can you do anything for a warped piece of slate?

scottycoyote

scottycoyote

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I got my table in last year (kim steele), and it was all setup. The installer said it was all level (he used the small installers level) and i noticed some rolloff but he said it was probably the balls i was using (just a cheap used set).

So i bought new aramiths and was still noticing some slight rolloff in the bottom of the table around the spot. He came back and looked it over, adjusted it some and said that he thought that the bottom piece of slate might have a slight bow to it. So my question is, is that fixable? He has other pieces of slate, should i press him to replace it when i have the table recovered? Its not as bad as it was, i might notice a ball roll off a lil maybe once every 10 games, so i dont think it affects my play. Its more just a mental niggling but i want it fixed unless its just too much money/trouble to make it worth while.
 
scottycoyote said:
I got my table in last year (kim steele), and it was all setup. The installer said it was all level (he used the small installers level) and i noticed some rolloff but he said it was probably the balls i was using (just a cheap used set).

So i bought new aramiths and was still noticing some slight rolloff in the bottom of the table around the spot. He came back and looked it over, adjusted it some and said that he thought that the bottom piece of slate might have a slight bow to it. So my question is, is that fixable? He has other pieces of slate, should i press him to replace it when i have the table recovered? Its not as bad as it was, i might notice a ball roll off a lil maybe once every 10 games, so i dont think it affects my play. Its more just a mental niggling but i want it fixed unless its just too much money/trouble to make it worth while.
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Unless the slate is really warped...being crowned or sagging...and I mean really bad, the slate should be able to be leveled out, if the person doing the work knows what they're doing:)

Glen
 
yeah im starting to wonder lol

i downloaded the simonis instructions for installing their cloth and was reading thru it and noticed my installer didnt do it that way, of course he might have just found a better way to do it over the years but it did give me pause.
 
Hi, If you can wait a week or 2 I would be willing to re-level your table and put the same cloth back on it for a small fee. Warped or not it can be leveled out 99% of the time. Let me know if I can help.
 
im an accountant so im tied up with tax season, but id be interested in talking to you about this sometime after 1pril 15. One thing, when he put the cloth on (simonis 860) he used the spray glue on the edges, would you still be able to reuse the same cloth?
 
scottycoyote said:
when he put the cloth on (simonis 860) he used the spray glue on the edges, would you still be able to reuse the same cloth?
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Generally speaking - yes.
 
scottycoyote said:
im an accountant so im tied up with tax season, but id be interested in talking to you about this sometime after 1pril 15. One thing, when he put the cloth on (simonis 860) he used the spray glue on the edges, would you still be able to reuse the same cloth?
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Scotty, if he used spray glue to install the bed cloth, it's no wonder the table has a roll to it, because that's one of the first signs of a jackoff for a billiards technician working on a 9ft table! And that's fact, not my "opinion";)

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
Scotty, if he used spray glue to install the bed cloth, it's no wonder the table has a roll to it, because that's one of the first signs of a jackoff for a billiards technician working on a 9ft table! And that's fact, not my "opinion";)

Glen
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well crap lol
 
scottycoyote said:
well crap lol
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I typically staple but use 3M90 or 3M77 as a contact adhesive on the slate edge when necessary
and don't recall ever having a rolloff problem after a cloth install due to use of 3M products.
 
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thats what he did, just used it on the edges and used staples too. When he came back and adjusted it he said when he put the level in the middle of the slate near the spot it did register a little bit off, so i dont think its the cloth but i may be wrong.

cobra how do you install the cloth, you use all staples and just pull and stretch it out?
I was an upholsterer for 2 years while i was in college, but never did pool tables lol
 
scottycoyote said:
yeah im starting to wonder lol

i downloaded the simonis instructions for installing their cloth and was reading thru it and noticed my installer didnt do it that way, of course he might have just found a better way to do it over the years but it did give me pause.
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I don't know any billiard techs that use that technique.
 
