Detailed Table Build - Raised rail, LED strip, custom cloth (3 Viewers)

[chkyrslf]

To run the wiring from my LED lighting cable out through the underside of the table, I had to route some of it behind one of the cupholders. Probably over-complicated, I could have put the end of the light strip near where the hole is to run out under the table, but there was a lot of excess wiring and I didn't want it coiled up in one spot as real estate under there is tight.

Anyway, this way provides blocks to mount the IR sensor (the thin block bits right behind the LED strip groove), and the control module (behind one of the blocks) and then provides a bit of a route for the wiring to not be coiled up. Running the power wire behind one of the cupholders didn't leave much room, and as you'll see in the pic I was very worried about that thin piece left, however that is marine grade hardwood and surprisingly that thin little sliver can't even be flexed with a push of a finger, so it's surprisingly strong!

This one is the same as the previous pic, except I've annotated (not sure if Paint scribble deserves the word 'annotated') where the wiring will run and where the IR receiver and control modules with be positioned, and using some of the space to loop excess cable prior to running through the hole and out under the table.

 

[chkyrslf]

Applied a dark stain. Only the underside of the base would ever be visible with the rest upholstered, but I used an oil-based stain which will help preserve the wood for longer.

Then I applied a polyurethane clear coat to all pieces to help seal the wood and limit it's ability to absorb moisture. Again, just hoping I can make it last longer really. In the foreground of the first pic here you can see the 'second table' upside down, showing the playing surface piece as well as another thinner offcut piece I glued to the bottom for rigidity, and then the outer lip of the rail (underneath) and the bolt holes to pull the rail down onto it. The other pieces are the main table, pieces everywhere with the clear coat curing!

 

[xdan]

Question..
from what I gather, the whole diffuser and light system is mounted underneath the arm rest.
Are you going to have enough room to stretch the vinyl over and staple it without affecting the groove for the diffuser?

 

[chkyrslf]

Question..
from what I gather, the whole diffuser and light system is mounted underneath the arm rest.
Are you going to have enough room to stretch the vinyl over and staple it without affecting the groove for the diffuser?

Yep you're right, it's going to be a squeeze. I haven't been confident myself, but it's a product of design to have the LED strip and cupholders (already pushed the cupholders back a little to provide room for lights etc.). Will find out in the coming days, fingers crossed.

Looks like I have about 9mm of room to staple...

 

[xdan]

My suggestion, which will save you a lot of difficult manoeuvring within 9mm..

Stretch the vinyl as far back as you need.. to the other side of the groove. This will get you a nice stretch to eliminate wrinkles. Once you’re happy, so around and staple again within that 9mm space.
Then take a sharp cutter, and cut the other side releasing the original stapled part. Clean that up. And you’re good to go!

EDIT
looks like the pic I was looking at was something that was unassembled. My option wouldn’t work.
Hmm sorry mate.

 

[chkyrslf]

EDIT
looks like the pic I was looking at was something that was unassembled. My option wouldn’t work.
Hmm sorry mate.

That's a great idea, thank you!!

Nah, this rail piece will be upholstered on its own unassembled so that can definitely be done. I need it separate to be able to remove and adjust the lights or diffusers panels underneath. The piece below it, I'm looking at adding another ring of foam and vinyl separately.

 

[chkyrslf]

And we're finally onto upholstery!!! (Probably shouldn't be so excited as I'm acutely aware of the pain I'm going to have in my hands and fingers ).

So right before I put foam on, here's the complete 'secondary' table that I made with offcuts. I'm starting the upholstery on this one, so that I can refine the techniques and make any mistakes here before doing it on the main table. These pics show its basic design, just a flat rail with an outer lip piece to go over the base, first pic with rail upside down and then in place.

Shot underneath shows the rail lip in position without bolts pulling it down (bolt holes visible), and the additional offcut piece of 12mm (1/2") ply that I glued to the bottom of the base to add strength/rigidity, seeing as it's only a thin and basic table.

