I struggled for a few days trying to figure out the best place to put this thread... unfortunately I couldn't find the dakka cabinetry subforum, so I hope it's ok that I'm posting it here...

I have played Warhammer on everything from dining room tables, ping pong tables, to the floor (as I'm sure most of you have). When I recently moved to a larger place I finally had the room to have a room that can be dedicated to nothing but the grim dark, so instead of going out and just buying a dining room table or some kind make shift "it will work well enough" kind of product I decided I wanted something that looked the part of a 40k table and gave players a sense of awe when they saw it.

So this is my project log for producing said table. I have never made anything out of wood or tried to make any kind of furniture before, so it has been quite the learning experience.

I knew I wanted a larger table as my local group tends to play larger games with super heavies regularly. The biggest the room could support was 8x4ft, so that is what I went with. I also wanted it to be counter or bar height as I feel it will be much more comfortable to play with out having to lean over all the time. I wanted LED lighting and also really wanted to have some kind of fog effect but have thus far not been able to come up with a viable solution. Fog machines get very hot and the liquid they work with can leave an oily residue, not good for painted miniatures. I also looked into ultrasonic foggers but they don't seem to work very well from what I have read. If anyone has any ideas please let me know! I would love to figure out a solution to this.

I decided to go with pine as it is the most reasonable and the budget for this project is already kind of out of control.

Now some pictures!

This is the way we used to play at my old 1bedroom apartment we just moved away from:


What it looks like when you and your friend get a bunch of lumber and load it into a compact car:


First load of wood delivered and ready to go:


None of this would be any fun without.... power tools.


Work begins!:


Stay tuned! More to come soon!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The frame together:


My better half posing with the top and bottom frames for scale/height:


Progressing a little more... Sides and the corner columns are starting to come together:


The Servo Skulls that will go on top of each of the columns:


Base of the play area is in and one of the columns is more together:


Stay tuned! More to come soon!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I placed screws every 3 inches along the hand railings, both to give it some detail and what I think will ultimately play in to the 40k theme and also to give some quick measurement assistance for shooting/moving and deployment:


A quick test fit with my Realm of battle board (good news.... it fits!):


Another quick test on the lighting effects:




This is kind of the look that the servo skulls will have on the columns:


Pay no attention to the loose boards in various places, everything will be squared up and screwed down once it's finished.

Stay tuned! More to come later...

No woodworking experience, you say? I know a few carpenters that would hire you on the spot, regardless.

I'm really liking the design - the two large, hollow columns for support instead of the usual legs and cross-braces keep your toes safe and still adds potential storage space below the table (I assume you'll be adding shelves to use them as cabinets?), all while looking cleaner and more substantial. An elegant design, really - highly functional, but with some thematic and artistic flair thrown in, for good measure. Excited to see further progress!

 oadie wrote:
No woodworking experience, you say? I know a few carpenters that would hire you on the spot, regardless.

I'm really liking the design - the two large, hollow columns for support instead of the usual legs and cross-braces keep your toes safe and still adds potential storage space below the table (I assume you'll be adding shelves to use them as cabinets?), all while looking cleaner and more substantial. An elegant design, really - highly functional, but with some thematic and artistic flair thrown in, for good measure. Excited to see further progress!

Wow... thank you so much! And yes this is my first venture into working with wood, and I have to say it has been a lot of fun and certainly won't be my last. I am planning to make the "feet" into shelved storage to hold terrain and actually plan to also run boards across from one "foot" to the other, leaving them open on both ends so that I can store extra battle boards. I hope to keep them high enough up that they are not really noticeable unless you actually know to look for them. I also plan to finish the "feet" better so that it matches the finish of the top of the table.

The rest of the Servo Skulls have arrived:


The trim detail is installed around the sides:


Some gratuitous play area shots with LEDs on:



and one last regular old boring table shot:


That's all for now! I should be about finished up with the upper part of the tables construction soon, and then on to staining!

Very nice so far! Are you planning on staining the wood?

BaronVonSnakPak wrote:
Very nice so far! Are you planning on staining the wood?

Yeah I'm planning on going with something like a mahogany color and probably a semi-gloss sealer.

bladeiai wrote:

BaronVonSnakPak wrote:
Very nice so far! Are you planning on staining the wood?

Yeah I'm planning on going with something like a mahogany color and probably a semi-gloss sealer.

Cool, that should compliment the LEDs nicely.

Oh man oh man thats a fair bit of awesome.

Good job.

What a great table!

I wish my lack of woodworking experience looked like your lack of experience!

I can't wait to see the finished product.

Epic multiplied by epic.

Really looking forward to seeing the end result.

Disappointed that this has nothing to do with Epic 40k.

I saw something kinda similar that you are building at gen con, so I gotta say congrats on saving 8 grand ! Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Awesome board, for a novice the workmanship is great. Looking forward to seeing the completed board!

In on kickass thread with a super quality table build. Rawr that's some goodness right there. The servo skull bit is awesome. Will you have drink holders integrated somewhere in the design?

Thank you all for the kind words!

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:
In on kickass thread with a super quality table build. Rawr that's some goodness right there. The servo skull bit is awesome. Will you have drink holders integrated somewhere in the design?

I'm glad you asked this, yes I definitely plan to incorporate drink holders. The issue so far has been that I have not been able to find any that work how I would like them to. I wand something to attach under the table and flip forward for use but be hidden completely when not in use. I may have to make something myself if I can't find what I need.

And a little update, this is the prototype for the modular dice trays I will be making to attach to the sides of the table.


Also we played a test game on the table last night, and I'm very happy to report that the table is the perfect height for playing. I was rather worried it would be to high just because it looks so much taller than normal furniture.

