Folding Octagonal Poker Table How to build your very own folding, octagonal poker table! Additional Support Now that the table has stood on its own two legs for the first time, there are some things I am going to do to strengthen the table when it's in the playing position. The first thing I did was to add another set of normal hinges to the outer edges of the table. This helps hold the table together especially during the folding process and makes the table more stable. Using the same wood that I made the blocks that I mounted the flip flop hinges on, I made another 4 blocks for mounting the additional hinges on. Above you can see a normal hinge mounted onto 2 separate blocks helping to support the table. Here you can see the table folded in half with the supporting blocks. Here is the underside of the table with the flip flop hinges and the supporting hinges placed near the outside of the table. This is the view from under the table when the table is in the 'play' position! I know the blocks don't look that flash but they do a good job. At this stage, the table is stable on either side that has legs but on the side that has no supporting legs the table is still wobbly. I have tried adding support beams to the underside of the table, I've tried adding metal bolts but the table still moved when leant on. The only thing left to do was to add a removable leg to each side to give the table the strength needed to support a heavily drunken man. Here you can see both support legs under the table. This provides that extra stability on the outside edges of the table during play. Here you can see that I have hollowed out a block of wood and screwed it to the bottom of the table. The leg then sits in the hole during play and can simply be pulled out when not required. Here you can see the hollowed out block that the leg slips into. Might not be that pretty but it sure does a great job. |