nice! The wood really sets everything off, and the suit felt is a every nice touch as well. Looking forward to seeing your nascar themed table(s.) As you said, there could be a market for that type of thing.
 
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