Making Of A New Table

[DodgeViper]

LOTS OF PHOTOS SO MAKE SURE YOU GO THROUGH ALL THE PAGES

The size of the table is 95" x 46". There is a good reason I selected 46" wide. Vinyl is usually sold in 54" widths. Because of how I am wrapping the bottom of the rail (as seen in last drawing) and hiding the staples to the inside I felt I needed the additional 2" of vinyl to aid in pulling the vinyl tight during stapling. As for the length of 95" it was just a matter of cutting with a router and the router bit being 1/2" I wanted the extra 1/2" to fall off o the full sheet of ply. You will notice in the first drawing the size of the MDF jig is 94-7/8" x 45-7/8". With the collar in place over a 1/2" router bit you will be gaining 1/16" or a total of 1/8" on the length and width of the final cut-out.

In my case I placed the two sheets of Birch together and placed the MDF jig on top of the two sheets. It's a very good idea that you have a flat table to screw the two sheets of Birch and the MDF jig together to the flat table. When cutting with a plunge router I made 3 separate passes with the router lowering the router on each pass so on the final cut I went through the 2 sheets of Birch and into the MDF table top backer. You want to make sure that the bottom piece of Birch is support or you will have tearouts on the bottom sheet.

Material List:

1 – 3/4” Sheet of cabinet grade of Birch
1 – 3/4” sheet of cabinet grade of Maple
54” x 108” of Cinnamon Whisper Faux
54” x 84” of Brown Suited Speed Cloth
48” x 96” of 1/4" closed cell foam
54” x 108” of 1” closed cell foam
1 box of staples for an air staple gun
1 can of 3M 77 adhesive spray
10 wide mouth SS cup holders
1 pair of heavy duty adjustable table legs
24 – 1/4” Blind Nuts to secure the racetrack to the rail and table legs to the table
24 – 1/4” SS bolts and washers





Once you separate the 2 sheets of Birch you then can layout the and cut for your rail and rail doubler. I did not make jigs for the inside cuts and used a jigsaw to cut-out the rail and rail doubler. All that is needed is to layout for the 6" width and 1" width and make the cuts. A router could be used but with the components being covered up with 1" foam I felt it would just waste time and money for another two sheets of MDF to make jigs.



In Fig. 1 below is the jig size to cut-out the opening in the racetrack. This jig will be screwed to the leftover piece from the sheet of Birch that was used to cut the 1" doubler from and you will use the plunge router and router out the opening. Remember your cutting to the outside edge of the router and will be gaining a total of 1-1/8" for a total size of the cut-out of 71" by 22". Once you have the racetrack cut-out its a good idea to true up the outside edge of the racetrack. This is the edge that would nearly come in contact with the finish rail and doubler as seen in the last drawing. What I did was scribe a pencil line about 1/2" in on the rough cut edge and took a belt sander turned on end and sanded the plywood to the pencil line. This trued up the edge will gives you room between the rail doubler and the racetrack.

Fig. 2 is the jig to make the insert or Speed Cloth table. This jig will make the insert a total of 1/4" smaller than the open or a 1/8" gap on the length and width leaving room for 1/4" foam padding that will be used below the Speed Cloth. This will make a nice tight fit. but this will depend on what type of foam is used. I used a 1/8" round-over router bit and rounded the top edge of the Speed Cloth insert. In my case the playing surface will be 1/8" above the racetrack. Fig. 3 is a duplicate of the very first drawing.



The drawing below is just giving you the finish size of the racetrack and Speed Cloth insert.



This is the detail of how the racetrack and the rail comes together. Here you will see I used a router to router the rail inside and outside top and bottom. It also shows how the vinyl will wrap around the bottom and staple to the inside edge. I had explained in paragraph 4 about using a belt sander and truing up the outside edge of the racetrack. In this detail is why you want to leave some room and to true up the edge for a clean finish.

[Double Eagle]

This should help.

Scott's Poker Table :: View topic - for those who need help covering rails..

[ssanel54]

Just a couple of quick suggestions..

