Building the LONG SIDE arm rests for the main table.

For this post we will focus on the two LONG SIDE Arm rests that sit within the gaming table. Arm rests, at least that's what I call them, serve dual purposes; they give you an area to rest your elbows or forearms while you play your games AND they help maintain different sized gaming play areas.  

When playing a long or involved game we all know how tiresome it can be to either wait for your opponent to make a move or go through AP and decide upon your own move. When you have a gaming table that only has a narrow table edge to lean against or rest your forearms on, it can be very uncomfortable.  I wanted to remedy this by adding removable arm rest that have a 5" wide surface area. This, plus  the 1" table border, will give you 6" of rest area, which is plenty of surface area to rest your forearms on and still provide enough gaming area to play most long games.  The added bonus of making them removable was so you could play on the entire playing area of the gaming table 48" x 39" when all the arm rests were removed!

Here are the number of configurable play areas with the arm rests installed and then removed section by section.

Gaming surface areas:

1.  48" x 39" when all arm rests are removed from the gaming table.

2.  48" x 28" when only the LONG side arm rests are added.

3.  38" x 28" when both the LONG and the SHORT side arm rests are added.

Even at the smallest gaming surface area you can play a large number of games with their game boards.

Now that we know what we're using the arm rests for, let's build them!

Use your Maple stock on hand that is at least 5-1/2" wide because the arm rests will be 5" in width.  We are going to cut the LONG side arm rests first so you'll need material that is at least 49" long.

CRITICAL: It's critical that you use stock that is as flat and straight as possible!  You don't want to use any wood that has any kind of warp, twist or bend which can show up on the arm rests and produce uneven gaps or edges.

Rip cut the first two pieces at 5" wide that are a little over 49" in length for each piece. When you have these two pieces cut take the exact inside measurement of the LONG SIDE of the gaming table and cross cut these two board to just under 1/16" less than the exact measurement of the inside gap.  

Make sure you cross-cut one end of the arm rest pieces first before you cut to size so you get a nice 90 degree starting edge. 

Example: Since the measurement of the inside of LONG side of the table is 48", you should have two LONG SIDE arm rest boards cut to a length of 47 - 15/16" length.  This 1/16" gap, which you could make even smaller by trying a 1/24" gap, which is enough to allow for expansion of the wood when it sits inside the table area.  You really only have to worry about wood expansion if you live in an area that is very humid and the wood you get has not been dried out completely.  In this case, expansion can be sever and wood can expand up to 2/16" in some cases.  Use your best judgement when compensating for the gap because it would be bad if your arm rest expands and you end up not being able to remove it from the table!!

Now go ahead and cut the two arm rest pieces to the length indicated above for your arm rests.

With the initial LONG SIDE arm rest boards cut to size, we need to cut the [2] support pieces for each arm rest.  To get the correct measurement for the support pieces make sure you have all the planks installed around the gaming board.  Then measure the thickness of the arm rest pieces.

NOTE:  When you get 4/4 lumber it is normally around 14/16" thick and would be planed down to 3/4" thick.  On my table I wanted to simulate people not having a planer and left the wood at it original thickness so that is what I had as my starting thickness for the arm rests.  So, to get the height of the support pieces you will take the thickness measurement of the arm rest, which in this case is 14/16", then take the height measurement from the top of the plank to the top edge of the table.  Subtract the thickness of the arm rest piece from this height and you are left with the height of the support pieces!  

Below you can see the actual height measurement I set on my table saw to cut the support pieces for each arm rest [2 - 10/16" high]!

With this measurement set on the table saw, go ahead and rip-cut the four support pieces "2 per arm rest"!

Like we did with the arm rests previously, make sure you cross-cut one end of the support pieces to get a nice 90 degree edge.  Then go ahead and cut these four pieces to the same length as you made for the arm rests.

In the image below you can see all the necessary pieces for the LONG SIDE arm rests.

Below shows the arm rests "pieces" temporarily installed to check for height and length accuracy.  If it is hard to get the arm rests out of the table then they are too long and you should trim them down by 1/32" increments until they can be removed smoothly!

