So every summer I plan a wood working project and this year I went big with this 7′ X 5′ six person gaming table. I had been thinking about a gaming table for a couple years when I came across this youtube video. Now I will say that a table of this size takes a decent budget and a lot of tools to complete. I wont go into specific costs as prices very by material and region. After finding a set of designs another person made based on this table I went to work. (By the way, verify all dimensions before building… I found a few discrepancies that I had to modify during pre-construction)
After reconsidering using Hickory due to cost and staining issues I decided to use a combination of quality and select Pine boards. If you have a home depot, menards or Lowes in your area you can find a good selection of select pine boards at a affordable price, but you will have to spend some time searching through warped planks. I recommend finding a lumber yard that deals exclusively with lumber, pricing will vary but you’ll be happier with what you find.
The first thing I started with where the legs and lower frame, and look! Its level!!
At this stage I laid out some of the surface frame work.
Now all of the main pieces have been cut and partially assembled. Note all of the hinge pieces routed for the hinges.
Boy that looks pretty doesn’t it? well it was a pain in the but to get it to fit that nicely.
As with most things in this world, the hinges came from China and of course they where not a half inch wide. Luckily for me my dad is a machinist and has a milling machine in his shop, so he shaved both sides down to make the hinge actually .50 ” wide.
Here is a shot of the center joint, note the two different plywood sheets. Unhappy with the crap home depot had on hand they gave me a cabinet grade sheet for the same price. Now I wish I had just bought cabinet grade plywood for both ends of the table, but it isnt an issue. Also the board to the back is removable for disassemble of the table.
Assembly of the top section and the fold down desk.
The table completely assembled and nearly ready for stain. Time to sand!
First coat of stain
Too finish the look of the table I decided against doing a poker felt lined insert for the center. Instead I chose a 1/2″ Black Foamboard cut down to fit the 4 X 6′ center playing surface. I hope you enjoyed my project, let me know what you think.
The Geeks Menagerie 
Niiiiice!
thanks!
Looks Nice Rod.
Awesome job! I found your site through Youtube and had a few questions. My friends and I have been playing on plastic tables for a while so I started researching building something along these lines, or even with a rear projection on the bottom. Overall, how long did it take you to build and what was the final investment amount? Again, great work!
Thanks Derek! Well I was working on a budget so I worked on it over the course of about three months. I’ll be honest I kind of lost track of the actual amount I spent between returning wood and buying better quality materials. I have around $300-400 invested in the table(closer to $300), the hardest part of the table was setting up the Router for the hinges. The one thing I would recommend is make sure you know what type of wood you want to use. Pine made the table liter and is easy to work, I mixed quality boards(on the hidden sections) and Select board on all the visible areas. I decided against a hard wood like hickory mainly for the cost. I would recommend using cabinet grade plywood for the table surface, it will make your life easier, it looks way better and the one side sanded type. If you have any more questions feel free to send me an email of message.
Wow, this table looks great. Any chance you are willing to share your design / plan for this table? I would love to build one for myself.
I found the plans listed on a reply to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UovShUhHzlU
Someone else made the design, I wish I could find his name. Any way, if I can find his name ill give him credit for the blue print I used.
What tools do you need to make this table? I am wondering if it is worth the tool investment.
I used the following: Skill saw, table saw, chop saw, router, cordless drill. Then your usual lesser tools: quick grip clamps tap measure, level, glue ect.