Making a table pad

[archcity]

For a long time I wanted to make a table pad similar to this... Basically a huge mouse pad.

I went ahead and ordered speed cloth and velora padding. Cost similar to what they are selling, but I think I have better fabric, can pick my color, and customize the size to my dining room table.

Question is how to attach the fabric to the padding. I have mounting spray, but I want this to look nice. My thought was to...
cut the padding to the exact size
stretch the fabric tight over a table
spray the pad with the spray mount and lay it over the fabric
cut the excess fabric

Anybody done this or similar during a table construction project?

[Humble Pie]

[ QUOTE ]
My thought was to...
cut the padding to the exact size
stretch the fabric tight over a table
spray the pad with the spray mount and lay it over the fabric
cut the excess fabric


[/ QUOTE ]

You've got the general idea right here. A few suggestions 1.) don't stretch the fabric. Make sure it's taught, but not stretched. 2.) only use the mounting spray on one surface (preferably the padding)

BTW, what color are you gonna use?

[archcity]

I wanted to try something a little different, so I went with a sand color speed cloth. I thought it would look nice with my Desert Sands chips.

I had also thought of black and dark blue.

Ideally this will be the first of several; making a bigger table and a few for other guys in the group if this works out. I really hate playing on bare dining room tables or on table cloths.

[GSykes]

so this is just a giant mouse pad?

[Humble Pie]

I like the dessert sand color idea, I hope it doesn't camoflage your chips though. Pics please when complete.

[otter]

seriously "she" is right by saying she is a spammer. Every post on multiple forums within minutes of each other is the same as this one. Is anyone dumb enough to go to that site?

[archcity]

[ QUOTE ]
so this is just a giant mouse pad?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the best way to describe it. It's less cumbersome than a foldable table top, but better than a table cloth, because it has padding and a casino style surface like felt or speed cloth.

I think the bright colors of the Desert Sands chips will look good on the lighter colored fabric.

I will try to document the process and take some pictures.

[DeuceHigh80]

I used 3/4" oak plywood, headliner foam and velveteen to make table toppers for my dining room and kitchen tables. We put them on top of a rubber throw rug backing pad that protects the table and secures them so they don't slip. They make for a very solid playing surface, plus they extend beyond the margins of the existing tables to make a bigger surface than the underlying table.

They are of course more cumbersome than even the folding table toppers and wouldn't work unless you have a basement or something to that effect to store them in.

I like the idea of the "giant mouse pad" especially for storage and transport. My only concern would be how well they hold up at the edges?

[archcity]

I went ahead and put this together. It was actually pretty easy, took about 45 minutes.

No major issues. I cut the pad to size with an exacto knife, then sprayed both the pad and speed cloth with the mounting spray per the instructions on the can. I laid the fabric on the table top side down and sticky side up, and carefully laid the pad onto the fabric, and smoothed it out so there were no bubbles.

Cutting the excess fabric was the hardest part. I used sharp kitchen shears rather than office scissors. After the first few inches I figured out how to get a pretty clean cut. The edges turned out pretty good, but not perfect. Not sure if it would have been better to attach the fabric to the pad first and then cut them both to size with a blade.

Here are the pictures...









Here is a link to all the photos.

Things I might change when I do it again...

Padding - The website showed the velora padding as black and I don't like the look of the white padding, plus I thought the padding would be more rubbery and sticky to the table. I am going to add thin non-skid pads to the bottom, but next time I might try neoprene.

Color - The color is much darker than I thought it would be. I think I may try black next time.

Cutting - I am going to test cutting the pad and the fabric together with a blade for a cleaner cut.

Coverage - I really would have preferred to cover the whole table, but it would have significantly increased the cost.