As a furniture builder I'd say you have to an A+ job as your first venture into wood working. I'm loving the LEDs man. For the finish coat I 'd suggest using Old masters Gel Polyurethane varnish. You put it on with a rag in a wax on wipe off motion (wiping off excess in the direction of the grain) so you can build it up to your desired glossiness. It also wont sag or drip at all.

Make sure you post a battle report on this bad boy when its done!

 Opeth30 wrote:
As a furniture builder I'd say you have to an A+ job as your first venture into wood working. I'm loving the LEDs man. For the finish coat I 'd suggest using Old masters Gel Polyurethane varnish. You put it on with a rag in a wax on wipe off motion (wiping off excess in the direction of the grain) so you can build it up to your desired glossiness. It also wont sag or drip at all.

Make sure you post a battle report on this bad boy when its done!

Thanks man! I'll be sure to check that varnish out. Is it something you can get in a Lowes/Home Depot or do I need to find it online? I am actually having a table launching / house warming party to kick things off in January, and it will be played on this table and another 3x3ft table that will be represent subterranean corridors under the battle field. So far it looks like it's going to be a 21,000+ point game. Here is the flyer:

bladeiai wrote:

 Opeth30 wrote:
As a furniture builder I'd say you have to an A+ job as your first venture into wood working. I'm loving the LEDs man. For the finish coat I 'd suggest using Old masters Gel Polyurethane varnish. You put it on with a rag in a wax on wipe off motion (wiping off excess in the direction of the grain) so you can build it up to your desired glossiness. It also wont sag or drip at all.

Make sure you post a battle report on this bad boy when its done!

Thanks man! I'll be sure to check that varnish out. Is it something you can get in a Lowes/Home Depot or do I need to find it online? I am actually having a table launching / house warming party to kick things off in January, and it will be played on this table and another 3x3ft table that will be represent subterranean corridors under the battle field. So far it looks like it's going to be a 21,000+ point game. Here is the flyer:

That subterranean battle board sounds so cool. I would totally go if I actually have 3500 points of any army

By the gods thats going to be insane haha, I wish I lived closer! I've always gotten it from home depot but I'm sure lowes also sells it too. If you go for it just be sure your stain is also oil based so the varnish doesn't repel.

here it is
http://www.myoldmasters.com/products-intclear-oilbased-gelpoly.htm

 Ustrello wrote:
That subterranean battle board sounds so cool. I would totally go if I actually have 3500 points of any army

Well if you are in the Maryland area and want to come by just to check things out you can. This is the underground/corridor board:

 Opeth30 wrote:
By the gods thats going to be insane haha, I wish I lived closer! I've always gotten it from home depot but I'm sure lowes also sells it too. If you go for it just be sure your stain is also oil based so the varnish doesn't repel.

here it is
http://www.myoldmasters.com/products-intclear-oilbased-gelpoly.htm

I will pick some up next time I'm at Home Depot, and I am using oil based stain so it should be all good. Thanks again for the recommendation.

This table will be something of legend

which company made the underground system if so I want one! if handmade I envy you!

 Great White wrote:
This table will be something of legend

Thanks to you sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

 e.earnshaw wrote:
which company made the underground system if so I want one! if handmade I envy you!

They are from a kickstarter I backed, which he is still fulfilling so he hasn't started reselling yet, but will once he is done. This is the kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/981366386/corridor-sets-from-sci-fi-to-steampunk-available

It's great stuff and he has a lot more things he is planning to release in the future.

I was excited about the table I built...then I saw your thread and I burned my table to the ground.

Just kidding but seriously your table is sick.

Whoa what a motivating thread! I hope you don't plan on moving again anytime soon lol. That thing looks heavy! But almost all things of quality are.

I would probably forget about the fog idea. I'm right there with you thinking that it would look outright amazing, but I don't think you can do it without damaging your models over time. Maybe just photoshop the fog into your pictures

For the cup holders have you considered something like this:



You can see that it has holes in the back that you can use to screw it to the table. Maybe the insides of the posts? You could get 8 cup holders on an looking nice that way. I think you'll like that they fold up and aren't in your way when you aren't using them. The drinks also wouldn't be resting on the table leaving rings and whatnot.

Looks really good keep up the good work! I'm excited to see what it looks like after its been stained!

Rx8Speed wrote:
Whoa what a motivating thread! I hope you don't plan on moving again anytime soon lol. That thing looks heavy! But almost all things of quality are.

I would probably forget about the fog idea. I'm right there with you thinking that it would look outright amazing, but I don't think you can do it without damaging your models over time. Maybe just photoshop the fog into your pictures

For the cup holders have you considered something like this:

You can see that it has holes in the back that you can use to screw it to the table. Maybe the insides of the posts? You could get 8 cup holders on an looking nice that way. I think you'll like that they fold up and aren't in your way when you aren't using them. The drinks also wouldn't be resting on the table leaving rings and whatnot.

Looks really good keep up the good work! I'm excited to see what it looks like after its been stained!

Yeah I have given up on the fog idea unfortunately... It just doesn't seem feasible at this point. I saw those cup holders on amazon, but I don't really have anywhere to put them, and I really want the cup holders to be completely hidden when not in use. If I can't find something better I may have to go with that though.

On a side note I am by chance a fellow RX8 Owner, this is it on Race day:

I don't know how you would completely hide them. The best I can think of is to use a router, on the insides of the poles, to get a square inset so the cup holder is flush with the pole when folded up. You can then put some kind of gw medal on it to make it look 40k-ish. There's chrome versions of the cup holder too which might look better. Only concern is whether the cup will still fit with the holder indented in the wood


is that... chrome!?? or is it just that clean? If that's chrome I'm eternally jealous! I also like the hood pattern and metallic turquoise lugnuts!

