Another slate liner/framing Q

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Long winded intro and some slate Q's. :)

My wife bought an old T-rail Brunswick on Sunday; I took it apart and brought it home. Probably won't be able to make much time to work on it before fall, but have some Q's about slate and liners.

I'm a pro architectural woodworker and machinist. In the 70's and 80's I made tools, modified machines, and provided some wooden parts & mouldings to a pool table builder in the Gettysburg area, but sadly didn't pay much attention. Did go with him a few times up to Pen Argyl to pick up slates, He could (just, lol) get 3 sets of 1" slates for 7 - 8' tables in one haul in his van. The quarry was fascinating. One time the order was not ready, so got to see the whole operation on a slate from honing, to sawing, to a single guy taking a pattern off the wall, marking the pockets, taking an obvious deep breath, holding an undercut angle, and sawing it right around with a fret saw. (John also sometimes sawed them himself, and finished the contours with a heavy rasp.) I am not a pool table mechanic.

Slates are 1" thick. 9' table.

1.) the slates I've seen and remember seem to have had the wood glued to the slates - is that correct? I think John glued them on, but again, I regret not paying attention. On this table, they are merely (rather loosely) screwed on. In rebuilding the slates, is there any advantage either way? (leave the wood loose, or go ahead and bond it with glue?)

2.) the playing surface of the slates is ok, but it was missing 2 rail bolts from the last install. Upon removing the cloth, it was obvious why - one was ripped out of the edge with broken slate. I have not investigated the other. Hoping the nut just fell out in a previous move. Since this is structural (hold the rail bolt next to a center pocket) bondo does not strike me as adequate. There was enough bondo in the last install to fair out any chips under the rail, but there's no support for the nut & they just left the bolt out.

I can think of 2 options a.) (simple approach) mix up some epoxy machine setting grout or epoxy concrete, fill up the space, contour the surface and redrill the holes. b.) mill out the "bad" slate, and epoxy in a patch piece of slate. Level it, and re-drill the holes.

Which sounds better? What did i miss that will come back to hurt me? :D

Thanks!
smt
 

bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
The main function of the backer boards is to serve as an attachment point for the cloth. However, that doesn't mean that they should be overlooked.

Attaching the backers with screws is acceptable. Understand that gravity will do the rest, and the slate will sandwich the backers to the frame. However, gluing the backers to the slate will improve rigidity.

This may not seem to be important, though it is. The playability of a pool table is quite dependent on minimizing energy loss. The most common source for energy loss is through loose components. Any source of vibration is a potential for energy loss. Examples are: loose hardware and low density wood..

All that being said, it is quite likely that you may not notice the difference between glued or screwed backer boards. If you are a purist, and want to take your best effort at having the best playing table possible, glue them. If you just want something decent to play on, screw them.



In regards to your slate repairs:
Using an epoxy resin as a filler should work just fine. No need to cut a piece of slate for an insert.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The playability of a pool table is quite dependent on minimizing energy loss. The most common source for energy loss is through loose components.

Geoff - that is just plain elegant. So much in life is about energy management; yet so easy to forget. When put that clearly, I think it just about mandates gluing them on.

Re: filler vs insert repair on the slate - guess I was thinking a slate filler piece would be easier to level, being (more or less) the same hardness and workability as the existing material. A cement type filler seems a lot harder and more difficult to level. I'll have to think about filler options (to fill the WEST epoxy resin)

I've always appreciated your clear insights on technical stuff. This gives me a good background to work with. Thanks!
smt
 
Top