Building a poker table is fun, rewarding, and not too difficult. There are many helpful resources on the web when it comes to building a poker table. In particular, check out Home Poker Tourney's How to Build a Poker Table page which has links to many good sites. This is where I looked when I was preparing to build my table.
Poker tables come in many sizes and shapes. Of cource, the most common hold 8-10 players and have a round, octagon, or stadium shaped playing surface. I decided to make a 42"x84" (3.5'x7') stadium table so that it is a little more managable than the 4'x8' stadium tables described on most webpages, but still large enough for 8 players. This table fits 8 people comfortably, but it is crowded with any more than that (with 10 players being the max.). This is perfect for me because I don't want to play with more than that many players; however, if your game usually consists of more than 8 people (or you want extra room for a dealer) you probably want a bigger table. These instructions should work just as well for a bigger table if the measurements are adjusted accordingly.
The rest of this site has been broken up into the seperate stages of the building process. I suggest reading through this entire site as well as other sites in order to get an understanding of what is possible and how it comes together. Then make up your own design and use these pages as a reference when you starting construction. Good luck...