Doesn't seem like it would but I have seen some tables that seem to defy the idea that rock doesn't bend over time. Thoughts?
Can slate warp?
- Thread starter TheNewSharkster
- Start date
More pourous softer slate is more prone to warp. Italian slate is mined from under the earth and is pourous and has a higher moisture content than say Brazilian slate. Does that means it is likely to warp? Not very likely if properly supported and used indoors.
I would say yes. I had a bunch of bar tables in storage that got termites in them. I ended up throwing them away and keeping the slates. I was just going to use them to make some counter tops so I leaned them against a wall in my warehouse. Sure enough they were not straight when I went to use them.
Slate will not warp. But it is flexible and if the framework that the slate sets on is off. The slate will then seem like it is warped thats why when you put shims under the center slate you are actually bending it. I have seen bar tables that roll to the right on the one side and to the left on the other side which means the slate frame is crowned in the middle.
Ron
Ron
I don't have an answer to whether or not slate can warp.
However, I am certain it is possible for a piece of slate to be machined poorly and the end result might be a surface that is not truly flat.
However, I am certain it is possible for a piece of slate to be machined poorly and the end result might be a surface that is not truly flat.
What ball polisher is featured in your avatar?
Sorry for the double post. I didn't see a way to remove the first post or I would have.
The ball Polisher in our Avatar is made by us.
You can see it at
www.abctables.com
Ron
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The wood that supports it does warp, which creates tension on the slate.
On decent slate, a good table mechanic can drill holes in the high sections and use tensioning screws to level the slate.
There are different grades of slate - the lower grades are a nightmare, they belly all over and really cannot be made level.
Chris
One of the things we like about slate is that it holds its shape for a long time - up to 200 years, I'm told. I'm sure it still has to be supported properly during that time.
This is the right answer. The framework is made of wood, and wood moves. There are adjustments and shims that can be used to correct the frame movement.
Sorry guys, wrong answers
Yes, slate can warp to the point that it's high in the center or low. Just ask Diamond, as they have quit a few slates that are high centered from the start, so they don't use them on the ProAm's or Smart tables, instead they stack them up piled high outside the factory with 2x4's placed around the outside edges, in a way as to not support the center of the slate. Over time exposed to the rain, sun, heat, and cold, they slowly start to change in the center of the slates, sagging back down to level, or even low centered...which is an easy adjustment to correct on the frame of the tables...but it takes quite a bit of time for the change to take placeGlen
Here is an article from another web site quote:
Does slate warp?
No, slate can not warp. The best slate in the world comes from Italy; hundreds of years working with the stone have provided them with experience needed to create the highest quality finish. Diamond honed slate is ground on the top surface with a series of peaks allowing the surface to be much truer and flat. Many tables now offer slate from the orient and Brazil. If the slate is not true and flat before it is installed than how will a mechanic be able to make it level on the table?
Ron
From Wikipedia
Warp is a verb and noun pertaining to distortion and twisting
Does slate warp?
No, slate can not warp. The best slate in the world comes from Italy; hundreds of years working with the stone have provided them with experience needed to create the highest quality finish. Diamond honed slate is ground on the top surface with a series of peaks allowing the surface to be much truer and flat. Many tables now offer slate from the orient and Brazil. If the slate is not true and flat before it is installed than how will a mechanic be able to make it level on the table?
Ron
From Wikipedia
Warp is a verb and noun pertaining to distortion and twisting
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They can be leveled out by shimming and screwing them down, it is labor intensive for sure. I install around 200 tables a year and I come across a warped pc about 2 or 3 times a year.
I've been working on pool tables for 26 years....YES, slate can warp, I don't need to read it any where that says otherwise...I've seen it, and yes most of it can be shimmed out...unless the slate is free floating, and sometimes you CAN'T shim out the sag in the slate without breaking the slate before it flattens out
Glen
Sorry guys, wrong answers
Glen
I agree.
As a matter of fact, the doctors here at the home used to do the same thing with some of the more problematic patients.
This technique seldom worked, however. After a couple of three months or so out in the rain, sun, heat, and cold, they were still about as warped as when they first went outside. :smile:
Good question.
I had the slate (3) wraped in moving blankets and then wraped with bubble wrap and individually enclosed in wood frames for the move from MA to CA several years ago. They were placed on end in my garage until I found a house with a game room large enough for the table.
When I found the house, a couple of years later, I had the table set up by a local group. They gave up trying to level the table after they ran out of shims...lol. Since a friend of mine was having a crew come up from the LA area to work on his table I had them work on mine after they finished Bs table. After removing all the shims they got the table almost leveled but informed me that one slate had a severe dip from the middle edge in about 1.5 feet long (warped). They thought that it may have had moisture in it and when it dried out it settled low in that area.
I thought that the slates were stored pretty darned good but I guess not!
Gerry S.
