custom pool table

S

speedi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
birdseyemapleandwalnutapronsdryfitt.jpg
na
birdseyemapleandwalnutapronsdryfitt.jpg
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I started this 9' table the beginning of July '09. It is approximately 90% complete. The primary wood is 3/4" walnut glued to 3/4" poplar for rigidity and stability. The accent wood is birdseye maple.
It will weigh somewhere around 1800 pounds when finished.

I didn't want to use shims for leveling the frame so I installed 3/4" diameter, 6" long screws, with captured nuts, in each leg. I simply use a ratchet wrench to move the frame up or down and side to side. The weight of the table is taken up by 5" diameter, 1" thick steel plates that rest under/inside each leg. It took me less than 2 minutes to initially level the frame once I turned it right side up and set it on my shop floor.

I have many other photos showing how I cut the rail angles, established cushion height, slate support crossmembers, leg supports inside the frame, etc., etc. If anyone is interested I will try to post them for you.

Many thanks to Mantool and others who helped me finally get a photo posted, although I pasted several more into this thread and they didn't show up. Why? I don't have clue.

The plan and working method to build this table were in a 20 year old Fine Woodworking magazine that I initially put aside with the comment, " Who would be crazy enough to try to build their own pool table?" Me!!

If anyone has questions I will be happy to try to answer them.

Speedi
 
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Hey, I see an image. You must be getting close to Photobucket success.
 
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Posted some random pics from your photobucket page.

I scrolled over your picture. IMG CODE popped up. I highlighted the
text, hit control c then hit control v on the AZbilliards post I started.

boltedcorners15degframeslope006.jpg


crossingslatesupports009.jpg


endrailwithpocketearholeand52degang.jpg


glueingcushionsusingheightgage025.jpg


leveledframe017.jpg


pooltableconstruction007.jpg


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pooltableconstruction023.jpg
 
I agree, the leg levelers are a great touch....can't wait to see the finished product, looking pretty good! Nice work!
 
Not Gonna Piss in the Punch

Nice work! Couple of questions though...
What cushion are you looking to use? Reason I say is because either your subrail height is way high or your subrail angle is way small. On a GC style with a 1 3/4" rail you need 23degrees back angle, on a shorter style like a Gandy or American Heritage you can see up to 30 degrees. Yours looks more like 15 as a guess. Looking forward to hear what OTLB and RKC have to add here. Just my 2 cents.
Rob
 
TableTek said:
Nice work! Couple of questions though...
What cushion are you looking to use? Reason I say is because either your subrail height is way high or your subrail angle is way small. On a GC style with a 1 3/4" rail you need 23degrees back angle, on a shorter style like a Gandy or American Heritage you can see up to 30 degrees. Yours looks more like 15 as a guess. Looking forward to hear what OTLB and RKC have to add here. Just my 2 cents.
Rob
Click to expand...

The angle did look a bit shallow in the first pic but he had this pic with the cushion installed
and a marked nose height guide which I presumed is 1 7/16"
Very nice work so far.

glueingcushionsusingheightgage025.jpg
 
TableTek said:
Nice work! Couple of questions though...
What cushion are you looking to use? Reason I say is because either your subrail height is way high or your subrail angle is way small. On a GC style with a 1 3/4" rail you need 23degrees back angle, on a shorter style like a Gandy or American Heritage you can see up to 30 degrees. Yours looks more like 15 as a guess. Looking forward to hear what OTLB and RKC have to add here. Just my 2 cents.
Rob
Click to expand...
You are right on the money. The rail/cushion angle is indeed 15 degrees. I am using K-66 cushions with a 1 3/4" thick laminated rail (walnut & poplar for stability). This thickness combined with the 15 degrees puts me right at 1 7/16" cushion height. As you know, if the rail thickness is changed the angle would have to change as well to maintain
1 7/16 " height.

When I made my rails, I made one extra to make test cuts on. It saved my bacon a few times, so I'm real glad I went to the extra trouble. To anyone desiring to build their own table, I would strongly recommend doing the same.

I made a simple 1 7/16" height gage, then tightly bolted the rails to the slate, and carefully glued the cushions a few inches at a time as I moved the height gage along the length of the rail. I was worried about getting waviness in the cushions, but there doesn't seem to be much, if any.
 
plans

speedi said:
birdseyemapleandwalnutapronsdryfitt.jpg
na
birdseyemapleandwalnutapronsdryfitt.jpg
rden/birdseyemapleandwalnutapronsdryfitt.jpg[/IMG]

I started this 9' table the beginning of July '09. It is approximately 90% complete. The primary wood is 3/4" walnut glued to 3/4" poplar for rigidity and stability. The accent wood is birdseye maple.
It will weigh somewhere around 1800 pounds when finished.

I didn't want to use shims for leveling the frame so I installed 3/4" diameter, 6" long screws, with captured nuts, in each leg. I simply use a ratchet wrench to move the frame up or down and side to side. The weight of the table is taken up by 5" diameter, 1" thick steel plates that rest under/inside each leg. It took me less than 2 minutes to initially level the frame once I turned it right side up and set it on my shop floor.

