3 Piece Table (10mm Version)

I have heard that some may have difficulty purchasing 13mm corrugated plastic sheets. No problem, as long as you can buy 10mm sheets! The directions below are adjusted for using 10mm sheets. The pictures are from the 13mm table, so they are not accurate. I have not actually made this table so I cannot confirm that these measurements are perfect. I'm relying on my math skills to make it all work. Let's call this a theoretical result. If you attempt this table, let me know if there is anything that needs to be fixed.

Materials

2              Intepro Fluted Plastic Sheets 10mm thickness @ unknown cost/sheet +$35 for cutting the order (I think 2 sheets should still be correct)

1              Intepro Fluted Plastic Sheet 4mm thickness @ $12/sheet

1              13.5oz Bottle of Loctite Spray Adhesive Professional Performance (Blue Bottle with Grey Label)

                for approximately $11 at Lowe’s or Home Depot

1              Roll of 1.41”x 60yd Painter’s Tape @ approximately $6

2              Pairs of Surgical Gloves or any gloves that will stop you from getting glue on your hands

?              Several Sheets of Newspaper    

Total Cost for Materials For One Table = $unknown + Tax

*There will be a lot of left over material, but it can't be avoided. Here is what it looks like on their cutting machine program. Use this picture to decide what extra pieces you would like to have done.

Directions for 3 Piece Practice Table

1.       Call Inteplast Group at (973) 994-8000 for the Intepro distributor in your area

2.       Order the two Intepro Fluted Plastic Sheets from your local Intepro distributor and have both of the sheets cut to the following specifications:

        2 count 32.03”x 48”x 10mm

        1 count 32”x 48”x 10mm

        8 count 32.03”x 2.34”x 10mm

        4 count 32”x 2.34”x 10mm

        8 count 45"x 2.34"x 10mm

        4 count 26"x 2.34"x 10mm

        8 count 35"x 2.34"x 10mm

You also want to order one Intepro Fluted Plastic sheet with the following specifications:

        4 count 24.06”x 1.576”x 4mm

        2 count 32”x 1.576”x 4mm

        4 count 30.5”x 1.576”x 4mm

3. Decide if you need the order delivered or if you can pick it up. This is actually a big decision, since the delivery will be over $100 and really eat into your costs. I was lucky enough to be close to the distributor in my area so I just picked it up. When you pick up your order be sure to check the size of your large sheets. The size of the 48" x 96" sheets can vary (width = +/- .125" and length= 0" to 1.5").

4. Be sure to sort your order when you get it home. I went through and matched up the 2.34” sheets so that the flutes (those are the tiny waves of plastic material in the middle) lined up in sets of three. This step will make your table more exact. Note: The pictures you will see below will not look exactly like your build. I made a mistake in understanding the flute direction when cutting the material. Therefore, you will see some solid looking sides to some of my border sheets. 

       Border Sheets Should Look Like Above                                             They Should Not Look Like This

5. Take the two 32.03"”x 48” sheets and draw border guidelines along one 48" side on each sheet in pencil. The flutes should be parallel with the length of the table. That means that the uncut 48” sides will form the width of the table. Remember that the FLL competition table has inner dimensions of 45”x 93”. That means that the border area needs to be 1.5” thick all around the table.

Make sure these lines are straight and have those exact measurements.

Take the painter’s tape and place it along the inner part of the line you drew for the 48” side of the table (This is where the 45” length of border will be placed). You also want to put some tape over both of the exposed ends that will hold the 32.03”x 2.34” border pieces, so you don’t accidentally get adhesive there as well. Do the same thing on the opposite end and set it aside.

6.  You need to find an area to do the spraying of the adhesive and a surface for which you will do the work on to spray the adhesive on the sheets. The adhesive is sort of like a milky spider web when it comes out so there is not much to worry about as far as fumes or glue mist. I did one of my tables outside and the other inside of my garage. Lay out several sheets of newspaper to lay on your surface that will be long enough so that any extra spray will stay on the paper. You also will want to score the surface with sand paper or a knife to improve the adhesion.

