I was hoping that anyone who has the time could take a look at the 10-sided
poker table that I have begun designing. Some drawings of it can be found
he

http://www.urangas.com/decagon_table.htm

First, some background....I want to build a card table that will seat up to
10 people, although it does not have to be roomy when full. I have also
eliminated oval table designs because I want each position at the table to
be equal for the purposes of dealing. Those two restrictions led me to this
design (although a round table would also work). My woodworking experience
is limited, which is why I need some help.

Right now, the design uses crossbeam supports (brown in the picture) of the
dimension of framing lumber, although I plan to use some type of hardwood.
The apron and player stations will likely be cherry (purple in the picture).
The thickness of the apron in the drawings is only 0.5", but I'm wondering
if it needs to be wider. The drawings show one hidden drawer (in red), but
I'll likely want two--one on each side. The central decagon would be a
0.75" cut of MDF or plywood layered with carpet padding and covered with
card felt. It can be seen in the surfaced image at the bottom of the linked
page (the green middle). I also plan on having a removable top for the
table that would probably be made from 0.75" oak plywood, bordered with
cherry hardwood, and also contain an inlaid pattern of cherry. I want to
make two of these tables, one for me and one for a charity auction.

Now, if anyone has the time to address the following questions/concerns, I
would be very grateful.

1. Is the crossbeam structure strong enough? I have estimated the table
weight to be the following: 100lbs for removable top + 50 lbs for apron and
skirt + 50 lbs for central decagon playing surface = 200 lbs. I planned on
using mitred wood blocks (not shown in the picture), screws, and glue to
join the crossbeams together. I would prefer to use oak for the
crossbeams--does anyone have any better suggestions?

2. How to join this thing together? I thought I would use biscuits to join
all of the player stations together, although I'll probably need to use
additional wood beneath the player stations to span the joints and fortify
them. The apron sections would be connected using wood backing. For
example, I would use screws to attach wood blocks to the backside of the
apron on both sides of a joint. None of these wood backings/fortifications
are shown in the drawing.

For a base, I see a couple of options I would consider. If absolutely
necessary for stability, I could use 5 distributed legs spaced around the
outside perimeter of the table. I would prefer to instead use some type of
pedestal-like design. For example, a pentagon-shaped pedestal that provided
direct support at the intersection points of the crossbeams. What I'd
really like to do is get feedback on the design of the table top before I
worry too much about the base. Maybe I'm just kidding myself that this
could work at all.

Any suggestions/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tony

Tony R. Uranga wrote:
I was hoping that anyone who has the time could take a look at the 10-sided
poker table that I have begun designing. Some drawings of it can be found
he

http://www.urangas.com/decagon_table.htm

First, some background....I want to build a card table that will seat up to
10 people, although it does not have to be roomy when full. I have also
eliminated oval table designs because I want each position at the table to
be equal for the purposes of dealing. Those two restrictions led me to this
design (although a round table would also work). My woodworking experience
is limited, which is why I need some help.

Right now, the design uses crossbeam supports (brown in the picture) of the
dimension of framing lumber, although I plan to use some type of hardwood.
The apron and player stations will likely be cherry (purple in the picture).
The thickness of the apron in the drawings is only 0.5", but I'm wondering
if it needs to be wider. The drawings show one hidden drawer (in red), but
I'll likely want two--one on each side. The central decagon would be a
0.75" cut of MDF or plywood layered with carpet padding and covered with
card felt. It can be seen in the surfaced image at the bottom of the linked
page (the green middle). I also plan on having a removable top for the
table that would probably be made from 0.75" oak plywood, bordered with
cherry hardwood, and also contain an inlaid pattern of cherry. I want to
make two of these tables, one for me and one for a charity auction.

Now, if anyone has the time to address the following questions/concerns, I
would be very grateful.

1. Is the crossbeam structure strong enough? I have estimated the table
weight to be the following: 100lbs for removable top + 50 lbs for apron and
skirt + 50 lbs for central decagon playing surface = 200 lbs. I planned on
using mitred wood blocks (not shown in the picture), screws, and glue to
join the crossbeams together. I would prefer to use oak for the
crossbeams--does anyone have any better suggestions?

Use some of the leftover oak plywood for the crossbeans. Set them on their sides so they can act as stiffeners. If you
are worried about the ply showing on the bottom, use some oak banding to cover this.


2. How to join this thing together? I thought I would use biscuits to join
all of the player stations together, although I'll probably need to use
additional wood beneath the player stations to span the joints and fortify
them. The apron sections would be connected using wood backing. For
example, I would use screws to attach wood blocks to the backside of the
apron on both sides of a joint. None of these wood backings/fortifications
are shown in the drawing.

For a base, I see a couple of options I would consider. If absolutely
necessary for stability, I could use 5 distributed legs spaced around the
outside perimeter of the table. I would prefer to instead use some type of
pedestal-like design. For example, a pentagon-shaped pedestal that provided
direct support at the intersection points of the crossbeams. What I'd
really like to do is get feedback on the design of the table top before I
worry too much about the base. Maybe I'm just kidding myself that this
could work at all.

Any suggestions/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tony

Tony,

A 100 lb removable top is NOT going to be popular. I'd work on making it as
thin as possible. After all, it does have the table underneath to support
it.
I agree with the other poster that maybe you could use plywood for the
supports. It has the advantage that you can make it deeper near the center
where it attaches to your pedestal and shallower out by your knees where it
doesn't need to be thick at all.

