Great Post By Glen On Leveling Slates. Just Finished Leveling My Dream Table,5x10 Elite Pro 3 Cushion. It Took Me Three Weeks And Four Tries To Get It With In Reason. 5x10 Is A Whole Lot Of Real Estate, Like Leveling A Foot Ball Field. This Table Was Very Well Thought Out When It Comes To Leveling.there Are 12 Leveling Pads On The Legs And 12 Leveling Screws At The Slate Joints To Help Overcome Sag At Joints And Aid In Matching The Height Of The Opposing Slate. Im Not A Table Mechanic Im A Tool And Die Maker With Forty Years Experience In Close Tolerance Work.these Are Some Of My Observations.the Slates Are Not Absolutely Flat,they Have Their Own Topography,slight Highs And Lows Left After Grinding.avoid Using The Slate Bolts To Bend The Slate,the Slate Is As Flat As Its Going To Be From The Factory.i Bought A Package Of Slotted Shims From Mcmaster Carr .002 .oo3 .004 .oo5. .010 .o15 .020 .030 .060. I Used These Under The Slates At The Bolt Locations To Get Each Slate As Level As Possible.it Worked Very Well, I Could Selectively Fit The Proper Shim Pack Under Each Slate Bolt To Get As Close As Possible To Level.i Used An Indicator On A Surface Gage Placed On The Opposite Slate With Indicator On The Slate I Was Leveling.i Could Then Press Down On The Slate To See Where It Was Rocking, Shimming As Needed.in My Opinion The Slate Bolts Should Be Used Only To Hold Location Of The Slates.i Used A Machinist Level Rated At .005/foot Used Over A Long Level That Was Verified Straight Placed On Top Of Two Parallel Blocks. Each Slate Was Leveled And Height Matched As Close As Possible.i Then Used The Leveling Pads On The Legs To Micro Adjust And Fine Tune The Table As An Entire Unit.i Then Rechecked Each Slate Using Only The Level On The Four Outside Edges And Crosswise From Corner To Corner.this Is The Time When You Will Detect The Shape Of The Playing Surace.if I Was Using A Level With .ooo5/foot(thats 500 Millionths Per Foot)accuracy.i Think Id Be Crazy By Now.a Carpenters Will Not Be Accurate Enough,.005/foot Reasonable,.0005/foot Overkill. Lastly I Did A Stupidity Check. I Put A Piece Of Quality Paper About 18x18 In Various Locations On Each Slate,and Placed A New Aramith Ball In The Center.i Gave The Ball A Very Slight Push In Four Directions To See If It Would Run Off Line,it Traveled In A Straight Line Every Time. Hope This Is A Valid Test. I Hope This Information Helps Someone Else To Level A Table Within Reason.any Comments From You Pros Are Certantly Welcome.i Sure Have Learned A Lot From This Site. Next Time Ill Try To Post How We Moved 2 Inch Slates (480 Lbs Each) And Assembled The Table Using An Engine Hoist.
