Marsh's Build (2 Viewers)

[MarshMan114]

So I think I'm done with my saws and cutting. My rail has cupholders and I added 3/4" tall 'rings' so they would sit up into the rail foam a little. Layed the rail upside down on the foam and cut out the inside of the hole. I don't like to cut the outside of the ring hole. If you cut the inside you can stretch around a little and it creates a nicer transition.

Then I needed to cut around the rail. I've heard people like to use anything from electric turkey slicers to those super long razors. For me, nothing beats a brand new blade. And the only thing better than a complex jig, is the easiest jig ever:

I have 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood so I need 1.5" which is the same as the width of a 2x4. Just use a super sharp razor and slide it around against the rail and you have a perfect cut 50-75% deep. Then just use your razor knife to cut the rest. Your knife will sit in the slit and almost all but ensure you won't deviate from the cut line.

 

[MarshMan114]

I used 1/4" thick medium density foam padding from Your Auto Trim for under the playing surface. They also had some 1/4" pink sew foam but when I tested a scrap you could see the pink color come through on my felt so I went with this white as a neutral. Used spray glue and just used a light coating.

Again, just switch to a brand new razor blade and there isn't any issues with tearing or ugly edges. Even though no one will ever see any of these edges.

 

[justsomedude]

LOOKING GOOD!!!!!

But putting that rail foam directly on the garage floor... you're killing me, man!!

 

[MarshMan114]

This just means I'm at the point where I gotta start stretching rail vinyl. It's just the worst. I even have a compressor and pneumatic stapler and it still drives me crazy.

Since the wife and daughter are taking a quick nap, I'll have to put the work off for a little bit. However, I can show my custom cloth from @T_Chan.

As everyone knows, Tony is a remarkable builder and has refined his craft to create some incredible pieces. I was a little frustrated in the beginning of our custom felt process, but it's only because everyone around here has set my expectations so high. I thought it would be a 2 week process but Covid created more demand for Tony and I never took that into consideration. It also slowed the shipping process down to a snails pace so we were at the mercy of USPS.

But Tony kept me up to date and reached out to his local drop off facility and was always very communicative. I appreciate his effort and think I've convinced my boss to let me build a round table with custom felt for our new office. So that means I should have a new order coming in soon.


All that to say, my watch themed felt looks great and I can't wait to get everything together.

(I know it's off center. I'm just letting it sit for a little bit to get the wrinkles out.)

The cutaway/skeleton movement is pretty obvious, but bonus points for how many high end watch brands you can name based on their symbol. Ready GO!

 

[MarshMan114]

LOOKING GOOD!!!!!

But putting that rail foam directly on the garage floor... you're killing me, man!!

Lol. I cleaned I cleaned!! That's why I moved to the basement. Vacuumed 3 times between each new cut and I have a compressor sprayer for the dust.

 

[Rebelwork]

Lookin good....

 

[MarshMan114]

Alright any pointers? I can crush 95% of this rail with no wrinkles. But the ends of the rail are impossible to get right. I know I need to cut back some of the excess but im afraid ill lose slack to grip on.

Do you start on a certain side? Or start on the curve and work back to both sides? I don't mind pulling staples or having a fold somewhere, but I swear people do this without any folds showing at all.

 

[Rebelwork]

That's the reason it's finger and knuckle busting.. you'll have to like a 3/6/9 like a clock and work it out.you'll have to cut what you don't need as you go...you'll have to be careful not to take off too much..what vinyl you using?

 

[justsomedude]

Maybe @chipsncoffee can help? I think he does some serious upholstery work.

Following to see how you figure this one out. I've never done an exposed edge on a rail, so I'm curious about how to solve this one.

PS: Just a guess, but it looks like you ended at the dealer edge of the rail instead of starting there? The bunching appears to be collecting to the right, which means you'll have too much extra material at that hard edge/end of the rail. I'd think you want to start upholstering on that hard end, so you can pull the bunching the opposite way (to the left), and distribute the excess folds around that long curve. But I really have no friggin clue. So wait for experts to chime in!

 

[Rebelwork]

He has to remember if it's cool where he is upholsterin in the house it's going to be harder to tweak materials. A blow dryer will help, but dont it get too hot...the reason im curious which material....

 

[MarshMan114]

Thanks for the replies. I think mostly I was in a bad mood the other day and that compounded things.

I did a satisfactory job and can post pics later. I think the trick was more thin strips and to do 2 at a time. If you pull the first one and then almost try and go back over it with the second one it seemed to work well.

I'm waiting on my edge banding poly to dry and then should be able to put it all together.

 

[MarshMan114]

And I went with whisper vinyl.

 

[Rebelwork]

Looks like....

 

[MarshMan114]

Think I'm actually done. Definitely did a few things in the wrong order, but I'm happy with how it turned out.

The rail riser was interesting and I had to do the iron on banding as it was attached to the rail for a number of reasons. Blue tape works though.

Few coats of Poly to get some gloss and protection.

Added a little mini rail to cover the gap where the under rail meets the table. And centering this felt was quite the issue. Just no good references without the rail in place so had to pick it up and move it over and over.

Cutting out the dealer tray always makes me so nervous.

 

[MarshMan114]

There's still a little flex if you shove hard on the rail in spots 2/3 or 7/8 so I might add another piece of plywood underneath. But overall I like it.

 

[MarshMan114]

You can see a little wear already on the edge banding, but I still think I like it over other options.

And the felt is just superb. I usually go with unsuited speed felt for durability, but dealers usually complain it's too rough. This custom felt from @T_Chan is beyond perfect. It's honestly a hair too slick to do a good flop thumb roll, but I suspect it will get better with time. But card slide and feel are second to none.

You can see a little wrinkle here, but not bad.

 

[MarshMan114]

As you might suspect, I love high end watches. I can't afford them yet, but I was fortunate enough to inherit this from my grandfather. I don't think I'd ever buy it on my own as It has an 'old man' feel, but I've been called Old Man Marsh since my 20's so I think it fits me.

It used to be a champagne (gold) face and the crystal was cracked. I sent it in to Rolex and they let me change to the blue face which I really love. They said it was circa 1979. I can also put it on a leather band and it takes the gaudy level down considerably.

 

[MarshMan114]

I think if I had to do it again, I would buy the base from a manufacturer. Sanding down each piece was a huge pain. But I do like matching the stain of the base, edge banding on the outside, and edge banding on the rail riser so I'm glad I did it.

I also can't stress enough cutting the boards and rails with some sort of jig. I think I would take my time more and figure out that process better. If you stare or run your fingers along the edge you can tell it's not uniform and that bothers me a little. Even when you wrap it with vinyl I can still can tell even though most people probably won't.

I also don't spray too much glue for the playing surface. I put some where the dealer will mostly interact with the flop and then some towards the outside edges, but I personally like to have the tension be wrapped and then stapled underneath. The glue is more of a long term thing I think. And I'm also super weird about permanent solutions so it always gives me a little out if I wanted to adjust something.

 

[Jake14mw]

Table looks great. Congrats!

 

[jr8719]

You can see a little wear already on the edge banding, but I still think I like it over other options.

And the felt is just superb. I usually go with unsuited speed felt for durability, but dealers usually complain it's too rough. This custom felt from @T_Chan is beyond perfect. It's honestly a hair too slick to do a good flop thumb roll, but I suspect it will get better with time. But card slide and feel are second to none.

You can see a little wrinkle here, but not bad.
View attachment 523830

View attachment 523831

Sterling work — love it!

 

[Rebelwork]

Looks like a fun table to play on. Nicely done...

 

[kaimat]

Awesome job! I can't wait to see some photos with chips in play.