Mine is my daily so there's nothing special to it. Here's a gakky pic of it with snow tires on taken last year (only one I gave at work with me lol). And don't worry I'm not driving it this winter! It is my garage princess till next april and never again will it have steelies

Rx8Speed wrote:

I don't know how you would completely hide them. The best I can think of is to use a router, on the insides of the poles, to get a square inset so the cup holder is flush with the pole when folded up. You can then put some kind of gw medal on it to make it look 40k-ish. There's chrome versions of the cup holder too which might look better. Only concern is whether the cup will still fit with the holder indented in the wood


is that... chrome!?? or is it just that clean? If that's chrome I'm eternally jealous! I also like the hood pattern and metallic turquoise lugnuts!

Mine is my daily so there's nothing special to it. Here's a gakky pic of it with snow tires on taken last year (only one I gave at work with me lol). And don't worry I'm not driving it this winter! It is my garage princess till next april and never again will it have steelies

Spoiler:

That is a good idea, I'll to give it some more thought and see if there are any other options out there.

Thanks! The car is just Sunlight Silver, I just washed and waxed it the day before. I don't know if you do or have ever considered doing Autocross, but the hood is great for that if you ever do. As I'm sure you know the 8 generate massive amounts of heat and the hood is great because when you do a run you push the car super hard and then go and get back into grid and then just sit there until your next turn, so the alternative is you get out and fan the crap out of the hood to try and bring the temps back down.

Your car looks good man! Love the red and I have the same interior colors. If you haven't ever tried autocross out I highly recommend it. You would be amazed at what the 8 can do with a set of good tires on it.

Back on topic, I got the other LEDs installed and finished up the rest of the dice tray prototype. I will try to get some pictures up tonight or tomorrow.

It might be cool to put admec circles on the holders.

it would fit the servo skull theme.

That's not a table, it's a gamer's dream came true! Great job!

As for the drink holders, have you tried looking for sliding/pull out cup/drink holders?

Got some results with that, mixed in among car cup holders (Don't think you can use one in your car though!)

Try out also poker tables/gamers suppliers, drinks and tables seem a very popular combo there too...

That looks awesome man, how far outside of Baltimore are you? Dunno if I can make the 11th but it looks like it will be a blast.

What I want to know is how you came to my house and stole my eldar?

Oh, fast car, makes sense...



Seriously, those are exactly my Eldar! Lol!

I have to say, I love this table. This is seriously the coolest piece of furniture I've seen in ages, and certainly the best game table I've ever seen. I can't wait to see it stained and finished.

Table is epic! Definitely would love to have that in my house.

Just remember the deal, you get all of the credit on here, and then you deliver it to my house so I can have it forever...

This thing is amazing.

Nice work!

 Desubot wrote:
It might be cool to put admec circles on the holders.

it would fit the servo skull theme.

I’m actually not sure what admec circles are? I tried googling it and couldn’t come up with anything…

 Littletower wrote:
That's not a table, it's a gamer's dream came true! Great job!

As for the drink holders, have you tried looking for sliding/pull out cup/drink holders?

Got some results with that, mixed in among car cup holders (Don't think you can use one in your car though!)

Try out also poker tables/gamers suppliers, drinks and tables seem a very popular combo there too...

Thanks! I’ll take a look at poker table cup holders and see what I can come up with.

 Iechine wrote:
That looks awesome man, how far outside of Baltimore are you? Dunno if I can make the 11th but it looks like it will be a blast.

I live in Downtown Frederick, so not to far from Baltimore. You are certainly welcome to come out if you can make it!

xraytango wrote:
What I want to know is how you came to my house and stole my eldar?

Oh, fast car, makes sense...



Seriously, those are exactly my Eldar! Lol!

What craftworld are they? Mine are Mymeara. This isn't the whole army, but it's what I have managed to get painted so far...


My main army is actually CSM though.

 tekno000 wrote:
I have to say, I love this table. This is seriously the coolest piece of furniture I've seen in ages, and certainly the best game table I've ever seen. I can't wait to see it stained and finished.

Thanks man! I’m hoping to get the column tops finished up and move on to staining really soon.

 Robisagg wrote:
Table is epic! Definitely would love to have that in my house.

Thanks man! You could always build your own, it’s probably not as hard as it seems. It was a little overwhelming at first, but once you get started it isn’t that bad. This is my first go at making anything out of wood and I have to say I really have enjoyed the whole process.

footballdude2k3 wrote:
Just remember the deal, you get all of the credit on here, and then you deliver it to my house so I can have it forever...

This thing is amazing.

Thanks man! I’ll let you know if I decide to go in the table making business lol.

SBG wrote:
Nice work!

Thanks!

bladeiai wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
It might be cool to put admec circles on the holders.

it would fit the servo skull theme.

I’m actually not sure what admec circles are? I tried googling it and couldn’t come up with anything…

These things.

bladeiai wrote:
I knew I wanted a larger table as my local group tends to play larger games with super heavies regularly.

This is a bit of an understatement. "So game today?" ... "Sure, we have a couple hours, so something small, like 3k per person?" ... "2v2"?.....

But wow, congrats on all the progress. I had no idea you were this far along on the table. It looks amazing with the LED lighting and the red would work perfectly with lava terrain.

 Desubot wrote:



These things.

Ohhhh! Those things. I would actually like to incorporate some of those somewhere.

Raptor007 wrote:

bladeiai wrote:
I knew I wanted a larger table as my local group tends to play larger games with super heavies regularly.

