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Jodacus

Jodacus

Shoot...don't talk
Silver Member
Is your table perfect? No rolls specific to a certain area of the table? Players will know what I'm asking, bangers will not. I suspect due to the grinding of the slate that there are really very few "perfect" tables out there. More importantly, how much money did you spend and how successful were you at getting it perfect ?
 
Jodacus said:
Is your table perfect? No rolls specific to a certain area of the table? Players will know what I'm asking, bangers will not. I suspect due to the grinding of the slate that there are really very few "perfect" tables out there. More importantly, how much money did you spend and how successful were you at getting it perfect ?
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I check the level from time to time but I don't concern myself with it being perfect. I have owned a number of tables and I have never been fanatical about the condition as long as it played decent. Nothing is perfect anyway. My current table is a Gold Crown II and I have two others in storage, an old Saunier-Wilhelm and another Brunswick I will use for something sometime.
 
Jodacus said:
Is your table perfect? No rolls specific to a certain area of the table? Players will know what I'm asking, bangers will not. I suspect due to the grinding of the slate that there are really very few "perfect" tables out there. More importantly, how much money did you spend and how successful were you at getting it perfect ?
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No my table doesn't play perfect, but it does play pretty good. I didn't spend a fortune to get a decent table, there are better ones out there but I'm happy with what I got. I quit worrying about perfect a long time ago,.... I'm happier now.......;)
 
Just Curious

I didn't post this in the mechanics area because I'm pretty sure no mechanic has ever seen a perfect table. I'm not trying to disparage mechanics, just sayin.
 
Jodacus said:
I didn't post this in the mechanics area because I'm pretty sure no mechanic has ever seen a perfect table. I'm not trying to disparage mechanics, just sayin.
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Well, I wouldn't know about that but I imagine if anyone has, it would be Glen aka RKC. From the attention he pays to detail I would say that his tables play about as perfect as possible. I'm sure there are other mechanics that are very competent as well.
 
There is no such thing as a perfect table. Every manufacturing process for all products has to allow for a certain percentage of variance in the final product coming off the line. And combine that with the fact that the product of a pool table also requires a final setup by somebody to be a playable product ensures that tbere can be no such thing as a "perfect" table.

That being said, if you want to concern yourself with having an excellent pool table to play on, then you need to make sure that 2 things are taken care of. And that is purchasing a table by a company with a solid reputation for quality to begin with. 2nd is hiring a table mechanic that has worked on hundreds of tables and cares about taking the necessary time to do a proper table setup. You combine those 2 elements in your table purchasing process and you will wind up with a pool table that will be a joy to play on for many years.

This all comes from my having sold hundreds of tables in the over 10 years that I worked for my local billiards pro shop. And having watched my former boss do alot of pool table assembly during that time.

I sold chinese junk tables to customers who could never understand the differences in table quality and solely focused on prices. I also sold Olhausen, Diamond, Adler & Beach tables. My own dream table as if I could ever be able to afford it was Adler's Monarch Classic table. That table company amd that table to me always represented the epitomy of what a table should be. From that and considering what is going to be seen in alot of competition events I would go with a Diamond table. But really there are plenty of great tables out there to consider, and with a good table mechanic doing the setup there should be no problem with seeing yourself with a table in your home that really leaves no complaints about what you are playing on.
 
My table seemed perfectly level when installed, now its a tad bit high on one end. I will wait to fix it until I need new cloth.

Part of having a flat table is having a solid foundation. My table is on a wood floor, and its possible the table didnt move, but the floor has sunk a little bit?
 
you can have you slate block sanded by a mechanic thats nprob the only way to get the table as close to perfect as one can get i have an old medalist that plays really great no roll off 4 inch pockets all the way around mine wasnst blocked but he did check for uneven wear in the slate and found a few small ones he fixed those really easy and now the table plays great very happy with it
 
Jodacus said:
Is your table perfect? No rolls specific to a certain area of the table? Players will know what I'm asking, bangers will not. I suspect due to the grinding of the slate that there are really very few "perfect" tables out there. More importantly, how much money did you spend and how successful were you at getting it perfect ?
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I just got a Gold Crown V installed, 9 foot. As far as rolling level goes, from what i can tell, it is indeed perfect. I can slow roll balls in every direction such that they barely make their destination, and there is no systematic wavering off course at all. This goes for when I do it on any of the slates and across the entire table (down the rail, from corner to corner, down the middle, etc.).

If there is no perceptible deviation from the straight line of a slow ball roll, then as far as humans and pocket billiards are concerned, I would consider it perfect.

My other table (A.E. Schmidt 8 foot) rolled perfect as well. Didn't seem that hard to get it that way with a competent mechanic.

Now whether it stays that way in 3 years is another question.

I'm not an engineer, but I doubt it is that hard to grind a slate to within very slight tolerances. Once you have a decent slate (most respected brands), its going to come down to substructure and setup.
 
