Hi!

Okay, I know what your thinking, but this isn't just another of those generic "I'm building a table, how do I do it" threads. Read on to see what I mean.

My mothers, sisters, husbands, brothers, wife, owns a fabric, furniture, and upholstery company. They just moved to a new location, and I spent probably 100-120 hours helping them move all of their merchandise and equipment, refurbishing the new building, changing out the carpets, etc. etc.

They offered to pay me, and I said I wouldn't dream of letting them do that. And I meant it, I was happy to help, I don't need any money, and with them starting up in a new town, I really think they need it more than I do.

So they said "Hey, let us make you something in stead. How about a poker table-top?" I asked how long it would take them to make one, they said it would only take an afternoon. I was skeptical, but after watching them assemble sofa's, I'm pretty sure it would take them almost no time at all.

So, I am now charged with designing the perfect poker table top. Having only played at a few "real" tables, and being used to a neoprene sheet as a normal surface, what do I need to know?

Fabric?
Foam/Rubber/padding under the fabric?
Rail material/coating/padding/size?
Surface size/shape?
Any other details you can imagine?

Just thought I'd ask the experts while I was doing some research on my own. All comers welcome.

Post a picture of a table you like. Then people can chime in about what you need to build it.

Unless you never play more than 8 handed, get an oval table. If you never play more than 8-handed, get a round table.

Do not get a racetrack. Do not get cupholders in the playing surface itself, though they work well in the rail.

I actually hate the look of cup-holders anywhere in a table. Ruins the "smooth finished" look in my opinion.



This is the sort of clean look I'm going for. Simple, easy, clean. But how much rubber/foam/softener goes under the felt?

Is it felt? Or some other fabric I should be buying separately?

How tall should the rail be? Again, I'm partial to a low rail, but is that going to cause any sort of problem?

I showed them that picture, and they laughed saying it would take hardly any time at all to make, relative to an easy chair.

I am

1/4" foam under the felt
1" foam for the rail
Get Suited speed cloth

For the rail, 1 sheet of 3/4" plywood, plus the foam is low/high enough.

Or, just buy a kit: http://www.yourautotrim.com/potakithoxt5.html

Open celled or closed celled foam?

And I'm thinking a charcoal grey suited cloth, with a black rail.

Now I am too!

If you ever play more than 8-handed, get an oval table.

find a table with suited speed cloth and one with nylon velvet, and see which you prefer. Opinions run pretty strong on that one. imo, speed cloth is too much like that cordura nylon they make backpacks out of, and nylon velvet is dreamy. The nylon velvet at yourautotrim should last ~forever.

Custom printed cloths can be wonderful, both to look at and as a playing surface. Rye Park does big casino jobs, and will also do yours. There are equivalent services offered by other vendors. Often that cloth is some sort of magic hydropohbic material that makes spills irrelevant. That's obviously a more expensive option.

I don't like speed cloth. The one I played on felt worse than cordura. It had a raspy feel like a cheese grater. I've read here that it can be tough on cards, too.

A friend of mine has a nylon velvet cloth that looks and feels great, and card drift across it like hover craft.

Eeeewww... I tried a speed cloth last night. Blech! It feels like the fly from an old tent... that said cards behave extremely well on it.

But then I started trying polymer/velvet mixes at the warehouse, and oh man... anything with a plastic base and short, soft bristle, makes the cards fly.

Ok so that's a cloth handled. What kind of foam do I need? My aunt(ish) seems to be adamant that we will have to glue the cloth to the foam. Does that line up with you guy's experience?

Use a (very) light spray of glue let it get tacky and then put the cloth on it.

Sent from my EVO 3D

And you want closed-cell foam. It has the right amount of stiffness and holds up well.

Okay, so my aunt says the difficult part is making the rail, not the fabric part. I've ordered a speed cloth, so we can make two different "under surfaces", and then a separate rail that we can clamp to the table on top of it.

Construction starts when the cloth arrives. Thanks for the help everyone, I'll keep you posted with some porn when I get the chance.