I finally made some time to work on the gaming table again! This project is a difficult one, with lots of moving parts. There are a lot of things I've tried that just haven't worked out so I keep having to rethink and redo. With the new plan all thought out and a deadline coming up for getting it all finished, I really dug in and have been working on it (between life stuff) for a couple of weeks. When I last worked on it, the border was up above the gaming space.
The new plan meant that the border had to be moved down.
Then I started marking out the personal spaces and the cupholders.
I decided to start painting so that I could get a better feel for what it would look like.
That just made the finish part of the rest of it look worse. Thankfully, after sitting for a bit and thinking about a plan, I decided to buy whiteboard and cut it to size to cover all of the imperfections. Plus, whiteboard is awesome for keeping track of things during gaming!
Next, I decided to cut the holes for the cupholders.
Then, it was time to add the flip out workspaces so that everyone has enough room for a books and papers. At some point, I will get around to making dice trays that will go in here too.
Once I had the flip-out trays in place, I realized there wasn't a good way to grab a hold of them to pull them out when they were folded in. Luckily, I have a bag of little hooks with plenty left over so I attached one to the underside of each space. The hooks are perfect for hanging a dice bag too.
Here are shots of one whole side folded and then flipped out.
I eventually painted the underside of the flip out part black to match the top. Next, it was time to address the messy top edge. It needed some trim but the top of the whiteboard needed trim too. I decided that corner trim would be the perfect thing to cover all of it. Two of them butted up against each other was a perfect fit!
It became tricky at the corners. If I continued the trim through the corners, the flip trays wouldn't have enough space to open and close. I could have trimmed the edge of each tray but decided to just use a different trim. I don't love it but it does the job.
Here's a shot of the whole table at this stage.
I also decided the flip tray areas needed some trim. It's maybe a bit excessive but I love how it just finished it off.
This next part is the piece that was giving me the biggest headache. Since this table is in our dining room, I would like to have a dining table top at the ready for when it's not being used for gaming. I decided the best way to do that was to create a piece that would attach to the top rim of the gaming space and then to the edge of the flip tray when folded to a 90 degree angle. It was tricky because when the flip tray is at 90 degrees, it is about an inch higher than the top rim of the gaming space. I tried all sorts of things to make this work. In the end, I decided on a 1x4 under the rim side (which will hold the rest of the table top boards) and then a 1/4" trim piece with a corner trim piece on the flip tray side. It's not perfectly level, but I was tired of trying to get it perfect. It's super close. Here's a shot of the side of it. It looks crazy, but it works well and it holds the nice pine boards very well.
When I finally got all of the border put together, I found some flaws where things just didn't line up correctly.
I decided to grab more trim for an extra border around the boards. I also had an area on each corner that needed attention.
I like how the edging ended up, though it likely won't be noticed much.
It gave me a thought on how to fix the measurement issues on the top. I grabbed some 1/2" and 3/4" trim. It turns out I also need 2" trim but I've put off completely finishing the table top at a later date. Anyway, the trim is beautiful, stained and up against the black.
I only needed to get the table ready for gaming, for now, so I will finish the table top a little at a time when I can. I've decided that I need to buy much more expensive boards to set in place so that they lay nicely. These pine boards are warped enough that they just don't work.
For now, all of the table top pieces have been removed, lights have been installed and the table is ready for gaming.
I'll make the dice trays soon but, in the meantime, we bought some fun lighting for the room that I will be installing next. I'll also make a buffet table for the all-important snacks and drinks. This room may take me a full year from start to finish but it will eventually all be accomplished. Here's a sneak peek of one of the lights...
Now, where are my wire cutters?
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