Coming into the home stretch...

Got a lot done the last couple of nights, David and I have been busy squeezing in a Monday evening this week to boot!  We got so much done just gonna rattle it all off in list form.

• The top anchor system in place consisting of 4 carriage bolts counter sunk into the play surface with wing nuts.  This way the top is removable and modular!
• The top play surface cut outs have been made for the chip tray, bill collector, and no peek device.
• The Volara closed cell foam is installed and cut.
• Bill box and bill slot are installed
• The betting track / racetrack has had it's second coat of paint and will be getting it's first layer of polyurethane soon.

So really there isn't a whole lot left for the table at this point.  Still need to do the following;

• Install felt play surface and secure discard box, bill collection gasket, no peek device and toke box
• Install shelf in pedestal
• Install lighted blackjack sign, table lighting and powerstrip
• Finish betting track ornamentation and super gloss epoxy coating
• Secure arm rest to betting track.
• Order rules signage and display bracket
• Design and install back trim (maybe - this is kind of optional)
• Source over table lighting and install
• Buy barstools!  Getting a couple of stools for Christmas, but that leaves me needing 5 more - so cut me some slack and buy some stuff already!

And now for the pictures!

Oooh Shiney!  It started off red, but then I had to paint it black.

Bill box and chip tray

From the front

You can make the picture big to see my recently rescued and restored vintage velvet Elvis.  

Any ladies out there attracted to 40 year old guys who collect comic book toys?  Email me, we'll hook up..

Because one picture of a black piece of wood is never enough. 

I'm not satisfied with only two pictures of a black piece of wood, so here is a third.   Am i satisfied yet?  No... I can't get no satisfaction.  Because one Rolling Stones joke is never enough.

Tonights Amazon sales pitch - Things I would like to get on Christmas morning.

The question is, does it match the drapes?

Woo hoo!  Looks like we can stick a fork in the carpet and call it done!  It looks sweet too.  Chris, who you will recall helped with the pedestal upholder, came over and lent his expertise to carpeting the base.  The results are fantastic, especially considering that I didn't order quite enough carpet - but we managed to get some stretch in some of the places and we just barely got it to work.  For the record the carpet is, so far at least, the only thing I haven't ordered enough of, and next time I do something like this I believe I will over order.

We used speaker cabinet carpet, the kind with the thick backing.  The collective wisdom of the internet say's the backed kind can be more difficult to work with, but it is more durable.  Since this was essentially a foot rest I figured durability was the way to go.  The carpet is pretty stiff but we were able to bend it around some very tight turns without any problems, so I think anyone else following along here could use the same.  I ordered mine from parts express - the carpet arrived folded instead of rolled so I let it sit out on the ground to get some of the creases out.  The edge of the carpet looks like it was cut from the roll by hand and was kind of crappy looking, but I wasn't planning on using right up until the edge anyhow.

The carpet we fixed down with the 3M #77 Spray adhesive and staples.  I got some great tips on hiding the seams from this you tube video and I gotta say their advice contributed heavily to the high quality finish on my base.

Cutting the rug as they say

Measure twice cut one, we needed to measure three times maybe :) 

Like a black fuzzy toilet seat

Lookin good

Needs cleaned, but still sharp

Can you spot the seams?  There are two in this picture

From the inside

Again

Seam on this side - on the left front

Two seams here - 1 on the top, the other on the side

Can't see the seam here either.

Lest I be accused of being misogynistic with my headline puns and Amazon selling, I'm including mens grooming products here too.  So the ladies can calm down and crack window dressing jokes too.  Yup something for everyone!   Even have some wax for those who don't want any carpet on their floor -  Is there a tag for a <crash cymbal> ?  There should be.  Anyhoo - Try the veal, I'm here till Tuesday.

Vendor Spotlight: Spinettis Gaming

This is a new feature where I will post about my experiences with the many businesses out there who willingly accept my money in trade for the things I need for my project. There is a complex economical term to describe this type of exchange of money for goods, but since this is a light blog and not an academic journal I will not bore you with a bunch of jargon just to show how book smart I am.  Oh okay, I'll get technical if you insist.  It's a little something I like to call commerce.  Feel free to use the term in conversation if you want, I don't mind as long as I get some credit when you do.

First up is Spinettis Gaming, located in beautiful sunny Mecca Las Vegas, this family owned store rightfully calls itself  "A Candy Store For Real Gamblers".  I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a lot about 'real gambling' because I have never once won a casino, but let me tell you I know a thing or two about candy.  (I'm big boned)  Their products for the most part taste terrible, which candy most defiantly does not.  Putting matters of flavor aside they have a ginormous selection of accessories and things that I want to own.

My first purchase from Spinettis was a set of the sweet Dunes commemorative chips that had that perfect retro vibe I wanted.  I shopped around many retailers and eBay and for building out your own set Spinetti's had the most reasonable price per piece with shipping of anywhere I had looked.  I also ordered a dealers toke box (think tip jar with a lock).  Both items came well packaged, as described and shipped very quickly making it to my home in Atlanta in about three days.

They see me rollin', they hatin'

Luck be a lady tonight!

Today I ordered cards for the table, which is more troublesome than you might imagine, since I need cards with 'No Peek Faces'.  'No Peek Faces' are different from the more familiar 'No Peek Index' cards which are much easier to come by.  For those not familiar with the term the index is the value declaration in the corner of the card.  Most playing cards feature a 'Regular Index' or in some case and enlarged or 'Jumbo Index' which sits 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the corner of the card.  A 'No Peek Index' moves the index further into the corner, this style is popular with poker players as you may keep your cards face down on the table and just barely lift the edge of your cards to see your whole hand.

Toke box!  Obligatory 4:20 joke is absent.

