why not steel instead of slate?

In the 1820's John Thurston started using slate for the beds of pool tables, around the same time the table company Sharps and Roberts made an attempt to use iron. The idea was abandoned because of the cost, the rusting of the iron beds ruining the cloth and the sound of the balls on the table was considered "unpleasant".
 
Southpaw said:
As a table mechanic, I would surely hate to have to move a table knowing it had a steel bed. Not sure how you could seal the seams on a three piece steel bed and a one piece would be nearly impossible to move. I think the temperature factor would matter also, most metals expand the warmer they get so bees wax may not suffice. JMO.

Southpaw
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........... Mr. Jewett is probably right, deleting my comments.
 
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You guys are thinking all wrong.

Don't think steel. Think Carbon Fiber.

Imagine.....you can roll into any room with your sporty Justis 2x4 for your cues and the hot new Justis 1x1 9' Table case. Whip out the Diamond Ultra-Light table assemble in 15 minutes, hit the Auto-Level and.....BOOM! You're in action.

If having your own cue is a knock I wonder what the fish would think if you brought your own table?

:D
 
What would be the cost of a 6'X9'x1.5" of rust proof steel machined on all sides and drilled and pinned.

Of course the table bases would have to be beefed up and re-engineered as well. Steel weighs 3 to 4 times am much as slate.

Best guess is that the table would have to cost 5 times as much as slate to get the same performance and that is being conservative.
 
Paul Dayton said:
What would be the cost of a 6'X9'x1.5" of rust proof steel machined on all sides and drilled and pinned.

Of course the table bases would have to be beefed up and re-engineered as well. Steel weighs 3 to 4 times am much as slate.

Best guess is that the table would have to cost 5 times as much as slate to get the same performance and that is being conservative.
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Great point.

A lightning fast Google-Fu strike turned up this for an idea of what something along those lines would cost.

4X8 sheet of A36 Steel (not sure if this even has the stainless properties needed but it is a big hunk of metal) 1.5" thick is $2,038.72

That is just the raw stock, no machining or any of the other work that would be needed to get it to a state where it could actually be used.

As for what really high tech stainless alloys would go for in that size....crazy. I am sure some of the machinists on this board can give us a clue.
 
Steel plate is far too expensive. Slate is far cheaper than other materials like steel, granite, and corian.

As an alternative, I built a steel frame table with an MDF surface bonded to it.

Don't laugh. The steel frame is truer than any wood frame could be.

It plays well, no seams, and was dirt cheap. Hasn't developed any imperfections after a year of use.
 
JCIN said:
Great point.

4X8 sheet of A36 Steel (not sure if this even has the stainless properties needed but it is a big hunk of metal) 1.5" thick is $2,038.72

That is just the raw stock, no machining or any of the other work that would be needed to get it to a state where it could actually be used.

As for what really high tech stainless alloys would go for in that size....crazy. I am sure some of the machinists on this board can give us a clue.
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A36 would start rusting very quickly, eventually pitting. If steel must be used it would have to be stainless. A 1 inch thick piece of stainless that size would cost around 8 grand.
 
Hambone said:
A36 would start rusting very quickly, eventually pitting. If steel must be used it would have to be stainless. A 1 inch thick piece of stainless that size would cost around 8 grand.
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maybe a ~1/4 sheet high strength steel clad with a sheet of some composite material? i don't see it being financially feasible either way. just researching the proper and cheapest combination alone..
 
smashmouth said:
1/3 inch thick bed 1 piece would weigh about the same as a 1 inch thick slate 1 piece
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Diamond one piece 9ft slate, 57 x 107 x 1" = 618lbs witout backing, now what do you think that solid steel is going to weigh in at the same dementions? Even in 3 pieces, you'd need a crane to move them;)

Glen
 
I can't help but to ponder the possibility of stored static electricity from the combination of friction created by the balls moving the felt over steel then being conducted to ground through your body when you set your bridge hand down to shoot your next shot. That could add a whole new dimension to the game.
 
Steel wouldn't need to be any where near as thick as slate.

