Building a Board Gaming Table 

Dear god the minor kickback and leaning over the table saw on the first cut had me clenching in fear

Not to be the safety police, but that first cut on the table saw was incredibly dangerous for kick back, which is the true danger when using a table saw. You should always use a fence, a miter gauge, or in this case made a cross cut sled. Cross cut sled is a must for a table saw. The blade wouldn’t have gone up as a high, so you would have to do a few cuts and rotate on the sled.

Hilarious and inspirational at the same time! It shows that good tools go a long way. But building our own table is more or less the dream, so who knows?!

Use my code SHELFSIDE10 and link: bit.ly/32rLqeJ to get 10% off (save up to $47!) your own authentic Japanese subscription box from Bokksu! Don't miss out on this amazing snack-journey through Japan! Disclaimer: Do NOT use the table saw like we were doing in the video. For example, the cut at 4:08 is EXTREMELY dangerous and should not be followed. Please watch proper woodworking techniques if you ever do decide to make your own table. Since this video's release, my friend cut card holders into the table, and added a magnetic rail on the side. -Ashton

Thank you sooo much for sharing a realistic perspective and the lessons learned from taking on this project. It's given me some pause after similar videos advertised it as a quick and simple project even for someone with no experience. Multiple trips to the store is all to real for my 'simple' projects. This video was great! Thanks again

Congratulations gentlemen! going by some of the vison, surprised you all survived. A hexagon for your 1st project is a massive flex. and I cant say enough nice things about you guys. Other than the terrifying table saw skills. Amazing. Well done Ashton. -From that dude that built his own table, that has commented before, about tables.

Guys, for the love of god please watch a Tablesaw safety video before embarking on your next project - you are extremely lucky no one was hurt. Congrats on the table, I hope you get years of gaming out of that thing!

As an amateur woodworker who has built tables like these before. I would suggest you guys go with a pedestal table next time. Much easier and also makes more sense for a non-square table

Nice job. just a tip. when using the circular saw and cutting large flat pieces of wood. get a piece of that foam insulation and place it on the ground and cut on that. the blade can go into that a little it protects it and keeps things stable and stops the cutoff from hitting the funnybones!! And yeah the planar was not really needed, just a good sanding job. I love how some of the music reminded me of Wyrmlife videos!!

Quite enjoyable to watch you cut 4" square wood on a entry level table saw. Mitre cuts (angle cuts) are super hard to get accurate so kudo's for pulling through with your hardware

I see one major flaw in design. there should be six legs - one for each vertex. That would make table really stable.

Great video guys! Next time consider watching some power tools safety videos. I think that the first tip for table saws is to not cut anything freehand (i.e. not using the rip fence or miter gauge)

I’ve never been so happy to see my Patreon money being spent in my life

This was fun to watch. In 2012 a friend and myself had a very similar experience building a board game table. We had no experience with building something that size and did not have the right tools but we finished it and we were very proud. It sparked a love of woodworking and since I have completed hundreds of projects as well as about 75 board game tables. Keep it up!

😂 “Bars” of wood, these really are just regular people 🤣

This was very fun to watch. I’m glad everyone has their fingers😅

This is fun. In the future you can have Lowes cut the wood down for you so you can fit it in your car.

Cost of making it yourself with friends: Priceless.

4'x10' sheet Plywood ? LOL Y'all should have bought a tape measure ;) The scary part of this vid was nerds with just bought power tools they have never used, especially a table saw(the most dangerous power tool you can buy/use). Glad nobody lost a hand or fingers. With just using mineral spirits, it won't last good. Personally I think that those 4x4 borders will be throwing some serious splinters down the road , that you don't want to be impaled by . Use lot of Acrylic Polyurethane sealer/finish , several/several coats, for a nice clear coat finish. Plus an acrylic coating will keep the wood from getting stained by spilled drinks/food/ water marks and sweat/oil/dirt from people's hands and arms or the wood splitting/warping over time by sealing it..

Brave using the table saw like! I was terrified for you watching that! 😢 Woodworking is another of my hobbies alongside board gaming 😁 Happy Christmas, Adam from the UK

Thought you were going to die a few times, but all in all great job guys!

My god, the cross cutting the 4x4 on the table saw, with no sled, and the saw blade completely raised might be the unsafest thing I've ever seen lol. Please guys, I beg you, learn some basic table saw safety before using it again, it could've gone terribly wrong. Throw some circular saw safety in there too while you're at it. Kickback is real and very dangerous

😮😮😮😮 those table saw skillz are next level.