 

[chkyrslf]

Beginning the upholstery by applying the playing surface foam (6mm or 1/4" closed cell), I did this for both the main and secondary table surfaces as I wanted to use the offcuts on the rails for additional cushion.

Playing surface applied to the main table...the edge is the only part not finished with stain/clear coat as it is going to receive an edge banding after applying the foam to provide a lip up to the height of the surface foam (ie. height of the ply edge + 6mm), to create a nice square edge to pull the cloth/felt around - thanks to @bsdunbar1 for the suggestion on this!

 

[chkyrslf]

I used offcuts of the playing surface foam, as the original rail foam I bought was softer than expected so giving this a little extra so you don't feel the timber when pressing down on the rail.

Glued the rail foam onto the additional 6mm foam. I couldn't get a hold of the 3M 77 stuff, so this stuff I got probably isn't as strong. In saying that, the foam to timber stuck well, but the foam to foam was difficult, likely due to it absorbing in the cells etc. Got it there eventually after letting it tack a while and holding them together for longer than I should have had to! :/

 

[chkyrslf]

And then onto the vinyl stapling (yep I have blisters on my fingers and early onset arthritis now). Note this is only the secondary table, but am happy with the curved sections so far. Using a lot of the resources on here and ensuring I follow the halving method to spread the bunching out in smaller bunches that don't show on the side/top of the rail.

 

[chkyrslf]

Moving along with the secondary table...finished the outer stapling, can't believe how many I ended up doing

Stapled the inside. Again, SO. MANY. STAPLES. Unfortunately the staples that my gun takes are much smaller gauge than the ones I see most people using, so I just ended up having to do a lot more. I don't want to think about having to remove them in the future...

And finished the rail for the secondary table. My hands need a good week of rest after this...

 

[chkyrslf]

Laid out the SSC, stapled it tight starting in the middle of each side, then the middle of both ends, then using the halving method and getting it tight all the way around until I was happy. I marked where the bolt holes were underneath to cut through the foam/cloth.

I placed gaffa/cloth tape over the holes prior to cutting, to avoid the SSC tearing any further from the cuts I was about to make.

 

[chkyrslf]

Then placed the rail on and bolted it down. The secondary table is finished! I'm really glad I did the upholstery on this one first, as I was able to refine the techniques of what works/what doesn't and learn some lessons before tackling the big dog table next.

Considering this was a complete afterthought to build an additional table with some scrap offcuts and leftover materials, I'm super happy with the outcome and am even more excited to finish off the main table now!

My wife asked me why I needed 2 tables...I wasn't sure how to put in the right words for her At the end of the day, I'd like to have a 2-table tourney at home sometime, but also having the ability to take it in the car to someone else's house for a game is a nice bonus!

 

[Jake14mw]

Great job on both tables. That custom cloth looks really classy! Good luck with the rest!

 

[QueenBCC]

Love watching the process shots!! Great job, it’s looking awesome!

 

[xdan]

pull the staples and use a heat gun. You’ll be glad you did.

 

[chkyrslf]

pull the staples and use a heat gun. You’ll be glad you did.

Yeah unfortunately, that was the first part I did. That's why I did this table first to learn the lessons for the main one.

I won't pull these and redo, this is a backup table that will be lucky to be used once a year. I just want to make sure the main table is spot on!

 

[QueenBCC]

Moving along with the secondary table...finished the outer stapling, can't believe how many I ended up doing

View attachment 848108 View attachment 848109


Stapled the inside. Again, SO. MANY. STAPLES. Unfortunately the staples that my gun takes are much smaller gauge than the ones I see most people using, so I just ended up having to do a lot more. I don't want to think about having to remove them in the future...

View attachment 848111


And finished the rail for the secondary table. My hands need a good week of rest after this...

View attachment 848112

Have to say it’s pretty awesome watching this come together!! Awesome stuff!!

 

[Markincolo]

Very inspiring. Thanks for posting this.