For a racetrack table you will need a 3rd sheet of ply for a base. I would suggest that you purchase a cheap sheet of 1/2 inch, and use it for the Rail and the playing surface. It does not need to be nice since none of the wood will be exposed. Use the maple for your racetrack and the Birch for the base. By using 1/2 thick for your playing surface, when you cover it with 1/4 in foam, it will be level with your racetrack.

Also, I prefer to use the jigsaw to cut out the 1 inch rim from your racetrack to attach to the rail. This cut will not be visible, so it does not need to be perfect. If you use a router, the gap from the bit will be at least 1/4 inch, and your rail will be loose. Dont forget to account for the router gap when cutting out your playing surface as well.

Good luck

[2_hotty]

Originally Posted by ssanel54

Just a couple of quick suggestions..

For a racetrack table you will need a 3rd sheet of ply for a base. I would suggest that you purchase a cheap sheet of 1/2 inch, and use it for the Rail and the playing surface. It does not need to be nice since none of the wood will be exposed. Use the maple for your racetrack and the Birch for the base. By using 1/2 thick for your playing surface, when you cover it with 1/4 in foam, it will be level with your racetrack.

Also, I prefer to use the jigsaw to cut out the 1 inch rim from your racetrack to attach to the rail. This cut will not be visible, so it does not need to be perfect. If you use a router, the gap from the bit will be at least 1/4 inch, and your rail will be loose. Dont forget to account for the router gap when cutting out your playing surface as well.

Good luck

You can make a racetrack with two pieces of wood.

3/4 ply is the rail, and the base to hold it all together
3/4 birch is the racetrack and playing surface

You don't need a 3rd piece.

[DodgeViper]

Originally Posted by 2_hotty

You don't need a 3rd piece.

I agree my plan I can use just two sheets. The legs will be mounted on 3/4" cross strips that support the center speed cloth.

Double Eagle thanks for the link... This will help...

[DodgeViper]

Originally Posted by ssanel54

Just a couple of quick suggestions..

For a racetrack table you will need a 3rd sheet of ply for a base. I would suggest that you purchase a cheap sheet of 1/2 inch, and use it for the Rail and the playing surface. It does not need to be nice since none of the wood will be exposed. Use the maple for your racetrack and the Birch for the base.

I think you need to go back and read my entire thread. Had you read the entire thread you would see how two sheets of ply can be used and why I am using the Maple for the 1" ring. This left over Maple then will be used for the racetrack. The leftover from the Birch will be used for the Speed Cloth table. I prefer to have the playing surface raised. This will allow the Speed Cloth surface with the 1/4" pad to fit tightly into the wood recess area. Thanks for your input...

[ssanel54]

Originally Posted by 2_hotty

You can make a racetrack with two pieces of wood.

3/4 ply is the rail, and the base to hold it all together
3/4 birch is the racetrack and playing surface

You don't need a 3rd piece.

Agreed, its just a smaller base.

[ssanel54]

Originally Posted by DodgeViper

I think you need to go back and read my entire thread. Had you read the entire thread you would see how two sheets of ply can be used and why I am using the Maple for the 1" ring. This left over Maple then will be used for the racetrack. The leftover from the Birch will be used for the Speed Cloth table. I prefer to have the playing surface raised. This will allow the Speed Cloth surface with the 1/4" pad to fit tightly into the wood recess area. Thanks for your input...

Sorry, I thought you wanted a finished base as well. I know why you are using the Maple for the ring, I was just cautioning that if you route it, you may get a little bit of wiggle because of the gap. If you prefer a raised surface then you clearly would not want to use 1/2 inch

Last advice for the vinyl would be to use a heat gun.

[DodgeViper]

The Whisper Faux has a stretch to the material unlike some of the vinyls I looked at locally at JoAnn's. I could see where a heatgun would help but at the same time you sure would want to use the heatgun at low heat so not to discolor or worse yet melt the vinyl.

[ssanel54]

Originally Posted by DodgeViper

The Whisper Faux has a stretch to the material unlike some of the vinyls I looked at locally at JoAnn's. I could see where a heatgun would help but at the same time you sure would want to use the heatgun at low heat so not to discolor or worse yet melt the vinyl.

Whisper is great, but it still takes alot of stretching if you want to get it perfect. The heat gun (or hair dryer) will really help in the areas that are giving you issues. You are right though, control the heat, and only use it in short intervals.