This is a bit of an understatement. "So game today?" ... "Sure, we have a couple hours, so something small, like 3k per person?" ... "2v2"?.....

But wow, congrats on all the progress. I had no idea you were this far along on the table. It looks amazing with the LED lighting and the red would work perfectly with lava terrain.

Thanks man! Who is this BTW? Ian? The red works well for lava and I really like the green, it gives a nice toxic feeling.

bladeiai wrote:

 Desubot wrote:



These things.

Ohhhh! Those things. I would actually like to incorporate some of those somewhere.

Coughcoughcupholderschough.

Merry Christmas!

A little more progress on the dice tray:


Both of the light systems in and the columns starting to get capped:


Hopefully I will have more time to get this finished up once the holidays have passed...

Stay tuned!

Do you think you could incorporate some pre-measured system for marking the diagonal deployment zones? Like pegs that you attach string to to make the zones? Just something I thought I would like on my own table. Save a lot of annoying time during setups over the years.

 Coyote81 wrote:
Do you think you could incorporate some pre-measured system for marking the diagonal deployment zones? Like pegs that you attach string to to make the zones? Just something I thought I would like on my own table. Save a lot of annoying time during setups over the years.

That's a good idea, I will have to try to come up with some way of marking it off, though in truth whenever we get vanguard strike we just re-roll until we get dawn or hammer/anvil lol.

The columns are capped and ready to have the holes drilled to mount the serve skulls!

On the string-and-peg deployment zone marking: How far apart are those screws set into the tops of the long side rails? They look like they might be 3 or 4 inches, either of which divides nicely into the usual increments for measuring zones. If continued along the short edges (even if not structurally necessary), you'd have a regular, measured set of sockets already installed. Since they're hexalobular socket drive, they'll actually hold a bit in place, unlike Phillips or slot/flat-head. Would just take a pair of cheap Torx bits or wrenches (Allen key/wrench style) plugged into the right holes and a bit of string stretched between them to mark any zones, straight or diagonal, long edge or short. The system lags behind the rest of the table, in terms of elegance, but it works with what you've already got.

 oadie wrote:
On the string-and-peg deployment zone marking: How far apart are those screws set into the tops of the long side rails? They look like they might be 3 or 4 inches, either of which divides nicely into the usual increments for measuring zones. If continued along the short edges (even if not structurally necessary), you'd have a regular, measured set of sockets already installed. Since they're hexalobular socket drive, they'll actually hold a bit in place, unlike Phillips or slot/flat-head. Would just take a pair of cheap Torx bits or wrenches (Allen key/wrench style) plugged into the right holes and a bit of string stretched between them to mark any zones, straight or diagonal, long edge or short. The system lags behind the rest of the table, in terms of elegance, but it works with what you've already got.

The screws are set 3" apart so from the table edge to the 4th is a foot and any 5 screws is a foot. I did them more for looks than anything but they do function well enough for at least for roughly gauging distance/range. I also like the contrast of the short sides being just plain to the screw sides. As I said before I'm not really worried about it as we play mostly hammer and anvil and Dawn of war, and also we play a lot of apoc games which we almost always just do hammer and anvil. I actually did think about getting some anodized bits to go in the screws just for various things, but they don't actually seem to stand up particularly well.
And just to give you an idea of how much apoc we play, I'm planning on putting metal plates on each of the short sides, under the railing to hold void shields with a flip down sign to remind people they are there.

is that your wife or girlfriend helping you out ?
i need to get me one of those hahaha, anyway nic job with the table, be sue to post pics of your games!
FMJ

Nice work, I think you're just being humble about wood working... Keep us posted! Subscribed!

The woodwork is really quite beautiful. I'm almost afraid to ask since I have some general knowledge of lumber prices, but how much have materials cost you so far? That furniture grade stuff is pricey The only criticism I would have would be the corner posts and the depth that terrain is recessed into the table. Although it looks nicer the way you've designed it, it does make it a bit more impractical for game mechanics like determining line of sight.

Still, beautiful work and I think you might have discovered a hidden talent for building custom furniture!

Fantastic work, well done to you.

 fullmetaljacket wrote:
is that your wife or girlfriend helping you out ?
i need to get me one of those hahaha, anyway nic job with the table, be sue to post pics of your games!
FMJ

That is my beautiful and wonderful girlfriend, who is very understanding and supportive of all my various crazy shenanigans...

 the_Armyman wrote:
The woodwork is really quite beautiful. I'm almost afraid to ask since I have some general knowledge of lumber prices, but how much have materials cost you so far? That furniture grade stuff is pricey The only criticism I would have would be the corner posts and the depth that terrain is recessed into the table. Although it looks nicer the way you've designed it, it does make it a bit more impractical for game mechanics like determining line of sight.

Still, beautiful work and I think you might have discovered a hidden talent for building custom furniture!

As far as price goes, I'm not going to give an exact number (mostly because I have no idea at this point) but I will say it is not cheap and probably the reason you don't see more tables like mine. Most people would rather buy a whole army instead of a table lol.
I can see your point about the height of the walls and posts, but in my opinion it's actually one of the easiest tables to establish line of sight by eye because of it's height. But normally we use laser pointers anyways (and there will be one in each of the skulls).

Franko wrote:
Fantastic work, well done to you.

Thank you very kindly sir!

I spent some time yesterday working on the "feet" of the table but didn't take any pictures as it was mostly structural. I also did a test stain with the color I picked out and it ended up being darker than I had imagined. I picked up some other stain colors and some wood conditioner to check out some different options. I will post those on here for some opinions once I get them done. I also spent the evening building lots of terrain in an effort to try and get ready for my upcoming megagame lol.