Well great build, but I am happy your fingers are still intact. Miter saw is the right tool to cut longer wood piece.

Bro, I'm so glad you did not get hurt from this

Nice! This is what I did when I made my table: Went to Home Depot Got a 5’x10’ sheet of 3/4” thick high grade plywood (for making cabinets so I didn’t have to sand it as much) had them cut off 4’ to be left with 5’x6’ Got two pieces of 2”x4” had them cut the wood there since they offer that. cuts out buying a table saw Got some screws, nails, and dark maple stain polish One pieces of 1”x1” trim molding 12’ long had them cut into two 6’ pieces Got a 6’5”x5’5” pleather (apple red colored) from a local store & spray glue Went home, put together the 2x4 then mounted the 2x4 to bottom of the 6’x5” sheet. flipped it over Sanded some, applied spray glue, laid down pleather to board and made sure their were no wrinkles or air bubbles. Added the 1”x1” trim to each 6’ side, nailed them down and added spray glue then added some stain to 1”x1” trim. That is pretty much what I had to do, I cheated though. I used my current table in dining room and made my frame with the 2x4s to enclose the original table so then the 6’5” sheet doesn’t fall off. I ABSOLUTELY love it! I think all together was about $200. With the left over 6’x4’ I gave it to my buddy who helped me which he just covered with felt and made his own table top. The reason I wanted such a big table was I play a nemesis and I wanted plenty of room for everything for a 5 player game.

I think for a future build, you could go with a "table topper" rather than a whole table. The hinge idea was wonderful for portability it kinda sucks to see the plywood support remove the hinges' utility. I'd also recommend using a spray adhesive, putting the neoprene on the table base and THEN mount the rails onto the base. You can also use box joints for the legs. The screws go in diagonally from the leg to the tabletop so it makes them a bit more stable.

One of the best RU-vid videos I’ve seen all year, seriously. Glad the table worked out!

you guys might want to get a chop saw if you do something like this again, some of those table saw cuts where pretty dangerous

Ha ha I loved that you guys just bit the bullet and did it. I've been slowly buying tools and building experience before I build mine lol. 5 years later and thousands of dollars later I'm almost ready. But here you guys did it out of the blue and I love it.

It’s so funny that you should have ordered a truck but you didn’t so what’s great is watching the problem solving

Its a game with amazing illustaration and amazing mechanics

Definitely beats the high school table you played SW Rebellion on.

Awesome table guys, my dad and I made one for our setup as well (it is one that just sits ontop of our kitchen table to make more space / not have food mess on the game) I'll see if I can find some of the pictures of assembly, if not just share the finished project.

Thanks

It can be really hard... depending on what you want. Nice table though for the money. Love the video style and music! 😬

So I realise this is a bit late, but if you did the 60 degree cut directly you'd make 2 cuts at the same time. Also, get a side table to hold the pieces or have the camera on a tripod and be two people

Looks awesome guys! Its simple and I love the shapes and sides!

oh god i love you guys so much

Really fun and interesting video to watch!

Love the idea! … but it’s too small for Mage Knight 😉

Often thought about building my own gaming table but haven't bothered with woodworking since high school. Looking back at some of my old projects my parents kept, it's probably better if I just buy one from professionals. Granted I never really cared about any of the projects. Just not sure I want to deal with all the hassle in my limited time.

Holy shit that table is fantastic. It's SO MUCH better than the $1000 one that your other friend bought hahaha. Poor guy :(

What did you guys use for the matt? Where did you get it and how did you apply it?

very cool

Now I want to build a table.

Would you recommend this over just straight up buying a gaming table? (assuming one is able to do this)

Why put a hinge... And then put a piece of plywood across the bottom?😂

that bit of wobble would make me just add l brackets till it didnt or like use extruded aluminium

Looks good! Wear the mask when woodworking, lung cancer is no joke!

Would you consider putting the plans up for download? for example was it 3/4 plywood and then dimensions like the height you settled on. Leaning over the table saw blade was scary to watch and not a good technique, avoid that please. One side or the other of the saw.

good job

Oh God... You guys have convinced me to never try this lololol

Dude you guys have no skill in carpentry but that’s ok. It’s just ok that you are alive. It worked out but fuck that was gnarly .😊

But does it hold TI4? Haha

Scythe plz

Love the table, but seriously, your use of the table saw terrifies me. You are so lucky you didn't seriously injure yourselves using it like that.