Transporting a table : results and another question

[mthornto]

Thanks for the tips. I picked up the table Firday night using a pick up truck. The truck was full, but no problems. I am ordering cloth monday, I will set the table up next weekend.

The table itself is in ok condition, but this was not a great table when it was new. The table is at least 10 years old. Looks like a typical 9 foot pool room table. There are no name plates, but the metal that goes on the rails above the pockets says "National".

I currently have an 8 foot diamond, and even to my untrained eyes, I can tell the diamond is of much higher quality than this table. Still, this is a nine foot table and I have been wanting one for a while. Until I have the money (read: until my wife OKs the money) to buy a 9 foot diamond I will make due with this table.

The wood that backs the slate is loose and in some places broke. I can see that the wood was just screwed into the state. Is there any reason that I can not just buy new wood and attach it? The slate already has the countersunk holes, so this should be easy. Anything to watch out for?

The other thing that bothers me is that there is no center beam. just the frame with 2 2x4s running along the 4.5 foot length. Again, compaired to my diamond, this seem to be really poor support. It would not be hard to add a couple of additional supports on the short side, or even put a beam lengthwise. What do you, the experienced mechanics, think?

Worse case, I set this up and hate it so I just take it down and put the 8 foot diamond back up and wait another year or two to get the 9 foot table I really want.

 

[olsonsview]

I am not a full time table mechanic, but i have some experience. I think that I would not replace the wood unless it were truely in poor condition. The BCA standard says a hardwood backing, and most I have seen in Ohio have been backed with Poplar 1X strips. As far as the Table itself and the frame structure I think redoing that is not rocket science to a craftman that likes to work with wood. The key is paying attention to where you support your slates and where the weight will be tranfered to the the legs of the table. I know many have made their own tables and if you have a decent table saw and some perfectionist tendancies it could be a, interesting project. By eyeing that fine Diamond table you should also get some engineering insights in the best ways to modify the nine! Please keep us posted, it sounds like fun !

 

[SlateHumper]

National Billiard

The table you have is made by National Billiard. Probably a "Topline" or "Alamo". As you stated it is not a Diamond but they are not bad playing tables. The slate framing is made of poplar as was most slate framing for the last 150 years. Now too many manufacturers are using crap like particle board and mdf. Replacing it should be a breeze and there is no reason or cautions that would prevent this. As for the center beam... not a big deal really not a MUST have item. the table will play fine without one and will not cause any problems.

 

[mthornto]

I got the table setup this past weekend. Thanks to everybody that chimed in with advice.

It took me most of the weekend, but in the end I think I did a decent job. I ended up replacing the cushion facings and recovering the rails and bed. Since this was the first time I have covered a table, I bought a booklet at http://www.mccauleyweb.com/secrets.htm The tips and advice in the book made the covering go very smoothly, I was a bit slow but the recovering turned out great.

Leveling the table, that is a different story. I have a very hard time with that. It took me a good hour to get all three pieces of slate on the table and leveled. Then I covered the bed and attached the rails and pockets. I was all done, it looked good then I rolled a ball on the completed table. The ball practically made a 90 degree turn! Somewhere between getting the slate on and attaching the rails I knocked the table bad out of level. I tried for well over and hour to level the table and finally gave up and took the rails and cloth back off and started over. The second time I rechecked the levelness of the table after each step and was careful not to push and tug to much getting the rails square and straight. Second time it turned out very well, ball rolls true.

I am glad I did it my self, but honestly, in a couple of years when my wife lets me buy the table I really want, I will probably hire a professional!