What foam would you use?

[Leroy Soesman]

I just made an octagonal poker table (http://www.halo-effect.com/images/poker/table/livingroomview.jpg), and I used .5cm open-celled foam for the padding of the upholstered centre-piece (which would correspond to a thickness of about 1/5" thickness). That's the type of foam that comes in a roll.

I'm about to make a second identical table, and to be honoust I don't trust the open celled foam to last very long.

So I was pondering buying the more expensive and less practical closed celled foam.

What I want to know is what your experiences were concerning open or closed celled foam. What kind you used and how durable it is.

Thanks in advance.

[ddollevoet]

I used 1/4" auto headliner for my table. I think it works great. It feels like a real casino table. My table is about 6-8 months old and I have no noticeable wear.

I bought my headliner on Ebay, but I know that they also have it at JoAnn Fabrics for about $7.99 per yard.

[Leroy Soesman]

That sounds good, I can imagine headliner would work. I was also pondering different types of isolation materials. Should do the same trick, but I couldn't find anything that would suffice at the local hardware store.

Great tip, exactly the type I'm looking for! Keep em coming!

[Eric H]

Have made four tables using this foam. Works great.

http://www.casinosupply.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=OCH

[smoore]

I have used the open cell foam from casinosupply.com and I'm not impressed. Closed cell foam is a much better choice, if for nothing else than the fact that it won't absorb liquid from spilled drinks. If you don't mind extra weight on your table an inexpensive choice that I will be using on my next table is "rubber slab pad" (*not* waffle) made for high end carpet installations. At least one carpet store in any major city will have a remnant of it you can get cheap. If you have to order it it should only cost about $25 for a holdem size table.

1/4 inch should be fine, but the tables I've seen in the casinos seem to have 3/8 in of closed cell foam as the bottom layer, with 1/4 in of a *high quality* open cell foam on top. The top layer may be a less dense closed cell foam but it acts like a quality open cell. Keep in mind that the felt on these tables is STRETCHED tight instead of being glued.

I glued the pad to the table and the cloth to the pad on my first table and I will not repeat this mistake, as when you rub it down with a wet rag it wrinkles and must be ironed on low heat. I'm a carpet installer so stretching the fabric isn't a problem. Basically start across the middle, then quarter it and finish out each quarter like you were smoothing a bed you just made. Don't put many staples in at first, just enough to hold the stretch... this is in case you have wrinkles and have to undo it.

The foam from casinosupply.com isn't up to snuff, but thier "speed cloth", which is actually just cordura nylon is f'in bulletproof. I was dissapointed with it when I first got it because of it's look and feel, but after using it for two years I love it and would definitely use it for another table.

I don't understand why you would consider closed cell foam to be less practical than the cheap open cell stuff, from my experience as a rugger I know that it's a far superior product. It lasts longer, feels better and resists spills. Any open cell carpet pad wears out, has an inferior support for the carpet and sucks up spills like your dish sponge. There are good reasons the closed cell is more expensive.

[ncskiier]

I have used high-quality laminate floor underlayment, the grey rubbery type. It worked perfect.

[Panic]

I'd recommend volara closed-cell foam. It's awesome. I've built three tables. I used headliner on the first one, and it was good, but I couldn't stack my chips high without them leaning. The headliner is just to soft. After reading other posts, I purchased some volara foam at atrim.com and I love it. I wouldn't use anything else. Good Luck.

My table with construction directions - http://stefanick.aexx.net/poker_table/

Link to foam (see Landau at bottom) - http://www.atrim.com/Page73.html

[Fins]

Two sources PokerFoam (http://www.pokerfoam.info/) & Know Foam (http://www.knoxfoam.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/closedcellfoam/closedcellfoam.htm?L+scstore+gmhw1826+1104808722)

Also Your Auto Trim (http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-store/capraucl.html)... I linked to the Suited fabric because it's coool and what I'll probably use but they sell headliner also.

- Fins

[alittle]

[ QUOTE ]
Also Your Auto Trim (http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-store/capraucl.html)... I linked to the Suited fabric because it's coool and what I'll probably use but they sell headliner also.

[/ QUOTE ]

That fabric is very cool! I'm also impressed by the spec that it "Exceeds 30,000 Double Rubs" even though I have no idea what it means. If it can handle that, it HAS to be good!

