Reuse a One Piece Slate

M

mjonesmb1

Registered
I bought a old US Billiards Coin Op 7 ft table used off someone for $300. The Slate is in great shape but the table itself is not in the greatest of shape. Is there anywhere I can buy a table with out slate and then use the slate from the used table I bought? I have searched on here and through google and cannot find any answers.
I have found another 7ft table for sale for $100 but its not a slate table, its wood I believe or Slatron, could I take my slate and put it in the $100 table and then get everything refelted?
Any info would be greatly appreciated...
 
You also need to give us the dimensions of the slate you have because there are a number of different sizes.
Ron
 
mjonesmb1 said:
I bought a old US Billiards Coin Op 7 ft table used off someone for $300. The Slate is in great shape but the table itself is not in the greatest of shape. Is there anywhere I can buy a table with out slate and then use the slate from the used table I bought? I have searched on here and through google and cannot find any answers.
I have found another 7ft table for sale for $100 but its not a slate table, its wood I believe or Slatron, could I take my slate and put it in the $100 table and then get everything refelted?
Any info would be greatly appreciated...
Click to expand...

The answer to that question is no. Bar table slates are cut undersized as opposed to a normal 7ft 3 piece slate for example. You can't take a slate designed for one style of frame work and just drop it into the frame work of another....different kind of table...won't work.
 
@ dontlitethat Cosmetically there are places where the table is scratched and chipped. It is missing the door to ball return area and the ball return does not work like its supposed to, all the balls go to one area in the middle. Will try to get some pics in a bit.
@mreightball it seems to be about 82" by 43"
@realkingcobra I had a feeling I would not be able to do that. Is it totally going out there and try to build a frame and base for the slate?

The slate and the felt is in real good condition. Although the felt that is on it is not the greatest and is super SLOW. So I do want to get new felt put on. a couple of friends are telling me to get Simonis 860, good or bad idea? Or is there something a bit cheaper that is gonna be roughly the same speed as the Simonis that I can use till I save the money for a nice new table?
 
mjonesmb1 said:
@ dontlitethat Cosmetically there are places where the table is scratched and chipped. It is missing the door to ball return area and the ball return does not work like its supposed to, all the balls go to one area in the middle. Will try to get some pics in a bit.
@mreightball it seems to be about 82" by 43"
@realkingcobra I had a feeling I would not be able to do that. Is it totally going out there and try to build a frame and base for the slate?

The slate and the felt is in real good condition. Although the felt that is on it is not the greatest and is super SLOW. So I do want to get new felt put on. a couple of friends are telling me to get Simonis 860, good or bad idea? Or is there something a bit cheaper that is gonna be roughly the same speed as the Simonis that I can use till I save the money for a nice new table?
Click to expand...

Keep looking for a used pool table...there's plenty of them to go around, only next time....don't waste your money buying the first thing that comes along that sounds like a good deal. All pool tables are NOT created equal...as some manufactures...as well as sales people would like to lead you to believe;)
 
Scratches and chips don't affect the play ON the table. I'd be more concerned that the cushions play well. Pull the slate off and fix whatever the problem is with the ball return or just remove the ball trap. For less expensive cloth look at Velocity, Aramith or ProForm. All 3 are worsted cloth with fast speed and play fine. You can go even cheaper with Championship Ultra which is a non-worsted napped cloth but will play faster then other napped cloths. It's a $300 table that you can probably get to play well with minimal expense until you can get something better.
 
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Dartman said:
Scratches and chips don't affect the play ON the table. I'd be more concerned that the cushions play well. Pull the slate off and fix whatever the problem is with the ball return. For less expensive cloth look at Velocity, Aramith or ProForm. All 3 are worsted cloth with fast speed and play fine. You can go even cheaper with Championship Ultra which is a non-worsted napped cloth but will play faster then other napped cloths. It's a $300 table that you can probably get to play well with minimal expense until you can get something better.
Click to expand...

Rick...the top rails on a US Billiards table don't bolt to the slate, they just sit on top of it, with the cushion blocks screwed to the top rails. If you took the screws out of the side of the table all the way around the rails..the entire rail system would just lift right off the table. I've worked on plenty of these tables in the NW...and believe me, there's nothing you're going to do to make this table play any better...so ANY money spent on cloth is going to be a waste;) Believe it or not, you can simply grab the cushions and pull up...and lift the entire top rail assembly at that point....up off the slate...because it's just held to the side panel by screwing 3 wood screws through the side of the table into a 1" block on the back bottom side of the rail. Kind of like screwing a 2 x 6 to a piece of plywood through the edge of the board...while the cushion is mounted on the other side of the board...lift the cushion...and you lift the 2 x 6 as well.

PS. Sad thing is...a new US Billiards 7ft coin-op only sold for $499 new!
 
