Just wondered how many mechanics use the 2 middle legs when leveling a 6 legged table???
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Leveling a 6 legged table
- Thread starter Donny Wessels
- Start date
Thats a good question. We have always completed our normal frame leveling, then shimmed the center leg so it does not hang there. just the
same amount of weight distibuted to all of the legs
When you are correcting a sag, you are not raising the frame but shimming between it and the slate, but a middle leg bolted to a frame is going to raise that frame over its length to a degree.
P.s I could also be wrong!
same amount of weight distibuted to all of the legs
When you are correcting a sag, you are not raising the frame but shimming between it and the slate, but a middle leg bolted to a frame is going to raise that frame over its length to a degree.
P.s I could also be wrong!
I've seen a few with the center legs just there for looks. On the tables I've looked at, it looks like the center legs are mounted to the frame as solidly as the corner legs....seems a shame to not let them take some of the weight. I hope this thread will explain this; or get more installers to use these legs to help make the table even more sturdy.
sdbilliards said:
Great question Donny! .:thumbup: I level the table as I normally do. Then I put what ever shims are needed to make the center legs solid to the ground. The problem that sometimes I run into is when the slate goes on, the center reads high. So I have to relevel under the center legs. I find these tables to be a pain in the ass. I am interested to hear how others do them.
I have been leveling these tables as if they only had 4 legs, I find the center legs make things more difficult, at least on late model table where the center legs are mainly for decoration. The problem with this is when you bump the center leg it moves and if you try to shim it you take weight of the outside legs.
sdbilliards said:
I hate doing the 9ft Imperial Augustine. It has a metal bracket for the center leg and it slants towards the inner center of the table. And it is always off the ground leaning in. If you don't put enough shims under it when someone bumbs the leg it pops inward.
Donny, the trick to leveling a 6 leg table, is to first level the frame square using the 4 corner legs. After you have a square level frame, check the frame for sag end to end, then shim under the center legs, but place your levels reading from side pocket to side pocket to be able to see the effects of leveling the center legs, both side pockets should read the same from side pocket to side pocket, and the center of the frame should be flat with the ends of the frame that way. The center legs are not really for lifting the center of the table, but more for preventing the center from saging over time, so you need some of the weight of the table on the center legs, but they need to have the same weight evenly, thus the same side to side readings between the side pockets.sdbilliards said:
Glen
6 legged table used to be a pain for me but took me under his wing to see if I wanted a real challenge 6 legged Gabrial with alot of sway back for a steel frame table. It took 10+ hours to level the frame out to get all the weight even on the six legs. It was a challenge and I enjoyed all 20 hours it took.
Like Glen says start in the middle work out from there.
Craig
Like Glen says start in the middle work out from there.
Craig