Cigar Band Project - Poker Table - Lots o' Pics!

[sonick]

That is just awesome!!!!!! Truly a work of art.
To top it off, it's a total original and can never be duplicated.......
Great job

I have to ask the same question daviddunn just did....... how exactly are you protecting the bands and holding them in place ? Polyurethane ? Plexiglass ? Some sort of clear sheeting ? Inquiring minds want to know......

Also would be interested to know how some of the bands appear to be floating higher than the others......

[mtb996]

Really nice work. Great job.

[muziq]

That think is big enough you should charge money for tours! Really beautiful, unique card table...congrats!

[KASR]

Extremely cool! What did you use to affix the bands to the wood? (the reason I ask, is becuz based on the flash, it doesn't look like the entire band is flush against the wood.)

[ToddziLLa]

Very cool man!

[tech-ninja]

OK. To tell you how I did it and answer a few questions.

Main table construction
1 sheet of 5/8 OSB and 1 sheet of 3/8 plywood. 9 yards of 58" wide black vinyl. 3 yards of dark green velveteen. 1/4 in foam for the center. 1.5 inch foam for the rail. Table legs.

I mounted the table legs (link) to the OSB. Then I put the ply on the OSB. Measuring two feet from the end and two feet from each side I found the center of my radius. (do this on each end). I then drew a 24" radius, a 19" radius, and a 15" radius from the same point. Then connected the radii with a straight line.
Now you have drawn your padded rail, chip rail, and center piece.

I plotted 8 point on the padded rail and the center piece for my t-nuts (link). I aligned the ply with the OSB and drilled out two of these and attached the two pieces together. Then I drilled out the remaining 14 holes.

I then cut the outside radius only using a jigsaw.



Unbolt the ply.

cut the next two radii.

Now you should have a table in the shape of the largest oval. A large oval donut. A medium donut. and a donut hole.

Padded rail
I attached the 1.5 in pad to the rail using spray adhesive. I laid out the vinyl and stapled the vinyl all around the outside of the rail. Then I used a box knife to cut the vinyl out of the center and stapled the vinyl to the inside. This created a one piece, "no-seam" rail.





Center
I attached the foam with the spray adhesive and used a stapler to upholster the velveteen to it.

These two pieces require two people to do them right. One to pull the fabric tight and one to staple. (many thanks to my lovely wife).

I used the scraps from the padded rail to put on the edge of the OSB so there would not be any wood showing.



With your t-nuts in, you can bolt down the padded rail and the center piece. This is nice as they do not shift, but also allows for you to remove them when needed.

[tech-ninja]

Chip Rail
I started by putting a layer of bands on with spray adhesive. Make sure the bands are securely affixed or they may "float" up. I then created a form from aluminum foil and poster board which I stapled around the perimeter of the rail.





I used an epoxy product call GlazeCoat (link) to seal the bands. I sealed the first layer of bands with a small amount of epoxy and when that became tacky (6-8 hours) I put down the remainder of the epoxy.
After 24 hours, I mixed another quart of epoxy and put that down. Now the epoxy is approximately 1/6 in thick. When that becomes tacky (6-8 hours) I put down the final bands and cuban seals. This is what gives them the appearance of floating.
After 24 hours from application, I put down the third and final quart of epoxy.



After 48 hours I removed the form and cut away any sharp edges.



After 72 hours the product is fully cured and I could remove the excess. This stuff is hard as plexiglass, and I used a Stanly sur-form shaver to remove the excess from the bottom and sides. (link)

I then used Carnauba based wax (link) and waxed the band rail. This hid any small scratches and gave it a very clear appearance and was *very* slick to the touch.

Then I seated the rail in between the other two and it was done!

[MrGudgeon]

I don't even like playing cards, but DAMN I am jealous of that table. Outstanding job my man.

[cre8v1]

Once you placed the labels, did you brush on an acrylic overcoat or something?

[cre8v1]

Originally Posted by cre8v1

Once you placed the labels, did you brush on an acrylic overcoat or something?

Doh! You posted the answer as I was typing this. You did a fantastic job, man!

[carni]

Unbelievable, great work and great pics.

[KASR]

That's very cool. I'm coming over to take yer mone....errrr...play some cards!

[spooble]

Glad you posted the pictures. I hadn't seen some of the "under construction" photos. And I must say, as good as these pictures look, it looks even better in person! I really didn't know Stewart had it in him.

[sonick]

Fantastic job. Incredible.
I'm pretty handy but far too ADHD to ever finish the chip rail/bands........

You could make a mint manufacturing those and selling them.......

I just don't know how you would clear all the names for sale and acquire that many bands......

Hell I'd put down some coin for one of those!

[Twill413]

Nice work Stewart. Really well done.