More to come soon!

Hey blade! I really love your table so far, keep up the great work, Can't wait for more progress!

 wolfmerc wrote:
Hey blade! I really love your table so far, keep up the great work, Can't wait for more progress!

Thanks!

Another brief update, though not so table related... I guess it kind of is. I had to take a break from the actual building to make some terrain for the upcoming game. SOOO this is what I have been building:
(Please excuse the mess...)


The family posing by the table:


And finally some of the new terrain on the table:


I still have a bunch more terrain to build and I need to craft a massive city defense wall out of plasticard... then all I have to do is finish the table, stain and seal the table, paint a secret weapon tablescapes board, some of my army & paint all the terrain... before the 11th... no problem.

Just a thought but MDF would probably be a better and cheaper option for the main structure of a massive defence wall?
I think it was Readbeard who did a really nice one?
Found it... http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/556090.page
It'll give you a good excuse to break out the tools again and get better at using sheet material.
Most Hardware stores (in the UK at least) will rip sheets down to the desired height/s.

Table looks great btw I'm inspired to finish off the actual building work in my hobby space and get a good table made up.

I believe the expression I'm looking for is 'Hot diggety damn'

OP: Your wife is fantastic for letting the hobby space get all over the main floor like that.

Mine would not be smiling quite as nice as her, and she would have said "That table better be able to convert to a dining room table if needed!". Screw the skulls down quick!

Your efforts are top notch so even the gaming uninitiated can appreciate the quality of the work.

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
Just a thought but MDF would probably be a better and cheaper option for the main structure of a massive defence wall?
I think it was Readbeard who did a really nice one?
Found it... http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/556090.page
It'll give you a good excuse to break out the tools again and get better at using sheet material.
Most Hardware stores (in the UK at least) will rip sheets down to the desired height/s.

Table looks great btw I'm inspired to finish off the actual building work in my hobby space and get a good table made up.

After seeing that post I retract my previous statement... I am building a moderately large defensive wall lol. I already ordered the stuff I need for it in plasticard so I will probably stick with that for now, but I appreciate the suggestion. I may try to build some of it out of wood or mdf though and see how it goes. Thank you very much for the fine compliment and I would be very happy to inspire even one person to undertake the mission of making a table for gaming. I can say that it has been very rewarding so far and I feel it will be even more so once it is finished.

 ProfessionalAmateur wrote:
I believe the expression I'm looking for is 'Hot diggety damn'

Thank you very kindly good sir!

 Talizvar wrote:
OP: Your wife is fantastic for letting the hobby space get all over the main floor like that.

Mine would not be smiling quite as nice as her, and she would have said "That table better be able to convert to a dining room table if needed!". Screw the skulls down quick!

Your efforts are top notch so even the gaming uninitiated can appreciate the quality of the work.

She is very much amazing and even more so understanding (she also has been known to play a game or two as the great Craft World of Mymeara). And I can assure you it will not be converting into any kind of dinning room table in the near future lol. In all seriousness I really lucked out that the love of my life is also the most understanding/Warhammer friendly person I have ever met!

This looks absolutely awesome!!

Subbed a bit ago, still watching this amazing project unfold.

Just wow.

Looks like the original photos have been removed, any chance they could be re-uploaded?

As for fog, you might have more look with dry ice rather than oil-based fog machines. Dry ice is just CO₂ so should be fairly harmless as it will disperse completely without leaving any residue.

 ChazSexington wrote:
This looks absolutely awesome!!

 Stormwall wrote:
Subbed a bit ago, still watching this amazing project unfold.

Just wow.

Thank you both and I hope the end result doesn't disappoint.

Jodrell wrote:
Looks like the original photos have been removed, any chance they could be re-uploaded?

As for fog, you might have more look with dry ice rather than oil-based fog machines. Dry ice is just CO₂ so should be fairly harmless as it will disperse completely without leaving any residue.

The photos are all showing up for me? Is anyone else having issues seeing them?
I had actually thought about the dry ice idea and decided I may just make some terrain that is able to hold dry ice and disperse it around the battle field, Should make a nice smoke/fog effect. I'm just not sure where one goes to get dry ice from... does anyone know how you go about getting it in the USA?

And now finally... some wood stain tests!
Red Oak with Wood conditioner


Red Mahogany without Wood conditioner


Red Mahogany with Wood conditioner


All the stains together


So after much consideration.... I have decided to go with Red Mahogany with the Wood Conditioner I hope to start staining in the near future.

More to come soon!

this is epic

In the USA you can get dry ice from some grocery stores (In California). Not all have it, but some do. If you can't find it locally and nobody can direct you to a retailer, you can try the below site. The second link has a store locator driven by telephone area code.

http://www.dryicedirectory.com/
http://www.dryicedirectory.com/usa.htm

Outstanding work with the table. You should be very proud of that wood work!

Good choice with the mahogany, but then I am a sucker for darker woods.

Really cool table man! Gonna try and implement some of your ideas for my personal table!

It looks like your other furniture is dark, going too light would have looked too different.

If you went to the darker wood it would have come too close to matching the floor.

Round-about way of saying your choice was the logical choice!

Some scenery making use of high density foam would contain the dry ice rather nicely, added bonus that you have the full table walled-in so it would fog-up pretty good.

I have this vision of a "manufactorium" with a bunch of smoke stacks with the "smoke" billowing out them (or would side-vents look cooler?), highlighting the "pollution" in the area.

bladeiai wrote:

I had actually thought about the dry ice idea and decided I may just make some terrain that is able to hold dry ice and disperse it around the battle field, Should make a nice smoke/fog effect. I'm just not sure where one goes to get dry ice from... does anyone know how you go about getting it in the USA?

I think places that sell compressed gases like welder's supply stores carry dry ice.

bladeiai wrote:
And now finally... some wood stain tests!

*snip*

All the stains together

Spoiler:

So after much consideration.... I have decided to go with Red Mahogany with the Wood Conditioner I hope to start staining in the near future.

More to come soon!

Nice color

 kencotter wrote:
this is epic

Thanks to you good sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

mike-w wrote:
In the USA you can get dry ice from some grocery stores (In California). Not all have it, but some do. If you can't find it locally and nobody can direct you to a retailer, you can try the below site. The second link has a store locator driven by telephone area code.

http://www.dryicedirectory.com/
http://www.dryicedirectory.com/usa.htm

Outstanding work with the table. You should be very proud of that wood work!

I talked to a friend and he told me of a local place I may be able to get it. I'll check into and if it turns out to be true I will have to start working on some fogging/smoking terrain.

 zombiekila707 wrote:
Really cool table man! Gonna try and implement some of your ideas for my personal table!

Please do, and please send me a pm if you decide to do a build thread or post pictures as I always love to see what other people do with their tables!

 ProfessionalAmateur wrote:
Good choice with the mahogany, but then I am a sucker for darker woods.

 Talizvar wrote:
It looks like your other furniture is dark, going too light would have looked too different.

If you went to the darker wood it would have come too close to matching the floor.

Round-about way of saying your choice was the logical choice!

Some scenery making use of high density foam would contain the dry ice rather nicely, added bonus that you have the full table walled-in so it would fog-up pretty good.

I have this vision of a "manufactorium" with a bunch of smoke stacks with the "smoke" billowing out them (or would side-vents look cooler?), highlighting the "pollution" in the area.

I also am a sucker for darker woods, and as was pointed out, to some degree the choice was made for me lol. I'm also planning to get a rug at a later date that will break up the wood on wood action.

Fantastic looking table - I only wish I lived a lot closer to MD as I'd definitively stop by!

This is coming along wonderfully. You're doing an excellent job.
I like your choice of stain, too.

I would advise that you not put too much money into terrain specifically for dry ice. After a game or two, you'll find that the fog will play HELL on drawing LOS on anything smaller than a Dread (and, even then, you'll have problems if you use too much dry ice). Even your laser lights won't do any good in dense fog.

Eric

Just saw this, this is a sick table and I'm in Frederick too! I know there's a shop out on Industry Lane that carries dry ice if the other place doesn't have it. Nice work.

Albertsons and Rays both usually carry dry ice. For a table that size, I'd bet you could get away with a palm sized ammount for a good chunk of a game. A whole slab is only a couple bucks. Probably get half a dozen games out of slab. Or half a dozen really kicka$$ photoshoots.

Happy New Year to all!!

 Alpharius wrote:
Fantastic looking table - I only wish I lived a lot closer to MD as I'd definitively stop by!

Well let me know if you are ever in the area!

 MagickalMemories wrote:
This is coming along wonderfully. You're doing an excellent job.
I like your choice of stain, too.

I would advise that you not put too much money into terrain specifically for dry ice. After a game or two, you'll find that the fog will play HELL on drawing LOS on anything smaller than a Dread (and, even then, you'll have problems if you use too much dry ice). Even your laser lights won't do any good in dense fog.

Eric

Thanks! I was really only going to make terrain that could be used to house dry ice that could also be used without dry ice and not look out of place. I can imagine it would cause some issues of it was very dense... Thanks for the heads up.

TerrorLegion wrote:
Just saw this, this is a sick table and I'm in Frederick too! I know there's a shop out on Industry Lane that carries dry ice if the other place doesn't have it. Nice work.

I will check that out if I can't find something at the other place. You should come out to the Megagame!

 tekno000 wrote:
Albertsons and Rays both usually carry dry ice. For a table that size, I'd bet you could get away with a palm sized ammount for a good chunk of a game. A whole slab is only a couple bucks. Probably get half a dozen games out of slab. Or half a dozen really kicka$$ photoshoots.

Once I get the table up and going and can build some terrain I'll give it a try and report back!

And finally.... Some staining!











I haven't been able to seal it or finish up the trim on the bookcase supports yet and stain them, so that should be next.

Stay tuned! More to come!

Ooooh!
Nice stain!
The grain is easily viewed, very classy.
Makes me hesitant about the skulls...

Hey, could you make some swappable mount?
Depending on what you play you could have different corner pieces.
Say if playing WHFB you could have gargoyles.
Mount your golden daemon trophies!

The finish is so nice, you know that dice tray you made?
Do you plan on putting felt on the underside of the hooks to protect your work?
It is beginning to look more critical of where drinks and stuff can be placed.

Is there a ready means of taking the top table off if (heaven forbid) you go to move somewhere else and need to fit it through the doorways?

This is looking so nice now I have concern of preserving your hard work... inspiring stuff to see.

 Talizvar wrote:
Ooooh!
Nice stain!
The grain is easily viewed, very classy.
Makes me hesitant about the skulls...

Hey, could you make some swappable mount?
Depending on what you play you could have different corner pieces.
Say if playing WHFB you could have gargoyles.
Mount your golden daemon trophies!

The finish is so nice, you know that dice tray you made?
Do you plan on putting felt on the underside of the hooks to protect your work?
It is beginning to look more critical of where drinks and stuff can be placed.

Is there a ready means of taking the top table off if (heaven forbid) you go to move somewhere else and need to fit it through the doorways?

This is looking so nice now I have concern of preserving your hard work... inspiring stuff to see.

