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Summers coming up on us quick. I know this because my wife and kids are about to leave me for like a month or two. They will be here for a couple of days at a time or so during the duration of June and July, but not very much. I always get so bored, it also tends to be the time I buy something big out of that boredom. Of course, I already bought the iPad this year, so I doubt I’ll be getting anything this summer. But I do have some projects that I’d like to do and work on. I want to list

• I will be removing our backyard koi pond. I know that I’ve said this in the past, but I really do think that I might be able to get to it this year. I’ll be working on it slowly over the span of a couple of weeks, but eventually by the time they get back, I think it will be gone. I need to look into buying some dirt to fill in the hole. Anyone around Oxford got some leads on dirt?
• I want to build some new boardgame shelves/tv shelf/entertainment center for the office. I’d kind of like to get the boardgames a little bit under control. I’ve done really good this year with purging and all, but my collection is really really tight right now, and I can’t find a whole lot more that I want to peel away from it at this time. I’ll look more critically at it in a different discussion, but I’d like to build some 16 inch deep shelves to put them in, I also want to build a 16 inch deep shelf for putting the Television, Xbox, DVD player, Bose Wave Radio, etc. in that lies between my two game shelves. I also want to increase the width of them a little bit as well. This collection pic is from July of last, year, but it gives you an idea of what I currently have if you’ve never seen it.
• I’d also kind of like to build an ‘emissary‘ type game table/breakfast table for our kitchen. I had so much fun building the table last year, I’d kind of like to do it again, but with a bit different of a project. Though I can’t decide between the shelves and the table. I may eventually do both this year, but I may not, there are other things that have to happen…
• I’d kind of like to build up my ‘workshop’ a little bit more too. I don’t have a decent air compressor, I can’t run a nailer or a sander or anything. I need to get an air compressor. There are some nice ones for good prices at Harbor Freight in Tupelo. 2 hp, 110 v 20 gallons. I think that should be powerful enough for the stuff I want to do with it. I also really need a good circular saw, and a compound mitre saw as well. Both of those things have to happen before either of the two upper things get done. I could borrow the saws, but the air compressor is nearly a must.

That should keep me busy till the wife and kids return for good toward the end of the summer. There are little things here or there that I need to do as well (killing those freaking azalea’s that keep popping back!!!!), but the koi pond removal is near the top.

written by Chris \\ tags: Kids, projects, summer, Valerie, Woodworking

So, I’ve had it for a little while now, and I still love it. But I wanted to note some observations just in case I decide I might want to improve upon this next time.

It ‘might’ be a tad big. I wanted it big, but I believe my eyes might have been larger than my dining room. KF doesn’t think it’s too big. I’m still curious as to what Val will think.

Now, it fits with no problems, and there’s still plenty of room to move around the room and all, but it is a little impersonal to play some of the normal euro games. When I was drawing it up, I was thinking back to Cons, and those 60″ round tables that we play with at the conventions all the time. Even if you don’t play boardgames, I’m sure you’ve ate at these big round tables at a seminar or something, basically every hotel has them.

(The actual table dimensions are 54″ from flat edge to flat edge, and 58″ from corner to corner)

They are absolutely great for those big huge epic games, Descent, Starcraft, Die Macher, or even a six player game of Power Grid. You know the games where the board takes up a lot of space, and you still need some space for your player stuff. But what didn’t occur to me is that while at a con when you’re not playing those games, you usually go to one of the rectangular tables.

Well, at home, you kind of don’t really have that option. (Well I suppose we could always clean off the kitchen table). When playing a two player game of Race for the Galaxy, it’s a little disconcerting to sit almost 5′ away from your opponent. Or if you’re playing a three player game on a normal euro board, it’s near impossible for some people to reach the center of the table unless they stand. We’ve taken to all sitting on one side of the table for these kinds of games for now.

As far as the covering. I like it. It’s a faux suede type of fabric, not really made for tablecloth type things i think, but it works well. Unlike typical poker tablecloths it doesn’t slide at all. Cards screech to a halt the second they hit the cloth. It will take getting used to if you like sliding cards while you’re dealing them.

Because of this property though, it’s great for tile laying games, and it keeps pieces and boards in place. I like it for this reason. I could get used to throwing cards for the card games we play, to have the convenience of things staying put when playing tile games.