7. Next take one of the sets of four 45”x 2.34” sheets and lay them out so that you can spray them with adhesive and bind them together. THIS IS A TWO PERSON JOB! The adhesive is practically instantaneous so you must get everything right. Two people will ensure that you place the sheets together perfectly. Don’t worry, my wife and I had no experience with this and we were able to put together two (probably more by the time you read this) tables without a single mistake. If we can do it, so can you. The routine is to lay out all two sheets in the manner that they will be sprayed and place the third far enough away so it won’t get sprayed. You might want to practice the routine described below with your partner to get the feel for how you will place the two sheets together. We had a routine where one person was the lead and the other followed their instructions. First you wipe down the surfaces of the plastic that will be sprayed with a damp paper towel and dry it with another. Be sure to put on your gloves. Hold the spray can approximately 8-10 inches above the surface to be sprayed. The spray actually comes out in a parallel line to the vertical axis of the can. You will get the hang of it quite quick so don’t worry. It is really quite easy. Spray one side of each of the plastic sheets and wait one minute before placing them together. You will notice that there will be some residual glue web on the side of the sheets. I just lifted the sheets up off of the paper and wiped them off with a gloved hand. After the minute has elapsed, both you and your partner will lift one of the plastic sheets and hover it over the other sheet (glue side down obviously). The lead person would place the edge of the 2.34” side of the sheet against the edge of the other 2.34” sheet, making sure that it was square and flush. The other person would continue hovering their end about a half inch above their side of the plastic sheet. 

Once the lead has everything in the proper position, they should tell the other person to begin lowering their end of the sheet down into a square and flush position on their end. As the lead, I made sure to use my fingers to make sure two edges were flush with the bottom sheet. If everything is done slowly with communication and precision, the sheets should come together perfectly. Once they are together you will want to press down along the length of the sheet to make sure everything is sticking together uniformly.

Like I said before, you may want to practice this part with your partner. Once that is done you are ready to adhere the third and 4th sheet to the two you just put together. Use the same routine described above. Repeat the procedure described in step 7 with the one remaining set of four 45”x 2.34” sheets.

8. Now you are ready to create the six border walls that will eventually form the 93" side. First take two 32.03"x 2.34" and two of the 35”x 2.34” pieces. You will basically follow the same routine from step #7 to adhere these pieces together. Start by adhering the two 35"x 2.34" tongue pieces together. Once that is completed, you will want to place painter's tape on the 3" exposed end of the tongue. You do not want to get adhesive on this part. Place the two 32.03"x 2.34 on either side of the tongue piece you just made. You will then line everything up like the picture and place painter’s tape along the sides. {Add Picture}

Next, adhere one of the 32.03”x 2.34” and taped 35”x 2.34” pieces like what you see in the picture above (do not take off the tape). Lastly, you want to adhere the last 32.03”x 2.34” piece to these pieces you just put together. It should look like this (do not remove the tape). Repeat this procedure for the other three tongue border walls. {Add Picture}

Now that we completed the tongue border walls, it is now time to create the groove side border walls that will go on the inner panel. Take two 32”x 2.34” pieces and the two 26"x 2.34" pieces. Next, take two of the tongue border walls and use them as a guide to mark the depth of the groove on both sides.This step is very important to get right, since everything needs to fit together perfectly.  Once you are satisfied that the seam is perfect, draw a line to mark where the 26"x 2.34" pieces should be adhered. {Add Picture}

You will need to put painter’s tape on the two exposed inner areas of the outer pieces of the groove, since you don't want glue on those surfaces. {Add Picture}

Adhere all four of these pieces together in the same method you have used several times. Wait a few minutes. Once these pieces are stuck together you can check to make sure everything lines up together (do not remove the tape). Repeat this procedure for the other groove border walls. It is very important to mark all of your border pieces so that you know which pieces go together when you adhere them to the table surface pieces. I just marked them A, B, C, & D. {Add Picture}

9. Next you are ready to adhere the two 45”x 2.34”x 1.576” borders to the two 32.03” x 48” table surfaces you prepared in step 5. First, you will need to put some painters tape along the sides and ends of the side of the border you intend to adhere to the table. This will be one of the fluted sides and not one of the solid sides.