I appreciate your concern
I still love the skulls and plan to add some more to the table to make it have a sort of wood infused with grim dark tech look. The skulls are actually attached so they could be easily swapped out with something else if I wanted at a later date (although I only play 40k/30k at the moment).
And don't worry the dice tray was designed to have felt everywhere it touches the wood to preserve the finish.
When it's finished it will have cup holders. I'm leaning towards these: http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/swing-out-cupholder-43053
But not 100% sure yet. Also the table was designed to be easily transported if we do have to move. Trust me, as much as this thing has cost me I have taken all of that into account a head of time lol.

Thanks again!

Personally, I don't care for the cup holders. I mean, they're okay... but they do NOT match the aesthetic of your table at all.
You've done so much already, why not just make your own?
Eric

 MagickalMemories wrote:
Personally, I don't care for the cup holders. I mean, they're okay... but they do NOT match the aesthetic of your table at all.
You've done so much already, why not just make your own?
Eric

Well the table isn't finished yet, but from how it stands now I guess I can see how you would think it doesn't match. A requirement of the cup holders is that they be retractable or able to be hidden, this is the best option I have found so far. As far as not matching, like I said when it is finished I don't think that will be the case. I hate to use the word steampunk, but sort of like that. I'm going for a mechanical/antique look. Sort of.
I thought about making them, but don't really have the resources to make them from metal, which is what I would like. There were some options I like better, but they were $150 per cup holder which was out of what I was willing to spend lol.

Looking great, as usual! Love the color of the stain, it'll compliment the servo skulls nicely.

Loving the stain.

You could try this cup holder type, I think it would be "do-able" would be nice to find a large lipped cup to fit in:
Ah! "drop cups" found them:
http://casino4you.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_23_12
http://www.becksonmfg.com/gh4.html
http://www.foreandaftmarine.com/cupholders.htm
http://www.aliexpress.com/rv-cup-holders_reviews.html
http://www.amarinestore.com/red-3led-lighted-drink-holder-stainless-steel-cup-holders-with-led-light.html Cups that light up!!!

Dude... Dude!

Beyond epic, ice cool.

Thanks everyone!

Starting to get the table ready for the big game this weekend!

Blade- that looks brilliant!

 angelofvengeance wrote:
Blade- that looks brilliant!

Thank you sir!

I have managed to get the table pretty much set up for the game And I couldn't help myself... I did a little photo shoot using my Chaos Space Marines and Eldar armies:













Sorry for the photo dump! More to come soon!

Sweet Jesus man.

Bladeiai, it was an honor to shed blood on the table tonight. Can't wait to shed some more on Sunday!

I just drooled. A lot. Start a business, sir.

 BrokenRecord wrote:
Bladeiai, it was an honor to shed blood on the table tonight. Can't wait to shed some more on Sunday!

Like wise good sir. Sunday the streets will run red with blood from Loyalist and Traitor alike, all the to the greater glory of the Blood God.

 tekno000 wrote:
I just drooled. A lot. Start a business, sir.

Thank you sir. You are a wisely gentleman. I have actually toyed around with the idea of making the tables to order...

Holy feth that looks amazing, man! Also kinda puts the size of FW Titans and super-heavy vehicles in perspective!

Great gaming table!!

Where did you find the servo skulls?

Why did you have the corner post not reach the floor? Are the 2 center columns sturdy enough for the table that big?

great design for a table looks brilliant

 angelofvengeance wrote:
Holy feth that looks amazing, man! Also kinda puts the size of FW Titans and super-heavy vehicles in perspective!

Thank you fine sir. The Reaver and Phantom titans are both massive, but they don't look so terribly big on the table I think lol.

Boredflak1066 wrote:
Great gaming table!!

Where did you find the servo skulls?

Why did you have the corner post not reach the floor? Are the 2 center columns sturdy enough for the table that big?

I got the servo skulls from designtoscano. I made the corner posts not reach the floor because I wanted the table to have a sort of "floating" look. Also it they were just made for aesthetics and are not really structural. Also I have not finished the column bottoms yet, I plan on doing something interesting with them when I get the chance to finish them up . The center columns are very capable of supporting the table, but there is a bit of instability as the legs have not been finished with the shelves that will help reinforce them, but the real issue I'm having is the 100+ year old wood floors are not that stable. I'm planning on putting a rug under it to hopefully absorb some of the shock and reduce vibrations. Also when I say instability I mean slight vibrations, structurally it is very sound and you can lean on the sides of it without any issue.

Boredflak1066 wrote:
Why did you have the corner post not reach the floor? Are the 2 center columns sturdy enough for the table that big?

Sturdier, in terms of resisting flexation (lateral table wobble isn't kind to the more dynamic minis, especially metal ones), than the four corner legs would have been, I'd wager, thanks to their larger footprint and internal bracing (shelving). Keeps your toes safe, too! The corner columns, then, are purely decorative, adding a bit of architectonic flair while serving as a place to put the servo skulls. If I ever end up building a full table, I very well may follow suit.

 oadie wrote:

Boredflak1066 wrote:
Why did you have the corner post not reach the floor? Are the 2 center columns sturdy enough for the table that big?

Sturdier, in terms of resisting flexation (lateral table wobble isn't kind to the more dynamic minis, especially metal ones), than the four corner legs would have been, I'd wager, thanks to their larger footprint and internal bracing (shelving). Keeps your toes safe, too! The corner columns, then, are purely decorative, adding a bit of architectonic flair while serving as a place to put the servo skulls. If I ever end up building a full table, I very well may follow suit.

You sir are correct on all accounts

Everyone over to bladeai's tonight for beers and games.

Who won Eldar or Chaos?

