"Hammered" build their own Pool table

AuntyDan

AuntyDan

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For anyone who happens to get the DIY network on their cable TV there is a show called "Hammered" and in one episode they build their own Pool table for a bar.

What is cool is they show a bit of Blatt's Billiards in NY and Vic helps pikc out the pockets. They also show a short segment in Amsterdam Billiards with Jennifer Baretta and her new-born son. (Apparently just 5 days old during filming!)

Unfortunately it's one of those shows that seems to be more about showing lots of things fast without a lot of details. More unforgivably though they use a sheet of MDF instead of slate and, of course, bright red cloth.
 
Don't be too quick to condemn the MDF.

I built a table with MDF bonded to a frame of 2"x2" steel square tubing and I like it. For $150 I could get a used slate, but I don't see any reason to.

With the MDF fixed to steel, it ain't likely to warp. It doesn't have seams. If something bad happens, I can replace it for $25 and 3 hours of labor. The main downside, is that the table is relatively low mass, but if you don't crash into it much or dance on it, it plays OK.
 
Interesting. How thick was the MDF you used? The show said theirs was 3/4", which would be the same thickness as the slate commonly used on cheaper tables. It looked like they used a lattice of MDF supports on theirs, presumably glued against the underside of the bed piece.

Do you know what the MDF weighs in comparison to the equivalent size piece of slate?
 
MDF is considerably heavier than comparable plywood, but less than slate.

I used 3/4". Thickness very uniform and surface is very smooth.

I wouldn't use an MDF frame, although it might last a few years. With steel, you can trust the dimensions, and it isn't going to warp or sag. Square steel tubing is about $2 a foot, so it suprises me that it isn't found in more pool tables.
 
I always wondered how corrugated steel would work as a playing surface, with a thin layer or something overtop to give it that slate feel. Your MDF idea reminds me of this.
 
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