I have many other photos showing how I cut the rail angles, established cushion height, slate support crossmembers, leg supports inside the frame, etc., etc. If anyone is interested I will try to post them for you.

Many thanks to Mantool and others who helped me finally get a photo posted, although I pasted several more into this thread and they didn't show up. Why? I don't have clue.

The plan and working method to build this table were in a 20 year old Fine Woodworking magazine that I initially put aside with the comment, " Who would be crazy enough to try to build their own pool table?" Me!!

If anyone has questions I will be happy to try to answer them.

Speedi
Click to expand...

Were the plans you used from the magazine from a guy name tucker?
 
Fine Woodworking, March/April 1989, issue No.75, pages 38-43. The article is authored by Paul M. Bowman, entitled "Building a Pool Table". The final instructions, pages 43 & 44, are entitled "Covering the rails and slate bed", by Eldridge Tucker.

Eldrige Tucker ran Tuckers Billiards, North Charleston, So. Carolina. He repaired and refurbished tables, sold slate, pockets, cushions, etc. He died some years ago, but I read in one of the forums here that his son is trying to keep the business alive, even going so far as to feature free pool for anyone at any time, no strings attached. Not the business model I would recommend, however.

By the way, I DO NOT intend to try to cover the table myself. I want to give this job to someone who will appreciate the hundreds of hours it has taken me to build the table and then give it the final fitting and touch it needs to make it a true "player's table".
 
cool, thanks a lot for posting these! I dream of doing the same, and I hope your pictures help me to have a proper view and get the idea better. I'm a sort of D-I-Y man and enjoy handcrafting, hence my intention to build a pool table. I love Talk to a Mechanic forum section because it has so much to offer and helps to learn a lot of handy things.
 
Vahmurka said:
cool, thanks a lot for posting these! I dream of doing the same, and I hope your pictures help me to have a proper view and get the idea better. I'm a sort of D-I-Y man and enjoy handcrafting, hence my intention to build a pool table. I love Talk to a Mechanic forum section because it has so much to offer and helps to learn a lot of handy things.
Click to expand...
Go for it!!! The article in Fine Woodworking magazine is the most complete and informative of any of the VERY FEW articles that exist. I think you can order old copies from Taunton Press. They have a web site where you can find out quickly if this article is still available. The article was written by a person that built a number of custom tables. His construction methods are perfect for a heavy, sturdy, anti-vibration, and accurate table. Most important, he tells you the order of work, so that you don't spend time making something over because you got ahead of yourself.

The table can be made by anyone who is a competent weekend woodworker and has the space available to assemble such a big piece of 'furniture'. Other than its weight and size, there is nothing particularyly unusual about the construction. But, you will need a second pair of hands to fit up the frame, if you decide to make the 15 degree sloping sides, as I did. Fitting these long, heavy, mitered pieces together for clamping or for drilling bolt holes would be pretty tough for one person to handle. My wife helped me with mine and my son-in-law helped me lift the slates onto and off the table for the dry fitting.
 
Dartman said:
BTW - the lady in Moorseville called to thank us for recommending you and said you did a great job.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rick. Appreciate the referral! The table turned out nice and I believe she was happy about it. She said she "got lucky" ordering the Simonis after I told her it was by standard the best on the market. Thanks again man!

Robin
 
Re: cutting angles

Sir:

First let me CONGRATULATE You on building that pool table. That was
quite an accomplishment to say the least.
I would very much like to see the pictures how you cut the angles on the rails and anything else that you would like to send me.
I enjoy woodworking and would like to see how it was done.
Good Job,
Thanks,
BEN

l
 
speedi said:
You are right on the money. The rail/cushion angle is indeed 15 degrees. I am using K-66 cushions with a 1 3/4" thick laminated rail (walnut & poplar for stability). This thickness combined with the 15 degrees puts me right at 1 7/16" cushion height. As you know, if the rail thickness is changed the angle would have to change as well to maintain
1 7/16 " height.

.
Click to expand...


Those look like k-55's but maybe it's the angle of the photos?
 
onepocketben2 said:
Sir:

First let me CONGRATULATE You on building that pool table. That was
quite an accomplishment to say the least.
I would very much like to see the pictures how you cut the angles on the rails and anything else that you would like to send me.
I enjoy woodworking and would like to see how it was done.
Good Job,
Thanks,
BEN

l
Click to expand...
Thank you for the complements. The table has been installed more than 2 years now and plays terrific. It is extremely fast, which is what I was striving for in my construction. Also, the mechanic that installed the cloth stretched it very tight, which I think increased the speed.

I can send you some photos of how I cut the rails. Please send me your email address by private message here on AZ Billiards and I will get them off to you. Also, any questions you might have I will gladly try to answer for you.
Speedi.

Speedi
 
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