Building a pool table on your own seems like a daunting task. It’s a long process, but with the help of woodworking plans, it’s made easier.
The process of building a pool table depends on what type and design is desired. Provided further into this article is a simple generalization of the tools and materials you’d need, as well as the basic steps. We recommend checking out woodworking plans themselves for an illustrated guide.
Tools you’ll need for this project
• Saws; table, chop, band, hole, jigsaw, and manual
• Nail gun and nails
• Stapler and staples
• Wood glue
• Drill and screws
• Biscuits and biscuit joiners
• Drill press
• Measuring tape
• Razor blade
• Router
• Chisels
• Orbital sander and sandpaper
Building The Pool Table
Materials
These will depend on the size of the desired pool table. For a playing area of 3 ½ feet by 7 feet, here are the materials you’ll need:
• 10 sheets of medium-density fiberboard
– 5 measuring 4 by 8 ½ inch and 5 measuring 4 by 8 ¾ inch
• 5 8 ft. by 8 in. by ¾ in. oak planks
• 3 8 ft. by 8 in. by ¾ in. walnut planks
• 5 8 ft. by 2 in. by 4 in. pine boards
• 9 ft. felt of desired color (usually red)
• Billiards accessory kit
• Necessary paint materials
Steps
1. The first step is to build the pool’s frame with a chop saw and a table saw.
For this, the medium-density fiberboards are used. They are cut ½ in. by 4 ft. by 8 ft. onto the tapered sides of each leg of the table.
2. Then, cut the oak planks into 1×1 in. strips.
These oak strips are for the four corners of the tapered sides. The strips should be routered. Everything building the legs should then be glued and nailed into place.
3. Make the bun of each leg.
To make this, cut and glue three ¾ in. 10 in. squares. Clamp them together into a block. Using a router, form the edges. Repeat these steps for all the legs.
4. Use your medium-density fiberboards for the tapered sides.
For the tapered sides, use your medium-density fiberboards again and cut 78×13 in., following the leg’s angles. Do the same thing in the earlier step with the oak strips.
5. Build the table’s support.
For this, fill the length of the bottom of the table with 2 x 4 in. pieces. The rails of the table are then made using the walnut planks. They are attached using the biscuit joiner and wood glue.
6. Apply coating and felt onto the playing area.
After the main body of the table is built and secured, coat the table’s body with dark brown latex paint – or whichever is preferred. Then, attach the felt over the table.
Building Wooden Pool Cue Rack
This rack will keep your billiards balls and your cues in one place. The rack can be placed on a wall beside your pool table.
There are many available woodworking plans for pool cue racks but they all basically function the same way. A common plan involves four main pieces of 1 x 4 ft. wood.
Materials
• 2 1 x 4 ft. wood pieces (type of wood depends on preference)
• Dowels (the number depends on how many stacks you wish your cue rack to have)
• Mending Plates
• Drill
Steps
1. Build the two main parts.
The two main pieces should be 35” and will lie horizontally. The other two will stand upright between the former pieces. They should be 40” long.
2. Next, build the ball rack with the dowels.
The two vertical pieces are placed 18” apart and dowels are placed between them. The dowels are where the balls will be kept. Two dowels are used per row, keeping them 1 ½” apart.
3. Drill holes for the cues and put mending plates.
1” and 1 ½” holes are drilled to the top and bottom of the horizontal pieces for the cues. The holes should be drilled on the area just after the vertical pieces are placed. Finally, mending plates are then used to fasten the rack to the wall.
Woodworking projects are made easier by woodworking plans available online. You just have to simply follow measurements, do what is instructed, and then you’re good to go. A pool table and a pool cue rack for everyone’s use!
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