McClure Tables: The Jacobus Rock-Ola Shuffleboard Table Build

A few weeks ago, Paul Jacobus from Wisconsin was in Grand Rapids on a business trip and took time to stop by our shop. It was a perfect time for a visit as we had several different models in production. We actually were making a 20-foot Rock-Ola table for a customer who is coming to the shop tomorrow from Canada to pick it up. Paul loved the table so much that he decided to buy one for himself. To showcase how we create tables at McClure, we will take photos of Paul's table throughout the building process and update this blog with news about the build. I often send pictures and emails to customers, as we like to make each table a collaboration between our craftsmen and the new table owner. However, this new blog will give you a real-time view of how each of our products is made. It'll be like you're in the shop. We're now knee-deep in building a shuffleboard table for Paul Jacobus and wanted to detail the progress so far. Check out the pictures below and gain some insight into how we build all of our shuffleboard tables at McClure Tables.

On models like the Rock-Ola or Veneto, almost half the woodworking is all in the legs. Jim, one of our table builders, has put in 6 hours working on the legs for Paul's table. Sometimes, if we have a few in production, we will have him stay busy making high-end leg parts for a few days. We will still have a little more machine work to do when he assembles the legs, but they are 80% done here in these pictures.

Using some patterns and jigs Jim has set up, he will put in rabbit, daddo cuts, and cut out sections of the legs. The end legs are larger and have a shelf, so they will require different machining than the middle legs.

It takes a total of about six hours in machine time and work to just make the six pieces for these center legs and then four more hours for the end legs.

In the photo above, you can see the end legs for Paul's 20-foot Rock-Ola shuffleboard table. Most of our shuffleboard tables feature four legs, but the original Rock-Ola tables from the late 1940s had five legs. For this table, we are replicating that feel and have built five legs, with six left and right blanks for the three middle legs and four end-leg blanks.

We are almost ready to glue up the parts after most of the shaping is complete. Jim just has to do a final check of the measurements and inspect each part carefully before the final assembly and glue-up.

Once the final inspection is complete, all parts will be laid out, and we will start assembling the end and center legs for the Rock-Ola shuffleboard.

Now the legs will sit overnight and soon be ready for some detailed hand sanding, which we call case cleaning in the wood working industry. Most furniture makers will sand the product at this stage for the finish. However, the finish person will inspect the work and usually sand one more time with a very fine 180 grit paper before he is ready to apply any stain or dye to the wood. Stay tuned for more updates on Paul's table as we continue the build and start the next step of creating the cabinet from scratch. You'll be able to see how a shuffleboard table comes together and witness the intense woodwork that comes along with each part of the building process.

Jim is now working on assembling the solid wood horse collar corners and side aprons. The sides and end aprons are made on a molder out of solid soft maple that is glued up. The corners were shaped on a molder. Now the parts are assembled with screws glues and dowels.

The horse collars will need to sit up overnight before they are ready for finishing. We make these in both walnut wood and maple, but the original Rock-Ola shuffleboard tables were made with birch. They had a red mahogany finish at the factory, which often led to confusion about the type of wood used. Some antique dealers will actually call the antique table horse collars mahogany. In all the years we've checked out Rock-Ola tables, we have never seen that it wasn't birch. For our replica Rock-Ola tables, we use soft maple for the horse collar and corners because it is easier to shape than hard maple. It tends not tear as much on the molders and shapers.

While the horse collars are clamped and the glue is setting, the side apron diamonds are cut by hand with a small pin router. In the photo below, each diamond is checked for exact size, and some final touch-up work is done by hand with a wood chisel.

Here, the diamond inlays are taped off before finishing, as the side aprons and horse collars will now move on to be stained and colored. After the coloring process is finished, the carpet on the deck and the leather upholstery horse collar pads will be done. In our next update, we will check in on Jerry as he finishes some of the more artistic elements of the shuffleboard table.

Now that all the leg parts have been machined and the horse collar is assembled, the table is now ready for the finish. We first start by case cleaning and sanding each part, both by hand and with handheld sanders. Once sanding and preparation are complete, apply the base spray color coat to the wood.

In the picture above, Jerry puts down the base color. Notice the color is a light brown. This base coat is a glaze applied by hand rubbing and wiping to add depth and richness to the wood.

Jerry will apply the glaze, rubbing it deep into the wood's grain, then wipe off the excess with a dry towel or rag. The effect adds a rich antique look to the wood, with some highlighting and shading that enhance the finish's beauty.

After the color has been hand-rubbed into the wood for each piece, the next step is to use a fine-point spray gun. Jerry will shade in some of the edges and apply color, as well as paint the lower part of the legs black, mirroring the originals from 1949. The original Rock-Ola tables were not finished with this level of detail; they were produced for commercial locations using a mass-production method, resulting in several thousand units produced each year on an assembly line. In contrast, today we make only a few dozen models each year, and each is handcrafted. Check out the video below of Jerry working on the finish of Paul's Rock-Ola table:

In the next update, we will show you the final assembly of the parts, the fitting of the trim and upholstery of the padded leather horse collars.

Below, you can see Todd McClure marking the playboard for the Jacobus family. And we do the same today, even down to the details of "Do Not Drop Wates On Board." We can not figure out where they came up with that spelling of the word for the pucks, or they are often called weights. Because every detail is down to the exact specifications of the originals, we keep the same misspelling for the word Weights.  

See Todd McClure below, marking the playboard for the Jacobus family

UPDATE: After the parts have all been finished, Jim will inlay the glass diamond sites into the side apron rails that have been finished. The diamond cut out was masked off with tape during the finishing process and now each piece of glass must be hand fit and glued into place. See the pictures below where Jim works on the diamond glass:

Green diamond glass is used just like on the original tables we found the same style and color of glass and inlay into the side aprons.

It's time to fit the side aprons and attach them to the end of the table, called the horse collar. Jim will fit each side apron rail and mortise and glue them into place. Then the horse collar can have the leather upholstery attached.

Now the horse collar is ready for the genuine leather upholstery. We attach foam to some pads that must be bent and shaped to match the horse collar. This is where our owner, Todd McClure, has past experience in the pool table business. The upholstery of the pads is very similar to installing the cloth on pool tables. Every Rock-Ola table we make, the upholstery is done by Todd McClure.

Once this is finished, they will install the deck with the carpet and fit the whole piece to the horse collar and aprons' sides. After this is done, we will have to install the metal trim pieces on the legs and the stretchers that bolt to the legs.

  After each piece of stainless steel trim is attached, we have a total of 38 pieces installed on a 22-foot or 20-foot Rock-Ola shuffleboard Table. Each leg has three chrome strips on each side, and just the process of fitting and trimming a Rock-Ola shuffleboard Table is a full day of work. From here on out, the rest of the process is a matter of assembling the table, which will end up looking like the table below: