New Year's Resolution - Get Working on a New Table

[Irish]

I've had most of the materials for a new poker table for over a year now (even a custom cloth!), but last year really sucked on numerous levels with regards to having any free time to build. This year I'm resolved to getting it built, so I wanted to get a thread going to help give myself a kick in the ass to get started.

I run a monthly tourney that typically draws at least a dozen people, so the new table will serve as a second table to this table (http://perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24187&highlight=table). One of the reasons I've been lackadaisical in getting started is that I actually have a pretty kick-ass second table:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable/IMG_6493.jpg

I picked this up off craigslist a couple of years ago, screaming good deal. The only "real" flaw was that the previous owner's cat used a portion of the rail as a scratching post:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable/IMG_6458.jpg

The other "flaw" is that my guys hate the custom cloth - they say it feels & looks awesome, but the card slide isn't as nice as SSC. Considering the price I picked it up for, the table has already paid for itself, but I do plan on salvaging portions of the table to save me some work & time. The pedestals are gorgeous and in mint condition, so those will be staying, as will the exposed "base" sheet with the chrome decorative nails thats finished to match the pedestals. That will serve as the base for the new table, so the overall dimensions will stay the same.

The new table will be a racetrack style, though the racetrack will only be a little over 3" wide. That should be just enough room to line up two rows of chips on the track, and cards can stay on the felt so they're easier to pick up. I'm planning on a birch racetrack with a black dye stain - I've done some test pieces and got this really neat look where it's dark enough to look solid black from a distance, but you can see the swirly grains when you're up close. I'm also planning on installing small pearl inlays (like what you'd see on a guitar fret board) to mark each player position on the track.

I will probably try to recycle some of the rail components, but the rail will be completely redone. Aside from the vinyl damage, the rail is only ~4.5" wide, and I really prefer a nice wide rail on my tables. The rail will be raised with led lighting behind a suited diffuser around the inside portion of the rail, and I will try to incorporate cup holders in the rail if I can fit them. Rail will be covered in padded suede.

I've got just about all the materials except the racetrack plywood, and hope to get started soon. :mrgreen:

[Guma]

As a Former Marine, I would like to ask what you are going to do with that cloth. If you are not going to use it again, would you consider selling it? Price?

[Irish]

I got around to doing a test piece for the racetrack this weekend, and really liked the results. Going with a birch racetrack stained black with small 1/2" diameter white mother of pearl inlays at each seating location. Colorwise, the goal is to make it dark enough to look almost 100% black from a distance, but to have the grain pattern show through when you're seated. Here's the test piece, it still needs a couple more coats of poly to smooth out the surface but it's good enough to show how it should look. I think it needs to be a hair darker, I'll have to strengthen the stain concentration for the final product:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0204.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0207.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0209.jpg

[Richard Cranium]

hey Irish - love the mother of pearl, that's fantastic.

In the table in original post, can you give me a guestimate of how many decorative nail heads did it take to do the outer portion of the rail, and what the spacing is?

Thanks

[JCinPA]

Nail calculator I built - download it here. In Excel.

http://home.comcast.net/~johncollins3/elbow_room_calculator.xls

It calculates linear inches per player for both oval and round tables and if you put in the nail spacing, it tells you how many you need.

[Richard Cranium]

Nail calculator I built - download it here. In Excel.

http://home.comcast.net/~johncollins3/elbow_room_calculator.xls

It calculates linear inches per player for both oval and round tables and if you put in the nail spacing, it tells you how many you need.

Very nice - should be added to the table guide thread!

[Bigbear659]

Another former Marine here. That table is friggin' awesome and I would definitely love to have something like that. Nice idea for the future.

[SniperD5]

That inlay is sweet, got any step by step instructions or photos on how you did that?

[JCinPA]

Very nice - should be added to the table guide thread!

Hmmmmm. How is that done?

[Irish]

hey Irish - love the mother of pearl, that's fantastic.

In the table in original post, can you give me a guestimate of how many decorative nail heads did it take to do the outer portion of the rail, and what the spacing is?

