New Project: Poker Table: Day One

I am always working on one thing or another and just recently I got really excited about building a poker table. Before I let the excitement die down I started doing some serious research, buying some materials and started cutting. There are a few things that I am glad that I haven't jumped into in the past (see my "overzealous" thread) but I am pretty stoked about this one.

Day 0 (actually a few days) consisted of researching wood, tools, buying materials, etc.

Today is really Day 1. I got three sheets of Birch plywood this morning, borrowed a jig saw and started cutting this evening.

The sheets started out as 4' by 8'. I think this is a little too big for my tastes so I cut the plywood down to 3.5' by 7'. It should still be plenty to sit 8-10 people.

Once I got the ply down to the smaller size it was a little lighter and I could maneuver it a little better. I busted out the jig saw and after a few test cuts I started shaping the first piece. After some careful measuring and cutting I have a rough shape of the outer diameter of the table.


The next step is to sand the oval so the edges are smooth, then cut the other two pieces the same shape and select the best piece for my exposed wood section.

I would love to have this table done by next week but it will be tough since I am headed up to DC for HFAY racing and I am headed out to do some trailwork on Sunday in preparation for The Paranormal.

Hopefully I can get the sanding done tomorrow and start cutting the other two ovals. Here's what the workbench looked like after two hours of working. It was clean when I started.

Building Time: 2:00 hours
Total H20 consumed: Exactly 1.5 liters