Bar Room Furniture: Building a Poker Table

A good poker table is an essential piece of bar room furniture. Building your own can be done easily with a few common woodworking tools and a few weekends.

Build the Center Pedestal

The center pedestal or base of your poker table can be made several different ways. The easiest is to build a simple rectangular box with 2x12 boards. This wide base will give your table some stability and make it less likely to tip over. Choose good hardwoods like maple, oak, or cherry.

Cut the pieces on a table saw so that all sides are even and the same width. You can use a simple butt-to-end joint, but a dado joint will add more strength. Stand up the boards and join them together with brads and glue. Add strips of tape to the joints and use strap clamps to hold the base securely.

Add Legs

Small legs attached to the center pedestal will stabilize your homebuilt barroom furniture. Draw out a design that you are pleased with and trace it onto four pieces of 2” stock that matches the pedestal.

Cut the design out with a jigsaw, and sand edges until smooth. Next drill corresponding holes into both the bottom of the pedestal and each of the legs. Using lag bolts and a socket driver, attach legs.

Cut Out Table Top

The hardest part of building any type of table is cutting out the top. Using 3/4 inch plywood, place a nail in the center of a 4/8 sheet. Attach a string to the nail, mark the length of the top’s diameter, and trace around the sheet. You can now use a jigsaw, or router with a straight bit, and cut around the outside of the pencil mark. Then use a sander to clean up edges.

Form Top Ring

After cutting out the table top, use the same process to trace and cut out the top ring along the outside of the poker table. Using veneer, in the finish you desire, cut out pieces to glue onto the ring.  This will make for a nice finished look. Attach the pieces to the outside of the table.

Attach Padding and Felt

Purchase colored felt for your bar room furniture. The felt will usually be green, but choose one that goes with the color of your room. Stretch the felt over the table and make sure to cover all exposed wood. Then fold the felt under the table and begin stapling it at one end. Remember to bunch the felt on the bottom before stapling to give the rounded corners a smooth look.

Add Chairs and Chips

Your new bar room furniture is now ready for its first poker game. Set it up and call your friends over for a game.