"Four years in the making, custom gaming table ready to use!" Topic

I began working with a carpenter, four years ago, designing a custom gaming table I wanted him to build for me. That grew into four table designs, and it also developed into a full-blown business making not only custom tables, but also Dice Towers, and other game-related products.

My first table design is the top-tier table he offers: the Kaiser Table. He modified it, removing the pull-out drawers, making a lower-priced, simpler model: the Prinz Table. After we played on both table designs, I realized we could eliminate the Game Well feature, lowering the complexity, materials, and the price: the Konig Table was born… I also realized that I, personally, did not need the Game Well: my third table design (Konig) was the fourth design in his catalog. My third design (never named), overall, will likely never be built, though: it is a nice design, but it is expensive in materials, and more complex (more labor hours to construct) -- we doubt anyone would pay the price for it.

My new Konig Table was delivered on Super Bowl Sunday. Here are some links to photo's of it:

Link 1: overall view of 5-foot by 9-foot, solid Hickory Table.

Link 2: close-up view of center, pull-out drawer -- one out of eight, three per side, one on each end.

Link 3: electronic lift system with the Table at full height of around 50 inches!

Link 4: end view of Table, showing the control box for the lift system.

Link 5: close-up of DM's drawer -- clear acrylic overlay, allowing record sheets to be inserted beneath, as well as custom laser engraved images I requested be burned into the drawer; not shown, are dragons burned in, just inside of the corners, on each end (a personal design choice, and an option available to any customer).

Link 6: end view, opposite end from Link 5, showing the Table, overall, at an angle.

Link 7: the base revealed, demonstrating two storage shelves which will hold commonly needed terrain pieces, such as trees, and perhaps Watch Towers, and such.

Link 8: I purchased a Chessex Mondo-Mat, 4-feet by 8-feet, squares on one side, hexes on the other, perfect for drawing out monster-sized dungeons, and wilderness scenes for my RPG games.

The Table is 5-feet by 9-feet, which is the standard size for a Ping Ping Table -- I used a Ping Pong Table for 25+ years. That is how I arrived at the size chosen. It also allows for eight large-sized, pull-out drawers for my final Table design.

This Table will serve multiple roles: tabletop miniature wargames, on a large table; RPG sessions; and my wife will use it as a cutting table for making quilts, and other sewing projects.

Specifics on my custom Konig Table:

Materials used to construct: Table is solid Hickory, tabletop is one solid, glued, flat piece -- will never develop seams due to expansion/contraction, with the change in seasons/humidity; shelves are solid Hickory, as well, for strength; Lift System is steel, bolted to wooden exterior legs.

Size: 5-feet by 9-feet, playing area.

Pull-Out Drawers: 8, 3 per side, 1 on each end; End Drawers: 18-7/8" by 24-3/4"; Side Drawers: 15-1/2" by 29-3/8"; all drawers have 2" clearance, allowing them to be closed with books, dice, and other short items, left in place.

Acrylic Overlays: 1, on the Game Master's end drawer, for my Table, as the others would not utilize them as much as I would; these are available for every drawer, as an added option.

Electronic Lift System: optional, but in order for my wife to use it as a cutting table, I needed to have the ability to raise/lower the Table; it also makes it easier to use for mini's gaming, when we all typically stand up, but we all typically remain seated, when we play RPG's!

If interested, here is the web catalog of the vendor who built my Table, Tables by Davis, LLC. Cheers!

I dream too small. That is some table!

Wow. Impressive. Thanks for sharing.

Nice. Looks like it is pretty heavy, but still could see it tipping over if one leans hard on one of the ends. Pretty far cantilever from the center legs. If legs were moved out more then there would be more opportunity for more storage underneath also.

We tested that potential accident. Will not tip: I weigh 250 pounds, sat on the end, with a clean tabletop. The far side of the base lifted 1-2 millimeters, with my legs in the air! I had to bounce, to get it to move any further, but I was in no danger, as it barely moved, at all…

With regards to more storage room, we could move the legs out to the corners, but we cannot move them further out, in any direction, keeping them towards the center, as they would then interfere with the drawers, as designed. Also, if we put larger shelves in the base, we would likely cut into player's leg space, causing them to bash their shins, or ankles, into the shelves. If we shrank the drawer sizes, we could move the legs for the base.

Life is all about compromises, and we felt that if a 250-pound man, could sit on one end, without danger, it was good enough, as is. He did play with it, before he settled on this design, for a 5-foot by 9-foot table. The base sizes, and the drawer sizes, will vary, depending upon the finished size of the table: he's built two, 4-foot by 6-foot, Konig Tables, but they have smaller drawers, and only two, per side, and one per end, for a total of six drawers. The 5-foot by 9-foot size, is the golden size, if you want to seat up to eight gamers.

The Table, as shown, weighs more than 300 pounds, likely 400 pounds -- we haven't weighed it yet. It is a lot of solid, dense wood, plus the steel leg assemblies. We put a lot of thought into the design, as well as a lot of testing, to make certain we had a safe, effective design.

Thanks for your comments, All. Cheers!

Very very nice!

There are two Tables available, free for public use, at D6 Games, in Rochester, MN. They are both 4-foot by 6-foot designs, one Prinz, and one Konig. We hope to install a 5-foot by 9-foot Kaiser Table at D6 Games, within the next two months. D6 Games will charge a small fee to rent this Table, as it is a premium gaming table, installed in a private gaming room. They will be happy to show it to interested customers, however, at no charge. ;-) Cheers!

Beautiful tables and work, however well beyond my budget now or anytime in the foreseeable future.

Very nice. I would like to have a table with a depressed edge for the paraphnalia that clutters the usual game but even that is beyond my means. Yours is a very nice table.

9-foot by 5-foot Kaiser, with 8 Player Stations!

I think I'm in love

That is really neat, and beautiful.

The lifting system is a nice touch.

I wanted to make something similar a couple of decades ago, but the finish wouldn't have been nearly as nice. I was planning flip up ends, to add even more length, if/when needed, as well as a lot of storage underneath. Given the size and weight, it probably would have had to go in a very large den, and/or garage bay.

I had a 6' by 12' made of just plywood with drawers, which took a day to build and served well. Yours seemed just a fancy wood version UNTIL I saw the electronic lift. That is a fantastic idea which sets this table apart as just about the apex of tables. Great work.

Thanks, Bobgnar. We put a lot of time, thought, and energy, into this table design. It's nice to hear the comments, positive and negative.

We discussed using plywood: less expensive, strong, etc. We opted for solid Hickory due to its unique qualities: harder than Oak (1,360 on the Janka Scale), allegedly 10x stronger than Oak, for supporting weight (we tested this claim, up to a point…), takes stain of any color, and it is only slightly higher priced than Oak. Hickory is plentiful, and readily available, as well. Hickory can be stained to look like Mohogany, Cherry, Purpleheart, etc., color-wise: Mohogany (800 Janka Scale) and Cherry (950 Janka Scale) are much softer woods, than Hickory (1,820 Janka Scale), while Purpleheart is much harder (2,520 Janka Scale) -- and it is incredibly expensive, and not as readily available!

My carpenter hand-selects every individual board, looking for, and pairing up, grain patterns, to create a gorgeous appearance. The knots are filled with epoxy, which turns dark with stain, making them virtually indistinguishable from wood grain.

Each of the Table designs can serve multiple purposes, including the role of a dining room table. Solid hardwood dining room tables of similar sizes, are in the same price range with these tables. To say they are out of your price range, may not be true, if you use them for more than just gaming. Cheers!

That is impressive

Great table. I am jealous.