My blackjack table will have a mirror style no peek device to allow the dealer to check the hole card for blackjack.  The dealer only needs to know if there is an ace or a face card in the hole, so aces and faces are the only indexes that should be visible to the mirror so they have a 'No Peek' style index, cards 2-9 are in the 'Regular Index' position so the dealer can not see the exact card in the hole, instead they can only tell if they have a blackjack or not.   Thus 'No Peek Faces'.

As luck would have it Spinettis had uncanceled 'No Peek Faces' decks in stock - so I ordered 8 in red and 8 in blue.  The website had some difficulty calculating the shipping on my order so it displayed a message to call the store.  I spoke with Josh I believe and he looked up my online order and had me taken care of in a matter of minutes.

I joke a lot about selling stuff on here through amazon and all - but this is no joke, two orders in and I am very pleased with the price, service and selection Spinettis offers.  If you are going to try your own table build please consider shopping with them.

/Brian.

Somebody set up us the bomb baby!

Thats right! The base is completed and you know what that means? If you said all your base jokes then not only are you correct but all your base do indeed belong to us. David, my chief collaborator in all this, has returned from a 7 day cruise of the western carribean, lucky dog.  But he was excited to be back and with his help we completed construction of the base, got it's feet painted and put on, and the Luon wrapped around the front piece.  Stick a fork in it!  All we need to do now is install the carpet on the base, said carpet is on order and will merit it's own post when it gets here.  Getting to the the table top soon!

Words are boring you see.  Well main screen turn on for some pix

The bottom of the base, look at the stylin feet!

The last of my Luon wasn't quite tall enough to go all the way up under the foot rest.  I'm just gonna carpet over that gap and hope that no one notices.  Shhhh it'll be our secret okay?

From the top.  Sturdy as an ox, an ox with a rockin footrest.

Because you wanted to see the unfinished part

So ya, this is the base again.  Pretty sweet huh?  

Know how many screws it took?   OVER 9000 - oh never mind wrong meme

Japan is our theme for the nights Amazon sales section.  Our first stop, Pocky cause it's good, you should buy some (Srsly - Almond Crush rocks).  Now hows about a hug pillow, if you bought the condoms from a post or two back you probably aren't in the market for a hug pillow, but for everyone else?  They should buy one or two. (You haven't lived if you haven't watched some one marry one of these things.)   Back on a serious note, with a quick bow to O Sensei, brush up on your budo with a book by or about Morihei Ueshiba.  I'll finish out my list with some music, and as tempting as it was to put some J-Pop in there, I decided to go with something a little more approachable - so Hi-Standard it is, their cover of California Dreaming is one of the most awesome covers ever.

I feel good. (I Knew that I would tho)

Ahhhaii!  Hoooo ha whoa.  I feel nice, like sugar and spice. We can practically call the barrel portion of the base complete.  It is batted, upholstered and lined to completion.  We will need to do some cuts where we are joining to the table top and do the plunges for the bill counter and chip tray - but for the time being I am declaring the pedestal done!    Talk about looking fantastic!  For the upholstering I got my Mom to come over and give me hand and I think you'll agree she did a fantastic job!  Then later my friend Chris was kind enough to help me finish the bottom and hang the inner lining.  I'll let the pics do most of the talking!

Batting glued down and trimmed.

Battered

What swings and misses, for $100 please Alex

White plastic panel installed

In a white room, with black curtains...

50's lounge!  Whomp there it is.

100% Awesome

Looks like someone could stand to clean the garage instead of working on the table eh?

100% less Hippo than the last picture.  Bet you won't get that reference.

Here is another shot that has nothing much new in it.  It's the 10% more free picture.

Tonight I am selling things suitable for the godfather of soul!  First up have your own Celebrity Hot Tub party, then cool off and shoot your car!  Tool around Augusta and play a round at the masters and then take it easy

I don't know, what do YOU do with a drunken sailor?

Nope it's not a boat or a ship despite being curved like one.  The half barrel is all but completed and should be ready to be upholstered over the Thanksgiving holidays.  w00000t!

Nothing else much to report, David came over, we cut the luon to length and glued and screwed it down.  Awesome stuff - let the pics speak for themselves, well with the help of the captions I give them.

Inside the barrel, there is a joke there but I'm too lazy to work it in.

Profile Left

Ohh Curves, (The gentleman's club!)

Right Profile

Side view

Artistic top shot.

Artisticier Top Shot with a Jaunty Angle.

Fundraising time!  I said w00t in my post and I admit to being a big fan of woot.com.  Well woot doesn't help me earn chairs - so here are things that woot sells.  Kind of like props to them, only they don't make anything either.  *sigh*  Oh yeah woot is now part of Amazon!  Hooray!  Everyone wins when you buy from me!!!

That's what she said.

Ooooh ribs!  For her pleasure. I know, obvious joke is obvious eh?  I am stoked though - the table is beginning to look like a table.  Tonight we, as in myself and my buddy David, got the barrel assembled, so it is ready to be wrapped in luon and upholstered.  The base and footrest can be seen below, although they have not been fully assembled and are only resting in place in the pictures.  We threw the play surface on top for good measure and wow you really begin to get a feel for how it is going to look when it is finished!

Taking Shape - the base is not fully assembled, and the barrel is just set on top.

Side view

Another profile

From the front

Other side from the front.

The back

WTF is this?

This was supposed to show corner detail, but the pic doesn't really show the clever way we did the corners

Cardboard just stuck on the inside just to see how the real interior might be finished.

More of the cardboard

So what am I gonna sell tonight?  I'm thinking that I'm not quite done with the ribbed jokes yet so here comes some more.  Top 10 answers are on the board, we asked 100 people surveyed to name something that is ribbed.

Survey says!