 

[chkyrslf]

Thanks for reading!

More to come very soon as I upholster the main table!

 

[TonZaga]

Great post. I hope to use this as inspiration to build a table sooner rather than later.

 

[mc2233]

Great work @chkyrslf! I'm getting ready to redo my table with a raised/LED rail so this has helped a lot.

 

[Redroute22]

@chkyrslf are you building a topper for this as well? I am wanting to build something similar like this, w/o the raised rail but with cup holders into the playing surface. I like your idea of putting those rings on the cup holders so that way the holders don't imprint into the foam. I was thinking of something similar for when the topper is on so that way the cups are supported by the rings and not the actual playing surface.

 

[chkyrslf]

@chkyrslf are you building a topper for this as well? I am wanting to build something similar like this, w/o the raised rail but with cup holders into the playing surface. I like your idea of putting those rings on the cup holders so that way the holders don't imprint into the foam. I was thinking of something similar for when the topper is on so that way the cups are supported by the rings and not the actual playing surface.

No not going a topper here. The poker table is mounting to the base of my current dining table. So the current dining table top will just be removed in order to host a game, and put back on after.

The poker table will be stored hung on the garage wall and covered up

 

[upNdown]

My wife

To me, this is the most surprising part of the whole thread.
From the beginning I thought “this guy is rebuilding the dining room table, so he can take it apart every time he has a poker night - CLEARLY there is no wife in this house.”
Good on you, man.
In all seriousness, I do wonder about the weight of this unit. Because you’ve built a beauty, but it’s got to be a tank. Carrying that thing around for assembly, disassembly, and storage seems like it might have to be a two-person job (with hopefully no stairs involved?)

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

To me, this is the most surprising part of the whole thread.
From the beginning I thought “this guy is rebuilding the dining room table, so he can take it apart every time he has a poker night - CLEARLY there is no wife in this house.”
Good on you, man.
In all seriousness, I do wonder about the weight of this unit. Because you’ve built a beauty, but it’s got to be a tank. Carrying that thing around for assembly, disassembly, and storage seems like it might have to be a two-person job (with hopefully no stairs involved?)

I suspect this plan is BECAUSE there is a wife in the house. No wife and it would just be a full time poker room!

 

[chkyrslf]

I suspect this plan is BECAUSE there is a wife in the house. No wife and it would just be a full time poker room!

Haha! This is exactly right. She is very patient with my hobbies and not having cars in the garage for 6 months, but expectation is that this will hang on the wall out of the way and return the dining room to normal state after use.

@upNdown yep it is certainly heavy. If I'm alone, I can disassemble in the garage and bring it into the house in pieces to assemble in place. Otherwise yep, a 2 person carry, but no stairs, only about 10 steps from garage to dining room so quite easy (but still heavy!).

 

[postmanpete]

I Really appreciate all the effort it took to document and post all this info! like everybody else, I’m looking Forward to your main table pics!

Great work man!

 

[herbie234]

Then placed the rail on and bolted it down. The secondary table is finished! I'm really glad I did the upholstery on this one first, as I was able to refine the techniques of what works/what doesn't and learn some lessons before tackling the big dog table next.

View attachment 848124 View attachment 848126

View attachment 848129 View attachment 848130

Considering this was a complete afterthought to build an additional table with some scrap offcuts and leftover materials, I'm super happy with the outcome and am even more excited to finish off the main table now!

My wife asked me why I needed 2 tables...I wasn't sure how to put in the right words for her At the end of the day, I'd like to have a 2-table tourney at home sometime, but also having the ability to take it in the car to someone else's house for a game is a nice bonus!

hey sorry to bother but where did you get the closed cell foam from, the vinyil and passing foam

 

[chkyrslf]

hey sorry to bother but where did you get the closed cell foam from, the vinyil and passing foam

Hey @herbie234, I got the foams from cutfoam.com.au (they are in Sydney for pickup or cheap national shipping).

And vinyl was from Clark Rubber