Dartman said:
Did you switch to 3M-10 for all slate/cloth installs?
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I'm working on it. Still need a little work with Glen before I official start using it on my bed cloth. I'am using Glen's system of pulling the cloth, with the measuring and marking, but I can't pull it as tight since I'm stapling, it's still pretty tight but not mind blowing tight. You won't believe how tight he gets it until you've seen it for yourself. When I saw him marking the cloth I said to myself, Yeah right, but in a few minutes I was pulling the cloth myself. I have to say, I'm a 200 lbs guy and I was pulling the cloth so hard my body was sliding on the garage floor toward the pool table.

SD
 
Dartman said:
I typically staple but use 3M90 or 3M77 as a contact adhesive on the slate edge when necessary
and don't recall ever having a rolloff problem after a cloth install due to use of 3M products.
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Not saying it causes the level of the slate to be off, unless you're talking about a bar table, as on a bar table, unless the installer cleans off the excess glue, it will build up so thick that the balls "CAN"T" roll next to the rails, because they're in fact, rolling on a slope of glue;) But glue is needed to install the cloth on a bar table because there is no backing on the slate. A 9ft on the other hand, for the most part has a wood backing that the cloth is stappled to. I use 3M 10 only because I have a better and tighter way of installing the cloth instead of stappling it. But using spray glue is not even close to being able to pull the cloth tight enough for a 9ft table is what I'm saying:D

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
Not saying it causes the level of the slate to be off, unless you're talking about a bar table, as on a bar table, unless the installer cleans off the excess glue, it will build up so thick that the balls "CAN"T" roll next to the rails, because they're in fact, rolling on a slope of glue;) But glue is needed to install the cloth on a bar table because there is no backing on the slate. A 9ft on the other hand, for the most part has a wood backing that the cloth is stappled to. I use 3M 10 only because I have a better and tighter way of installing the cloth instead of stappling it. But using spray glue is not even close to being able to pull the cloth tight enough for a 9ft table is what I'm saying:D

Glen
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how's the truck Glen?

SD
 
sdbilliards said:
how's the truck Glen?

SD
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wwwwwwwwwwell, I just had the truck checked out...and the fan belt came off because the water pump with the fan......BROKE OFFFFFFFF!!!
Must be because of TO MANY MILES on this f*#&ing truck!!!!:( So, I'm waiting on the tow truck to pick the truck up, take it to the shop, replace the water pump...and anything else the fan may have destroyed when it broke off...then maybe I'll make it to LA today:D

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
wwwwwwwwwwell, I just had the truck checked out...and the fan belt came off because the water pump with the fan......BROKE OFFFFFFFF!!!
Must be because of TO MANY MILES on this f*#&ing truck!!!!:( So, I'm waiting on the tow truck to pick the truck up, take it to the shop, replace the water pump...and anything else the fan may have destroyed when it broke off...then maybe I'll make it to LA today:D

Glen
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what's the deal with that Gabriel, didn't it need to be out of the house today?
 
realkingcobra said:
Not saying it causes the level of the slate to be off, unless you're talking about a bar table, as on a bar table, unless the installer cleans off the excess glue, it will build up so thick that the balls "CAN"T" roll next to the rails, because they're in fact, rolling on a slope of glue;) But glue is needed to install the cloth on a bar table because there is no backing on the slate. A 9ft on the other hand, for the most part has a wood backing that the cloth is stappled to. I use 3M 10 only because I have a better and tighter way of installing the cloth instead of stappling it. But using spray glue is not even close to being able to pull the cloth tight enough for a 9ft table is what I'm saying:D
Glen
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No worries.

In thinking about it I don't recall ever doing a 9' table that didn't have backed slate so stapling would have been done.

As for 3M77 and 3M90, I personally use it as a contact adhesive with a coating on the slate edge and the cloth where it
will hit (stretch the cloth and mark the hit point). I think some may just spray the slate edge and call it good but you get a
better bond when putting a bead on the slate and the cloth and using it as a true contact adhesive.
 
If there is some question as to whether the guy is a pro in general, wouldn't it be even worse with a Kim Steel table?

I don't know jack about setting up pool tables but I thought Kim Steel tables had a whole different (meaning complicated) leveling system.

I only heard that because a mechanic who worked locally mentioned that (while laughing) but said he hammered in shims to level it anyway.
 
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