I recently upgraded my cup holders after a couple of close calls of having drinks spilled onto the playing surface. The cup holders that come with the table are a joke (a very cruel and sad joke). If you're on the fence about upgrading yours, don't delay. Get them upgraded. They're a huge improvement.
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I was really encouraged by the posts by
@dmoney and
@greedyintern. Huge shout out to them and their guides. Those helped tremendously. This is dedicated to
@Saoliver who asked for a video (in the thread - not to me personally) but this is as close to a video I could muster. I hope this is helpful.
Items/tools:
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Step 1: Remove original cup holders
This step is pretty simple. Set the hairdryer on high heat and keep it approximately 1 inch away from the cup holder for about a minute. Most of the cup holders will only require a minute for the glue to loosen up. I only had a couple that needed more time. For those, I did it again for another minute.
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After the hairdryer, use the auto trim tool to pry the cup holder away from the loose glue. Work the tool around the cup holder while gently pulling the cup and glue apart.
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A couple of things to keep in mind when you remove the cup holder from the table:
- The cup holder will be hot from the hairdryer so wear your gloves.
- The glue will be very sticky so pull directly up and not to the side. Try not to get any on your the table/padding.
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Step 2: Mark the drill hole
Before you move onto this step, make sure all the glue has completely cooled off and dried.
This step is relatively easy but requires some concentration. The exactness of this step will ensure your new cup holders will be where you want them to be.
The original cup holders on my Barrington is measured at 3 1/2" across.
You should double check yours if you're going to follow this step of my guide.
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The new cup holders measure 4" across.
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Since the size difference between the 2 cup holders is 1/2", we will need to mark the new center hole 1/4" away from the original center.
Here is a reference on how I calculated my center hole. I started the measure from the outer edge of the original cup holder. The idea is to mark the new center at the 2" mark.
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Here is a better visualization of this. The new center hole has to be 1/4" closer to the table and yet remain in center of the left/right side edges.
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I tried using a marker on the glue but found it difficult to accurately mark the exact location of the new hole. I decided to use a screw instead and that worked much better. The good thing about this is that I could move the screw easily to make fine adjustments as much as I needed. Once I've double (
tripled!) checked my measurement I screwed in the screw to make a pilot hole. I didn't drill too deep - just deep enough to make a visible hole.
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Ultimately, I ended up with this outcome. I then took my 1/8" drill bit and drilled through the table using the pilot hole as a guide.
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Step 3: Drill out the new holes (from the bottom)
Flip the table upside down.
Before I drilled the hole with my hole saw, I drilled through the existing hole using the 1/4" drill bit. The reason for this is that the drill arbor is 1/4" so I wanted to make sure the arbor was aligned exactly to the new center. In retrospect, I suspect I could have used the 1/4" bit instead of the 1/8" bit in Step 2 and saved a step.
Drilling the hole was the worst part (for me). The hardest part was intentionally going slow and not hurry the process. The thing to note here is to stop drilling
immediately after you've broken through to the foam. I was a nervous wreck trying not to over drill.
As you can see below, the foam is glued to the wood so I had to carefully separate the foam after I had drilled through the wood. Try to retain as much foam as you can in the original hole. This will help with the snugness of the new cup holder.
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Here is an "in progress" picture of the process. I really wanted to see the new cup holder put in so I did that one right away (it's rad). I was also doubting I did the math properly in Step 2 so I wanted to quadruple check it was right (it was). TRUST THE MATH!
I also wanted to show the new Barringtons have clearance for the holes without sawing any of the posts.
Please ignore my monstrosity of a drill. The nerds over at r/tools will ban me if they ever saw that thing.
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Step 4: Insert new cup holders and ENJOY
This step is easy and the most enjoyable. The new cup holders will be very snug (tight) in the new opening. I used a cardboard sheet to help me evenly apply pressure and knead the cup holder in. Think flattening pizza dough - same idea and motion.
Others mentioned having to tape their new cup holders with masking / duct tape to make them snug but I didn't have to do that. The foam and vinyl were enough to keep these cup holders very tight and snug. Oh, speaking of foam, trim away the excess foam that will be sticking out of the bottom after you're all done.
That's it! Enjoy your new rad cup holders!
Don't yell at me about my chairs. They're next to be upgraded!
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