I hear everyone talking about how heavy steel is. If steel were used, it wouldn't have to be anywhere near as thick as slate because it's not brittle. Slate is as thick as it is so that it doesn't break. You don't have to worry about stainless steel breaking. You could use some 3/4" MDF as a backing for 1/4" stainless steel plating. It should actually weigh less than one inch slate with a wood backing and could be possibly set up either as one piece or as two or three piece with grooved joins as it's much easier to have a perfect seam with steel as with slate.

Jaden
 
Jaden said:
I hear everyone talking about how heavy steel is. If steel were used, it wouldn't have to be anywhere near as thick as slate because it's not brittle. Slate is as thick as it is so that it doesn't break. You don't have to worry about stainless steel breaking. You could use some 3/4" MDF as a backing for 1/4" stainless steel plating. It should actually weigh less than one inch slate with a wood backing and could be possibly set up either as one piece or as two or three piece with grooved joins as it's much easier to have a perfect seam with steel as with slate.

Jaden
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Are you even aware of the cost of slate for a 9ft table???? To a manufacture is around $200.00 a set, are all of you who are sugesting using steel for a playing surface really willing to pay 3, 4, 6 times the cost of using steel in a pool table, just in order to have a table with a steel playing surface in it????? Where's the savings?????????

Glen
 
'm just thinking of the ease of setup.

realkingcobra said:
Are you even aware of the cost of slate for a 9ft table???? To a manufacture is around $200.00 a set, are all of you who are sugesting using steel for a playing surface really willing to pay 3, 4, 6 times the cost of using steel in a pool table, just in order to have a table with a steel playing surface in it????? Where's the savings?????????

Glen
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I was just thinking that it would be easier to setup than slate, not everyone can afford to buy brand new diamonds and have you come out and set them up Glen. I found out the hard way that if you don't setup tables for several years and then do it, it's not as easy as it once was.lol......

JAden.

I was also just typing in mind with the thread. being devil's advocate so to speak. I would have to look into the feasibility of it further if I took it serious. I mean if you had a factory and actually had a market for it, you could set it up to stamp out the corners and automatically machine the bed steel and it might bring down costs somewhat....I don't know. Again it was just for the sake of argument more than anything else as far as I'm concerned.
 
Jaden said:
I hear everyone talking about how heavy steel is. If steel were used, it wouldn't have to be anywhere near as thick as slate because it's not brittle. Slate is as thick as it is so that it doesn't break. You don't have to worry about stainless steel breaking. You could use some 3/4" MDF as a backing for 1/4" stainless steel plating. It should actually weigh less than one inch slate with a wood backing and could be possibly set up either as one piece or as two or three piece with grooved joins as it's much easier to have a perfect seam with steel as with slate.

Jaden
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Good point Jaden. Also the 1/4 inch plating might help my jump shots. With my limited knowledge of physics I do believe that steel has better elastic properties then slate, meaning it will give and reshape itself, allowing more bounce to the cueball.??? Any ideas on this? Anyone?
 
Why not go with high grade aluminum?

Its considerably less expensive and has similar properties. We could get by with a quarter inch piece.
 
I thought about that as well.

maxeypad2007 said:
Why not go with high grade aluminum?

Its considerably less expensive and has similar properties. We could get by with a quarter inch piece.
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I though about that as well, but it is more prone to denting, but you wouldn't have to worry about rust occurring.

Jaden.

Frank, yeah, it would probably make jumping the ball easier. Although it's possible that it would make it more difficult. I think that it's the elastic properties of the ball and the inelasticity of the slate that allows for jumping. I'm just not sure on that one Frank, good question.
 
> If you REALLY wanted to go whole-hog,just call Starrett Mfg. and ask for a 1" thick pink granite surface plate,like you see in metrology labs and machine shops. I'm not kidding,the accuracy can be as high as =/- .00001,but you'd probably be looking in the neighborhood of 10k :eek:.

I'm with our resident expert on Ophiophagus Hannah (KingCobra),and wonder why anyone would explore the possibility of using steel for this. Tommy D.
 
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