I recently got to start up my first in person Dungeons and Dragons game and after a few months found that an old TV placed on my kitchen table with 6 players jammed around was wanting.
I researched and saw while there were companies who made options in addition to being very pricey they also didn’t have layouts that would really work for my group and decided to build my own despite no experience and a glaring lack of tools.
I bought some plans from a DnD player who did their own (Hook & Chance DnD) and borrowed a table and miter saw from a friend and off I went. I learned a lot- like how wood quality from Home Depot is not great, forcing things square works a bit but will mess up measurements down the road, and stain really amps things up and is easier to apply than I thought. I made some mistakes and cut thrice more than once, and had to do some on the fly adjustments since when putting things together edges didn’t come together as I thought and despite my attempts math didn’t math for measurements but I got it done before my next game with a total build time of 10 days (prep time and planning materials to order for bells and whistles was longer)
I present my humble table inspired by all you people who make beautiful things and for all those who tolerate many many questions from people like me.