How to Level a Pool Table
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- čas přidán 26. 01. 2021
- Having your pool table accurately leveled is imperative to a good game.
In this video, I will show you step-by-step how to level your pool table from the ground up. Although it isn't the easiest of jobs, with a bit of patience, the proper tools, and the right knowledge, it is something that you can do yourself.
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The above list of tools covers roughly 95% of all of the tools I use. Some I use multiples (such as scratch awls, tack hammers, and wrenches/sockets). This list does not include shop-tools. These are just the tools a pool table mechanic would need "in the field" to get a table disassembled, reassembled, and leveled.
Some of the links and other products that appear on this video are from companies which Creative Restorations will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Each purchase made from these links will help to support this channel with no additional cost to you.
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I grew up in the town of Athol, MA, nicknamed “Tool Town”, where Starrett Tools is headquartered. Men and women still walk to work in the big brick factory on the Millers River downtown. Owner Doug Starrett is a generous and kind town leader and philanthropist. Although many of their products are now made overseas, the core business for high-quality measuring tools is still based in MA. Thank you for showing us that bubble level, Doug. It’s a gem.
Thank you for taking the time to pass along your knowledge. My brother and I attempted to level a 3 piece with playing cards and a couple carpenter levels, I suppose if we kept at it, eventually would have got it. He had to leave so we stopped. I found this video and I'm going to start from scratch. The frame was leveled using a 6' and 2' carpenters, same as you did. When it came time for the fine adjustments, we had no clue and struggled. I ordered a machinists level yesterday, not a Starrett but one more affordable. Your instructions are priceless and make it look so simple. While waiting for the level, I'll use your techniques to replace the rail cloth. Again, Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I happen to be a Machinist, I own 2 Starrett 98- 12s. My old 8' one piece coin op bar table is dead on, took a bit of fussing around. As far as carpenters levels go, Stabila levels are the best in the business. They don't give em away though. Thank you sir!
THANK YOU DOUG! Your videos have been a great help with setting up my first table so far. I've got the slates leveled and waxed. They turned out great! PATIENCE is key, and trust me when I say you need a machinist level. I was fortunate enough to borrow one from my uncle. I start on the cloth and rails tomorrow.
I do like my machinist level. I would not recommend spending the money unless you do this regularly. Reversing directions on the level is good confirmation. I'm sure this gets it as close as necessary, as little things like temperature and humidity will likely cause more deflection than any leveling error, but you wont notice. More likely in those cases you will notice more the change in felt characteristics than levelness.
A penny slide across two adjacent slate pieces can provide another confirmation that they are even as you will feel and hear a difference if one slate is a RCH off. More sensitive than my finger touch. My slate has always required a few shims center table to keep perfectly smooth and level across entire seam. These shims are small and can be made with a knife and piece of pine.
Don't get smart like me and use playing cards as shims under the table. Little kids will find them and remove. I guess a razor blade could have helped. Live and learn. (Not on the kids, on the cards).
Thanks for the video. Getting ready to re-felt and cushion my Overland table (defunct Missouri company) that is very typical of standard 8' home table.
I am not a professional table mechanic, but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express.
Dude thank you for the classical music @ 10:10. Perfect 😊
Great video. Can't wait to see your video about reglueing cloth.
great video thank you
A very helpful video. Thanks!
Very helpful! Thank you!
Great diagram illustration! Can't find a better steps breakdown
Excellent explanation on the Starrett 98-12 level and the point of diminishing returns. I looked up the specs of the 98-12 and the bubble is even more accurate than the one I use to calibrate my surveying tribrachs (I'm a surveyor by profession), though not by much. And the 98-12 is a LOT more practical for tasks such as leveling pool tables.
Sure wish I had a table...
Thank you very much!
I do find that people tend to obsess over hyper-accuracy that ends up costing WAY more money than the task deserves.
Thanks for watching!
@@CreativeRestorations Indeed. And if one were trying to use the costlier, more precise and accurate level for such a task it would very likely be an exercise in frustration due to the substantial additional time and effort invested for no practical gain whatsoever. One does not need to build an atomic clock when a Swiss watch will do :)
Great video Great Information Thank you
Great video thank you.
Love the Shure mic. Quality video all around.
Thanks 👍
Thank you Doug
Just got our pool table from a family for $80. Its stained and filthy and beat up. Have a specialist coming out on wednesday to refelt the table for us. Only problem right now is room to shoot, its not perfectly level and the bumper on one side of the table doesnt bounce the ball off very well. Hope we can get it all fixed
Love your videos very informative.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
By the way thank you for all the videos that you made I enjoyed them
Do you need to go under the table and add shims to any gaps in the slate and frame in the middle of the slabs?
Hello .. thank you for your amazing vedio
Can i ask of the slate material and what its made of
I use mdf wood and the wood always get curved in or out in the middle
great video. I used to re cover pool tables. what would explain seeing technicians using shims underneath a pool table under the middle of the table ?
