Steel plate joining a 3 piece slate together.

realkingcobra

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Delivering a Diamond 7ft ProAm with a one piece slate to a guys house in Des Plaines, IL. Table on the cart weighs 950lbs, by it's self weighs 800lbs. Get to the guys house and in the first picture, this is what I see, looking down from the top of the steps.

Looking down the first set of stairs, then around the corner at the top of the landing, to the next set of stairs on up to the 3rd floor. Keep in mind, this is a one piece 1" thick slate, weighing almost 500lbs.
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One of the problems with installing a 3 piece slate on a ProAm is that you lose the leveling system because the slates are screwed down with slate screws to the frame of the table, which means you can't adjust the level if the slates unless you can back off on the slate screws, in which you can't after the table is fully assembled.

So, rather than concede defeat, I took the table back to the Diamond factory and replaced the one piece slate with a 3 piece, then...back up to the customers house I go.

Once I got there, I set the table up in his garage, took the rails off so I could get at the slates...and steel plate joined the seams together with 2 flat steel flat bars 2" wide and 3/16"ths thick, drilling the slates every 6" on both sides of the seams and inserting 8x32x1" stainless steel machine screws. Once I was finished, we carried the slates upstairs and placed them on the table. I then proceeded to screw the slates to the flat bar and join the seams together. Once everything was put together, I filled the screw holes and seams with bondo, sanded off the excess, mounted the rails on the table...and dry leveled the slates. With that done, and they leveled up perfect with the Diamond leveling system, took the rails off, covered the slate with the Simonis 860HR cloth, re-installed the rails....and was done. Table plays great, and the leveling system did it's job, and the 3 piece slate is not mounted to the table no different than a one piece slate is, it's still free floating until the rail bolts are tightened down.

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Have you ever done anything like that before ? And is it something you will recomend ?
 
JoseV said:
Have you ever done anything like that before ? And is it something you will recomend ?
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Yes, I have. Once when I was working with Zach, we cut a Diamond 7ft slate in half, plate joined it back together, then took it apart and packed it down the stairs into the customer home, and put it back together just like it was never cut at all. Any more Diamond ProAms that I have to deliver that need a 3 piece slate on them, you bet.

Glen
 
you did an awesome job, i think i would have probably had a heart attack when i saw all those steps. i assume u got a little extra for this delivery and if u didn't u should have.


hud
 
hmm that means no mission is impossible for you when it comes to setting up tables. i and my stubborn ways would of used a sledge hammer and crazy clue.
 
On a separate note - nice to see the color of the bondo after you put the hardener in it, I've been mixing mine too weak. Will know better next time...
 
WOW, that's and amazing job....I don't know anyone that would or even could do that....I for one know I wouldn't even try.....you definitely have some imagination that's for sure.
I don't understand why you didn't just put the slate under your arm and carry it up the steps...LMAO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY....see ya soon.
 
perfectpocketz said:
WOW, that's and amazing job....I don't know anyone that would or even could do that....I for one know I wouldn't even try.....you definitely have some imagination that's for sure.
I don't understand why you didn't just put the slate under your arm and carry it up the steps...LMAO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY....see ya soon.
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I'll tell you what buddy, of the 1,000's and 1,000's of slates I've worked on over the last 28 years or so, I've never been able to match up the seams as well as I did on this Diamond 7ft, I think I'm going to make this my thing to do from now on with any ProAm I deliver & setup in the future if it has to have a 3 piece slate on it in order to install the table. Hell, I might even start plate joining the Diamond Professionals as well:grin:
 
ososlow said:
I think you need to do this to my table ! Please ! :thumbup:
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It could be done to your table as well, but the backing would have to be removed from the slate, and the cross member leveling system would have to be installed on the frame of your table, or there wouldn't be any way of securing the slate in place. That's what's so sweet about the cross member leveling system, it leaves the slate free floating until you bolt the rails down. Once that's done, you can then level the whole slate with the table fully assembled, cloth installed and all, because there's no slate screws to have to back off on in order to raise the slate right at the seams. Because they're steel plate joined together, if the slate has to be leveled right at that point, it can be done at any time.
 
Glen,
That was some great innovation there buddy, you truly are a professional billiard mechanic at the highest level broder. Keep truckin and the best to you in the new year.

Best,
Mo
 
For storage

The slate should be stored in three pieces with the steel bars detached, or in temperature-controlled storage. Linear thermal expansion rate of steel is almost twice that of slate, and that would likely cause problems after some number of daily heat cycles.
 
derangedhermit said:
The slate should be stored in three pieces with the steel bars detached, or in temperature-controlled storage. Linear thermal expansion rate of steel is almost twice that of slate, and that would likely cause problems after some number of daily heat cycles.
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Not a chance in this setup, wood expansion/contraction is the reason most seams pop:cool:
 
claymont said:
Why 8-32 and not another size say 1/4-28 or 3/8-24?
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18 machine screws per seam, 9 per side is more than enough to hold the seams together screwed down to the steel flat bar. The intent is to keep the seams from ever coming apart, not to bolt the slate together. As it is the 8-32 x 1" machine screws are tapped and threaded into the steel flat bar so that no nuts are used, and the slate offers no structural support to the table, so anything more to hold it together at the seams would just be an overkill.

Glen
 
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