-Jack

"Tony R. Uranga" wrote in message
...
I was hoping that anyone who has the time could take a look at the
10-sided
poker table that I have begun designing. Some drawings of it can be found
he

http://www.urangas.com/decagon_table.htm

First, some background....I want to build a card table that will seat up
to
10 people, although it does not have to be roomy when full. I have also
eliminated oval table designs because I want each position at the table to
be equal for the purposes of dealing. Those two restrictions led me to
this
design (although a round table would also work). My woodworking
experience
is limited, which is why I need some help.

Right now, the design uses crossbeam supports (brown in the picture) of
the
dimension of framing lumber, although I plan to use some type of hardwood.
The apron and player stations will likely be cherry (purple in the
picture).
The thickness of the apron in the drawings is only 0.5", but I'm wondering
if it needs to be wider. The drawings show one hidden drawer (in red),
but
I'll likely want two--one on each side. The central decagon would be a
0.75" cut of MDF or plywood layered with carpet padding and covered with
card felt. It can be seen in the surfaced image at the bottom of the
linked
page (the green middle). I also plan on having a removable top for the
table that would probably be made from 0.75" oak plywood, bordered with
cherry hardwood, and also contain an inlaid pattern of cherry. I want to
make two of these tables, one for me and one for a charity auction.

Now, if anyone has the time to address the following questions/concerns, I
would be very grateful.

1. Is the crossbeam structure strong enough? I have estimated the table
weight to be the following: 100lbs for removable top + 50 lbs for apron
and
skirt + 50 lbs for central decagon playing surface = 200 lbs. I planned
on
using mitred wood blocks (not shown in the picture), screws, and glue to
join the crossbeams together. I would prefer to use oak for the
crossbeams--does anyone have any better suggestions?

2. How to join this thing together? I thought I would use biscuits to
join
all of the player stations together, although I'll probably need to use
additional wood beneath the player stations to span the joints and fortify
them. The apron sections would be connected using wood backing. For
example, I would use screws to attach wood blocks to the backside of the
apron on both sides of a joint. None of these wood
backings/fortifications
are shown in the drawing.

For a base, I see a couple of options I would consider. If absolutely
necessary for stability, I could use 5 distributed legs spaced around the
outside perimeter of the table. I would prefer to instead use some type
of
pedestal-like design. For example, a pentagon-shaped pedestal that
provided
direct support at the intersection points of the crossbeams. What I'd
really like to do is get feedback on the design of the table top before I
worry too much about the base. Maybe I'm just kidding myself that this
could work at all.

Any suggestions/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tony

On Fri, 21 May 2004 18:20:25 GMT, "Tony R. Uranga"
brought forth from the murky depths:

I was hoping that anyone who has the time could take a look at the 10-sided
poker table that I have begun designing. Some drawings of it can be found
he

http://www.urangas.com/decagon_table.htm

Bwahahaha! How are you ever going to cut to/hold those
tenths figures. 20.0219? titter


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Hi Tony,
We make poker tables along with other things. Our earlier tables allowed about
20+" per player. It's like being in the centre seat of a discount airline. Too
small unless kids are using it. We now allow at least 22.5" per player.
I would suggest you order a set of plans from Furniture Designs (about $13) for
their eight seater and modify the plan to seat ten. You can either use their
removable leg design or replace it with a pedestal topped with a round of
plywood. Cheers, JG

"Tony R. Uranga" wrote:

I was hoping that anyone who has the time could take a look at the 10-sided
poker table that I have begun designing. Some drawings of it can be found
he

http://www.urangas.com/decagon_table.htm

First, some background....I want to build a card table that will seat up to
10 people, although it does not have to be roomy when full. I have also
eliminated oval table designs because I want each position at the table to
be equal for the purposes of dealing. Those two restrictions led me to this
design (although a round table would also work). My woodworking experience
is limited, which is why I need some help.

Right now, the design uses crossbeam supports (brown in the picture) of the
dimension of framing lumber, although I plan to use some type of hardwood.
The apron and player stations will likely be cherry (purple in the picture).
The thickness of the apron in the drawings is only 0.5", but I'm wondering
if it needs to be wider. The drawings show one hidden drawer (in red), but
I'll likely want two--one on each side. The central decagon would be a
0.75" cut of MDF or plywood layered with carpet padding and covered with
card felt. It can be seen in the surfaced image at the bottom of the linked
page (the green middle). I also plan on having a removable top for the
table that would probably be made from 0.75" oak plywood, bordered with
cherry hardwood, and also contain an inlaid pattern of cherry. I want to
make two of these tables, one for me and one for a charity auction.

Now, if anyone has the time to address the following questions/concerns, I
would be very grateful.

1. Is the crossbeam structure strong enough? I have estimated the table
weight to be the following: 100lbs for removable top + 50 lbs for apron and
skirt + 50 lbs for central decagon playing surface = 200 lbs. I planned on
using mitred wood blocks (not shown in the picture), screws, and glue to
join the crossbeams together. I would prefer to use oak for the
crossbeams--does anyone have any better suggestions?

2. How to join this thing together? I thought I would use biscuits to join
all of the player stations together, although I'll probably need to use
additional wood beneath the player stations to span the joints and fortify
them. The apron sections would be connected using wood backing. For
example, I would use screws to attach wood blocks to the backside of the
apron on both sides of a joint. None of these wood backings/fortifications
are shown in the drawing.

For a base, I see a couple of options I would consider. If absolutely
necessary for stability, I could use 5 distributed legs spaced around the
outside perimeter of the table. I would prefer to instead use some type of
pedestal-like design. For example, a pentagon-shaped pedestal that provided
direct support at the intersection points of the crossbeams. What I'd
really like to do is get feedback on the design of the table top before I
worry too much about the base. Maybe I'm just kidding myself that this
could work at all.

Any suggestions/feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tony