Even slate can sag across 4 feet. Middle shims just fill gaps to ensure support across the span
I thank you for your videos. I will be attempting my own recover very soon. Purchased Maui cloth.. figured if I messed it up it’s not a huge loss. I am very capable and attentive… here’s my only question: cloth tension seems to be a learned skill. You seem to put a lot of tension on a stapled cloth. Is there any rule of thumb for tension? I appreciate your help
You're right. It is a learned skill. You've got to stretch it tight enough, but not so tight that it rips. Unfortunately, there is no scale indicating the "right" amount of tension. You've just got to "feel" it. Also, every cloth is going to react and preform different. The amount of tension you'd put on Simonis and Tour Edition is different than what you would put on Invitational cloth. And, that's going to be different than Maui cloth. All I can say is, stretch it to the point where you feel comfortable. Good luck with it!
Glad you're getting something out of my "rambling" videos!
Hopefully your checking slates for sag with strait edges and feeler gauges. I just got a 20 y.o. Brunswick and the middle slate is sagging by 40 thousandths in the middle. Everything perfectly level and the cue ball does a u turn!
Thank you for your expertise,
Question: which is better, a 3 piece or a single piece slate?
I prefer a 3 piece slate table. With a single piece, you only have 4 points to actually level the table. You can "flex" the slate in between those 4 points. But, there really isn't much movement that can be had.
With a 3 piece slate table, you have those same 4 points at the legs plus 4 additional points on EACH slate and you have the slight "flexing" of the slate. This gives you a total of 16 points to level plus flex.
Just my $0.02.
Great video and explanation. Would you start with the side to side adjustment on the highest end first? It seems like any side to side adjustment after that would also throw off the end to end levelling you have done.
Yes. You always want to level off your table to the highest point on the highest slate. Go side to side on that slate first. Then, when you level everything out head to toe, they should (in theory) all be level side to side. But, you do want to double-check each slate side to side as you progress.
@@CreativeRestorations How do you determine which slate is the highest? I didn't see that explained and I can't think of a way to do it with a 12" level, or any level that doesn't span the length of all the slates.
@@dbierman2001 I concur, and would like to see the answer to this important question. It seems like the author may be assuming the slate is perfectly flat and is equivalent to a precision straight edge. He also relies heavily on matching the slate junctions by finger feel. I wonder how accurate that really is.
Working through my own levelling and recovering - what do you do when you can't screw down into the frame through the slate? The slate on my table floats and the only thing I can screw to is a skirt of MDF all the way around the frame that is used for a staple surface for the cloth.
No screws go into the frame itself so I can't figure out how to level above and screw down to the line.
Amazing work. Do you find that tables go out of level over time? What causes this?
Thank you very much!
If a table is installed properly and it isn't abused afterwards, it's fairly uncommon for a table to go out of level.
A house settling over time can cause it. If it's either a raised house, the table is installed on a floor other than the first floor (multi-story homes), the floor joists can settle. Trees planted outside - as the tree grows, so do the roots. They are incredibly powerful and can lift the concrete slab enough over time to cause everything to be unlevel.
Moving the table (even a few inches) without disassembling and reassembling it. Not having enough shims placed around the perimeter of the slate (especially at the seams).
Other than that, there really isn't anything else that could play a factor.
Hope this helps.
Doug...very helpful video. Question...are you driving the wood shims directly at/to/under the slate hold down screws? It kind of looks like you are...or are you just driving them near the screw? ( cant quite tell). If you are driving to the screws, then screwing them down thru the wood shims, why are you doing so? Thanks, Bob in WV
I drive them in as close to the screws as possible. I don't want to drive the screws through the shims in case there's any minor adjustments that still need to be made.
thanks, for the great information. I would like info. on how to reduce my pocket-size to 4 inches in the corners and 4.5 for side pockets, not doubling up on the facings. Full size gc4
Thank you very much!
Unfortunately, the videos I do are limited to the jobs that customers want. I have to have 1) a customer with a Gold Crown and 2) they would have to want to have their pockets tightened using that method.
When that job comes along, I'll be sure to do a video of it.
Any tips on how to level after the fact? Unfortunately, I just found this video and I’ve finished applying the felt and bumpers on my table but need to somehow raise the table from one side according to my 4ft level.
Can I add shims under the legs of the table?
Nope. Should be done as the table is being installed.
You said in the last one you would touch on or briefly rundown levelong a bar box or coin op. I was really imterested in that particular information. Did you just make a different video on it that I'm missing or did you decide not to touch on that?
Sorry. I haven't done that video. My main business has changed significantly and CZcams video production has had to take a back seat. If I do another coin-op table in the near future, I'll be sure to make a video of it.
How tight do you need to tighten the screw? In my first attempt at leveling I was making it as tight as possible and with each failed attempt the thread was starting to wear, but from your video is seems you just tighten until you get the level to the desired level, and using your method would not wear the thread even if it takes many retries..