Thanks

Spacing is about 1.5", ~150-160 nails sounds about right

That inlay is sweet, got any step by step instructions or photos on how you did that?

This was really simple because the pearl dot was exactly 1/2" in diameter, so I cheated a little. I used a 1/2" straight router bit with a plunge router. It took a little while to get the depth right, but it gave me a perfectly round hole to seat the pearl dot in. The straight router bit left a little nub in the center of the hole (no picture, I'll take one when I actually do the real thing), so I cleaned that out with a small detailing wood chisel. After making sure it fit good and flush, I put a little super glue in there, held it down for a while to make sure there was a good bond and let it dry. There wasn't much of a gap around the dot, but I worked in a little wood filler to make sure there were no spaces, sanded the whole thing down to make it 100% level, stained and polyed.

There are a few how-to websites & videos on youtube that describe the inlay process for guitars. The inlays that a lot of those guys use are really detailed - they typically trace the shape of the pearl inlay on their work piece and use a dremel mounted on a router base with a really small cutting bit, then free hand cut the hole for the inlay and clean it up with an exacto knife. Mine was fortunately a lot simpler. :D

[Wedge Rock]

Wasn't that table (or at least that cloth) for sale at one time? I thought I forwarded pics of that table to a buddy to see if he was interested... he was a Marine too...

[Irish]

Wasn't that table (or at least that cloth) for sale at one time? I thought I forwarded pics of that table to a buddy to see if he was interested... he was a Marine too...

I got the table on craigslist a couple of years ago, and yes I had the custom cloth up for sale several months ago. It's been recently sold.

[Richard Cranium]

When you guys install the decorative nails, do you use one of those specialty deco nail hammers with the nylon tip, or just a small regular hammer?

[Irish]

When you guys install the decorative nails, do you use one of those specialty deco nail hammers with the nylon tip, or just a small regular hammer?

I use a nylon tipped hammer to install the nails, but I also pre-drill a starter hole to ensure they go in straight, so I only need a little bit of pressure to get them in. If you use a regular hammer, I'd wrap the head in duct tape or something so it doesn't mark the nail head.

[Wedge Rock]

Love the little builds tips, Irish. You gonna do a step-by-step for the salvage and rebuild?

[Irish]

Love the little builds tips, Irish. You gonna do a step-by-step for the salvage and rebuild?

I hadn't planned on it, but I can. I guess most of the old step-by-step builds are at the old place, so it'd be nice to get a new one started up here. I'll snap some shots along the way. I just got an order for a 9' dealer table though, so this project is going to be on hold for a few weeks.

[Wedge Rock]

Most of us know *how* to build a table... I still enjoy seeing pics of an excellent execution of the project.

[Irish]

I took a couple of days off this week and the weather cooperated very nicely to do some work outside. I'm also working on a 9 foot dealer table, but I'm waiting on some supplies so I was able to squeeze in some work on this table.

Since I'll be re-using the exposed base sheet that's attached to the pedestals and at least one of the rail pieces to construct the raised rail on the new table, the overall dimensions of the new table will be the same as what I've got now. I popped the rail off to get some good measurements for the new rail/racetrack components - the table is exactly 44"Wx95"L. Here's the existing rail:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0223.jpg

I cut apart the old rail to check on the assembly and see what I could use - the base component of the existing rail (what's facing out in the picture above) is 5" wide and 7/8" thick MDF. The new rail will be 6" wide, so while I'll need a new top rail piece, I can recycle this MDF piece as the riser component of the new table. So, I'll need to cut out 2 new sheets of ply - one for the rail top piece, and one for the new racetrack/rail lip.

