DIY Game table

[Tranquil Ape]

So I have a new vacant room in the house that I'm taking over for painting and game playing... as much as i wanted too i could not fit a 4x6 table in there comfortably so i opted for a 4x4.

 

I had a long piece of 1" thick MDF laying around that was still in decent shape so i cut it down here

 

Then I laid them out and using some steel brackets, reinforced the join, i'm not too worried about the table failing but this MDF

is pretty heavy, best to err on the side of safe tootsies

 

I hit up JoAnns fabric store in order to get some felt. What i found in the way of felt wasnt really what i had in mind, not sure why though so i ended up with some wool stuff... seemed to be identical to felt just about double the thickness though...

 

I opted to use staples agains advice to use adhesive only because my 6 year old was helping me with the table and we would be working inside.

 

stretched and stapled, went through close to half a box of staples

 

 

tomorrow I'll cut and stain the framing and legs and possible the surround... either way.. see ya later...

[Talae]

Looks great so far. I keep meaning to do some big DIY projects in what is basically a game room. (We call it "The Pit" and it is an enclosed garage with a wall AC unit which costs an arm a leg to run this time of year I'm AZ). We need to replace the table too..

[Stubbdog]

I would suggest one of two things..

 

1. Although you are using the straight line down the join edge, most of the weight will happen on the edges of the table, and those two Ts dont reach very far towards each end. I would suggest using two more long straights going perpendicular to the join edge.

 

or

 

2. Change out your current straight flat brackets for joint hinges. That way you can fold the thing up between game sessions.

 

Oh, and last.. even though you already have the red and it will work, I actually suggest replacing the red with either green or tan, simply because it is more natural coloring and easy to stick terrain features on top of and have it blend in. With the red, you will probably find yourself buying green or tan anyway and putting it on top of the red.

[Tranquil Ape]

That was my suggestion as well, the green or tan that is... the wife aid "thats not very game-y" her idea of gaming is cards, monopoly etc.. and since we have a 6 year old that also likes board games, i thought it would be easier this way. what i had planned to do, should the time come, when i need scenery is build it up so it can sit on top of this.

 

I am also worried about the support of the table top... I have been in bed all day with a stomach bug but i was going to cut some 1x3s to put an inner square under the table top where the legs will go, this skirt (not sure what to call it) will be 3 or 3.5 feet on a side I'm hoping that will support the weight of everything. If i feel better tomorrow ill get the skirt cut and stained...

[buglips*the*goblin]

If you wanted to be sneaky about it, you could build a sand table with removable top and put the red fabric on that. Time for miniature gaming? Presto-chango, deformable, moldable terrain.

 

Just don't leave the lid off if you have a cat. It'll, uh, make battlements.