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What was was supposed to be a quick and easy build of a gaming table has become a much larger project. The 4'x6' table is to be multi-purpose, for use in miniature wargames and for our role-playing and board game sessions.

I had a few 'must haves' in mind when drawing up the plans:

1. It must be sturdy. If I'm going to spend the time and money to build it, the table should last me years.
2. It must be 4' x 6'. That's all I have room for, without crowding the basement.
3. It must be 36" high. That's standard counter-top height, and works well for miniatures games where you typically stand while playing.
4. It must have locking casters. Whether practical or not, it's something I always wanted on a gaming table.
5. It must be beer/soda/crayon proof. Not only will my friends be playing on this, someday the kids will be too.

Initial build of the gaming table:



Serviceable enough. But it lacked refinement. I decided to add some trim to the sides to cover the ugly 2x4's.

But, I needed access to the screws that attach the legs to the top, so a hole needed to be drilled for each screw.





That didn't look good. I thought about plugging it with a cap of some kind, but decided to add more holes... bullet holes!



I'll paint these appropriately in the future.

After many hours of sanding with finer and finer grade sandpaper, I gave the table a coat of clear polyurethane.



I'll give it another sanding and another coat, then I'm going to paint the entire table to look like an Imperial Guard tank. I just need to pick a camo scheme.

Imperial Guard Camo Patterns

I also plan to add other details like stenciled numbers, insignia and maybe even create an aquila from MDF or styrene for the sides of the trim. Who knows. I'll post pics as I go along.

-Ratchet

If I wasn't such a wood-butcher, I'd build my own too.

An interesting project, best of luck

So I assume that as this will be used for other things, you wont be 'landscaping' the top of the table ?

you could make it look like a levithan command vehicle!

This is a really nice and clean looking table, how much would you build one for?

Thanks for the comments and questions!

@ShawnSum - Materials for the table cost about $160. That doesn't include finish nails, screws and glue because I had that already. I'm not sure I would actually build one for a customer since my personal time is limited, but if there was interest I could post the plans/instructions for this table online. I would be happy to offer advice in its construction. It wasn't too difficult once I figured-out what I wanted to do. And I used simple tools: Miter saw, finish nailer, palm sander, drill press... all of which could be replaced with non-powered versions such as a hammer and plane sander and you could use a corded drill rather than a drill press. I used that to drill the bullet holes with a spade bit.

@Orinoco - Leviathan! I'll look into it...

@StubbyGB - You are correct sir. This table, once painted, will be general purpose. Card games, board games, RPG's, miniatures, kids playing with toys, kids coloring. I can imagine laundry being folded on it! I am making separate terrain boards and terrain elements for use in miniature games. But, a camo pattern will make for a suitable background for games in which we just use terrain elements.

I'll get back to work on this over the weekend. I'm going to plan out the camo pattern this week and get the basement cleaned-up for a Pathfinder game session on Saturday. Thanks again all!

-Ratchet

Ratchet, thanks for the reply.

Great job so far.... I personally would go with the jungle/forest pattern or the Urban Camo. They are the coolest IMO. WOW this took a long time to type. (Sliced my index finger pretty badly with an X-Acto blade, friends think I need stitches)

Here's a template for a potential camo pattern. Whatever colors I use, the pattern shapes will need to have clean straight edges. This will make it easier to mask and paint.



I've added rivets in this draft. Any suggestions on other details to add?
-Ratchet

You could try adding some rust/weathering? Some mud effect at the bottom of the legs might be quite entertaining - I can just imagine the table driving across the muddy battlefield

Turret and a commisar with a powerfist.

shoulda done the bullet holes with a 20 guage slug....

malfred wrote:Turret and a commisar with a powerfist.

"Drive me closer, I want to tickle it with my glove!"

I added some lights, added an exhaust, reduced the number of rivets, and added the bullet holes. Relocated the stenciled elements.

I also gave it a name: The Mule!

Kudos to those PC gamers who identify the game which gave inspiration to the name.



Commissar with powerfist to follow.

-Ratchet

I like it the only thing I would add is a shelf to hold terrain or drawers ether one

that looks pretty sweet. for the top of the table, i'd say take a very high-res pic (lotsa megapixels) of a tabletop from above mid battle and print out a poster that's 6x4 of it so that it looks like a holo projection of a battlefield that an IG commander may use. then afix it to the top of the table.

