FREE Table Construction Plans

[pokertshirtsdotcom]

Velveteen is great, its just like the cloth on actual tables at casinos. however its pretty expensive and i think it only comes like 48-50 inches wide, so if your table is wider than that it may not fit. Felt is good too but it balls up after a night of playing.

My website ( www.pokertshirts.com ) will be carrying some table covers very soon. One will be made from felt (for about $35) and have a drawstring to make it fit tight around your table and the other will be velveteen (for about $45) but no drawstring. For Carson's members here I will ship them for Free. Just email me if you are interested.

Paul

[Junk Pocket]

but if you want to make the table fold, you'll need actual legs. any lowes or other similar hardware store should sell them. i think my lowes has them for something like 35 bucks. they're the same thing as on the banquet tables and should work fine for you.

I tried Lowes and Home Depot. No luck. They sell the table but its not made of particle board. The tables are made of heavy duty plastic.

I asked if they sold the legs by themselves and they said no. Unless Im asking an employee that just doesnt know? I looked around but you know how Lowes and Home Depot is. You could look all day and never find what you need.

Hey guys. For those of you who are looking for just the folding legs, Try here:

http://shop.woodcraft.com/Woodcraft/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=1693&gift=False&mscssid=049661D352E174EFD8DD1A3485492AB9

If that doesnt trip your trigger then I can find some other sources. Im a project engineer for an architectural woodworking company so finding stuff like this is what I do. I too am jumping on the poker table band wagon. Mine will be black felt with a white maple tray area and black ultra leather rail. Cant wait to get it done!

And for the record, MDF is by far a better substraight then plywood. :D

[ORGrinder]

And for the record, MDF is by far a better substraight then plywood. :D

what makes you say that. i was considering the MDF myself... but decided against it. it seemed to mar too easily and i didn't think it would stand the abuse a poker table will take.

the two things that came to my mind were that i could mar the surface of the MDF just by lightly running my finer nail over the surface, and that it didn't appear to be able to handle a spill in any way at all. spill resistance is very important to me. i suppose you could put a sheet of plastic or something down before you pad and felt the table... but with the ply, if you poly it before you put your pad and felt down, then if/when someone spills, at least it's not gonna eat right through the table surface.

i'm currious as to your thoughts... sounds like you'd know better than I!!

:D

[shortstacked]

Velveteen is great, its just like the cloth on actual tables at casinos. however its pretty expensive and i think it only comes like 48-50 inches wide, so if your table is wider than that it may not fit. Felt is good too but it balls up after a night of playing.

Paul

I picked up velveteen cloth on ebay. It was just over 30 bucks with shipping. I'm glad to hear you say it's great. I haven't received it yet, it's scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

[Junk Pocket]

And for the record, MDF is by far a better substraight then plywood. :D

what makes you say that. i was considering the MDF myself... but decided against it. it seemed to mar too easily and i didn't think it would stand the abuse a poker table will take.

the two things that came to my mind were that i could mar the surface of the MDF just by lightly running my finer nail over the surface, and that it didn't appear to be able to handle a spill in any way at all. spill resistance is very important to me. i suppose you could put a sheet of plastic or something down before you pad and felt the table... but with the ply, if you poly it before you put your pad and felt down, then if/when someone spills, at least it's not gonna eat right through the table surface.

i'm currious as to your thoughts... sounds like you'd know better than I!!

:D

I won't bore you guys with all the properties of different types of material but that info is right out of the AWI (Architectural Woodworking Institute) Quality Standards which is the "bible" we live by in this industry.

Basicly unsupported plywood will warp as to MDF which stays very flat.

As to moistier, your right, plywood absorbs better BUT when plywood gets wet then dries is when it will really warp. MDF is like sponge and soaks up a lot but instead of warping it will swell up.

Best bet to protect from spills, like you said, is to seal and top coat the substraight (weather its MDF or Ply) before covering it with the foam/felt. If its completely covered you can seal it just by using cheap sealer/paint.

Another thing that would help even more is to use a closed-cell foam. Then the spill will only go as far as the felt.

One more thing- Scotch Gaurd!

Anyways, thats my reason for choosing MDF over plywood. In our shop, the only thing we use plywood for is framing and blocking, everything else is either MDF or particle board.

[Wada]

Junk pocket,

Which is lighter? MDF or plywood. I couldnt really tell when lifting a corner of the sheets. Seems like MDF is heavier because of its density?

[Jonniedough]

Wada
I think its a real close toss up between the weight. I dont have any hard facts but Id guess you have a 2 to 3 pound differance nothing substantial.

[Junk Pocket]

Junk pocket,

Which is lighter? MDF or plywood. I couldnt really tell when lifting a corner of the sheets. Seems like MDF is heavier because of its density?

Boy Im glad you asked! Why? Because thats how boring my job can be sometimes.

3/4" x 48" x 96" MDF= 98.4 lbs approx. (3.07 lbs/sf)

3/4" x 48" x 96" Plywood= 70.5 lbs approx. (2.20 lbs/sf)

[Wada]

Thanks!

Im going to use plywood. Im building a table thats portable and has the folding legs. (like the one shown in the above post at www.pcpotato.com linke) So - the overall weight is whats important to me.

Lugging around an 8 foot table in and out of the back of my truck without having to worry about tearing up the fabric and edges each time I go to a buddies house will be a major pain in the ass. Lifting 100 lbs is nothing to me. But 100lbs over an 8 foot spread with fabric you dont want to be ruined is going to be a major problem. Im actually making it 6 feet rather than 8 feet.

Geeez 30 lb difference between the two. Good info to know. Thanks again.

[ORGrinder]

Stage 2 of the table construction is complete and the instructions page has been updated with the appropriate pics and text.

Check it out if you're interested.

:D