poker table

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My husband and I are big poker fans. Our dining table was getting old and did not look good at all. Since it was still sturdy and of great size, we decided to convert it into a permanent poker table.
Our first attempt (pictures shown) was made out of green felt but after a while we discovered that it was getting difficult to clean up and that felt was starting to shred.
We redid it with velvet. Velvet is prettier and so easy to clean (we use a slighty wet towel and a lint roller).

total cost of project: 23$
table: free
spray glue: 4$
velvet: 14$
sand paper: 1$
wood glaze: 4$

This was our first and only attempt at making a poker table and we came up with this "concept" ourselves. We didnt think of taking step-by-step pictures at the time so I tried my best to show you the process. Also, this is my first Instructable so be gentle... :-)

Step 1: measuring and carving the table

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You will need the following:
a table (duh)
hammer
flat screwdriver
wood scissor
spray adhesive
velvet or your choice of fabric
Xacto
Finish:
sand paper (optionnal)
Vernish (optionnal)
OR
lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol.

You do not need to prep your table in any other way than washing it clean and make sure it dries fully.

measure your table, remove 2 to 3 inches out of your measurements (where the wood edges are going to be) buy velvet accordingly: make sure to buy at least an inche more than what your measurements are, wihtout the wood edges! Velvet is pretty easy to cut but can make a mess, so be prepared to vaccuum everything after it's all done!

Measure and draw a line along the edges of your table of approximately 2 to 3 inches.

We used a simple hammer and flat screwdriver to carve along those lines. (sorry, no pictures of this process!!)

How much help was the Basset Hound?

Try this website: http://www.scottspokertable.com/pokertable.asp Also there's a pretty good forum on poker table building at: chiptalk.net

Very nice and economical. I have also seen people use 1/4" carpet padding to make the padded top. If you don't mind paying a bit more, there is also actual poker table felt you can get online that might be a bit more durable than the velvet. Either way, you probably saved hundreds on this project. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pokerstuffonline.com">http://www.pokerstuffonline.com</a>

I just finished a poker table based on this project. I changed a few things to suit my needs better, and will share them here. I stained the racetrack(wooden track around the cloth) using 3 coats of very dark wood stain, then applied 4 coats of spray on Polycrylic finish. The color and shine are great, help the table look more professional, and protect the wood from water damage if someone has a drink. I also plan on putting pull out cup holders underneath the table. After the stain and finish were dry, I placed the velvet on the table to see if I liked the color and I noticed that even with how soft the velvet felt, the wood was still very hard underneath, and I wanted a softer playing surface. Jo-Ann's only had 1/2inch foam, which I felt was too thick. I found a roll of craft foam 1/8th inch thick at Hobby Lobby for less than $5 that was the same size as my table top (3ft by 5ft). It added the softness I needed, and it provide a little height over the racetrack to help people pick up there cards. Cleaning up the glue was a very difficult, messy process. I realized afterwards an easier thing to do would be to cut the felt down to the right size and glue the velvet tight to the top of it. Then pull the velvet underneath and glue a little along the edge, cut off the excess fabric, then glue the foam w/ velvet top to the table. This stops you from exposing glue to your finished wood, requires less cleanup, and you don't have to deal with loose threads after you take the xacto know to the cloth. The last thing I did was go to Home Depot and buy a set of easy to install metal folding legs fpr $16. They are the kind that go on banquet tables and long card tables. I put these on and took the old legs off, so the table would be easy to move and store when not in use. These modifications added $30 to the table, although my velvet was on sale and cheaper, at only $5 and I already had the sandpaper and glue available. My total cost was $40. Thanks for the idea.

Very nice!

Looks nice- a great reuse project!