leveling crowned slates

shtymie said:
Really? drill the hole at the high point?
Click to expand...
I would normaly agree with Pat...but, which slate is it? If its an end slate, is the center slate flat? Pat, if you recall...this was one of the very first questions I asked of all the billiards technicians when I first started posting on AZ. Before I can say anything, I gave you my phone number...702-927-5689...I need to ask you a few questions before I say anything. There could be a few reasons as to why the slate is crowned...because seldom have I ever seen just one end slate crowned, while the other slates are flat.

Glen
 
What ever you do do not sand the slates you have several options to fix this and usualy it's something simple to fix it. So don't be in a rush.

I recently put my friends table together a GC2 with 1 crowned slate or warp in it. He had the original installer take it apart and load it in his truck 3 hr drive and I was somewere else@ the time. before thy dismantled the table the mechanic said I can fix the slate for $100 and belt sanded some of the biggest groves in slate i ever saw slate looked like a lake with a light wind blowing on it small ripples.

I found the problem and there was a shim wedged between the slate and the slate backerboard that had caused the hump. So a simple leveling job became a two hour pain in the arse for real good friend of mine cause he was in a hurryto set it up. He loves the table and plays on it all the time.

I realy had to think and look for awhile to solve this one.

Glen { Realkingcobra } knows alot about tables he could help you quicker then I can probably.

Best of luck solving it,
Craig
 
Just make sure you have the table frame or crossmember underneath where your drilling, the screw will need to bite into something.
 
I'm not a mechanic, but a good thing to screw it into would be a 1/8" thick square steel 2x2 set level in the frame. No sag, no warp, true all the way across. Two bucks a foot at your local steel supplier.

Might as well pull the slate into something you know is flat.
 
Dead Crab said:
I'm not a mechanic, but a good thing to screw it into would be a 1/8" thick square steel 2x2 set level in the frame. No sag, no warp, true all the way across. Two bucks a foot at your local steel supplier.

Might as well pull the slate into something you know is flat.
Click to expand...

Steel flexes and thats a horrible idea you totaly ruin the resale why put a bandaid on a table when you can fix it right the first time.

This table could be GC4 or a Kim Steel which both have leveling screws under the slate and may not be unscrewed all the way down. There could be a hidden shim between the slate and backer board, swolen backer board from moisture. most of the time the frame was never assemled properly not square and level or parrallel or the table was stored improperly for a long time in a hot storage unitframe may have a twist in it etc.etc..

Without posting pictures of the problem and seeing how small or big the hump or crown is, is it 0.64" high or 0.250" high. drilling a hole and putting a screw in is one of the best ways to fix it might want to plane or sand down the backer board a few thousands then check it may not need a screw.

Wood is cheaper then slate $5.00 piece of wood gives 2-3 tries to fix it were slate second try $250 + per slate if its not an antique tables.

So its best to look at the basics before bringing out the pwer tools, I know this from seeing it to many times..

Craig
 
***
Steel flexes and thats a horrible idea you totaly ruin the resale why put a bandaid on a table when you can fix it right the first time.
****

Have you done the deflection calculations for the steel as I specified?

Properly installed, it ain't gonna flex under playing conditions, including parking a Cooper Mini on top of the slate. Now a poplar 2 x 10 on end isn't going to deflect much either, but if you have to add a piece of framing, steel is easier to handle, less invasive to install, and flatter than Kansas.

If you are drilling the slate to fix this thing, the resale value should already be damaged, assuming you are honest when you sell it. That bondo plug in the middle of the table is going to be sorta noticeable. It could be argued that anything short of replacing the slate is a "quick fix", unless, of course there is some sort of lump that has crawled in between the frame and slate, and removing it relaxes the slate to a true position without screw fixation.
 
Just use a straight edge to find the high spot or low spot and see what the best remedy is to fix it or see how it got there.

I thought uou were screwing the steel to the slate... If you apply it to the frame the frame would be more rigid so it would play better less flex in the frame. most tables have a sag in the middle over time anyways from gravity. So steel or wood would help with the overall performance of the table.

His proplem is with one slate normaly all three would be bad not just one be bad so it should be a fairly simple fix by removing what is making the hump a hidden shim or water soaked backer board.

best of luck solving it,

Craig
 
The problem with his slates was that one one end slate though it was flush to the center slate on both outside edges and the middle...between the middle of the slate and the outside edge of the slate...the end slate was slightly higher than the center slate...common with china made tables...I told him to run a ratchet strap around the body of the table, underneath then come up over the top of the slate. Place a small jack at the high point of the slate, run the strap over the top of the jack, tighten it tight, then jack up the jack and watch for the slates to line up flush. Then super glue that area as well as the centers and the outside edges of the slates, which will hold them in place. By doing it this way, with a jack and strap, you don't have to drill the slate and use a slate screw to pull down the high slate seam. And, in case anyone suggests shimming up the low center slate to match the high point, that won't work, because then you'll throw off the seam at the center slate as well as the outside edge of the slate.

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
I would normaly agree with Pat...but, which slate is it? If its an end slate, is the center slate flat? Pat, if you recall...this was one of the very first questions I asked of all the billiards technicians when I first started posting on AZ. Before I can say anything, I gave you my phone number...702-927-5689...I need to ask you a few questions before I say anything. There could be a few reasons as to why the slate is crowned...because seldom have I ever seen just one end slate crowned, while the other slates are flat.

Glen
Click to expand...

I have to agree. "Warped" slate is almost an impossibility - remember I said almost. Since slate is almost always honed as one giant piece and then cut into three, the likelihood that one is crowned and not the other too is almost nil. Usually if it APPEARS crowned, you'll find that there is something wedged between the slate and frame that is causing the slate to flex upward in the center.

The only piece of slate I've ever seen that was truly "warped" was one that spent a few years laid out flat across some 2x4's in a very humid storage unit and had a volkswagon engine block sitting on top of it for all that time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top