The screws holding the slate down aren't really intended to be highly torqued. It isn't like you're attaching a rim of a car to the rotor. The slate weighs a LOT (roughly 250 pounds each). So, they're not going to go anywhere even if all you do is just tighten the screws to the point where they just engage the slate. The screws are there really to prevent lateral movement and to assist in leveling. That's it.
Tightening the screws like you're tightening lug nuts is a recipe for broken screws, stripped out holes, and stripped out screw heads.
I'll be uploading an another video talking about the finer points of leveling a table soon. Stay tuned!!!
FYI, the Starrett 98-12 can be purchased new for around $230.00.
I see a vintage Starrett 98Z-12 on Craigslist for $275
My problem is cant get my level calibrated a new one just like yours
My heritage table has one large particle board piece 4x8 that the slates sit on. Do I put the shims between this and the slate? Or between this and the table frame??
You should watch my "Outdoor Pool Table" series. It addresses this exact issue.
on A.H. tables (top liners) all wedges must be put underneath the table, not from side .
I'm just learning. If the frame is level why is the slates not level?
Can you use a builders level for leveling a pool table. I have an antique transit I was going to use.
I've done the same and it rolled true, just need to be sure the bubble is centered perfectly.
I have an 8ft CL Bailey...the company that leveled used a machinist level and I was there the entire time...he seemed very meticulous and got it very level....BUT...as I really slow roll a ball towards 1 of the pockets and about 18 inches from the pocket it seems to roll off about a balls width to one side....it ONLY does it with this one pocket....I'm not sure the issue and feel like it shouldn't be like that...if I put any amount of speed on the ball.it rolls true but I feel like it should be better than that. Any advice or help would be great.
That's a difficult one. It could be that one of your slates is off-level. It could also be that one of the slates isn't honed 100% true; causing a dip in that one area. The only way to find out is to get it back down to bare slate and use a machinist's level on that one slate. You would have to leave the slate in place (screwed down exactly as is) and move the level around to several spots. The slate could be cupped or crowned in that one area.
It could also be your cloth. Cloth is woven. So, it is possible (although less likely than the slate being the problem) that the ball could be following the weave of the cloth.
It's impossible for me to know for sure what's causing the problem without being there and seeing what it's doing and preforming tests first hand. But, hopefully this narrows it down for you.
Thank you so much for your response. After further investigation it seems to be down that one side...although not as precise as a machinists level..I used my carpenters level and it was dead centered...should I maybe try to shim that one side...like with a playing card or something small? I have a video of what it does but I don't know how to upload it here
Would it be more secure to make the slate bolt go through the wedge? I guess you'd need more gradual wedges....
I'm glad you recovered (No pun intended)!
Thank you! I'm feeling better and better with each passing day.
I actually did screw the slate screws through the wedge on this table. However, it isn't really necessary. They're a friction fit. And, with the pressure exerted by the screws, the wedges aren't going anywhere.
Do you use special hardwood shims or just the more common cedar shims?
Just regular door shims from Home Depot.
Does it have to be a 12" machinest level or can I use a smaller one. What's the smallest machinest level you recommend?
I wouldn't go with anything smaller than an 8" machinist's level.
Is there any possibility that the slate will gone warped/bent? I have a pool table that all 3 pieces of slate bent down in the middle I guess.
Warped slate is possible. However, I rarely see it warp when the slate is 3/4" or thicker.
@@CreativeRestorations, it's 1" thick...
👍
Are you drilling and securing through the shim.
It can be done either way. Friction alone will hold the wedges in for the life of the table. But, some manufacturers don't give enough room to put the wedges on the side of the screws.
Hi Doug can you do a video on calibrating a machinist level?
There are several other videos out there showing how to calibrate them. But, sure. I'm always up for making more content for my viewers!
@@CreativeRestorations That would be great I think you could deliver the instructions a lot more clear than some of the other videos I have watched on calibrating a machinist level.
@@CreativeRestorations You inspired me to make a video on getting rail cloth from a full table cloth.
czcams.com/video/xx2PgGvsUEE/video.html
What is the name of machine lavel
Where i can buy
There's an Amazon link to that level in the description.
1)You can not level a table this way on carpet.
2)You did not address that the slate seems (9 times out of 10) will have to be raised in the center from underneath the table.
A sheet of printer paper is 5.5 thousandths of an inch. Just for reference.
Why don’t you fill the leveling screw holes with dondo?
Why don’t you use a 3 foot straight edge
What about a lazier level?
Old school levels work the best. Laser levels are great for building houses, putting up shelving and cabinets, and doing layout lines. Carpenter's and machinist's levels are FAR superior for getting a surface level.
Sounds logical, thanks
Look into the "Stabilla" brand of levels...best you can get..you"ll get much more life from one of those.
Just leveled mine w a 4' Stanley new level. Ball rolls straight down the bare slate at a slow pace.