You can also use a permanent marker, white chalk, or a grease pencil to mark your lines.
Always wear protective eyewear when using power tools. Keep both hands on the two handles on top of your circular saw while the trigger is firing. You can use a jigsaw if you’re more comfortable with it. Your plywood sheet will be in the shape of an octagon after you’ve finished cutting each corner.
If you don’t spray every section of your plywood with adhesive, you could end up with air bubbles in your playing surface. You can purchase heavy-duty adhesive glue at your local hardware store. Double-check the can to make sure that your adhesive works with wood before purchasing and using it.
Place something heavy in the center of your table while you remove the excess foam. In the off-chance that the foam hasn’t fully dried, it could end up sliding while you’re cutting it. [7] X Research source
The width of your trim will dictate the size of the lip between your playing surface and the table itself.
Speed cloth is the green material used on poker tables. It is often referred to as felt. Instead of dropping your playing surface on top of the speed cloth, you can stretch it out over the top if you have someone helping you.
You don’t need to worry about carving into the bottom of your playing surface with the utility knife. You’re not going to be able to see this section when you’re done.
You can use a framing square to draw a center line with pencil on each of the exterior edges on your table top. This will make lining up your octagon easier.
You can’t rotate your playing surface from this point on, so you’ll need to be able to match it up later. Use a simple symbol, like a circle or triangle, to mark the edge of your playing surface with the table top.
If you experience kickback when using your jigsaw, release the trigger and reposition it before trying again. If you’re struggling to visualize where the hole belongs, look for each 135-degree angle on your outline and drill right where your lines meet. You’re going to recycle the octagon that you cut out as the center piece for the legs, so don’t throw that piece out.
If your playing surface doesn’t lay flush with the other sheets of plywood, consider shaving any excess felt off of the bottom where you stapled it.
Only punch nails through the corners that you’re cutting off. You’ll use wood glue to attach the two sheets of plywood.
Base your leg references on the screw insert, not the edge of the table leg. Pre-constructed table legs have a screw built into them to affix them to a table top, so you don’t need to worry about drilling into them.
Leave your table upside down while testing the legs, since this is how you’re going to glue them in permanently.
The sandpaper will also round the sharp edges where your octagon angles rest, which could hurt someone when they rest their arms on the edge of the table. [22] X Research source Work in a well-ventilated area and use protective eyewear and headphones when using a sander.
You may want to apply multiple coats of your stain to get a deeper finish. [26] X Research source You can add a few coats of clear finish to give your table a glossier look if you’d like to.
Try to spread at least 10 pilot holes out in different sections of the table top. This will distribute the weight evenly across all 10 screws.
The washers aren’t required, but they’ll keep your screws secured over a longer period of time. Using screws instead of nails or glue will make your table easier to disassemble if you ever need to move it.
