Pinball Coffee Table

Step 6 Moulding and glass

This is probably the most complicated part of the project. I had several requirements here.

1) I wanted a piece of glass on the table like in a real game
2) It needed to be held on somehow
3) It needed to be removable so I could get into the table at a later point if need be.

Measure your glass and get it cut at a glass store, most local hardware stores won't be able to cut a piece this big. Make sure and get tempered glass. It is stronger and far less dangerous if it shatters.

At Lowe's I found some moulding that worked perfectly for what I needed to do. It was 90 degree angle, 1" wide and 1/4" thick. This made it fit exactly right when laid against the 3/4" thick wood. So I measured the moulding and cut it using a miter box. Then I took my glass and laid it on the top of the table. Now I could just lay my moulding against the edge of the table, pull it down flat against the glass and nail it down knowing I had everything just where it needed to be. I nailed down three sides, and attached the fourth side with a single screw allowing me to take side off and pull the glass out whenever I want.

Once you have the three nailed pieces on, its again a nice time to put the playfield back in. slide the glass on, and lay down the fouth piece of moulding to make sure everything fits properly.

You'll notice in the photos that the corners arent quite as tight as they could be. Thats just inexperience and hand tools at work. Its tough to get that stuff really tight. I also split the moulding in a couple places, its really thin and you need to be very careful with it.