Welcome to my website. I finished building my very own poker table about a year ago. The total cost was just around $200, and was much better quality than something you could buy for over $500. The assembly was very simple, and it only took me two days to build (minus the time waiting for online items to arrive). The padding for the rail just slides on, which is a lot easier than most other ways to make a rail, and the quality is actually pretty close. Overall, I was very impressed with my results, so I thought that I would share my instructions with others:
Step 1) Buy all needed materials:
You may also need to buy a jig saw, a 2 7/8" drill bit, adheasive spay, wood glue, and a power sander, but I already had all of those things.
Step 2) Lay the 3/4" peice of wood onto a table:
Step 3) First, make a line to cut the piece into two 4' x 4' suqares. Then, measure two feet in from each end of the 8 foot side, and from that point measure two feet up, so as to make two dots which are directly in the center of their 4' square. Nail a nail into both of those dots. Place the hole of a T-Square onto one of them, and putting your marker at the 25" mark, trace around the ends of the table. Then, do the same to the other end. When you cut the first corner with the jig saw, it should look something like this:
Step 4) Continue to cut all four corners.
Step 5) To make things easier as far as measuring goes, simply trace the 3/4" wood onto the 1/4" wood. This will also make them fit together better.
Step 6) Measure in 8" from all around. You will use the same technique used to cut the larger piece, except with 2' 8" diameter semi circles. All of your measurements so far should look like this:
Step 7) Time to apply the felt to the interior cut out piece. First, use adheasive spray to stick the felt that will be showing on top. Then, you can use a regular stapler and staple the felt down as tight as you can on the bottom. I didnt put any padding under the felt, because I don't really think that is nessecary, but you can always put some on if you want to.
Step 8) Sand the railing and then add a couple coats of stain. You will also probabally want to add some shalack to give it a very nice shine (if you want yours to look like mine, then you have to add some!)
Step 9) Nail the railing the the 3/4" peice of wood. Only nail around the outside edge where the padding is going, so you wont see any nails. If you buy thin oak colored nails, go ahead and put about 6 along the interior of the rail. If you want, you can use wood glue to make sure that the railing will never come off.
Step 10) Next, you need to drill the cup holders. It is up to you as to where to put then, because just about anywhere will do. It is best to use a 2 7/8" drill bit (if you can find one!), but I used a 2 3/4" bit, and used a metal file to make it wider, in order to fit the cup holders. Either way will do.
Step 10) Place the felt inside of the railing, an secure with wood glue. Let weights sit on the ends overnight to make sure it is secure.
Step 11) A table isn't a table without legs! The ends of the legs should be right where the table stats to turn. Just use a drill to drill the screws in tight, because you don't want the legs falling off.
Step 11) Simply put the padding on and use a heavy duty staple gun to staple underneath. Make sure you don't put it on upside down! I made that mistake, but luckily, I realized what I was doing and flipped it over. Trust me, it does make a difference.
Step 12) Here we are, the final step. Hammer the cup holders in, and you are done! Congratultions!
Final Product Pictures:
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NONE of this would have been possible without:
