9 on the snap said:
One piece slate is the triple nuts! The Diamond Pro-Am rolls SO TRUE! Three piece slate MUST be installed properly. I have seen too many bad installs over the years.
Brunswick vs Diamond
- Thread starter ForumGhost516
- Start date
One piece slate is the triple nuts! The Diamond Pro-Am rolls SO TRUE! Three piece slate MUST be installed properly. I have seen too many bad installs over the years.
Don't bet on thatLoGiC said:
at a moments notice I can change ANY ProAm to a 3 piece slate table, faster than I can get divorced
and that's QUICK! Glen
jay helfert said:
Me too. It's a lot easier to find a good table than it is to find a good install job.
poolandpokerman, Hey please clear some of your pm's so that I can send the requested info. Thanks, Kevin. 
Here's a checklist for comparison, but you're going to have to check out specific tables to be sure of some of them. In my experience, one of your two candidates has a lot more of these problems than the other.ForumGhost516 said:
From a posting made a few years ago:
Another way to come at the question of best table is to list what
can be wrong with a table. Here are some of those things, some of
which may be due to bad installation:
flimsy construction
flimsy trim -- plating wears off quickly
pocket liner turns gummy and comes off on cue stick
pocket liner fits badly, catching and rejecting balls
pocket liner fastening falls apart
pocket liner tacks are exposed and chip balls
badly designed rack-hanger
badly designed bridge-hanger
pockets stick up too high
pockets or rails have sharp parts that can tear clothes or cut hands
pockets reject balls that are shot straight in
pocket facings cupped and reject balls
"drop pockets" allow the balls to rattle for several seconds
"drop pockets" only take 3 balls safely
flimsy score wheels
thin slate
slates become misaligned, forming a ridge
slates not "pinned" between sections, allowing a ridge
joint compound between slates rises up
unheated
aluminum parts leave black marks on clothes
awkward ball storage slots
ball return system loses balls
rail rubber badly installed or loose
rail rubber dies within ten years
cloth put on wrong
rails misaligned (side noses not in line)
loose rails (either hard to bolt on or just neglected)
table damaged in transport and not properly repaired
cracked slate
diamond markings are hard to see
ball return hopper skins knuckles
ball return hopper decomposes
accessories faulty, cheap, incomplete, etc.
These are some of the problems I've had with tables. Others, anyone?
You missed floating rail nut plates stripped out or missing.Bob Jewett said:
Pocket ear mounting holes stripped out.
Loose pocket casting mounting brackets.
Stripped or broken out pocket casting mounting hardware.
Not real slate!
Extremly crowned or swayback slate.
Backer boards stapled out or missing.
Glen
Not to mention dented, scratched or faded out top rail laminate
Glen
Glen
OH, and I almost forgot, stripped out slate screw holes, or so many slate screw holes you almost don't have anyway of securing the slates to the frame using slate screws
Glen
Glen
U cant go wrong with either
So, what do you think of "Brazilian" slate? I've heard mixed reports. It is said to be a much harder material than Vermont/Italian slate which makes it harder to work with but it's also less prone to warping. I've also heard that it is a lot less expensive. Any opinions?realkingcobra said:
Bigtruck said:I have several slightly used Diamonds.
I know you have one already Jay.
I just had a pool hall in League City,TX install 8 Diamond Professionals and put them next to some Brunswicks. Not even in the same category. Look more solid and play true.
Ray
254-379-2569
2543792569@txt.att.net send a message from your computer!
"Look more solid".......?? Looks aren't everything!!!
"Play true".........?? So you are saying that Gold Crowns don't play true??
Some do and some don't. Think about all the GCs you've played on and consider which of the problems in my list above has applied to one or more of them.poolhustler said:
jay helfert said:
Moving a Diamond and Moving a Gold Crown should be a major concern if the Diamond is a one piece slate.
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Making a statement like this, you're going to have to be a little more specific about what you're comparing here nowIsland Drive said:
Any GC and Diamond Professional are about the same amount of effort to get moved. See, when you compare the 2 kinds of tables, you must also group them in the same category as well. Now as far as the "Diamond 9ft ProAm"...well, that's in a league all by itself... That table on a Diamond dolly weighs in at 1,230lbs all in one chunk Glen
Italian slate has a higher moisture content, making it a more softer slate, a little easier to work with when trying to shim the slate for flatness. But, because it's a little softer, it's also a little more prone to breakage, especially when dealing with the Diamond 9ft one piece slates. Also having a higher moisture content means the slate is more prone to change level over time when it's mounted and leveled in a table frame, as the slate changes its moisture content to adapt to the environment it's in, which in turn means it can change level on its own as time goes on. It's also much easier when it comes to drilling the slate for bolt holes and slate screw holes. Italian slate also has a more almost wet Grey look to the slate because if its higher moisture content.Bob Jewett said:
Brazilian slate on the other hand, is very dry, kind of a light colored Grey to almost grayish white. It also has a moisture content in the slate, but nothing compared to the Italian slates. It's because of the low moisture content that the slate when machined to a flat surface it'll pretty well maintain that flatness over a much longer period of time compared to Italian slates, but because it's so dry it's also very hard to drill for bolt holes and slate screw holes. One of the biggest advantages of Brazilian slates is that they are also very very hard to break, because of the low moisture content, which is why Diamond uses the slates from Brazil in their pool tables, especially the one piece slates. One of the drawbacks of Brazilian slates, is that if one isn't flat after machining it, you're NOT going to get it flat either
As far as cost go, I believe the Brazilian slates are less expensive than the Italian slates, but in my book, they're both good slates, I like working with either one of them, but for anyone else to work with them, they really need to understand the differences between the 2 different kinds of slates, because that really changes the way you go about leveling them for flatness on a pool table
Glen
I move them all the time by myself, what's the big dealIsland Drive said:
Glen
poolhustler said:
Your avatar looks more solid!!
I think if you try and apply the above list of table issues to either a GC or a Diamond Professional, we all know which one Ben Franklin would buy.
Ray
ps. The tables I referred to in my previous post as Brunswicks are Medalists.
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realkingcobra said:I move them all the time by myself, what's the big deal
Glen
The interior/exterior layout of...some...homes/apartments, won't allow this large of a one piece structure to be brought in, that's all.