Just bought my first table

Oofgeni_Stalev said:
Totally my fault and I should’ve checked the roll more carefully before he left. Lesson learned.
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Been through this...You did not do anything wrong. A competent installer will make sure the table comes out right before they leave. They have one level of service. However we need a detective to find one.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Well your first post said the table was level when the mechanic left, and got unlevel 2 hours later, due to settling.

Your next post to me said the table was never leveled when the mechanic was there, and you didn't notice until immediately after he left. That's very different than your first post.

If the second is true, then it seems the mechanic did a poor job all around, and its very likely the slates are all messed up, and would need to be individually adjusted at the leveling screws underneath each slate.

If the first is true, then that's most likely settling, which can probably be fixed with the legs only.

Still, you have nothing to lose at this point moving the legs, IMO. Ps, I'm not a mechanic, just a player with a table and level myself.
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Sorry for the confusion. Looking back I’m pretty sure it was not leveled from the get go. I was so excited about the table, I didn’t want to believe that it had a roll. I just kept hitting balls. After about 2 hours is when I figured that something wasn’t right. It’s a terrible feeling when you spent all this money and time looking for the right table.
I really don’t want to say anything negative about the mechanic but it does seem like the table wasn’t leveled.
 
Alrighty so it looks like I was able to dial it in with the legs. Took a lot of tinkering but it’s rolling pretty decent now. I’d say it’s 99% leveled. Let’s see what happens in a few weeks.
I did do some investigating and noticed the middle leveling bolts for the middle slate are pretty off center of wooden frame attached to the slate. The end of the bolt is half way on the edge of the wooden frame and halfway in no man’s land. Looks like it’s only the middle slate with this issue. Please see the photo. Is this normal? What should I do? I also had to tighten a couple of jam nuts for these bolts since some were loose🤷
 

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I have a 9ft that is going to be installed next week. The basement floor is concrete with 1.5" insulation then the subfloor then luxury vinyl. The floor was built up where the legs will sit under the subfloor so hopefully one level and done. The installer apparently knows what he's doing and is supposed to be good. I'm going to check for rolls and the rails to make sure. He's a good player as well and maybe he'll play a set for the install lol
 
Oofgeni, sadly you got a hack for your install. Don't let it get to you as many of us have been through this also. Directly on concrete, the table shouldn't settle in. You were just told that so you wouldn't call him back for a redo. This has happened to many of us, and the general feeling is you really don't want them back anyway.
Try to get it right with the legs, if not the only option is the slates. Only so much you can do there as the joints most likely are superglued. I had to work on my slates on my Diamond install but have done it in very small adjustments over time. Still almost two lines off on my Starrett in a couple spots, but overall the table rolls great and I'm at the limit I feel I can adjust the slates without risking cracking my joints.
Diamond has a great video on leveling. While yours is somewhat different, the basics are the same. I actually think yours may be easier due the the bolts vs shims. The shims can be somewhat of a pain if having to back off.
After one bad install, you will know what to ask and demand in an installer the second time around. There is good ones out there, and there is lazy hacks, sadly there is more lazy hacks.
 
muskyed said:
Oofgeni, sadly you got a hack for your install. Don't let it get to you as many of us have been through this also. Directly on concrete, the table shouldn't settle in. You were just told that so you wouldn't call him back for a redo. This has happened to many of us, and the general feeling is you really don't want them back anyway.
Try to get it right with the legs, if not the only option is the slates. Only so much you can do there as the joints most likely are superglued. I had to work on my slates on my Diamond install but have done it in very small adjustments over time. Still almost two lines off on my Starrett in a couple spots, but overall the table rolls great and I'm at the limit I feel I can adjust the slates without risking cracking my joints.
Diamond has a great video on leveling. While yours is somewhat different, the basics are the same. I actually think yours may be easier due the the bolts vs shims. The shims can be somewhat of a pain if having to back off.
After one bad install, you will know what to ask and demand in an installer the second time around. There is good ones out there, and there is lazy hacks, sadly there is more lazy hacks.
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Yea I couldn’t agree more. This was a very valuable lesson. I worked in a serious pool room for 3 years and watched the mechanics recloth and set up tables a bunch of times. Rarely would I see an issue with the tables being leveled.
Looking back at the day of install, I did pick up a few red flags from the mechanic. I asked him if there would be any issue restreching the cloth. When he brought the table in, he was talking about how the previous installer did a poor job stretching the cloth in the first place and that the restretch will be fine. He starting laughing and saying the previous mechanic had no idea what he was doing.
It’s never a good idea to talk poorly about the previous technician in any field. First off, not professional. If the previous mechanic did something wrong, it totally makes sense to point it out. But don’t talk smack about that guy or company if you’re in the same field doing the same work. Then you look like an idiot when you’re the one doing a hack job. For example, one of the corner castings was very high and the corner of the casting which is quite sharp, was sticking up about 7mm. Great way to slice up your hand or cue. I told him that it really put a bummer on the table for me. I asked him to fix it and he kept saying “I don’t know how!” After a little more complaining he decided to try and fix it. 5 mins later the casting is in the right place. lol come on. I find that when technicians, mechanics, engineers, etc. talk poorly or make fun of the work of the previous guy, are usually not very skilled themselves. Chances are that this is their coping mechanism. To make everyone else seem bad and themselves seem good.
Anyway, I leveled the table pretty good with the legs. I definitely want to have another mechanic come and take a look. Hopefully he’ll be able to get the table leveled dead perfect. Once again if anyone has a good mechanic for the Austin area please let me know 🙏
 
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