Notices by Dan (dank@jorts.horse)

@MediaActivist the kind of insecure that requires 861 foreign military bases to enforce "the obviously best economic system"

the perfect motorcycle doesn't exi-- hold the fuck up

the rail system for the cupholders was an enormous part of the project. i settled on cutting a groove into the apron of the table and making matching inserts that fit into it.

if i did it again today, i'd do something different or modify the design. in testing, these worked perfectly and had plenty of strength. but cutting the rebates accurately with enough clearance to fit, but not so much that the inserts flop around, was an absolute nightmare. you have to account for wood movement, too

made a gaming table a few years back and learned a lot in the process.

the client brief was a modern style solid wood dining table that conceals a gaming surface and has a way for guests to store their drinks so no one tips their bev over in an intense sesh

the client settled on quarter-sawn oak, which i love the look of and it's wonderful to work with

this was a bear and a half.. i learned 3d modeling for this because i can't draw. making this turned me off of making stuff for months

i ended up splitting the top into four pieces so they would be easy to move and remove. plus if you're just playing a card game with one or two people, you don't have to take off all the panels.

but enough theory.. it's time to get down to the physical world

HAVE AT YOU!!

laying everything out, labeling, and figuring out which boards match with one another, especially for the tabletop

aside from consumables, this is everything it took to make the table.

you'll notice some sheetgoods. whenever possible, even if you're making something out of solid wood, sheetgoods are an excellent option for large panels and supporting pieces.

they are dimensionally stable and have a known-flat reference edge, so they're fast and easy to work with

if the client didn't explicitly want solid wood, i would have made this whole thing from finish-grade ply and edgebanded it.

the lumber was s2s - meaning it has two flat edges. so i zipped off the edges on the table saw and aligned everything to make the best grain pattern i could.

marking with chalk is a great trick because it comes off easily and doesn't stain your workpiece. the > and < marks are great for registration while gluing

the second image is dry-fitting the panels to make sure the edges are close enough before gluing.

AGAIN! test stuff before you take irreversible steps, like gluing

i made some test pieces with multiple finishes for the client to look at.

it is very, VERY important to make your test pieces the exact same way you will finish the project. otherwise it's not a useful test. i knew i would hand-apply the dye and spray the final finish, so that's what i did for the test pieces.

i also insisted on bringing the test pieces to the client and looking at them in the space where the final product will live. if you have this luxury, DO IT.

i love working with quarter-sawn oak because it is reasonably affordable and has really cool grain patterns. look at those legs!! there are so many medullary rays because of how the lumber is milled

seriously.. how could you NOT love this?!?

top tip: if you want to see what the workpiece will look like with a clear finish on it, just spray or spread some high-proof alcohol on it. water works, too, but it will raise the grain and takes far longer to dry

final glue-up on the tabletop.

top tip: if your clamps aren't long enough, but you have multiples, gang them up

i have several cauls in use here, just wrap them up in packing tape to make sure they don't stick to the workpiece

dry-fitting the aprons together. this was absolute bloody murder to get the very long boards to have a consistent rebate.

the workholding setup i had to do to get a 36" wide router table to cut this consistently is best described as "fancy up-town rigging"

remember that how accurately this is cut determines how well the cupholders fit and slide.

you know bike geeks that love chromoly? it's the same dang thing for "hand tool" woodworkers. and you know what? they're right. cut whenever possible. sanding is a pre-finish step.

abrasives gum up, it's easy to create asperities, and unless you have a great workflow, your finish may turn out spotty.

GET A CARD SCRAPER! and learn how to sharpen it. perfect for removing glue or things that would murder an abrasive pad

https://m.ai6yr.org/@dan/116703877328114705

all the clamps all the time. i think this is the only project where i felt under-clamped.

figuring out how to put the dang thing together is paramount. i used fairly standard corner braces.

oh hey.. did i mention this whole dang thing needs to be semi-takedown? not a whole lot of ways to get something this big into an ordinary living space otherwise.

oh hey, it's the first time i had this thing right side up!!

i did a lot of research to find a way to get the gaming surface up to snuff. what i settled on was pool table cloth and volara foam. the felt is extremely durable and gives good slide for cards and game pieces, but doesn't have much bounce. so it's still hard to pick up thin objects like cards.

that's where the volara foam comes in. it's super-stable and gives the perfect amount of flex.

and.. how the cupholders fit.

the problem is.. just putting cloth on a table doesn't have enough deflection to let you pick up a card or a gamepiece easily.. hence the foam