CRITICAL: Make sure you don't trim off too much are you will have an unsightly gap at one edge or both edges of your arm rest.  This will just end up taking away from the beauty of the table!

Here you can see the arm rests temporarily installed along with the gaming board.  You'll also notice that the planks were set high enough where the arm rest support pieces never rest on the actual gaming board cloth so as to crease or dent it!

Below are where the actual support pieces would sit for the actual arm rests.

Now that we have the LONG SIDE arm rests completed, let's cut the SHORT SIDE arm rests. You'll be following the same steps above to create the SHORT SIDE arm rests as you did for the LONG SIDE arm rests!

If everything looks and fits perfectly let's go ahead and attach the support pieces to the arm rest pieces!

Since I don't want to glue all these pieces together because it allows for changes I may want to make in the future, let's go ahead and use the KREG pocket hole jig to attached the support pieces to the arm rest pieces.  As we've seen previously, you can get a strong, accurately aligned joint by using the KREG system so that's what I plan on doing.  This also saves time since you won't be gluing anything and having to deal with any mess or wait for the glue to dry!

Let's begin with the LONG side arm rests first.  Since the LONG side is almost 48" long, I wanted [4] secure points on the support piece to join with the arm rest piece.  Make a pencil mark that is 2" from both ends of the piece and drill the first two holes. 

NOTE:  Do this on all four support boards at the same time!

Then make two more pencil marks that are 17" from both ends and drill these two holes on all four support pieces.  These will be the inner secure points.

Once all the holes have been drilled on all four support pieces, let's secure the INNER support piece first to the LONG side arm rest.  

The INNER support piece is the piece that will be closest to the inside edge of the table. As you can see below in the photo, we don't want this support piece secured exactly at the same edge of the arm rest because we only want the arm rest piece resting against the table edge.  

NOTE:  Notice the small 1/16" gap between the arm rest edge and the face of the INNER support piece.

We want a clean, tight connect with only the arm rest to the inner table edge!

CRITICAL:  Make sure you use a clamp right next to where you will be placing the screw to keep the boards flat against each other and stop them from separating while you screw them together.

Below is the INNER support piece screwed down and secured to the LONG side arm rest!

Let's move onto the OUTER support piece and drill the same holes as you did on the INNER support piece.  Go ahead and use the same measurements as before:  2" and 17" from the ends.

In the case of the OUTER support piece, we'll want this piece secured flush with the arm rest piece as shown below.  This will be the side where we add another support piece that is used to hold the table inner leafs.  So we will eventually be using another 1/2" thick piece that will rest against the arm rests to hold the three leaf sections.

CRITICAL: When you screw in the KREG screws be careful not to OVER tighten them too tight because you can shear the head and break the screw, leaving you with a screw you can't remove!

Below you can see one of the finished long side ARM RESTS!  You can glue these pieces together if you want but it's unnecessary when you use KREG screws since they create a strong, secure fit.  Plus you can take it apart later if you want and add the 1" thick piece to the front of the arm rest.  This is the piece that will hold the leafs.

Below are the two LONG SIDE ARM RESTS placed in the gaming table and ready for sanding.  Don't sand the arm rests now, that will be done with the entire table in a separate post covering finishing and sanding!

  

In the next post I will cover making the SHORT SIDE arm rests so see you then!

Making the drawer face plates and mounting it to the drawer!

In this post we will be making the drawer face plates.  You will need a board at least 58" in length and 4" wide.  Set your table saw to a rip the board to a width of 3 - 5/8" wide.  This will be the height of each drawer face plate.  After to cut the board you will need to place it down to 1/2" thick.  

NOTE: If you don't have a planer you'll just have to leave it at the 3/4" thickness.   

Once you get the board planed down to 1/2" thick you will be cutting each drawer face to size.

Each drawer face plate will be cut to a width of 13", so final measurements of all the drawer face plates will be 13" x 3-5/8" x 1/2" thick!