If I were to re-cover it. I would use the same surface. However, I would instead of using quilt backing, perhaps try some of those 2mm foam sheets that they sell in craft stores. I don’t know if it would accept 3M 77 without breaking down, but I would give it a shot to have a little bit more solid cover, but have the smallest amount of ‘give’ still to make it easy to pick up cards.

written by Chris \\ tags: Boardgames, Game Table, rant, Woodworking

Let’s see:

Wood for the ring $70
Wood for the table/pedestal. $130
Stainless Steel Cups $70
Stain/Polyurethane/Glue/Nails etc. $30
Fabric $25

So carry the one…. That comes to about $325 dollars not counting time and energy. (Which I enjoyed). And now we are finally finished. From beginnings in my head a couple of months ago, to its recent completion. I read some of the plans online etc. The closest that I liked was at Ryan’s Poker Tables Specifically #4. I used that as a base.

However, the goal here was not to play poker, it was to play games, so I modified it some. The table in the above site was an Octagon, Presumably to have 8 people playing poker. Well, I really was dreading making the ring anyway, so I changed it to a Hexagon.

This gave each player a lot more room on each of ‘their’ sides of the polygon, plus, We had less cuts, and I only had to buy six of the drink holders rather than eight. I figured six was a great number too, since most games are four or five anyway. I’d gather that the Hexagon might be the perfect shape for gaming. Heck, it is the basis for most Wargames after all.

Here’s an Album with pics in various stages.

The dude in most of the pics is DS, whose shop we used to work on it. He’s a great guy. Mostly helped me with this for the challenge of it. I’m pretty sure he has nearly as much fun working on this thing as I did.

In the end, I really really like how it turned out. I still have to create a top for it so when we are not using it for gaming we can serve food and stuff on it. As it is currently, we can’t really do this, but it is extremely rare that we actually use it to do this, we have basically a weekly game night, and a good 80 % of the table’s usage is related to playing board games. Another 15% is related to crafts or something that Val’s working on, and 5% is related to actual entertaining of the non-gaming variety (dinner parties, etc.). As a matter of fact, we break it in first Wednesday Evening for Game Night!!!

I’ll probably get a top for it finished some time in the next month or so. I’m taking a little break though. DS Suggested some tongue and groove flooring might make a pretty good top. Saying that it would be light, easy to put on and remove, and would be scratch and water resistant.

I was most surprised by this in how easy woodworking really can be. At least, building a table, I’d imagine drawers and stuff are pretty difficult. But shelves and tables seem like they could be rather easy. I might set up a rudimentary shop in my garage and work on a few other things. I think I kind of want to build another table for my kitchen. Mostly that’s where we eat, but sometimes it is used for spillover on gaming. I’m thinking an ‘emmisary’ type table would not be that hard to make, and it would be a perfect place for it. You can see a demo of it on youtube as well.

Oh well. Enough for now.

written by Chris \\ tags: Boardgames, Game Table, Pictures, Woodworking

I’ve never really made anything out of wood before beginning this table. But this weekend, I had a lot of fun, and it’s neat to see how things come together and make an item once you but a little work in it.

Heck, the most work with wood I’ve ever done in my life was sanding Valerie’s Boxes for her yarn. And it’s not like that really was anything.

I think I might get into this a little more going forward. When you go to one of the big discount stores to buy shelves or something, All you get is that cheap pressboard. Where for about the same price, and a little work, I can get things made out of real wood, and probably made better in the end too.

I really need to get my garage cleaned up before I could begin something like that anyway, and my project for this fall is to clear the pond out of my back yard and fill it in with dirt. Actually, I think I might start up on that as soon as I finish the table.

written by Chris \\ tags: Backyard, Woodworking

So, I don’t think I’ve talked about it yet on here. But I’m building my own table. I’ve never been able to find one that I liked, so I have taken matters into my own hands.

What?!??!!!??!! you may say, and those of you that really know me are definitely saying it. He doesn’t know anything about building furniture.

I don’t care. I’m going to try. Plus, I have help. DS has wood tools and stuff and is helping me make the cuts and stuff.

I did all the math and plans for the table that we’re working from.

So, this week we’ve started it. I’m really really really hoping to have it finished by the end of July. I’m taking a few pictures of building the table in process. Although I’ve had a few setbacks. I’m on a week delay now because the stroke of the compound Mitre saw we’re using isn’t big enough. That will be alleviated pretty soon. So far I’m out about 150 bucks on materials, I expect to be out about another 200 more before everything is said and done. But hopefully what I have is something practical that will meet mine and my family’s needs.

Other than long glue drying times, and the mitre saw, things are progressing. I’ll next get to work on it on Sunday afternoon. Then I’ll be stuck mainly with weekends through the end of July.

written by Chris \\ tags: Dining Room Table, Game Table, Woodworking