Pool Ball triangle rack measurements

oldplayer

oldplayer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
apologize if this is the wrong thread....I have been to 2 or 3 websites looking for the exact measurements of the rack itself and have found some differences. I am wanting to construct one from some teak that I got from a shipwreck in the Caribbean so I do not have any to waste. anyone here have the exact dimensions inside, outside & height & width of sides? thanking you in advance! :)
 
There are a few different rack sizes, you should actually find one at a pool room that racks well and measure it. Or see if the Delta 13 rack makers will give you the specs.

From what I have seen on the racks that I like, there is enough space behind the rack to stick 2 sideways fingers through to push the balls together. Given that 5 balls across are 12.5", the rack would be a bit over 13" on each side. Maybe that's where the 13 in "Delta 13" comes from.
 
Isn't the only important measurement the angle that goes around the head ball?

Granted, it would be best to have any side useable as the head ball point, but getting 3 perfects would be much harder...
 
Basic geometry says a triangle will have corners adding up to 180*. A pool rack triangle is an equilateral triangle, which each corner is the same. So each corner will form a 60* angle. Which means each piece will have a 30* cut on each end. The only way a triangle can be too big is if it doesn't fit onto the table, and too small means balls won't fit. Leave an inch of room behind the balls is ideal. Basically interior of the triangle will be 13"+ in size
 
Maybe you could sweet-talk the delta 13 folks out of 3 corner braces and make the sides with your teak? That would be fairly snazzy.
 
The common mistake by triangle makers -- other than using flimsy material -- is that they use too large a radius for the head ball to fit against. You want a smaller radius than the ball and the head ball should not touch the curved part of the triangle. Of course nothing requires you to radius the corner.
 
Like Rack-the 9 said - I'd find one I liked and trace it on paper and transfer that to something stiffer like matt board. You could then make accurate measurements from that. You could also overlay graph paper for more accurate results. Find the radius with a compass or dividers and then construct one from scrap. Once you have a working mock-up with the corner joints you want - move on to final construction with the teak.
 
Hits 'em Hard said:
Basic geometry says a triangle will have corners adding up to 180*. A pool rack triangle is an equilateral triangle, which each corner is the same. So each corner will form a 60* angle. Which means each piece will have a 30* cut on each end. The only way a triangle can be too big is if it doesn't fit onto the table, and too small means balls won't fit. Leave an inch of room behind the balls is ideal. Basically interior of the triangle will be 13"+ in size
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I love the "The only way a triangle can be too big is if it doesn't fit onto the table" part. Just paints a funny picture in my head.:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:

Personally, my favorite wooden rack are the ones that come with Diamond tables, if I was going to build a wood rack I would model it after that one. Delta 13 Elite is still my favorite though, thats why I have that one. Say no to plastic racks.
 
thanks to all thus far........I have read that the most important thing is the 60 deg angle and thereby cutting the 30 deg piece for each corner....I will try and get the specs on the diamond table one. thanks for the leads. I want to start this weekend! I send pics when done, hopefully it will fit on the table! :grin:
 
The thickness of the sides is up to you. A quarter inch is about right, I think, depending on the material. The height needs to be tall enough that the balls are sitting against a flat surface. If you round the edges of the sides, you need to have a little extra height or the balls will be sitting against the rounded surface. How the corners look is up to you, but the Diamond design is bad for 14.1 because the sharp corner sticks up-table farther than more rounded triangles and interferes with more marginal break balls.

You need to round the edges of the sides or you will get a lot of splinters during use.
 
I went to the diamond pool table site and saw the triangle racks they offer. while they do not price them, they are exactly what I had in mind to make. I emailed the admin so we will see how that goes......thanks for all the leads! :thumbup:
 
since I am getting so much help from my fellow azers.....here is background on the teak. when the sailboat trip was waning after 7 years and my wife and I needed to return to the states we stopped on a small island (30 yds X 100yds) belonging to Venezuela known as "Bajo Nuevo" (Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as the Petrel Islands, is a small, uninhabited reef with some small islets, covered with grass, located in the western Caribbean Sea at 15°53′N 78°38′W / 15.883°N 78.633°W, with a lighthouse on Low Cay at 15°51′N), picture below. there was a wooden sailboat broken in half and about 40 yds apart on the beach. I used a small crow bar for hours ripping some of the teak deck off and bringing it back to the usa. we had intended to stay only a couple of days but ended up there for a week! I have made a picture frame, nunchucks, chalk holder, ball counter for 14.1 and a couple of other things. any other pool related ideas? I don't have much of it left though.
bajo.png
 
hang-the-9 said:
There are a few different rack sizes, you should actually find one at a pool room that racks well and measure it. Or see if the Delta 13 rack makers will give you the specs.