With all the drawer plates cut you need to drill a hole in the center for the drawer knob. Take a rules and a pencil and lay the rules diagonally from corner to corner and put a pencil mark in the middle of all four boards.  Then do the same thing on the opposite corners. 

Below you can see me marking the first center mark on the drawer face plate.

Now I'm putting the second center mark on each drawer face plate.  This will give you an X pencil mark on the center of each board where you will drill the hole for the drawer knob.

Below are the type of drawer knob I'm using for this table, which I purchased at Home Depot.

You need a 3/16" drill bit to drill the hole on the drawer face plate.  Set the drill bit in the center of the X and make a clean drill hole in the center of all four boards.

Below is the finished hole!

Now we need to mount the drawer face plate to the drawer!  Use a small square to set the height of the drawer face plate to the table frame.  

Set the square to 1/4" and place it on top of the drawer face plate measuring from the top down!

Use two clamps to hold the drawer face plate in place once you have the 1/4" measurement set!

CRITICAL:  Make sure you don't see any of the inner drawer opening on any of the drawer face plate sides!

NOTE:  You are clamping the drawer face plate to the actual drawer and not the table frame!

Here you can see the drawer face plate clamped in place, centered and secured to the drawer so you can finish drilling the knob hole through the drawer!

Use the same 3/16" drill as before and complete the hole by drilling in the same hole through to the drawer.

Now get the knob ready.  I had to use some small washer because the bolt is a little too long.  The washers bridge the gap and help hole the knob secure to the drawer.

NOTE:  You could cut the bolt down a little and avoid using the washers, which is what I ended up doing later!

Just fit the three washers on the bolt and fit it through the hole going from the drawer out to the drawer face plate as shown below.

Once you push the bolt into the hole and through the drawer face plate, secure the knob on the bolt!  Tighten the knob so it is secure, you can use a screw driver to hold the screw while you tighten the bolt.  

CRITICAL: Don't over tighten the knob or you will strip the knob on the bolt and have to get a new one!!

Below is the drawer face plate attached to the drawer and centered on the table frame but not completely secure.  Since you only have one bolt in the center the drawer face plate will spin around if the clamps are removed!  You now need to drill a small hole on the inside of the drawer for a screw to secure the drawer face plate so it wont spin!

Only remove one of the clamps as shown below.  

CRITICAL: DO NOT REMOVE BOTH CLAMPS!!  If you accidentally remove both clamps you will have to use the square again to level the drawer face plate to the table frame!

With the one clamp removed you'll be drilling a small hole for a screw to secure the drawer face plate.

Here you can see the type of screw you will need to secure the drawer face plate.  Use a #6 x 3/4" Phillips screw!

Below you can see all the components you will need to help secure the drawer face plate in it's final position.

Below you see a red plastic pressure cap that helps set the depth of a drill bit when drilling into wood material!  This little device is great because you place it on any drill bit up to 1/4" and tighten it to a distance from the tip of the bit.  Now when you drill into your material the drill bit will only go into the material as far as you set the depth of the cap!

If you use the device, you can set it to a depth of 3/4" as shown below!  If you don't have one of these devices you can always use a little bit of tape around the drill bit!

Pick a point on the inside of the drawer that is about 1-1/2" from the edge of the drawer and right in the middle of the drawer inside face.  See photo below!

After you drill the hole use a counter sink bit "shown below" to create a counter sink on the hole you just drilled.  This will allow you to secure the screw and keep if flush with the inside drawer face.  If you don't have one of these bits you can always use a 3/8" drill bit and drill just the opening of the hole to produce the same counter sink hole!!

Below you can see the counter sunk hole after you use the counter sink bit!

Now get one of the screws and secure it into the hole as shown below!

When you finish, the inside of your drawer should look like the photo below!

Below is the drawer face plate secured to the drawer and in its final position!

Below you can see all four drawer face plates completed!  

Now that the drawers are complete let's move onto building the bottom trim on table legs and securing them to the inside of the table frame!

See you at the next post!