Poker table advice, Damage to Table Rail (1 Viewer)

[PokerSenpai]

Hello, So I've located a table for sale on Craigslist within a reasonable drivable distance of me. I like the table, but it's clear that there is some damage to the rail. It's listed for $500. It looks fairly solid otherwise. How hard/expensive would it be to replace the rail of a table? Appreciate any advice.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

The foundation alone looks worth $500, go grab that! Its not going to be very easy but plenty of tutorials and experts on here can help you with it.

Edit: Alright I got excited, cooler heads prevailed lol

 

[upNdown]

What the heck happened to it? Was it in a moving truck that got hit by a bus?
My uneducated guess is that it isn’t an easy fix - you might have to build a new rail from the bottom up. And you’d probably want to check it out first to make sure there isn’t further damage, because that doesn’t seem like rail damage from routine play, you know?

 

[PokerSenpai]

I'm not sure how the damage was caused. It looks to me like it was likely caused by sliding on it's side either during being transported in a vehicle or from taking it in and out of storage. Unfortunately, I'm only in same general area as the table from Thursday-Saturday of this week for a wedding, and it's still a bit of a detour so swinging through just to check it out- isn't very ideal.

I'm contemplating if it's worth going after even with the damage at listed price, or if it's worth trying to talk the price down at all if it's going to be a pain to replace the rail. and then of course, the final option- which is to just hard pass on this and keep looking. Figured I'd come here to you guys first for opinions.

If anyone has experience with rail replacement and wants to chime in- I'd be interested to hear about the process/difficulty and associated costs.

Thanks guys.

 

[PokerSenpai]

I asked him for more details regarding the damage- and if there were any other issues. He said that essentially, it got delivered to the front door and he thought that he and his son could handle getting it inside the house and damaged the rail in the process. I would imagine probably snagging it on a door sill- or something similar w/ sliding maybe up and down stairs.

 

[BPTDirector]

I’d hit it with some black shoe polish and move on for a short time. Get the liquid stuff that has a sponge applicator. It will likely see damage over time at your game but see if you are willing to live with it while you figure out what to do in the long term.

 

[KingWithTheAxe]

I gotta tell you I had a table with the wooden racetrack like that and I hated it. Looked cool, but I did not like it. Cards go in the cup holders when dealing, picking up cards off the wooden racetrack was annoying. Also, felt like the rail height was never right (looks like that one is low-ish too). Probably close to 400lbs if I had to guess. Sold mine in Denver for like $250 id that’s any reference.

 

[BPTDirector]

Agree that racetrack tables are a personal preference thing and the potential shortcomings have been well documented.

 

[pokrfce]

Count me in the camp to go get it. The pedestal base alone is worth that.

 

[Joe Harris]

How hard/expensive would it be to replace the rail of a table?

Assuming the builder used sane methods and didn't just glue everything together, it wouldn't be that hard if you are at all handy. It would involve unscrewing the components, separating the old rail, and reupholstering. You could also possibly get away with applying a new surface over the existing rail, but I suspect this would make it harder to get a wrinkle free outcome.

The rail surface is probably secured with dozens or hundreds of staples. Removing them will make the task 10x as annoying. I'd probably just cut the current rail off at the staple line. The underlying foam might be glued to to the fabric/vinyl/whatever. Maybe the glue is light enough that you could reuse the existing foam, which would save a decent amount.

Figure, I dunno, maybe $100-150 for the project, assuming you need to replace the foam too. Depending on rail material and where you source the stuff.

 

[KingWithTheAxe]

Drinks obscure chips too. But no doubt has a very fancy look.

TBH, I bet the dude is praying someone buys it, so I would offer $250 and pickup!