Friday, April 18, 2014

Portable Game Table: Texture



Having finally gotten the structure operational, I am free to move on to the fun cosmetic aspects of my folding game table project.

Having previously tested this medium on my tree stands, I used sawdust instead of sand to texture the gaming surface. Though the finish is a little more rough, it weighs considerably less, and, more importantly, is porous. This allows glue to permeate the material itself and bond better than sand. [side by side sawdust and sand basing image]


Sawdust is also free if you ask at a hardware store that cuts lumber on site, provided you bring a container.

Taking a cue from Flames of War basing, I roughed up the glossy surface of the pressboard using large grit sandpaper so the adhesive would have a better surface to hold onto, then I painted white glue onto the surface and shook out the can onto the board.


While I had agonized over the potential purchase of one of those large jugs of glue available at most hardware stores, the high price of the large bottle led me to a more incremental approach. I tried one small bottle at a time, since I already had a few on hand. It turned out the be the right decision, taking about 3 1/2 bottle to cover the whole surface (costing the same number in dollars).

With the loose sawdust in place, I pressed it into the glued surface using large cardboard tube as an ad-hoc humongous rolling pin, and swept the loose debris off with a small broom after the glue had dried.


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