Build Update:

Picture of one rail cut:



Picture of 4 rails cut:



Here is the problem though. I purchased 1/4" wood instead of 1/2" wood like the original plans called for. hahaha

I was looking at the rails and I am like, this can't be right. These things are super flimsy and don't look right. I look at the plans and just slump in my chair.

Since I am using 1-inch foam over the rails, I can't imagine that it will be that big of a deal, especially because I have a 3/4" piece of wood that I am supporting the entire table with and also have a 1/4" piece of wood that is going underneath the rail anyway.

Will update on this small error if it becomes a serious issue, but I honestly don't think it will matter.

I did a lot less work tonight than I planned on, but that was mainly because I was pissed that I bought too thin of wood (and already had it cut). Will continue to finish the cutting either tomorrow or Thursday night and hopefully will be able to begin laying the felt and vinyl this weekend.

What's all that white stuff? Is that concrete? We here in Arizona demand answers.

Build Update:

Every bit of cutting the wood for my tables in now complete...



The thicker wood at the bottom of the pile shown are the bases for each table. On top of those are 3 inch wide "feet" that will go underneath the wood for the rail that will meet up to the felt playing surface. The rails (which are 4.5 inches wide) are at the very top of the pile.

Tomorrow I am moving the wood to the basement and will be gluing the "feet" of the rails to the actual rails. Once they are dry I will be adding the foam and vinyl to the rails after that. Pics this weekend of said activity will follow.

Finally am done cutting and couldn't be more glad! Wish the process was quicker but work is killing me.

Build Update:

Photo of the playing surface after I adhered the foam to the plywood surface:



After the adhesive dried, I then laid the playing surface (velveteen) face down and then laid the foam/plywood face down:



After that, it was time to start stretching the felt:



Once I was satisfied and got out the wrinkles out, I then stapled the hell out of that plywood (also cut away the extra felt):



Here is what I mean by stapled the hell:



Final product:



Taking a break for the time being because the Wild will be on soon (and nothing gets in the way of weekend hockey, lol). After the game is over, I will be starting the rail.

Nice work. I like the concept of having cymbals on a poker table. They will really add some zing to the river.

Lmao. Speaking of the drumset, I must move it to another room of the house. Need as much room in the basement as possible for all four tables!

Spoken like a true Minnesotan...

Go Wild!

That would be 7 wins in a row for the league-leading Wild. First team to 20 wins. State of Hockey baby!

Now its off to build the rail!

If I could give a word of advice on speeding things up: wood screws are your friend, no need to glue the rail pieces together. Save yourself a few hours next time

what are you referring to? and are the feet he talks about?

Hey I ended up just screwing them together per your advice and it seems to hold up just fine, so thanks!

Yeah there is really no need to use wood glue, the screws accomplish the same exact thing. Glad it worked out. The feet he was referring to is the outside bottom "lip" of the rail that needs to be secured to the rail tops. Hard to explain without a diagram or better photo.

The above photo shows the two pieces of the rail that are used.

It looks like there a ****load of wasted wood in this project. Are you just cutting out narrow ovals, and the rest is wasted? Is there a cut plan available online?

Does the felt covered playing surface sit in that recess? Or am I looking at the bottom?

For the bottom skinnier piece of wood that you see, the inner piece oval is the playing surface that the felt gets wrapped around.

For the wider piece you see there, that can be used for the base of the table to help it be more sturdy.

Plans for building tables can be found many places online. I am using buildyourownpokertables.com.

You're looking at the bottom. The skinnier piece is tucked around the playing surface and the wider piece overlaps the playing surface.

Just checking in on your build status...

Sorry for the delayed response. Project is on a slight delay as I have been spending pretty much all my money on a new car since my beater just crapped out. Lol

Updated pics will be posted as I continue the build which should be no longer than a couple weeks.

Build Update:



Foam has arrived for the rail from YAT. As noted on their site, it is way too small to use right away so it must sit for a couple of days to regain its original size. Once it is the correct width, I will be installing it finally and wrapping the rail in vinyl. After that is complete, then I just have to piece the table together. This first table should be completed before I return to work on Tuesday so I will be sure to post pictures of the final product once it's finished.

All supplies (felt, rail vinyl, playing surface foam and rail foam) for table #2 are to arrive next week and I hope to have table #2 built by next weekend. Now that I have some cash again, the project should hopefully be done in the next couple weeks.

What is your total cost per table?

For the vinyl (railing), the felt (velveteen), and both pieces of foam with shipping, it's roughly $165 from YAT with 15% off. Add to that $25 in wood (estimate) for each table and the screws, staples and other odds and ends type thing I needed, it's like $200 per table and that doesn't even include the legs. I still am debating whether I should go with some cheap folding legs from The Home Depot or if I should just build my own out of wood.

So roughly $800 without legs for four tables, $150 for 1400 chips, and I still need to purchase some cheap chairs that I can hopefully find on craigslist. I know I'll breach my $1000 goal that I set for myself, but oh well. Gotta do it right.

You probably want to go "economic" on the legs, but I hate wobbly cheap stuff, so I looked around for the most solid folding legs. I ended up buying mine from MetalKraft, and I'm pretty happy with them.

I would have gone with Rye Park's poker table legs, because they look even sturdier, but those don't overlap like I needed them to on my round table. (I probably could have made it work, but went the straightforward route for once).

I've heard of people buying a cheap folding table fully assembled because you get the legs cheaper that way. You can also find these locally, so can preview the quality.

If they don't need to be folding legs, highly recommend finding pedestal bases from a local used restaurant supply. Find something heavy, solid, and hopefully cheap.

Build Update:

Rail laying on top of the foam:



Foam and rail after it is cut away:



Foam and rail laying on top of vinyl:



Vinyl after the outside has been wrapped:



Vinyl after the inside has been wrapped (and cut away):



Finished product:



Really am annoyed at the eyesore of a wrinkle in the top left of the rail but there was nothing I could do. Everything on the vinyl seemed to be perfectly straight and I got to the final corner and it was too bunched up and I just couldn't get it straight. The entire railing looks great, other than the one corner, lol.

Oh well. Now that I have this entire process figured out, I will make sure to figure out how to make it so the last three railings don't turn out like this one.

Build Update:

Finally attached the playing surface and the rail together. Still need to attach the base to the table to add some more support but I bought to short of screws so I am unable to do that tonight. Will get to it tomorrow.

Looking good!