Cutting the Wood for an Octagon Racetrack Poker Table

Cutting the Wood for an Octagon Racetrack Poker Table

In this section we will measure, mark, and cut all of the wood to build our poker table. To accomplish this task, we will use our tape measure, pencil, and straight edge to measure and mark, and circular saw to make all of the cuts.  If you don’t have a circular saw, any saw will likely work for this task.

Starting off fairly simple, all we have to do is cut our sheet of plywood in two equal 4 foot by 4 foot squares.  To do this, measure 48″ from each end and make a mark.  Draw a line along your straight edge and you’re ready to fire up the saw (Figure 1-1).  Remember to measure twice to that you don’t destroy the entire project on the first cut.

After the first cut, you will have two equal sheets of wood. We will call them Sheet 1 and Sheet two (Figure 1-2).

Before we can start making individual pieces for the racetrack table, we have to turn both of these squares into perfect octagons.  To get that perfect octagon you have to measure 14 1/16″ from each corner in both directions and make a mark.  When finished, you will have two marks on each side (Figure 1-3).  Now just play a little bit of connect the dots to draw your octagon onto the wood (Figure 1-4).  As you’ve likely guessed, you can cut along the lines with your circular saw to make two perfect octagons.

At this stage you will have a pair of identical 4 foot octagons.  Set one aside and get out your tape measure to start in on the other.  Sheet 1 will soon become your playing surface, racetrack and bottom section of your rail.  To make this happen we have to measure a 2″ border from the outside of the octagon on all sides and draw this in with the straight edge.  Repeat this step again but measure 9 1/2″ from the edge (Figure 1-5).  Now set this piece aside.

Sheet two will be marked in a similar way to make the base of the poker table as well as the top of the padded octagon rail.  Mark this 4 1/2″ from the edge and draw a similar border around the wood (Figure 1-6).  Now get our the circular saw and cut on all of the lines.  You should use a jig saw or hand saw of some variety to clean up the corners.  Keep in mind that the inside cut on sheet 1 will be exposed, so be careful to take care of the wood.

Once you’ve made all of your cuts, you will have 5 different pieces of wood (Figure 1-7).  We’re going to use all of these to build our octagon poker table with racetrack.  We’ve labeled them

• A – Playing Surface
• B – Racetrack
• C – Base of Rail
• D – Padded Rail
• E – Base

With all of the wood now cut to build your octagon poker table, you can now begin finishing each component of the table.  To move on, please go to Step Three – Racetrack and Cup Holders.