Lighted raised rail - diffuser (1 Viewer)

[Jake14mw]

Hi all,

How do people build their raised rail tables with lights? I built one about 10 years ago, and I think I just used an extra layer of 3/4 ply, set back. For the diffuser, I used a plastic wall corner guard material from Home Depot (pictured below, wow, you never realize how dirty your table is until you take extreme, well lit closeups!). Simple installation because it was in an L shape, and I could just nail it to the rail. What does everybody use today? I see people talking about buying plexiglass. How much does that generally cost? How is it installed? I like the milky white consistent look of them. Any other things people use for the diffuser material? Thanks for the help.

 

[stevea]

I used a company online called tap plastics. They will cut to width and length (max 94” I think) also they have several frosted to white to chose from depending on how much light you want to be seen or how much you want the light diffused. The more diffusing the less you’ll see the individual led’s inside and also the more distance from the diffuser the less you’ll see the led’s. It wasn’t that expensive, maybe $35-$45 for 3 strips plus a little for shipping.
As for the way to build it. There are good pics and instructions on here. Just search led rails. I copied how T Chan does it. And most people who build them do it basically the same. I’ll try to find it and add the link. You need two pieces of ply and plywood spacers or any wood spacers really that will hold screws.

 

[stevea]

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/building-a-full-size-table-9-10-players.37251/

Thanks to Irish for posting the pics!!

This is what is pictured but you can use other stuff. I don’t know what everyone else uses. I had a hard time getting info on diffusers. I got a sample of 4 different styles and ended up with this one. GL

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/acrylic_sheets_color/341

 

[Darson]

I used dice for my diffuser:

 

[Marhault]

I used dice for my diffuser:

View attachment 333700

That's cool as hell!

 

[smashr]

Chanman will cut and sell you custom suited brushed metal diffusers.

 

[Al Azouri]

Hi all,

How do people build their raised rail tables with lights? I built one about 10 years ago, and I think I just used an extra layer of 3/4 ply, set back. For the diffuser, I used a plastic wall corner guard material from Home Depot (pictured below, wow, you never realize how dirty your table is until you take extreme, well lit closeups!). Simple installation because it was in an L shape, and I could just nail it to the rail. What does everybody use today? I see people talking about buying plexiglass. How much does that generally cost? How is it installed? I like the milky white consistent look of them. Any other things people use for the diffuser material? Thanks for the help.View attachment 333499

If you want a cheap alternative, or something to hold you over. 3/8" poly tubing from Home Depot does the trick. I'll try to post a close-up pic later.

 

[Empty Light]

I used a strip of 1/8" thick clear acrylic as a window. It works great, and allows me to keep the rail very low - I don't like high rails. The LEDs are running on rechargeable battery packs that are stored under the table - this is to avoid having an extension cord running around people's feet. The batteries are great, they run all night long. However, the LEDs aren't quite as bright as they might be if I could have powered them from a wall outlet. That's why I kept the clear acrylic clear - I wanted to allow as might light as possible to pass through, plus the acrylic would have had more glare if it had been sandblasted.

@stevea mentioned Tap Plastics. They're an excellent source for acrylic sheet. EPlastics.com is good too.

Clear polycarbonate is a good material as well. It is more flexible than acrylic and *much* more durable (it won't crack like acrylic can). Just be very careful when you're working with polycarbonate. You can cut it with power tools, but spinning or rotating tools can grab the polycarbonate, rip it out of the your hands, and could result in all sorts of chaos and woe and gnashing of teeth. Also, acrylic is more resistant to scratches than polycarb.

@Darson - those dice are a really cool idea!!

 

[Jake14mw]

Thanks for all of the excellent suggestions, they are very helpful.