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:angry:
I am a sucker I guess.
Putting faster felt on there, just so I had something to practice on at home till I got some better, would be a waste?
Right now I am in a pool league and am playing on bar tables. I eventually want to start playing in some tournaments but that could be a year away or so. I am not the type to rush into tournaments unless I am confident enough to think I will not look like fool and be awful.
Right now the felt thats on there is awfully slow and has affected my play on other tables, as I have to hit harder to get the kind of CB action I would on the other tables I am playing on.
I have a friend that has refelted several tables and would do this one for free or a case of beer.:thumbup: So just buying some Velocity for $120 would be ok???
 
mjonesmb1 said:
:angry:
I am a sucker I guess.
Putting faster felt on there, just so I had something to practice on at home till I got some better, would be a waste?
Right now I am in a pool league and am playing on bar tables. I eventually want to start playing in some tournaments but that could be a year away or so. I am not the type to rush into tournaments unless I am confident enough to think I will not look like fool and be awful.
Right now the felt thats on there is awfully slow and has affected my play on other tables, as I have to hit harder to get the kind of CB action I would on the other tables I am playing on.
I have a friend that has refelted several tables and would do this one for free or a case of beer.:thumbup: So just buying some Velocity for $120 would be ok???
Click to expand...

I'm not your stock broker buddy...it's not my job to tell you how to spend your money...my job is only to "advise":D

As a veterinarian would say..."Why are you buying a new saddle for that dead horse buddy...you CAN'T ride it anymore....it's DEAD!:eek::rotflmao1:
 
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realkingcobra said:
I'm not your stock broker buddy...it's not my job to tell you how to spend your money...my job is only to "advise":D

As a veterinarian would say..."Why are you buying a new saddle for that dead horse buddy...you CAN'T ride it anymore....it's DEAD!:eek::rotflmao1:
Click to expand...
:rotflmao1:
I hear ya!
I do thank you for all the Info. You have been a lot of help.
:thumbup:
 
mjonesmb1 said:
Putting faster felt on there, just so I had something to practice on at home till I got some better, would be a waste?
Click to expand...
Considering you already have this table in your house you can try to either sell it or make the best of it as is. You can get Ultra for $85 or Velocity (faster) for $109. You at least get a faster roll on your practice table for the minimum of money. It won't be a gem but it may get you by for now.
 
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Used table/cloth

mjonesmb1 said:
I bought a old US Billiards Coin Op 7 ft table used off someone for $300. The Slate is in great shape but the table itself is not in the greatest of shape. Is there anywhere I can buy a table with out slate and then use the slate from the used table I bought? I have searched on here and through google and cannot find any answers.
I have found another 7ft table for sale for $100 but its not a slate table, its wood I believe or Slatron, could I take my slate and put it in the $100 table and then get everything refelted?
Any info would be greatly appreciated...
Click to expand...

You can check with the pool halls in your area if there are any. We save the cloth we take off of the 9-footers because we have customers that want it to cover poker tables, or tables they got for the kids, or at a garage sale, etc. It's not as good as new cloth, of course, but if you bought something for 50 bucks at a garage sale it doesn't make much sense to spend $300 to cover it. Personally, I'd rather play on used simonis or granito than new nappy cloth. At least it will be the type of cloth you're after. If you don't find one, contact me and I'll send you one, then you can buy your buddy some beer and a can of glue and you can at least get started cheap. I agree with RKC, though. Long term, you'll never be happy with this one and it's not worth putting much money into. I would never try to put a slate on a table that was not designed for slate, even if it fit, because the structure is probably not solid enough and would likely be unsafe. Good luck!

Dave Smith
OldSchoolPool.com
 
RackemBilliards said:
You can check with the pool halls in your area if there are any. We save the cloth we take off of the 9-footers because we have customers that want it to cover poker tables, or tables they got for the kids, or at a garage sale, etc. It's not as good as new cloth, of course, but if you bought something for 50 bucks at a garage sale it doesn't make much sense to spend $300 to cover it. Personally, I'd rather play on used simonis or granito than new nappy cloth. At least it will be the type of cloth you're after. If you don't find one, contact me and I'll send you one, then you can buy your buddy some beer and a can of glue and you can at least get started cheap. I agree with RKC, though. Long term, you'll never be happy with this one and it's not worth putting much money into. I would never try to put a slate on a table that was not designed for slate, even if it fit, because the structure is probably not solid enough and would likely be unsafe. Good luck!

Dave Smith
OldSchoolPool.com
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave.
There are no pool halls here in the Valley that I have been told. The same friend told me there is one but he said you need to be able to speak spanish to be able to go and he is Latino and does not speak spanish. In Southern California here.
Anyway, maybe I will hit you up on that offer. If you have some lying around let me know how much.. Private Message me on here.
Mark
 
realkingcobra said:
The answer to that question is no. Bar table slates are cut undersized as opposed to a normal 7ft 3 piece slate for example. You can't take a slate designed for one style of frame work and just drop it into the frame work of another....different kind of table...won't work.
Click to expand...


One I saw pics of a Man who showed up, drilled holes in the slate of one brand and installed it perfectly into another brand, then left.
 
non-mechanic opinion:

if you cant afford better, any table is better than no table, but only to a certain extent. in all reality, if improving your game is the goal, practicing on a wacked-out table can actually hurt your game.

slates can be re-used theoretically, but it only makes good sense to re-use one on the same model table. otherwise, as rkc mentioned, it doesnt work.

but that's not to say that it couldnt be done at all. theoretically, you could alter a table (or perhaps even a slate) to make them fit, but the amount of time and money involved to do it properly, could never be justified.

a good term to remember is: Economic Threshold: The point at which something costs more to fix, than it would to just replace.
 
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