Padding and Felting the Center Piece

Here I have placed a small piece of blue painters tape on top of each of the T-nuts so that there won’t be any sag in the foam when it’s pulled tight over top of the screw holes.

Here I am smoothing the 1/4″ foam out over top of the center piece after having sprayed the whole thing with adhesive and letting it sit for a minute or two so the surface would be tacky to the touch.

Here you’ll see it flipped upside down and laying on the floor in my living room waiting to be trimmed.

Here I am trimming the foam. I’m not giving any extra around the edges because of the tight fit between this piece and the racetrack.

This is a close up of the foam that has been glued to the center piece.

Now it’s laid back foam side down on top of the red felt that will eventually be the center playing surface.

Now begins the hard part. Using an electric stapler here is key. It saves you alot of strain on your forearms from traditional staple guns and the pressure needed to staple properly. When you are doing this you will want to start by tapping in a few in the center on each end to hold it in place and then start from the center moving your way to the straight aways being careful to pull the felt tight inward toward the last staple you popped in until you’ve gone to each side. Repeat this process on the other curved end first and then proceed to the straight edges. These will go quick and easy.

This is the last shot of the bottom of the center piece with all the staples tapped in and extra felt trimmed away.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5