Mine is pretty level. That being said, I can't stand it (table) anymore. It's like playing on ice. Went out the other night and played on worn Simonis, with not quite as level of a surface. Used a house cue and ran more balls than I ever did. Makes me sick. This Centennial cloth "SUCKS". :angry:
 
I'm not sure there is any such thing as "perfect" either but as far as I'm concerned my table plays perfect. I have a GC4 set up by Donny of SD Billiards. The pockets are very consistent, all the pocket angles are identical. He did a real good job on the pockets both in how they play and how consistent they all are. As far as level goes, I've had the table about 3 years and have had him come out twice after the set up to re-level. The first was about a year after I got it. It had just started rolling off a little but I'm particular. The second time was about 6 months ago. It was fine then in a matter of weeks it began to roll off a lot.

I'm thinking the first time was just the frame settling into a humidity level in its new environment and perhaps things moved a little. The table had been in storage in the desert and I live by the beach. This is only a guess but I suppose the frame just sucked in moisture as it settled into its new home. The second time I'm pretty sure the foundation settled because it rolled off a lot in a short period of time and it was in the same direction all over the table.

Both times Donny was able to fix it just using the leg levelers. I too can slow roll a ball in any area of the table with no significant roll off.
 
My table is about as perfect as it can get. I don't notice any roll-off of slow moving balls... my biggest problem is practicing on a table that plays the "right" way and then going to tables that should play "easier" and fumbling around on them like a retarded virgin.
 
Not exactly on topic, but not having a good level I've checked my table with a flat, 1'x1' piece of plate glass and a ball. See if the ball rolls off the glass at various parts of the table.
 
My table sits in a house that heaves with the weather (ground moisture content), and I end up adding and subtracting shims weekly to it to maintain its levelness. My goal if to a rolling ball to come off line less than 1mm as it rolls to a stop. If it goes more than that I get out the shims and fix it--takes about 5 minutes.

But the table is far from perfect--but the balls roll true.
 
In most cases the tables you COMPETE on are not perfect. So having
a PERFECT home table would just screw you up lol ;)
 
Yes, I've seen perfect pool tables in some of the tables I've worked on;) but that being said, one would have to define "Perfect" in order to determine what IS perfect. If the rails all have the same bounce and speed, the pockets are all a mirror image of each other, and the slate is leveled to a point that no balls roll off in any area of the playing surface, and the cloth is installed correctly and tight...what else can that be called but a "Perfect pool table";)

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
Yes, I've seen perfect pool tables in some of the tables I've worked on;) but that being said, one would have to define "Perfect" in order to determine what IS perfect. If the rails all have the same bounce and speed, the pockets are all a mirror image of each other, and the slate is leveled to a point that no balls roll off in any area of the playing surface, and the cloth is installed correctly and tight...what else can that be called but a "Perfect pool table";)

Glen
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If I told you what I call mine, I'd get perma banned. :angry:
 
Mine plays better than any public table I've played on in maybe 15years. Not quite as fast, but still plenty of speed. Is it perfect? NO But considering it around 100 years old. Pretty close thanks to a surprise visit from a fantastic mechanic.

Still I'm dreaming of a Euro table with real heat.
 
My Centennial plays as close to perfect as it gets. The Simonis HR is rocket fast and the Artimis K55's bank true. The pockets are all perfect and consistent at 4 1/8". Tough but fair pockets equals satisfaction with little frustration. The slate was blocked and leveled. It sits on concrete floor under the carpet. There isn't a roll off on the whole table.
 
realkingcobra said:
Yes, I've seen perfect pool tables in some of the tables I've worked on;) but that being said, one would have to define "Perfect" in order to determine what IS perfect. If the rails all have the same bounce and speed, the pockets are all a mirror image of each other, and the slate is leveled to a point that no balls roll off in any area of the playing surface, and the cloth is installed correctly and tight...what else can that be called but a "Perfect pool table";)

Glen
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We have had a few tables perfect, the trick is keeping them perfect. Humidity or lack of it can make a perfect table real funny in a few months.

Frames are made of wood and humidity changes will cause a frame to move and the slate(s). So even on concrete a table mite not stay level forever. they take over a year to acclimate to Vegas. Some never do, the wood takes in and releases too much water and moves. Glen had my Diamond box perfect, when he sets it up next time it will be perfect, it took over a year for it to acclimate to Vegas. If I get a house in LA I'm leaving my Vegas tables in Vegas for that reason and get a different box for LA.

some slates have low spots and the balls roll into the low area, I had a GC2 once that had a 12" area that was low and a bit of a headache, it was at the head of the box so it didnt matter to much, that too can be fixed, Glen explained how.


someday when i'm back in the chips again, i want to build 10 tables, I have some ideas, glen and I talked about to build perfect tables. He had 90% of the ideas, one thing I want to do is steel block cushions like on snooker tables, that's something I cant figure out why it hasnt been done, Glen invented a slate heating system to keep the humidity on the cloth consistent thats way better than what they are using on 3C boxes. There are many improvements that can happen to tables. They are not cost effective for Diamond or B-Wick to roll out and manufacture. but would be cool to build 10-20 of for people/pool rooms that want the perfect box.
 
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