From what I have seen on the racks that I like, there is enough space behind the rack to stick 2 sideways fingers through to push the balls together. Given that 5 balls across are 12.5", the rack would be a bit over 13" on each side. Maybe that's where the 13 in "Delta 13" comes from.
Click to expand...

Delta-13 does include specifications with all their elite racks so that might be an option if you know someone with one - or measuring. The 13 has nothing to do with the rack size although delta is the shape.

From the delta-13 website

"DELTA" is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet which resembles a triangle. "13" is for Aluminum's atomic number on the Periodic Table of Elements.
 
oldplayer said:
I went to the diamond pool table site and saw the triangle racks they offer. while they do not price them, they are exactly what I had in mind to make. I emailed the admin so we will see how that goes......thanks for all the leads! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I measured a Diamond triangle, and it looks to me like the sides were made from pieces that were approximately 3/4" x 1 1/2" x 15 13/16" before any sanding, rounding, corner cutting, etc. The corners have box joints (finger joints) and triangular braces inside the angles, and the sides have finger grooves on the outside.
 
How are you planning on constructing the corners? Do you have a thickness planer?

I have a delta 13 elite I'll get measurements for you later.
 
AtLarge said:
I measured a Diamond triangle, and it looks to me like the sides were made from pieces that were approximately 3/4" x 1 1/2" x 15 13/16" before any sanding, rounding, corner cutting, etc. The corners have box joints (finger joints) and triangular braces inside the angles, and the sides have finger grooves on the outside.
Click to expand...

yea, I emailed diamond yesterday for this very information....do not have an answer from them but I really appreciate your giving it to me.i probably will go to a local wood craftsman for the finger joints though, I can't risk screwing those up! ...another step forward in beginning construction. I am going to cut 30 deg pieces for the corners out of teak to match the rack. this afternoon I am going to the pool hall to draw the inside of a plastic rack as my template. making progress! thanks everyone! :thumbup:
 
oldplayer said:
yea, I emailed diamond yesterday for this very information....do not have an answer from them but I really appreciate your giving it to me.i probably will go to a local wood craftsman for the finger joints though, I can't risk screwing those up! ...another step forward in beginning construction. I am going to cut 30 deg pieces for the corners out of teak to match the rack. this afternoon I am going to the pool hall to draw the inside of a plastic rack as my template. making progress! thanks everyone! :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Just don't depend on the 30-degree cuts to get the angles right. The working surfaces (where the balls touch) need to be at 60 degrees very precisely. The error should be less than about 0.005 inches over nine inches of surface. You will probably need an accurate form to clamp onto for the assembly. If the angle is not 60 degrees you won't be able to get a tight rack.
 
I'm not a rack maker, nor a professional racker, but one thing I always noticed with most wooden racks is that they have a tendency to "stick" to the balls when the rack is lifted. This causes the balls to move and you have to "fiddle" with the rack to get all the balls frozen together.

Not being a scientist or a rocket engineer, I think the rack should be made of the "slickest" material available that won't "cling" to the balls. You want the balls to be "sticking together", you don't want the rack sticking to the balls.

Also, the less of the rack that is actually touching the balls would lessen the friction when the balls are pushed into the rack and when the rack is removed.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Just don't depend on the 30-degree cuts to get the angles right. The working surfaces (where the balls touch) need to be at 60 degrees very precisely. The error should be less than about 0.005 inches over nine inches of surface. You will probably need an accurate form to clamp onto for the assembly. If the angle is not 60 degrees you won't be able to get a tight rack.
Click to expand...

now you are scaring me but I appreciate the head's up.......notice taken!
thanks Bob
 
Just got around to posting these pics. Hope they help your cause. May I suggest you have your woodworking friend make a prototype? Getting the 60 degree angle is very important. Relying on the built in angle gage of the table saw won't cut it. I'm a lifelong woodworker, and getting very precise angles takes dedicated jigs set up just for the purpose, after they are fine tuned.


IMG_9183.jpg
This pic shows a Delta 13 Elite rack, and a cheap no-name wood rack I have. All the balls are properly frozen.

IMG_9184.jpg
This pic shows the head ball is touched in the front. As Bob mentioned, you do not want this.

IMG_9185.jpg
This pic shows the gap in front of the head ball. This is what you want.

IMG_9186.jpg
This pic shows the space behind the last row of balls.

IMG_9187.jpg
This pic shows the space behind the last row of balls.
 
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