Slow Going but Getting There

S

SlateMate

Banned
ok, i TRIED to get this table set-up without a precision level and failed miserably. i had to start over after my 12" Starrett came and i got my neighbor to help me remove the slate. i then leveled the base as good as i could and then called my neighbor to help me get the slate back on the table. well, the drunken, fat jackass "forgot" then i guess he forgot again the next day and i didn't bother calling him on the 3rd day, i just put the slate on by myself the way i used to do when i lived way out in the TexAss country..... so now all three slates are on and i did so without moving the base which would have screwed-up the level. .... i just checked it with my Starrett and with few variations the center slate is reading almost level and the two end slates are reading a bit low on the ends which is what i want because then i can easily shim them to the level of the center slate and this is the way the level of the frame was reading too so i'm much more optimistic that i've got it right.

i finished painting the skirts white but when the weather gets better i'm going to spray them with an automotive clear mixed with white pearl. when i get this pos finished it's going to be a thing of beauty.
 
Last edited:
bradsh98

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
ok, i TRIED to get this table set-up without a precision level and failed miserably. i had to start over after my 12" Starrett came and i got my neighbor to help me remove the slate. i then leveled the base as good as i could and then called my neighbor to help me get the slate back on the table. well, the drunken, fat jackass "forgot" then i guess he forgot again the next day and i didn't bother calling him on the 3rd day, i just put the slate on by myself the way i used to do when i lived way out in the TexAss country..... so now all three slates are on and i did so without moving the base which would have screwed-up the level. .... i just checked it with my Starrett and with few variations the center slate is reading almost level and the two end slates are reading a bit low on the ends which is what i want because then i can easily shim them to the level of the center slate and this is the way the level of the frame was reading too so i'm much more optimistic that i've got it right.

i finished painting the skirts white but when the weather gets better i'm going to spray them with an automotive clear mixed with white pearl. when i get this pos finished it's going to be a thing of beauty.
Click to expand...

I hope that we're all still alive to see it...


Just kidding. It looks good so far. No need to rush, so long as it's done right. I think that you're on the right track.

Good luck.
 
fastone371

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
I wouldnt be able to wait until weather permits to paint it, at least not in Wisconsin, I would have to put it together ASAP so I could start playing on it. That Gold Crown original paint is really some tough stuff, I sanded mine off and stained the blinds. It was almost more difficult to sand the paint off of my GC than automotive paint would be on a car. Looking good so far. I still left some white on my table on the legs. Good job on the slate, each piece weighs 217 pounds, I was curious and had to put a piece on one of my digital race car scales.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
at this point i was just glad that i didn't crack a slate or drop one on my foot. thanks for the encouragement. i've got four big projects going at the same time. two motorcycles a car and this table.
That Gold Crown original paint is really some tough stuff
Click to expand...
in TexAss i had a 9' GC but i didn't like the white and thought that someone had painted over the wood, so i stripped it down to the wood and put clear over it. it looked great but now IRONICALLY i bought a GCIII with a nice wood finish that i'm painting white. lol.... i would have just put clear over the wood but a dog had chewed the base so i decided that i'd bondo the damage and paint it. now i think that i like the white better....
Good job on the slate, each piece weighs 217 pounds
Click to expand...
but that only accounts for 651lbs of the total 1,100lb weight. i thought that the slate should weigh about 275lbs ea. maybe the weight stats that i saw for this table were in error...

this is the GCI that i restored as it sat in my TexAss home. i felt like i was playing pool on a boat because the clay soil would swell-up with the floods and then dry-up like a desert bone in the Summer which caused my foundation to rise and lower. i'm glad to be out of that Hell-hole.... nothing but nice, stable sand under my house in Florida. i stripped and refinished the base without removing the slate. the corners are painted with black epoxy.
 

Attachments

  • gold crown copy.jpg
    gold crown copy.jpg
    30 KB · Views: 375
Last edited:
S

SlateMate

Banned
yesterday i was getting very frustrated. i was relying on the Starrett alone to get the table level and i think that this is a mistake. the slate is not even close to being precise so using a precise level only acts as a ballpark measurement. i tried the razor-blade carpenters level trick and then tried putting the Starrett on the razor-blades but was going around in circles. i eventually got out the old tried and true ball-rolling method and shimmed the head slate in the center because it was rolling off toward the inside on both sides. i THINK i've got it.....

you can only do so much with a level because the entire process is imprecise. what matters most is how a ball rolls despite the fact that pool balls themselves are imprecise, if it keeps rolling off the same way you KNOW that you have an issue and i learned that even a slight roll-off will be evident even after you install the cloth so you had better do the ball-roll as a last check before you glue it all together.

i leveled the center slate first then got the seams even THEN worked the end slates. is this right? i'm sure that my inexperience is most of my problem BUT like i previously mentioned, i had a fast pro from Dallas do my GC1 and he totally screwed it up. what i think we're fighting here is that few tables are made precisely because of mass production. i know this because in Dallas there was an excellent GCIII that was a joy to play on. the pool hall eventually made it their challenge table, taking it out of general service because it was so well crafted. if the manufacturers would make all tables as such, set-up would be relatively simple. we're fighting the imperfections which all tables have it's just that some are worse than others...
 
