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TheTablePro

TheTablePro

Active member
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I need your valued & educated opinions on the following topic:

I'm a HUGE fan of the "floating nut-plate" system for attaching rails to the bed of a table. I think it was the best engineering development for pool tables in the last 20 years. It allows for much more torque when setting rails and makes for a much quieter rebound.

What are your thoughts on the plates please? Thank you in advance for your opinions!

Robin @ The Table Pro
 
Whoa...

everyone at a loss for words? Lots of views and no feedback! I've seen some great advise here in my short tenure but, no one has an opinion, pro or con on this attachment method vs. other traditional t-nuts, barrell inserts, etc.???? I'm :confused:
 
Most of the tables I install use them and they are nice to work with.They are the strongest type because they cannot spin like the other insert types when overtightned.
 
O.k ALREADY!! Heres my opinion.
Lets talk about the most infamoue floating nut plate out there. Brunswick

Pro- yes you can tighten rails down real tight

con - you can tighten rails down too tight. it distorts the thread on this chinese made insert and when you try to take them out they snap off!!
rails do not need to be tightened with all your strength. it can be a real pain to replace if the bolt breaks off halfway up the hole.

con- the slot where the insert goes leaves a void where the cushion should
attach. if you hit a bruns at insert slot you can hear the little blip noise where the bottom of cushion is being pushed into this cavity. I do not know how much if any effect it has on play but i never cared for the design.

I personally liked the old gold crown design that used a substantial metal plate recessed into the bottom of the rail.i still prefer floating plate from most of whats out there
 
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I've already covered this subject in one of my other posts. The inserts that Diamond uses is as far as I'm concerned, the best out there, the reasons were explained.

Glen
 
scruffy1 said:
I have also already covered this!!! lets never talk about this again!!!!
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Isn't this suppose to be an open forum there sparkie? I just joined this place last month and really do need the pros & cons (for a manufacturer) from tehcnicians (such as yourself) around the country and not just my own opinion. I see Glen mentioned it's been posted once before and I spent some time searching for it. I finally found it from January of this year. If you don't mind, please let it ride and ignore the thread if you wish. You were kind enough to post your thoughts and I do appreciate it (even though we differ in our views on the topic)

Thanks!
 
i havent dealt with floating nut plates since that time i was eating dinner while sitting nekkid in the hot tub


thank you thank you......ill be here all week
 
scottycoyote said:
i havent dealt with floating nut plates since that time i was eating dinner while sitting nekkid in the hot tub


thank you thank you......ill be here all week
Click to expand...


Thanks for the visual!! LMAO!!
 
TheTablePro said:
Isn't this suppose to be an open forum there sparkie? I just joined this place last month and really do need the pros & cons (for a manufacturer) from tehcnicians (such as yourself) around the country and not just my own opinion. I see Glen mentioned it's been posted once before and I spent some time searching for it. I finally found it from January of this year. If you don't mind, please let it ride and ignore the thread if you wish. You were kind enough to post your thoughts and I do appreciate it (even though we differ in our views on the topic)

Thanks!
Click to expand...
How much more can we differ? Any time it takes more than a ratchet and socket for the tools needed to back out and replace a cross threaded rail bolt without taking the rails off, then somethings flawed in your favorite system!

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
How much more can we differ? Any time it takes more than a ratchet and socket for the tools needed to back out and replace a cross threaded rail bolt without taking the rails off, then somethings flawed in your favorite system!

Glen
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Agreed! I have yet to come across a single cross threaded floating nut plate but, have a multitude of other plates, barrell inserts, etc.....lucky? Perhaps! And perhaps it's the rookies in this occupation you refer to? They are actually very simple to install by a little jiggle to start the bolt, then snug up hand tight....I use a speed wrench so I DON'T over tighten and have I never cross threaded one.

It should be up to the pro's to teach those starting out, the do's and do nots don't you think? How else are they to learn? It's still my favorite attachment system and it appears Diamond's floaters are yours correct? I'm searching for opinions and thank you kindly for yours Glen!
 
well obviously you did not read my first post! second one was just sarcasm! I am also confused . your first post stated they allow for "much more torque" then your second stated "hand tight"! You are very lucky when you have not seen a damaged floating insert,we do a lot of commercial work and have to follow a lot of hacks and see quite a few!What brand are you working on? Diamond does have the best system, never have seen a damaged one!
 
scruffy1 said:
well obviously you did not read my first post! second one was just sarcasm! I am also confused . your first post stated they allow for "much more torque" then your second stated "hand tight"! You are very lucky when you have not seen a damaged floating insert,we do a lot of commercial work and have to follow a lot of hacks and see quite a few!What brand are you working on? Diamond does have the best system, never have seen a damaged one!
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Isn't following hacks great? I moved to NC 3 years ago and have been in "clean-up mode" on a quite a few jobs. Not all but, some are simply awful and every corner was cut and you could tell they were done by some newbies.

I'm a big man....hand tight WITH a speed wrench may have a different definition to you than to me. I can crank them down but not anywhere near to stretching or damaging the threads. And I've read every post on this thread and even thanked you for your input in one of mine. It sucks when sarcasm can't be seen in print eh?!?!? What a waste of ink.....kidding of course! And, there aren't too many brands I haven't worked on at one time or another. Most manufactured in the last 5-10 years have the floating nuts.....and not in the hot tub either! :eek:
 
So what is the torque specification for rail bolts?

Seriously. A lot of people want their lug nuts torqued to spec, and wood + slate are more susceptible to damage than steel. If you are going to insist on a machinist level for leveling, it seems that there should be a spec for rail tightening.

I'm thinkin 40-50 foot pounds...
 
The tourqe specs would vary from brand to brand depending on which insert is used. 40-50 ft pds would be way too much for a barrel type insert.

Brunswick's floating nut plate would hold that much tourqe(not that it is needed) would any of the other brands hold that much over several re-cloths?

In my opinion no,not without repairing a few of them.
 
I'd think 18-20 torque pounds would be sufficient for nut plates and something less for other methods. Like a disc that is screwed into a recessed area would not handle that much torque. I generally back off and just snug them up especially when they have the crown lock washers that bite the slate.
 
Floating nuts seem like a good method. I disagree with macanic's overtorqueing rail bolts. It leads to problems especailly on commercial tables. The problem that I come across is usually on gold crowns where guys are cross threading because they don't know how to get around the ball returns. floating nut are usually kept from spinning by a large staple which sometimes breaks. I wouldn't say I'm a huge fan of floating rail bolts.
 
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