hardened bondo rising up at the seam

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
This has happened a few time to me, i know sounds insane

But the seams were pretty good and flush, but on one end i felt something

I hit it with a plastic hammer and it goes away, tapping it down , probably crushing it

Ive also taken the cloth off before to see it with my eyes as bondo, hardened bondo thats seeped up

Why in the world would it happen?

My carom table isnt even heated
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
This has happened a few time to me, i know sounds insane

But the seams were pretty good and flush, but on one end i felt something

I hit it with a plastic hammer and it goes away, tapping it down , probably crushing it

Ive also taken the cloth off before to see it with my eyes as bondo, hardened bondo thats seeped up

Why in the world would it happen?

My carom table isnt even heated
Without super gluing the slates together, you're doing nothing to keep the frame from expanding and contracting with the change in humidity which will happen. When the frame expands, the bondo won't hold it together, so it breaks apart at the seam, then when the frame shrinks, that pulls the slates together...pushing the bondo, just like wax...up out of the seam.
 

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Without super gluing the slates together, you're doing nothing to keep the frame from expanding and contracting with the change in humidity which will happen. When the frame expands, the bondo won't hold it together, so it breaks apart at the seam, then when the frame shrinks, that pulls the slates together...pushing the bondo, just like wax...up out of the seam.

maybe the bondo guys should switch to belzona! ROFLMAO
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
Without super gluing the slates together, you're doing nothing to keep the frame from expanding and contracting with the change in humidity which will happen. When the frame expands, the bondo won't hold it together, so it breaks apart at the seam, then when the frame shrinks, that pulls the slates together...pushing the bondo, just like wax...up out of the seam.

Ill remember that next time im setting the slates thanks
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
Just generic super glue?
The stuff i use for cue tips?

Sometimes ill drip some on a fabric and smoke will rise up lol
A little hard to get off my finger tips for a few days, its gotten on my jeans and forgetabout it, hard spot thats not going away
 

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Just generic super glue?

The stuff i use for cue tips?



Sometimes ill drip some on a fabric and smoke will rise up lol

A little hard to get off my finger tips for a few days, its gotten on my jeans and forgetabout it, hard spot thats not going away



A medium viscosity works well, a thin version won’t work as well imop


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"6" in" = a strip/section 6" wide starting right at the edge on each side? Or come in 6" and glue for how wide? Saw somewhere an installer used tabs of typing paper about 6" in but only 1" or so wide, and saturated those to insure wicking to the bottom?

Seems like it would be a good idea to keep glue a good distance from any dowels, or am i just being superstitious? :eek:

Do you use a heat gun & knife to take the slate apart to move a table? Solvent? Or does it just pop apart? Or?

Not at all a table mechanic, but mentioned in another post I used to make parts and tooling for a guy who built tables and serviced commercial tables in PA/MD/WVA. Also mentioned failing to pay any close attention when i had the opportunity. :eek: But did recall that John hated when people began using superglue, so that kind of stuck in the back of my mind. I took a heat gun along on the table my wife and i bought for ourselves last Sunday. Can't be sure it had superglue under the bondo, but it seemed to, and the heat gun was a life saver to get the knife started. (I've worked & machined slate for sinks and counters, did not overheat the slate which can spall it. But warming along the joints made a big difference).

Thanks for continuing my education!
smt
 
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yesyura

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Trip to TX

I will come to Houston in July. Let you know when you can see how it works.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Sometimes ill drip some on a fabric and smoke will rise up lol
A little hard to get off my finger tips for a few days, its gotten on my jeans and forgetabout it, hard spot thats not going away

Smoke...The thin CA does that for some reason. I used the Thin with a white paper towel and got smokey real fast. I stick with medium.
Sticking to hands... I wear Coscto's Nitrile gloves when using CA. They seem to be ok. Latex gloves are no good...they dissolve and get stuck to the hands.
 

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Smoke...The thin CA does that for some reason. I used the Thin with a white paper towel and got smokey real fast. I stick with medium.

Sticking to hands... I wear Coscto's Nitrile gloves when using CA. They seem to be ok. Latex gloves are no good...they dissolve and get stuck to the hands.



CA when mixed with cotton causes a quick exothermal reaction....cotton loves to hold moisture.

Lol I spilled a quart at my old place one time and glued my foot to my sandal man I’m glad I had acetone lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
"6" in" = a strip/section 6" wide starting right at the edge on each side? Or come in 6" and glue for how wide? Saw somewhere an installer used tabs of typing paper about 6" in but only 1" or so wide, and saturated those to insure wicking to the bottom?

Seems like it would be a good idea to keep glue a good distance from any dowels, or am i just being superstitious? :eek:

Do you use a heat gun & knife to take the slate apart to move a table? Solvent? Or does it just pop apart? Or?

Not at all a table mechanic, but mentioned in another post I used to make parts and tooling for a guy who built tables and serviced commercial tables in PA/MD/WVA. Also mentioned failing to pay any close attention when i had the opportunity. :eek: But did recall that John hated when people began using superglue, so that kind of stuck in the back of my mind. I took a heat gun along on the table my wife and i bought for ourselves last Sunday. Can't be sure it had superglue under the bondo, but it seemed to, and the heat gun was a life saver to get the knife started. (I've worked & machined slate for sinks and counters, did not overheat the slate which can spall it. But warming along the joints made a big difference).

Thanks for continuing my education!
smt


Drywall tape works well. Depending on how the slates were originally mounted to the frame, you may need to add additional layers.

5cec0f_9c9c1efd95c74ab68c43ad24a6c9fcc9~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.webp


See additional photos of the process here.

Separation is easy. No need for heat. Unless you use an excess of glue, the paper will pull right apart nicely. Clean it up with the quick scrape of a razor blade or chisel.
 
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Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Wow -thanks for taking the time to post that. It's a great resource for people like me. Highly interested but starting from a base with too little knowlege.

smt
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
so once i could not stand the bump as the ball rolled over the seam

i took the table apart

put it back, took the most time i ever have in setting it up

even remember glenn saying he does not level until the next day on carpet to allow it to compress

well i know how heavy my slates are now, 520 lbs each aprox
so i let those sit a day once back on the table, and left my level on it, i could see it had moved for sure,

i took 2 days leveling
about 2 days getting the seams perfect
i took glens advice again and used super glue then added bondo on top

now when i say 2 days, i meant a few hrs after work each day, not 48hrs


before i thought maybe my slates were warped, no it was just my not so great seam job, but now its really good, im very impressed,


i also made aluminum wedges at work as i didnt want to use the hard wood wedges for fear they too could compress,
so far the aluminum are working great, the seam is holding up, no more shifting of the slates, no more rising bondo from the seam
no noise of the ball rolling over the edges, heck, no roll off when the ball comes to a stop on the edge
 

HaiNhi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Damn. Sounds great Richard.

You & I should move next to each other. Haha. I took the last 3 weeks “remodel” my table. Still not done yet. I’m leveling the frame today the 2nd time. Then put the slates on till the next day just like you since my subfloor is only 2x6 :).

How thick is your slate again, without calculating the backer of course?
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
50mm slate

this was the formula to calculate weight someone gave me

To determine the weight of you slates use this formula: length x width x thickness x (specific gravity of slate) .1011737 = weigh


mine

64*40*2*.1011737

517 ish pounds
 
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