Game of 21
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Materials & Tools Used I decided to build a table and base like the casinos have vs. building the table top and attaching table legs underneath that can be folded up for storage or transport. This table is heavy and not portable once assembled but we had a place to permanently put it in our home. This is the list of materials that I ended up using (after several trips to hardware stores):
Making the Cuts Since I wanted to keep the size of my table a little smaller than most casinos are, The dimensions of the table top are 36" wide and 72" long, not including the rail. I had Lowe's cut the plywood pieces into those dimensions. I then took a pencil and tied it to a piece of string that was 36" long, centered the string on the plywood, pulled tight, and then traced a half-circle. That was cut with a handheld jigsaw on both pieces of plywood. Using one of the now cut half-circles, I cut the 3" rail out of it and then the 1" lip that will be attached to the rail edge. Next, the base was started by cutting two 24" diameter half-circles and lots of 2"x4" studs at 36" long. With all the major components now cut, I could start putting it all together. Assembly Begins I used wood screws to put together the entire base but it probably would've been easier to assemble had I used drywall screws. Then, I cut and nailed the wood paneling onto the base frame. I found that paneling nails held all but the very ends, which I used small wood screws to make sure it couldn't come loose. There will be lots of spring pressure at the ends as the wood paneling is molded over the half-circle.
Table Top I waited for a while to get the chip tray but it finally came and I cut the hole for it through all three pieces of plywood to get it to drop flush. Next, I lined up the rail and drilled holes for it. I countersunk the Tee Nuts into the rail, checked fit and hammered them in with a little Gorilla Glue on them to make sure they didn't come loose after the rail is completed. Make sure you temporarily bolt in the Tee Nuts now so that the glue dries under pressure and make sure no glue gets into the bolt threads. The Tee Nuts were also installed on the table top to be able to screw the table tops to the base. I received the Volara, which I cut and glued onto the table top by spraying the table and Volara, sticking them together and laying it flat top down on the floor to dry. I then cut off the excess. At this time, I still hadn't found the right felt, so things came to a stop on the table top for a little while.
Rail Work (oh my!) I had read from many people how difficult doing the rail work would be but nothing could prepare me for what was involved here. The easy part was gluing the 1" HD foam on the rail top and sides and cutting the excess off. I purchased Marine Vinyl because I couldn't find any Whisper in black at the time of my build, which would've been my preferred choice. The Marine Vinyl doesn't stretch as much but it does have a good look and feel and costs a little less per yard. I laid out the vinyl and cut it with enough excess to be able to staple it on the rail. The way I did this, and the recommended way by the pros who make poker tables, is to get the outside done first. Because the whole rail is curved, it makes this much more difficult. I started dead center and worked out from there going left, right, left. The one thing that you have to remember, is to make sure you pull tight consistently as you go and staple. It probably would've helped if I had another set of hands to stretch/staple as I did this but I just had to go a little slower doing it myself.
I will tell you right now that you will have to pull many staples as you go and re-staple to get out the wrinkles. Before I started this, I purchased a heavy-duty manual stapler as the one I had was not powerful enough and/or would have killed my hand! This was the best money I spent! It is optimal to use a pneumatic stapler or an electric stapler but I didn't want to spend the extra $$$. I used approx. 1,500 staples in my build and many were due to re-stapling but that is normal. To get the outside of the rail stapled, it took me around 3 hours. Then, I stapled the inside of the rail being careful to keep consistent pressure to get equal tightness all the way around. There was one area that I didn't pull tight enough and later on, had to go back and fix which was a pain so make sure you take your time and do it right the first time. The rail was finally completed and for a couple days I had a very sore hand! I used around 1,000 staples on this rail and total time to upholster it was about 8 hours. I had never done any of this type of work before so if I ever have to do it again, I could probably cut the time down. In no way is there a shortcut to make this part of the build enjoyable. It was now time to have a cold one and rest!!
Felt Time I finally found, after months of watching on eBay, the right felt. I wanted a new, unused felt from a major Vegas casino and I found one for sale and was high bidder! Yea! I had lost a great looking layout from the Hard Rock a few weeks earlier by mere cents so winning this one was very uplifting! This felt layout was made for the Rio Casino in Vegas and was probably for a high limit room as it only has 5 betting spots. It arrived and looked fantastic! I placed it on the table, centered it and then stapled it on. Using the X cut technique, I cut out the chip tray area and then used a soldering iron to melt away the bold holes for the rail. I read from the poker table board that this is the way to go and it worked really well to make a nice hole with no lingering fibers and cauterized it at the same time. Since then, I'd noticed that the felt had been getting loose. After some research, I found out that this Paulson fX synthetic felt needed to be wetted down before installing. So I had to un-staple the whole thing and then re-staple it while wet. What a pain! This material then shrunk up after drying and created a very tight surface that I shouldn't have to redo for a long time.
Final Assembly I had a spot ready for where the table was to go and got the table pieces in position. I put the top on, bolted it down, did the same for the rail. The table was looking good! I was excited to get a game going but I forgot one key aspect - chairs! I wanted players to be comfortable, so I purchased some nice chairs that I had to also assemble before play could start. This was an unexpected expense but luckily my Birthday was right around the corner and had my family give me some of these as gifts - whew! My better half, who put up with over a month of late night hammering, cutting, and stapling noise while building this table, was nice enough to play a few hands with me right after getting it all together. The felt is great and I like the thicker Volara underneath. I had "opening night" a week or so later in Sept. of 2007 and had a great tournament. The one thing that I didn't install was cup holders. Casinos do not have cup holders in their tables, so I chose not to either. Instead, I purchased some coasters to hand out when needed. That was it! I'm estimating this table took me around 40 hours to build. It would have been done quicker but I spent quite a bit of time waiting on components in the mail. I have also bought a table cloth to cover the table when not in use. I've since added a shelf underneath so that it is easier to get things out for the dealer and for more useful storage area. I covered it with some left over Marine vinyl and put it on using some L brackets.
Helpful Links Here are some table build links that really helped me out a lot. The Poker Table building board was the best resource as a lot of the same building procedures and techniques apply to Blackjack tables too. I hope this info helps you in your Blackjack build! Blackjack build instructions - many examples here (archived) Nice Blackjack Table Build Instructions & Pics
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