Tools and Materials to Build a Blackjack Table

Tools and Materials to Build A Blackjack Table

Recommended Tools

The first thing you need to do in any project is find out what tools you need.  Building a blackjack table requires very few tools to build and you likely have them all already.  If you don’t… its always nice to have an excuse to buy more tools, right?  Here’s what you need:

• Jig Saw – You can make all of your cuts with the jig saw as the only real cuts are all arcs.  If you can operate a jig saw, you can make a blackjack table.
• Drill – I use a drill for all of my wood screws.  If you prefer to do it the old fashion way thats up to you.  I would use a drill.
• File and Sand Paper – There is likely to be imperfections in places so a good wood file is often required to make everything fit together just right.  Another alternative is to cut everything perfectly.  If you can do so you will not need a file or sand paper.
• Tape Measure – You need a tape measure to build anything.  A blackjack table is no different.
• Staple Gun – Your staple gun will get a workout like never before.  A lot of staples will go into upholstering on this project.
• Paint Brush or Stain Pad – You will likely want to finish the trim on the dealer side of the table and will need something to apply stain and poly with.  A rag may work as well.

Blackjack Table Materials

To make your job go smooth ,its a good idea to get everything you need to build a blackjack table before you start the project.  If not you’ll find youself making several trips to the hardware store and drawing your project out much more that it has to be.  Remember that the more time you spend building your blackjack table, the less time you can be playing blackjack on it.  Win-win, right?

Wood

The bones of your blackjack table are all wood. They are also all covered so the quality of wood is not all that important.  If you want to build the whole thing out of oak, thats fine.  1/2″ – 3/4″ OSB, MDF, or plywood are all fine as well.  Whatever you use, you will need 2 sheets of 3′ x 6′.  You will also need a peice of trim that is 6′ long for the dealer side of the table.

Playing Surface

For the playing surface you have a few choices.  You can either but a premade blackjack playing surface and use that to upholster your table, or you can buy felt or velveteen yourself and paint on the graphics with a stencil and fabric paint.  Its up to you but I will tell you that using a premade felt is not only a lot easier, but a lot cheaper.  Some people like to make every aspect of the table themselves though and choose to go with fabric paint and a home made stencil.  Felts can be found in our Blackjack Supplies.  I should also mention that pre printed blackjack layouts are very cheap (low quality, not inexpensive) and will ball up and wear out with use.  Another alternative is using suited speed cloth that you often see on poker tables.  That is available on the Speed Cloth page.

Vinyl

The railing of your blackjack table will be upholstered with vinyl.  To make your job easy you should get a peice no smaller than 3.5′ x 6.5′.  The extra half foot both ways is so that there will be room for the vinyl to wrap around the sides of the rail and be stapled underneath.  Vinyl can be found on our Vinyl Page.

Padding

Both the surface and the railing of your blackjack table will be padded.  For the playing surface you need a piece of 1/4″ foam that is no smaller than 3′ x 6′.  For the railing you will need a piece of 1″ foam that is  3.5′ x 6.5′ or larger.  Foam is available on our Foam page,

Other

• Spray adhesive
• 1 box of 7/8″ wood screws
• Wood sealer or water proofer
• Stain, paint, poly for your trim

Once you have all your tools and blackjack table supplies together its time to have a look at the plans and move on to Step Two – Cutting The Wood.