Who uses/ knows of a portable pool table FOR TRAINING ONLY with folding legs?

K2Kraze said:
His skill level is currently a C. And stays there for the most part simply due to lack of pocketing practice, drills, routine, aiming Etc - all the things those of us with tables have the luxury to develop on an accessible table. So we're trying to see what reasonable solutions there are.


LIVFST
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A "C" player will have tons of hole in his game. IMO, drills would benefit a C more than strategy or match play. You can do tons of drills using just 1/4 of the table. A barbox against the corner of the room would provide a platform to do a countless number of position drills that would definitely fill some holes in his game, and be transferrable to real match situations.
 
As a newly minted C myself, I used to practice my form on an ironing board set the same height as pool table, when I didn't have access to a pool table.

K2Kraze said:
His skill level is currently a C. And stays there for the most part simply due to lack of pocketing practice, drills, routine, aiming Etc - all the things those of us with tables have the luxury to develop on an accessible table. So we're trying to see what reasonable solutions there are.


LIVFST
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To the original poster, K2Kraze:

I’m guessing that since the place where your friend plays in a league is an hour away, the distance is probably something like 45 miles or so.

Again guessing, it seems likely that somewhere within a radius area of those 45(?) miles swung around his home, there are all manner of fraternal organization venues (Elks, Moose, VFWs, American Legion, etc), many of them often having a pool table or two and a much shorter distance to drive for several solo quality practice sessions a week during any hours when the tables are little used. (Empty tables are commonly the case during a lot of day and night hours.)

Where I lived in a very rural area of Vermont, the entire state’s sparse 3 pool rooms were far more than an hour’s drive away for much of the population, and it was very common for pool-loving residents who lacked the home space or funds for a personal pool table, to join any one (or several) of the aforementioned organizations not only for socializing (or patriotic) reasons, but to enjoy frequent solo-practicing on the tables they might have available.

I did this for several years before installing a table in my expanded home. The annual fees are quite modest in most fraternal organizations and you often meet a few very experienced players, some whom are very local and even do have their own table that you might never have known about before joining a given Legion Hall, Elks Club, Moose Lodge, etc.

Hope this helps your friend.

Arnaldo
 
iusedtoberich said:
A "C" player will have tons of hole in his game. IMO, drills would benefit a C more than strategy or match play. You can do tons of drills using just 1/4 of the table. A barbox against the corner of the room would provide a platform to do a countless number of position drills that would definitely fill some holes in his game, and be transferrable to real match situations.
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That's exactly what was I was thinking - and the challenge now is to find the solution. A typical full size slate-bed table is not an option for him. Zero. It cannot be committed to any one location or room for any amount of time other than each practice session. Thus the "portable" requirement while retaining the table qualities he needs. He doesn't "need" rock solid like my 1200# brunswick. He needs good rails. Good cloth. Spec pockets. No slate. The basic definition of a conundrum :-)


LIVFST
 
Thank you for the ideas, Arnaldo - he has looked into every option you mentioned to no avail. He's in a jam - the next step is to engineer, design and build a true "portable" training table - surely he's only one amongst THOUSANDS of players that would love to have a "real" table without having the "real" PITA challenge of space and dedicated room.


LIVFST
 
DJ14.1 said:
I agree with most of what the others have said. Better than nothing for a beginner, worse than nothing for an advanced player. Probably be good for aiming, mechanics and general angles. But nearly all aspect of position play would corrupt his game on the makeshift table. Small barbox on wheels is probably the way to go if it can be moved....which could also double as some kind of productive work table if you have a good cover made.

Since I'm an engineer, I feel obligated to think about this more lol....which I will. I wonder if something with UHMW substituting for slate could give anything worthwhile...hmm. Might expand and contract too much in temperature change, and it's expensive. But it'd sure be lighter than slate and play better than wood I'm guessing.
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Any ideas from an engineers perspective regarding material options to replace traditional slate beds for a potable full-sized "training table"? What's better than MDF but less than slate? Ideally light weight but retains a near perfect level surface. Think light steel or aluminum sub-frame that the material can be bolted to and through the rails like traditional table construction? Envision the rails, bed and pockets being one unit on a steel/aluminum frame that can be separated completely from the legs or sub-frame.


LIVFST
 
Would something like this work for you? I would imagine the legs could be hinged.
 

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What's the climate where he/you live?

Reason I ask is I've thought of doing the Drew Carey thing and having a pool table in my backyard (even though I have a fairly good one in the basement).

You can often find Valley's or similar for $200 or so.

I'd just build a "roof" for it that slips over the top and has sides that go to the ground. Light enough to take off by one person.

As long as the base is solid enough, it should stay level for quite awhile and easy to fix when it goes out.
 
K2Kraze said:
Any ideas from an engineers perspective regarding material options to replace traditional slate beds for a potable full-sized "training table"? What's better than MDF but less than slate? Ideally light weight but retains a near perfect level surface. Think light steel or aluminum sub-frame that the material can be bolted to and through the rails like traditional table construction? Envision the rails, bed and pockets being one unit on a steel/aluminum frame that can be separated completely from the legs or sub-frame.


LIVFST
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Maybe 1.25-1.5" thk. UHMWPE or a lighter weight stone. The problem is alot of the reason tables play the way they do is because of the material properties of slate (hardness, density, etc), which means weight. If a decent lighter alternative were available, slate would have been discontinued a long time ago. Perhaps something in the aerospace industry is worth poking around into....if you don't mind spending more than the cost of a car for a fold-away pool table :-)
 
You might also take the real-deal thick heavy slate pieces and mill away the underside in a structurally engineered way to preserve its integrity and eliminate maybe 30%-40% of the weight. Still gonna be heavy but it would be movable....and expensive. If the cutaways were done right, the table would probably play pretty good, but still not as good as the real deal. And if you broke it, you wouldn't sleep again considering how much it cost to machine it :-)
 
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