Last edited:
fastone371

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
I completely agree. I dont care how perfectly level my table is according to a level, if a ball wont roll straight it need to be adjusted.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
the Starrett was good for getting the base more level than could be achieved with a carpenters level alone and it was good for basic adjustments to the center slate. it was also good to leave on the table as i hammered in a shim so i can see how much i changed the slate. but in the end, if you don't roll a ball across the table you will be lucky to get it right.
 
bradsh98

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
the Starrett was good for getting the base more level than could be achieved with a carpenters level alone and it was good for basic adjustments to the center slate. it was also good to leave on the table as i hammered in a shim so i can see how much i changed the slate. but in the end, if you don't roll a ball across the table you will be lucky to get it right.
Click to expand...

A ball should roll straight. With that, I agree.

However, with practice and patience, using a level is your best bet for getting to where you want to be.

  • Start by leveling the frame. A good 6' carpenter level works well. If you want to get really fancy, you can put a 12" Starrett level on top of the carpenter level.
  • Place your slates on the frame, and get the screws started. DO NOT TIGHTEN ANYTHING YET.
  • Span your 6' level across the three slates, just inside of the screw locations. The bubble should be in front of the side pocket.
  • Shim the slates, such that you cannot see any daylight under the level. In its natural state (with no screws tightened) if there is a gap between the slate liner and frame, be sure to add a shim in front of that screw location. The goal here is not to raise the slate, only to keep the screw from pulling the slate down when the screw is tightened.
  • Get one side of the table close, then move to the other. You may likely have to go back and forth a couple of times.
  • Once you have the slates flush to the same plane, you can begin to tighten screws. Watch the effect on the slate as you tighten. You will need to adjust your shims, to maintain the desired setting. You can use screw pressure for fine adjustments, but don't overdo it. Using excessive screw pressure will create a high spot at your shim, and a low spot at the screw location, even if the shim is right next to the screw.
  • Once you have the screws tightened around the perimeter, you can address any low spots that may exist. Span the 6' level along each side of each seam. Give the level a tap in the center, to see if it is low. Shim the center, so that the level no longer makes a sound when you tap on it. Do this for all 3 slates.
  • Now, you are ready to fine tune with the 12" Starrett level.

Note: Brunstone has a tendency to sag, much more than slate. For Brunstone, it is not uncommon for me to use as many as 9 shims per end piece. I might use as many as 8 shims for a center piece. It may also be necessary to shim Brunstone from underneath the table, along the inside edge of the slate liner.

But, these are things that would take FOREVER to figure out, by simply rolling a ball.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
ok, thanks for that info. i had to start and restart several times and then did the head-slate first then the center slate et... the starrett came in handy for fine-tuning when tightening the slate bolts. you can watch the level to see how far you are going. that's important. i can roll a ball down the "rails" (no rails on the table yet) and it goes almost perfectly straight on both long rails and the short rails. it also goes straight down the center of the table. the main problem right now is the crowned foot and center slate and i don't think that there is an answer. i stood on it and it only changed the level a tiny bit. i'd much rather have sagging slate (which can be shimmed in the center) than crowned slate. maybe in twenty years it will sag to level..... tomorrow i'm going to do my ball-roll again and if it's as good as i can get it, i'm going to christen it "level" with some unholy water and start on the rails.

not long ago there was a diamond professional table locally for $1,500 asking price. unfortunately a 9' won't fit in my house or i'd have bought it. there was an 8' diamond pro too but he wanted $2,800 so i bought this Gold Crown instead. this will be my last Brunswick table.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
i'm really really sick of this pos pool table. i mean really sick of it. it's coming very close to being added to the other pool table slates in my back yard that i'm using as a patio.
 
T

ThinSlice

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Buy a set of new slates from Donny at West State Billiards and call it a day. He had stacks of them sitting in the warehouse last time I was there. You are dealing with an old table (3 generations behind) and who knows if you have mis matched slates or how it was stored. I won’t tell you how I would fix it because a certain member here with berate me or anyone else who responds.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top