Woah sweet idea

that look awsome.
are you going to put flock on the top or a grass mat/ city scape.

I like the idea. I wish my wood working skills were up to your level. I hate have to bend over the 6' folding tables I have.

My Father in law and I are currently planning on making a table! Could you maybe send me the plans you used? Thanks!

Very nice idea, cant wait to see the final result

This is very, very cool!

Good luck, and looking forward to seeing it progress!

Thanks for the kind comments!

are you going to put flock on the top or a grass mat/ city scape.

Nope. Top will not have any sand, flock or terrain elements built into it. This allows me to use the table for card games, our RPG game sessions, and other things. The top will simply be painted the camo pattern, then sealed with clear matte polyurethane.

My Father in law and I are currently planning on making a table! Could you maybe send me the plans you used? Thanks!

I only had general plans when I started, but due to the increasing interest, I'll put together a materials list and some plans with measurements. I'll also list what tools I used and suggestions for altering the table. Some might not want/need casters, so the leg measurements will change without them.

I have Sunday free, so look for this early next week.

I'll be adding to those plans/parts list as I go along. I need to get some PVC pipe for the exhaust, and I'll probably make the exhaust heat shield from styrene sheet which I can heat and bend into shape.

Stayed tuned!

-Ratchet

one thing you may want to add, attachable trays or a tough of some kind. I was at one GW store and they had these little trays for you to put your miniatures for after they have been removed from play- removed SO much clutter

I can't wait for more updates..... You may want to make alternate tables so that you can switch them out. Now when I say "alternate tables," I don't really mean multiple tables. I mean different pieces of plywood with scenery all painted up so you can switch them around. Maybe a city fight one day, a forest battle another, and then no scenery for a nice game of poker with friends! That would be a pretty awesome board!

I would love to see the material list, hope it gets added soon.

Back in college, a few friends of mine made a gaming table similar to yours. The intent was to use it for 40k as well as a kitchen table, so what they did is build a coverable gaming table. This was accomplished by:

Building up the sides using 2x6 plants, with roughly one inch being down from the bottom of the first level (the gaming table level). This gave roughly 3" above the top of the first level.

They then, along the centerline of the long table edges, at the one third and two third marks, cut out roughly 6"x6" squares. These were saved for later.

Under the removed squares, they added a supporting deck (something like 12"x12", held by wood screws and wood glue).

Then they cut some of the leftover 2x6 pieces into about 3" lengths (same as the difference between the side and the top of the gaming table). These pieces were glued/screwed together in sets of 3, and set loosely into the cut-out sections.

A top was then made out of another sheet of 4'x8' high density particle board, cut down to fit, with some 1x4's screwed/glued to create a step, so that the top could be set onto the gaming table and the two supports and it could be used as a regular table.

Finally, they took foam board of some kind and laid it in. They were careful to cut out sections for the supports to fit in, and placed the cut out sections on the previously removed wood sections, so they could remove the supports and add the terrain back when they played a game. The foam was then cut to give some grades, a stream, and such.

All in all, it was a beautiful gaming table that could be converted into a bit of a rough looking dining table in just a couple of minutes.

Lots of good ideas everybody. Its fun to see how different people would approach the same project.

I have drawn up some plans for this table, but don't have a complete materials list yet.

Here are some pics of the progress I'm making on painting the top. I primed the entire thing with two coats of Zinsser 1-2-3 bonding primer. I then painted the entire table the base gray color (Behr Dark Ash) with two coats. I then masked off the lightest areas and painted those with two coats (Behr Sparrow). The last paint step is to slightly overlap the darkest area over the lightest area. The darkest paint is Behr Beluga. Between each coat I lightly sand each section.





I decided to drop the rivets on the side of the trim. After a single play session we realized people would lean against it too much. So, no rivets on the trim. I am planning on keeping the rivet idea for the legs though.

I will need to paint the metal areas around the bullet holes and stencil the identification on it. Once this last step dries, I'll lightly sand it and give the entire table a few coats of flat polyurethane sealer.

Oh, I was also approached by somebody who wanted me to build them a table. I hesitated due to the distance between us, but if there's somebody near southeast Pennsylvania who is interested, send me a PM.

Thanks again for all your comments!

-Ratchet

It looks great!

Rather than rivets on the trim, have you considered doing something like hex head wood screws? Something like the following at the bottom right would, imo, look great!