This will be the same routine as described in step 7. This can be done by one person.

*Note: the border pieces are 1.576” thick and the border drawn on the table is 1.5” thick. This means that the 45”x 2.34” border piece will have .069” hanging over the side of the table. Don't worry about the overhang, but make sure that the inner dimensions of the table are correct (see step 5). Be sure to have your gloves on. Spray one of the exposed 45”x 1.5” areas on the table and also spray the exposed fluted area surrounded by painter’s tape of one of the 45”x 2.34”x 1.576” border pieces. Once you have sprayed wait about two to five minutes and spray again. This will allow for an extra strength bond. This is needed, since the surface area of the flutes are rather small in comparison to the smooth sides of the sheets. You can remove all of the painter’s tape around the glued areas and wait one minute. Follow the same routine for placement that you used in step 7. Be sure that the border piece is aligned with the line you drew on the table in step 5. You may need to push in the border piece, since it may bow a little bit. Just push it in along the line and press down. This is the one spot where you can have a do over, if the border piece isn’t in the right place. You can take the border piece off after gluing and reposition. The reason being the low surface area of the fluted area of the sheet, which is facing down on the table. Repeat this procedure for the other 45”x 2.34”X 1.576” border piece on the other 47.875”x 48” sheet.

10.  Next you are ready to adhere the four tongue and two groove borders to the three table pieces that you prepared in step 8. Before you even begin, you may want to take a moment here to place all of the border pieces on the table to see how the seams look once they are placed. Be sure that the tongue and groove pieces match on either side of the table (this is why we labeled them A, B, C, & D in step 8). Be sure that the middle section of the table has both groove border pieces and the other outer sections have the four tongue border pieces. {Add Picture}

If you want it to look better, you can use a wood file (if you have one handy) or some sand paper to slowly work on the edges until you get the seam you want. Not necessary, but if you are anything like me, it has to be done. Afterwards, you will need to place some painters tape down along the two remaining lines on the long side of each half of the table. You will also need to place painters tape on the edges of both inside faces and top of the 45”x 2.34”x 1.576” border pieces. You don’t want to accidentally spray some adhesive on those faces. {Add Picture}

You will also want to place some painter’s tape on the inside face 1.576” in from both edges. This will be where the border pieces will join to form the corner of the border. You only want adhesive on the joint. {Add Picture}

You are now ready to adhere one of the tongue borders to the table. This will be the same routine as described in step 7 but this can be done by one person. The only difference being that you need to press together the corners so that they come together to form the seam of the corner. I usually use some tape on the outside of the corner to hold the corner joint together during this step. {Add Picture}

Repeat this procedure for the other three tongue pieces and the two tongue groove pieces on the middle section of the table. Again, be sure that all of the pieces you labeled match up tongue with groove. Check your work constantly here! This could be the difference in a well constructed table and a bad one. Let it dry a bit and check that everything fits properly. {Add Picture}

11. Next you are ready to adhere the 4mm sheets to the top of the border. Start with the 24.03”x 1.576”x 4mm pieces. They will be placed on the top of one of the short sides (48”) of the border wall. These pieces are important for the structural stability of the corner joints, and will keep things from getting inside holes formed by the flutes in the plastic. {Add Picture}

Again, follow the adhesive routine you have done several times to lay down this strip of plastic. You will need to place painter’s tape along the sides of the border wall to keep adhesive from getting on your table. It might be a good idea to but down some newspaper on the table surface to prevent the possibility of an errant spray hitting it. {Add Picture}

You definitely want to make sure to press both corner joints together as you are placing the strip on top of the border. This will keep the joints strong and together. {Add Picture}

Once you have adhered those pieces, do the same the other side. Next, adhere the four 30.5”x 1.576”x 4mm sheets to the tops of the tongue border pieces, and the two 32"x 1.576"x 4mm sheets to the tops of the groove border pieces. Everything should fit together nicely and give the table a nice finish. You may need to do a tiny bit of sanding or filing to make sure that everything goes together well. {Add Picture}