[Leroy Soesman]

Not being in America most companies won't supply me with the goods. Casinosupplies.com isn't an option for me. Even though Holland is almost the 51st state, they won't deliver here.

Still, it's not hard to find closed celled foam here. And I have. Also, what I feared was true. The opencelled stuff won't stand the test of time. It's no biggie in that the table was planned (http://www.halo-effect.com/poker/tableplanf.jpg) so that the upholstered centre piece easily comes off and can be easily redone. So that saves my current table. But I've been warned for the next. I knew I had to get theclosed celled stuff, but it was easier to get a hold of opencelled at the moment. Regretted it the moment I placed it on.

As for gluing the foam to the cloth, I saw that in one tutorial. I immediately know that that was not what I wanted. I did NOT want to redo the whole table if someone spilled a drink! I now glued the foam to the board with a non permanent adhesive. I regretted having to apply the glue to the wood, but the foam would collapse when I applied the glue to it. That won't be problem with closed celled.

PS. A question:

When you upholster your table. Do you treat the cloth with a wet rag to get it on there tighter? I thought you wrote something like that, and it's close to something I thought of doing myself.
Explain please!

[duma]

Does anyone have proof or knowledge of what ACUTAL CASINO's use for thier foam? i have used closed cell 1/4" on my table and its great for the durability but it really too bouncy and stiff. when i play at the casino is is alot softer and i can press my thumb into the table quite easily. wondering what foam they use because it isnt so soft that the chips fall over it is the perfect mix.

[Leroy Soesman]

I'd like to know this too: is the closed celled foam to bouncey? SHould I use a mixture?

[FatMan]

We just bought a new sofa and loveseat and after being dragged through furniture store after furniture store I have quite a bit of knowledge about fabric quality. The the # of double rubs is a measure of how well the fabric wears. 3,000 double rubs is equal to one years worth of wear. 15,000 double rubs is considered heavy duty, 30,000 is super heavy duty fabric.

[RPMick]

I am almost positive, from looking at the HD website, we got Shaw Foam Underlayment (http://www.shawfloors.com/FloorChoices/Laminate/LaminateUnderlayments.asp) from Home Depot when we put together 3 full oval tables with insert. Love it and it's a good price. I'd suggest at least stopping by HD or Lowe's and giving it a look. Especially if you are planning any more tables.

-Ryan

[jtnt1096]

[ QUOTE ]
Also Your Auto Trim (http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-store/capraucl.html)... I linked to the Suited fabric because it's coool and what I'll probably use but they sell headliner also.

- Fins

[/ QUOTE ]

Has anyone tried the suited fabric yet. I like the look, but just curious on how the cards slide on it, etc.

[Fins]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Also Your Auto Trim (http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-store/capraucl.html)... I linked to the Suited fabric because it's coool and what I'll probably use but they sell headliner also.

- Fins

[/ QUOTE ]

Has anyone tried the suited fabric yet. I like the look, but just curious on how the cards slide on it, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]
Here are two links and there are a few others on the forum regarding the cloth...
Suited Cloth (http://www.scottkeen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1087)

Suited Cloth 2 (http://www.scottkeen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1210&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=15)

- Fins

[smoore]

[ QUOTE ]
When you upholster your table. Do you treat the cloth with a wet rag to get it on there tighter? I thought you wrote something like that, and it's close to something I thought of doing myself.
Explain please!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, a damp fabric will stretch more and then shrink a tad as it dries. I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you can't get it tight otherwise as the waft/weave of a lot of different kinds of cloth will cause it to shrink more in one direction than the other, causing wrinkles.

I use the wet cloth to clean up after my messy friends /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[smoore]

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone have proof or knowledge of what ACUTAL CASINO's use for thier foam? i have used closed cell 1/4" on my table and its great for the durability but it really too bouncy and stiff. when i play at the casino is is alot softer and i can press my thumb into the table quite easily. wondering what foam they use because it isnt so soft that the chips fall over it is the perfect mix.

[/ QUOTE ]

A big part of the firmness of an upholstered surface is the stretch of the fabric. You can have a softer foam so that you can easily get your thumb into it but if the fabric is tight enough you can stack your chips to the sky because it's held level by the stretch.