Poker Table Construction - Black Racetrack Table - Cut The Plywood

CUT THE PLYWOOD

DEFINE YOUR MEASUREMENTS
The first step in making your cuts is determining the length and width of your table. For my purposes, I cut the plywood down to 44" x 78" sheets from the 4' x 8' sheets I got from Home Depot.
To make the rounded cuts you will need to define some further measurements:

First, divide the width of your table by 2. With our measurements this figure was 44" / 2 = 22".
Then measure 22" from the end of the table, make a mark.
Measure 22" from each side fof the table, make a mark.
Highlight the point at which these points intersect.
Continue with this same process for the other end of the table.

BUILD YOUR RULER
If you already have a long metal ruler / yard stick with a hole at the end, you can skip this step. I didn't have one, so I had to create my own using a piece of wood trim/paneling.
Simply cut your wood panel down to about 3 or 4 feet and drill a hole at one end.
Use a maker and measure to 22" (or whatever your math came to above) from the back side of the hole you drilled.
The image shown shows me making a mark at 23", but that is only becuase my drilled hole was exactly 1 inch from the end of the wood panel. I simply measured from the end of the panel, including the 1 inch for the hole.

MAKE THE ROUNDED CUTS
Place a finishing nail into the highlected intersection point you defined above. Then place the drilled hole of your measuring panel over the nail.
With your pencil firmly placed on the 22" line of your measuring panel, trace your rounded cut line from one side of the table to the other. Complete this task for both ends of the table.
Use your jigsaw to cut along your rounded cut lines.
Sand down any inconsistencies on the edges.

USE YOUR CUT PIECE AS A TEMPLATE
Place your cut piece on top of your second piece of plywood and line up the sides. Using the top piece as a guide, trace around your rounded cuts.
Make the rounded cuts on piece #2 with the jigsaw. You will now have 2 pieces of cut plywood.
Mark the matching sides with an asterisk. One on each sheet of wood so they can be matched up perfectly later.
Identify your best looking sheet and that will be used for your racetrack/felt insert/under-rail.The other sheet will be used for the rail/baseboard.

CUT THE RAIL & BASEBOARD
I decided to make a 3 inch rail because I was making a smaller table and wanted to maximize the playing surface area. The norm seems to be a 4 inch rail. Some people go as far as a 5 inch rail, I think this is too large once the 1" rail foam and vinyl is wrapped around the wood.
Measure 3 inches in from the mark on your measuring stick (19" from the hole) and make a new mark. Use this new marking to trace the cut line for the rail.
Drill a starting hole on your cut line so you can have a spot to fit your jigsaw blade through. Don't make too big of a hole, just one barely big enough to get the blade through.
Make your cuts with the jigsaw. Support the rail with scrap wood while making your cuts so the rail does not bend or break.

BEER GOGGLES
Have a beer. You deserve it. This is suppossed to be fun. It's the "High Life".
Always wear safety goggles!!! The last thing you want to do is spend time in the Emergency Room, when you could be done with your table and taking money from your friends.

CUT THE UNDER-RAIL
The plans here show a 2 inch under-rail. I made a last-minute change to a 1.5 inch under-rail.
Measure 1.5 inches in from initial 22" mark you made on your measuring stick (20.5" from hole). Use this new marking to trace the cut line for the under-rail.
Drill a starting hole on your cut line so you can have a spot to fit your jigsaw blade through. Don't make too big of a hole, just one barely big enough to get the blade through.
Make your cuts with the jigsaw. Support the rail with scrap wood while making your cuts so the rail does not bend or break.
Your leftover piece will be cut again to create the racetrack and the playing surface.

CUT RACETRACK AND PLAYING SURFACE
Our racetrack will be cut to be 6.5" in width. 1.5" of the outside of the racetrack will be covered by the rail.
Measure 14.5 inches from back of the drill hole on your measuring stick. Use this new marking to trace the cut line for the under-rail.
Drill a starting hole on your cut line so you can have a spot to fit your jigsaw blade through. Don't make too big of a hole, just one barely big enough to get the blade through. This is vey important as this cut will be visible when the table is completed.
Make your cuts CAREFULLY with the jigsaw. Support the rail with scrap wood while making your cuts so the racetrack does not bend or break.
Smooth the inside of the racetrack with sandpaper and round the edges slightly.