Welcome to Tool Time.
Are you feeling lucky, punk?
In this instalment we'll look at how to build a pretty standard gaming table that won't fall over in a stiff breeze.
To start off you'll need:
2 x 100x100mm fencepost (sold in 1800mm lengths - cut in half)
8 x fence panels (150x19x1500mm usually)
9 x fence panels and 4 lengths of 50x100mm at 1300mm-ish long for the bracing and bottom shelf
This set me back less than 70 bucks at Bunnings so there really is no excuse not to.
Add 9x Panels and some 100mmx50mm for proper construction
Cut your 8 starting fence panels down to 1260mm so they will overlap each other on the outside of the legs.
When you pick up your wood you'll notice its a fencepost so its rough sawn. Thats fine if you're not bothered by it a couple of splinters now and then. I prefer a bit more refinement,
So its time to break out my best friend, the Belt Sander. This one is well older than me so grunt is not a huge issue. If you don't have one borrowing one shouldn't be a problem or bludge the use of a table sander from a local school's woodwork department,
Once you run it over the surface of the wood for a bit you'll notice a marked improvement in the surface,
If you have a bench vise use that. Seeing as you are reading this I am betting you don't though so I sanded the panels like so,
Pro Tip: Be slow, careful and beware the power of the sander.
Also, get a pair of earmuffs and a dust mask, they are for sissies but so is breathing in that huge pile of dust.
Next bust out every blokes favourite toy, the Skillsaw.
Pro Tip: The skill involved is not hurting yourself with it. Don't be a fool.
Set it to a 45 degree angle and back cut the ends of the fence panels so they will join nice and neat on each corner. Be careful not to reduce the outside length of the panels from 1260mm when doing this.
Practice getting it right on some of your offcuts so you know you'll get it right on those panels you just spent ages sanding. It assembles like so,
Now do all of your panels and make sure you are cutting the same way on both ends because you'll need a new panel if you don't,
Bust out your drop saw (easier than a skillsaw for this bit but not necessary) for this bit and cut your 100x50 to 4' lengths,
Pro Tip: Make sure the ends are straight or you will have a fun time later,
Then mark the 2' middle on each beam,
Take an offcut and mark the middle of it like so,
Line up the middle marks and trace around the offcut for cheater points,
Use the same offcut to mark half way across the beam,
Use the drop saw to make the cuts for your cutout,
And make sure you get both sides, the saw is a circle not flat.
Slap a chisel on the middle line of the beam,
And a couple of quick slaps will pop out your groove,
Pro Tip: Lazy builders trace, just make sure your grooves aren't shrinking,
And bingo, you have your cross supports, make two so you have one for the top and bottom of the table. Supports that go diagonally are better, but also a hell of a lot more annoying to make.
Lay out your two posts on a flat surface, I've had to use rails because hammering on my knees sucks,
And use a handy tool to mark the level you want your bottom rail supports at,
Then pre-drill a center hole in your straight aligned bottom rail,
(I've used a 2.5mm Drill and 90mm long 3.55mm jolt head nails)
Get a nail in there and the pre-drill four more holes at a slight angle facing towards the center nail for maximum stability,
Hammer them 90% of the way in, this is useful so if you make a screwup you can take the nails out easily.
Then make sure you measure and align the top rail halfway on the pole like so,
I've used an offcut to stabilise the rail while working.
When you're done with one side it should look like so,
When both initial sides are done stand them up making sure to put something under them so your overhanging edges don't get smashed off,
It helps to have some bracing timber here to make sure the whole thing is perfectly square and when you hammer nails you don't knock it off,
String or rope is nice at this point to hold things tight in place while you align the bottom rail on top trying to get the mitre's as close as possible to flush on the corners,
Flip it over and do the rails as before to complete the square sides then fit your bracing in and drop some nails through the rails into the bracing to keep her good and solid,
Because I've used 100 deep timber for strength and half a rail is 75 there will be a hardly visible drop under the top rail but slicing a bit off the edge before attaching it to the top level rail helps to keep it disguised,
When putting in the top rail your bracing timber and a clamp can help you get it in place level with the top of the posts,
Next for extra credit cut some fence planks to use as a shelf (or a spare piece of 1260x1260 board) and nail them in place using the same predrill and nail method.
This leaves you with just dropping in your tabletop and you have one sturdy mother of a gaming table,
Extra credit for staining the timber (remove your tabletop for this),
This will however highlight the difference between rough planks and sanded ones.
But don't feel like you need to hit everywhere, just the bits that will see wear and tear. Stops oil from your hands discoloring the rails. A gloss coat over your stain is preferable for maximum rich mahogany points.
In the end you will have an enduring table that can take all the knocks you can dish out and even has a top lip for you to put a cover over so you remain ready to play even in an unclad garage.
Here you can see Table MkII in use during The Longest Night, pay no attention to the un-stained bottom shelf. I only finished assembly of my first two the day before and stain needs a couple of days to finish full drying. There will be some pics of what the end result looks like soon.
Its not as hard as it looks and if I can do it anyone can so have a go and knock yourself one together.
Having a sturdy and set up table is great for people with not enough time to make it to the local to host games or for people who don't have a good local store/club, certainly makes the Dojo possible.
Until next time,
Keep it Classy.