Got the new sheets, all set up and ready to go (there's another shot of the MDF piece that will get recycled into the rail riser):

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0253.jpg

First I have to trim down the sheet lengthwise from 48" to 44" to match the existing width. I have a nice straight edge clamp that I use to get a good straight cut. Even with the straight edge though, it's a good idea to mark out your cut line with pencil so you know you're on track and the guide hasn't slipped:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0255.jpg

I typically work by myself, so I've got a lot of little tricks to help out for cases like this where a second set of hands would be nice. About halfway through the cut, I clamp the start of the cut to the main piece so it stays in place while I complete the cut:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0257.jpg

Both sheets are cut to width. Next I stack them up to make sure that they match well, and match mark the sides of the plywood so I'll know where they best fit together later. They lined up pretty well:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0272.jpg

You can see in the picture above that the top plywood sheet had a few tear outs - those all seemed to be at the corners, which get cut off, so it shouldn't impact the final piece. Now that both of the new sheets are cut to width, I measure out & drill a center pivot hole at both ends for the arc cuts. I use a 4' drywall t-square for this to ensure the point is really accurate. IMHO these are probably your most important measurements - if you're off a little to one side, your arc cuts won't align nicely at the edges of the table. It's a 44" wide table, so the pivot will be at 22" from the side of the sheet. I measure from each side, just to be sure you've got the dead center of the sheet. Since the table will be 95" long, one inch short of a full 8' sheet, so I measure in 22" from one end and 23" from another to get the correct length. Another benefit of using the straight edge at this point is you can draw a good straight line across the sheet that represent the point where all your cuts transition from arc cuts to tangent cuts. That makes lining those cuts up a lot easier, especially for the inner cuts.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0263.jpg

Next is making the outer arc cuts. I use a router with a lewin compass for this. To get a nice smooth transition from the arc to tangent on both sides, I adjust the compass so that there is a very small gap between the edge of the sheet and the router bit at each end of the arc cut:

So when your router is at this position:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0298.jpg

You should have this clearance between the bit and the sheet:
http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0292.jpg

This way you get a smooth transition, like this:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0310.jpg

If your bit is touching the edge of the sheet at the transition point, you'll get a little jog in your cut that you'll have to sand down later. In making the cuts, it's important to keep the compass secured at the pivot point. I keep a hand at the pivot and one on the router, I've got just enough of a wingspan to do so where I can still keep an eye on the cut to make sure nothing funky is going on, like the bit slipping and cutting deeper into the wood. I make all my router cuts in 1/4" increments, so it takes 3 passes to cut through a 3/4" sheet.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0304.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0307.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0322.jpg

With all the outer cuts made, now it's onto the inner cut for the rail top piece. I mark out where the 6" wide rail cut should hit and adjust the router accordingly.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0323.jpg

Unlike the outside cuts, where I start at the transition point on one end and cut to the other end of the arc, I start this cut a few inches onto the arc and backtrack to the transition point. This way I have better control of where I end the cut, right at the line marked out for the transition point:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0326.jpg

Then, about halfway through these cuts, this happens...

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0327.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/41789_100715483318369_1374_n.jpg

I've not had the best luck with router bits, I can get roughly 2 tables from one spiral upcut bit. Some people say they've done 10 tables with one bit, even with nice whiteside bits I've never come close to that. I always seem to hit certain patches in the plywood where there's extra glue or something and it just eats the bit up. Dunno, maybe I'm cutting too fast. :confused:

Anyhoo after a quick bit change, I finished up the inside arcs at both ends:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0330.jpg

Onto the straight cuts, here's how I set mine up. I place the router at the arc transition so the bit is perfectly centered at the end of the arc cut, then line up a straight edge at each end and clamp it into place. I find the shop milled edge of my lengthwise cutoffs from before work well, and lets me set up both tangent cuts at once. Make sure it line up at both ends - it typically take me a few iterations at either end to get it lined up perfect.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0333.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0335.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0336.jpg

After plowing through the cuts, you should get a pretty smooth transition all the way around.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0337.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq174/mcolonpe/pokertable12/IMG_0340.jpg

That's all for now. Next up is making the inner cuts on the racetrack sheet.

[Richard Cranium]

Very nice step by step.

I've never had a router bit snap on me - when it has happened to you, does it just stay in the work piece or does it go flying like shrapnel?

[Irish]

Very nice step by step.

I've never had a router bit snap on me - when it has happened to you, does it just stay in the work piece or does it go flying like shrapnel?

Nothing catastrophic like shrapnel, the bit usually just falls over in place.