 Ratius wrote:
Everyone over to bladeai's tonight for beers and games.

Who won Eldar or Chaos?

Well the Eldar and Chaos are both my armies and I really just put them on the table to take pretty pictures lol. If they were to play the Craftworld of Mymeara would have stomped the Word Bearers into dust, but there is also a few thousand more points of Eldar there lol.

I played my friend Chris last night and even though he put up a good fight, my Word Bearers were victorious over his Blood Angels in the end.

My gaming table is feeling sorry for itself right now. I want titans too.....

What are the tiles that aren't Realm of Battle tiles?

Udo wrote:
My gaming table is feeling sorry for itself right now. I want titans too.....

What are the tiles that aren't Realm of Battle tiles?

They look like the ones Secret Weapon did a kickstarter for last year.

Udo wrote:
My gaming table is feeling sorry for itself right now. I want titans too.....

What are the tiles that aren't Realm of Battle tiles?

They are the Secret Weapon Tablescapes damaged urban streets tiles: http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=125_131&products_id=721

And on a side note... if you can't tell I also love Titans, I never met a giant God Machine of death that I didn't like

 ProfessionalAmateur wrote:

Udo wrote:
My gaming table is feeling sorry for itself right now. I want titans too.....

What are the tiles that aren't Realm of Battle tiles?

They look like the ones Secret Weapon did a kickstarter for last year.

You are correct sir! Except I didn't get them from the kickstarter, I got them from Justin directly via his website after the fact.

Blade, How well does the tablescape tile fit in with the RoB tiles? Is there a large gap/"step-up" when going from the tablescape to RoB?

I'm purchasing the Imperium board soon and was wondering about mixing the boards later on

Lucazi wrote:
Blade, How well does the tablescape tile fit in with the RoB tiles? Is there a large gap/"step-up" when going from the tablescape to RoB?

I'm purchasing the Imperium board soon and was wondering about mixing the boards later on

If you look on page 3 there are several pictures where you can see them right up against each other, they line up perfectly except for the street tiles which are obviously recessed lower than the realm of battle.
I plan to fill those in with some sand on a few of the tiles so they have a nice transition from one to the other.

Thanks to everyone that came out for the game, I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was really a blast!

And now some pictures!

That looks friggin sweet man! Love the stain. It doesn't look like you have much room for cup holders on there now. Maybe just like a small bar in the corner of the room? Or an ikea shelf lol. The other thing is that it doesn't really matter how sound the cup holders are, there will be spills. Also failing that it looks like solo cups on edge work just fine!

Rx8Speed wrote:
That looks friggin sweet man! Love the stain. It doesn't look like you have much room for cup holders on there now. Maybe just like a small bar in the corner of the room? Or an ikea shelf lol. The other thing is that it doesn't really matter how sound the cup holders are, there will be spills. Also failing that it looks like solo cups on edge work just fine!

Thanks! The plan for cup holders at this point is to make ones that slide out from under the sides, well below the play area, so that when it is spilled, hopefully it will only go on the floor. So something like this (but probably not as nice lol):

Stumbled across this thread, and am verrrry impressed! Any further work done on the table, or the shelves?

I do have a question about the lip of the table. Is it difficult to remove/adjust the tiles because of the lip? It seems like if the tiles were snug there would be difficulty putting in or removing tiles?

Also, what LEDs did you use? A pre packaged set or did you wire everything yourself?

Again, very impressed with both the attention to detail and the craftsmanship involved here.

As far as the cup holders go, have you considered making ones that hang on the side like the dice trays? Would allow more mobility for player too.

I think this table is unreal, well done. I think it would of been cool if on both ends of the table had the colour changing LEDs almost like a boxing ring with a blue corner and a red comer, And then just plain white LEDs down the sides.

Makes me want to build something like this myself.

Cheers!

MCRobot wrote:
Stumbled across this thread, and am verrrry impressed! Any further work done on the table, or the shelves?

I do have a question about the lip of the table. Is it difficult to remove/adjust the tiles because of the lip? It seems like if the tiles were snug there would be difficulty putting in or removing tiles?

Also, what LEDs did you use? A pre packaged set or did you wire everything yourself?

Again, very impressed with both the attention to detail and the craftsmanship involved here.

As far as the cup holders go, have you considered making ones that hang on the side like the dice trays? Would allow more mobility for player too.

Yes! I never got around to updating the thread because I keep thinking I'm going to find the time for the final push to get it finished... I did get some work done on the feet:

Finishing work and molding on base:


Runner LED lights installed:


Closer shot of the base with the LEDs on:


Back/inside of the bases:


Stained base (stained not sealed, had the red LEDs on again for some reason)


That is where it sits now, the LED strips are Philips brand with the wireless remotes but I can't find the link at the moment. I'll try to find it for you...

Thanks for all the compliments and I'll try to take so long with the next update...

Until next time!


P.S.- Actually the boards are not hard to get out at all, I actually left a hole in the center of playing area so if I had to I could push the boards up from underneath, but I've never had to use it as I just lift them up to remove them but the edges.

If you want any carved wood (Wooden Skulls, Aquilla, or anything else that would be hard to carve a lot of) let me know.

It isn't cheap, but it is a lot less expensive than doing carved wood yourself (roughly $35 - $100 per foot, depending upon the design).

If you would like to see some samples, i can provide them.

MB

BeAfraid wrote:
If you want any carved wood (Wooden Skulls, Aquilla, or anything else that would be hard to carve a lot of) let me know.

It isn't cheap, but it is a lot less expensive than doing carved wood yourself (roughly $35 - $100 per foot, depending upon the design).

If you would like to see some samples, i can provide them.

MB

You have PM good sir.