Homemade Poker Table

Here's a shot of the table top:


The table seats up to eight players and consequently is octagonal in shape. The finish is supposed to look like black onyx. Some people actually ask if the table is made out of marble, so it must look pretty close. I originally wanted a wood grain finish, but didn't like the way it turned out, so I tried a marbleizing kit, and liked the results. The center is a piece of 1/4" gray glass that sits on top of the cloth playing surface. I use a suction cup to lift it up so I can put it aside during games. The glass is supposed to be level with the outer ring of the table, but it sits a little low. The glass is a very reflective (almost "glass-like") surface and I wanted the whole table to have a consistent look, so the outer ring has well over ten coats of high-gloss polyurethane on it. It's not quite as reflective as the glass, but it's close. The playing surface (under the glass) is covered with official "poker table cloth" that I got from Kardwell International, Inc. It feels like the same stuff that backpacks are made of. It's green, but you can't tell through the glass. Here's a photo with the glass off (46K). I originally used gray felt for the playing surface, but after only a few games, the felt started wearing out. The current fabric is much better. I also have a Tripoley playing surface that my mom made. Here's a photo (52K). The outer ring is 1x10 birch (finished dimensions are 3/4"x9.25"), mitered at 22.5 degrees and glued with dowels. The outer ring is 58" across (side to side), 63" (corner to corner), and each side (outer edge) is 24". The glass (and the playing surface underneath) is 39.5" (side to side). The underside of the table top is a 3/4" piece of plywood glued to the outer ring. The plywood is 48" (side to side) and thus its edge is recessed about 5" from the edge of the outer ring.

The box in the middle of the table is for the chips (50 each of five colors), cards (two decks), and some cash (for buying beer and pretzels, of course). It is about 13"x10"x3" and finished using the marbleizing kit and a few coats of high-gloss polyurethane.

Here's a shot of the pedestal:


The pedestal is made out of "medium density fiberboard" (which is just particle board with finer particles, so it has a smoother finish). It's 28.5" tall (to put the top of the table at 30" from the floor). The bottom is 28" across (side to side), with a 3" reveal for a couple layers. The edge of each layer is rounded over. The column is 10" across (side to side) and is made out of eight vertical slats attached to five horizontal struts. There are gaps between the slats because I thought the slats would be too complicated to cut if I had to miter them to fit up perfectly against each other. There's also a cap on the top of the column to which the table top is attached using 16 screws, thus allowing the table top to be removed from the pedestal. The cap is 16" across (side-to-side) and 1.5" thick. The pedestal (with the exception of the cap) is finished using the same marbleizing kit and has several coats of high-gloss polyurethane (which is mostly for protection - it is nowhere near the glass-like finish of the top). The underside of the table and the pedestal cap are painted with gloss black acrylic latex enamel. The chairs are vinyl (fake leather) with tilt, swivel, and casters (which are pretty useless on carpet, but no worse than no casters). I didn't build the chairs; I bought them.

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