Is my table not even or is my slate f***ed up?

[NYCnoob99]

Streamja - Simple video sharing

Got this Brunswick GC1 installed three months ago by a reputable mechanic. I've been noticing some weird roll issues. Finally tried to test it using the three-frozen ball method to avoid any english.

What is throwing me off is that the uneven-ness is super obvious near the left long rail, but not very apparent on other parts of the table. If the whole thing was slanted wouldn't it be a similar slope across the whole table? Is this likely to be a problem with the table settling overtime and needing to be re-leveled, or is my slate just inherently messed up?

Thanks

 

[Bob Jewett]

Not all slates are flat. I have seen old slates where some of the layers on parts of the table started flaking up. I guess slate is made from layers of mud along with heat and pressure.

Also slates bend. The Diamond 9-foot tables with one-piece slates have about 20 little levelling screws at 20 spread-out locations because slate is flexible and if the frame is a little off, you have to adjust things.

I saw one GC 3 where the section at the foot of the table started to bow up by the spot. There was a significant bump between it and the middle (of three) sections. Slates should have little brass pins between the slates to prevent that, but some GC3s had no pins. The repair guy drilled a hole through the foot slate and torqued a screw into the frame until it was more or less unbowed.

 

[Lawnboy77]

Do you know if the slate has been repaired? Those old GC’s have pinned slates and over the years many have been broken due to inexperienced mechanics unaware of the pins and just lifting and snapping the slates around the pins. Many times they are repaired and put back in service, but may have some roll near or around those repairs.

Bob Jewett is spot-on when he says that the old slates tend to be less than flat, and that's probably why Mark Gregory replaces so many of the old slates with new Brazilian slates when he restores, or rebuilds his Anniversaries and Centennials.

The table in my avatar has it's original pinned slate and I don't think it has the trueness of the new Brazilian slates, but I can't really decide if the extra 1000 bucks to replace them is worth it to me.

 

[NYCnoob99]

No idea if it has ever been repaired. The dealer who sold it to me is supposedly reputable and said it was in great condition...

 

[Biloxi Boy]

call the dealer

 

[NYCnoob99]

call the dealer

What would I say? It's a table from the 60s. Is it better to go to dealer first or the mechanic who installed?

 

[Biloxi Boy]

You are kidding, right? It is ok for someone to tell you "X", accept your money, and then you discover it is "Y"? Not in my world. Does the concept "standing by one's word" ring a bell?

 

[straightline]

I've seen a blowtorch used to unwarp a slate.

 

[bbb]

I would call the mechanic

 

[67GT500]

That's pretty bad...It could also be your floor is sagging from the weight. I just helped a friend who had similar issues. We ended up putting adjustable posts in. I agree with the rest to call your mechanic before you end up with a cracked slate

 

[SBC]

Streamja - Simple video sharing

Got this Brunswick GC1 installed three months ago by a reputable mechanic. I've been noticing some weird roll issues. Finally tried to test it using the three-frozen ball method to avoid any english.

What is throwing me off is that the uneven-ness is super obvious near the left long rail, but not very apparent on other parts of the table. If the whole thing was slanted wouldn't it be a similar slope across the whole table? Is this likely to be a problem with the table settling overtime and needing to be re-leveled, or is my slate just inherently messed up?

Thanks

Slate is easily bent by screwing it down. It obviously is not level in that area. Contact the mechanic and ask him to fix it. If he can't or won't then get a better mechanic.

I agree with the above poster that if you aren't on a basement/cement floor that the floor could be sagging. Doesn't take much to bend a subfloor ...1200 pounds can do it.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I think that the floor settling would not cause that problem -- hump-backed slate. It's much more likely that it would cause the roll to be uniform across the table.

 

[maha]

is this new or you just found out. likely the mechanic didnt get things right.

 

[Biloxi Boy]

If dealer hee-haws, it's on him. If he asserts it was a good slate, you both need to contact mechanic who installed. Who found the mechanic? Dealer? You? Might want to find "the best" mechanic in your area to determine cause and cost of cure. Consider a consult with a lawyer to determine your rights and your best course of action. If you are going to involve a lawyer do it sooner rather than later.

 

[JusticeNJ]

Ive got a GCI with one piece of swayback slate - the other two pieces are fine. The level of roll-off is no where near what you've got and mine is limited to one pretty innocuous area on the table. It really doesn't effect play that much, and I play 14.1 almost exclusively where it might become more of an issue than in 9 or 10 ball say. I had a mechanic sand the slate down best he could and it fixed it a little bit. Dangers of buying "vintage." My mechanic and the guy that sold it were super, super reasonable about the situation though. The guy that sold it to me is a great guy and did what he could to get the situation right.

I've thought about just buying another table and harvesting the slates (GCs come up for relatively cheap now and then), but never got around to it since it doesn't bother me that much. Maybe when its time to recover I'll deal with it then. Thinking about going to 760 since my table is in the basement in New Jersey. Winter is OK, but you can only get the place so dry in the summer.

Feel free to PM me.

 

[67GT500]

is this new or you just found out. likely the mechanic didnt get things right.

I can't believe even a bad mechanic would leave it that way and call it good. I'm guessing this happened after he left over some time.

 

[67GT500]

I think that the floor settling would not cause that problem -- hump-backed slate. It's much more likely that it would cause the roll to be uniform across the table.

I'm not a table mechanic but I'm still thinking it could be the floor. Depending on the where the 1200 plus pound table is positioned, the construction of how the beams are running and supported below there will be a weaker area under one of the legs. If one leg is sagging more than the other three legs (where the roll off was at it's worse) it will cause a sway back on the screwed down slates at that end. You could turn that weaker leg out to temporarily correct the problem but it will most likely keep happening as the floor keeps sagging. If not corrected it could crack the slate on the weakest leg. When I say the weakest leg I am referring to the weakest unsupported area that the table is resting on.

 

[logical]

If dealer hee-haws, it's on him. If he asserts it was a good slate, you both need to contact mechanic who installed. Who found the mechanic? Dealer? You? Might want to find "the best" mechanic in your area to determine cause and cost of cure. Consider a consult with a lawyer to determine your rights and your best course of action. If you are going to involve a lawyer do it sooner rather than later.

A consultant, a lawyer and a mechanic??? You sure he doesn't need an exorcist, stylist and a life coach too?

Its a 60 year old table, it will never be perfect but this issue is probably very fixable.. I had the same thing on the same table (although its hard to say if mine was better, worse or the same) and fixed it in 15 minutes. Just get somebody to come fix it if you can't do it yourself.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[Biloxi Boy]

Consultant? Not "a" but "the mechanic who installed" or "the best". As far a lawyer, anyone who does not know and understand his rights/responsibilities in any given situation is a danger to themselves.

 

[muskyed]

Could it possibly be an uneven stretch of the cloth. When my Diamond was installed, they didn't stretch the cloth even at the side pockets, and if you do a long slow roll past the pocket, it will veer slightly. While everyone says to have them come back and redo it, thats just not realistic for those of us who live in the middle of nowhere, and your nearest dealer is over 4 hours away, they just aren't comming.