Hey just wanted to tell you that you have the best advice out of all the video I have watched... I recently purchased a pool table and my friend and I literally watched all of your videos as we went...we are just about finished with the bees wax and have the felt all ready. Btw, you were totally right...don't even bother with a level...the ball alone does the job 50 times better..we have a perfectly level pool table because of that advice. Thanks for uploading dude.

I was told to use Bee wax in between the pieces of slate to make it smooth. The reason you use Bee wax is there are no petroleum products in the Bee wax so there would never be a mark on your felt later down the road... Works great...

Thank you for this. I am currently doing the exact same thing. And i am very cautious about it being good enough before laying the cloth down.

hey...thx for the good words. i was in your position a couple years ago and realized there were no vids that were helpful to me so i figured i'd try to help out. happy shooting!

and yes, pro's (no matter what kind of pro) will do the job in the fastest amount of time and get paid the most amount of money. that is why they are pro's. i'm a builder. I do construction every day. I am not a pro. I am a craftsman. Yes, I can work fast but choose to work at the speed required to yield perfect results. I would never say that my way is better than yours...ever. This is just one way to get the job done and the table plays great. That is all that matters to me.

I just read some of the other post. You are right the about setting the slate. You were using the few hours a day for 4 weeks method. I was referring to the hour and a half then redy to play method.

Dude you are absolutely correct. I almost busted a gut laughing at the ball idea. I love it when guys give 20 seconds thought to the correct way of doing something. He should have spent an hour. Arrogant guys remain ignorant. Coming from the former plant manager of the Peter Vitalie billiard company.

Just because you do not understand why, doesn’t make ALL of the professionals wrong. If you were really interested in an explanation, rather than just an argument. You would look at one of the videos that were done by a professional rather than arguing with me. One more question, how many tables have you setup? That is what I thought. Case closed.

pdigital....sounds like you did it right then. just takes patience. i cant remember how i came to this technique. i may have stolen it from someone else. i spent a few hours a day for about 4 weeks setting up this table. plays perfectly in the cold weather months as that is when i set it up. in the warm weather there is the tiniest amount of roll to the north. i'm guessing my joists on the first floor heat up and pitch the table a tiny bit . in a basement it should be fine.

interesting suggestion, trev. i've given that about 20 seconds of thought and have concluded that it makes no difference which piece of slate you start at. the end result will always be the same. i could be wrong but i cannot see how. no matter the order, the steps and process is exactly the same.

I should have thought of that. I actually used a new razor blade and ran it across. After a little while, I could swipe it across without getting stuck or running over any bumps.

To true the slate( make each slate level with each other) take three pieces of string and tie them over the length of the table ..one on each side and one on the midle..make sure they are pulled tight..now get 7 pieces of door moulding or anything that has the same thickness and place under each end of the string..now take your 7th piece of moulding and run it under the string and match the heighth by placing playing cards under the slate bed

Mike told me after playing a couple of rounds on a table I set up that it was the best table he has ever shot on. Put that in your credentials and then you opinion would count.

.You would lose that bet. One of my duties as plant manager was setting up pool tables for trade shows and exhibitions for world class players. Just to name a couple, Mike Segal, AKA “Capitan Hook” Nick Varner. If it wasn’t a waste of my time I would explain to why you set the middle slate first and why you don’t use a pool ball to set up a table. You are a genus so you know more than an expert that has setup hundreds of tables.

If you are using a ball to level slate then you have not got the first clue what you are doing. This in no way guarantees a level surface. In terms of leveling slate, and I see a lot of different theories in this discussion but in reality the table will dictate where you begin leveling. After your frame is set and leveled on its own, put the slate pieces on and square them up (or find the existing holes and hope the first installer was correct). Check around the entire table with a level, this will establish your high spot dictating where you need to start from. Simply bring everything up from there. If you level in a circle and your slates are set properly then your seams will be flush when you are done, possibly only needing a slight lift in the middle for perfection.

and i was serious. please, Mr. Pro pool table installer, please tell myself and the other enthusiasts why the center slate going first is so critical. All of us really do want to know this. I've had 500,000 views on my videos. This is your chance to shine. You will gain the admiration and respect of thousands, in addition to helping the billiard community. You might even restore some of your already tarnished reputation.

That was the only way I could figure out to convey it.

thank you for the link. i've tried various versions of that link (and replaced the "dot" with a period, and cannot get it to stream. despite my genius ability, i still cannot figure out how to make that link work. maybe just give me the username or some key words to navigate. and yes, setting up a table in an hour and a half doesn't work well, at least not at my house. i am on a floor with wood joists and would have liked the floor to settle and the wood to acclimate to my room.(cont)

and btw, please provide the link that illustrates why the center slate being installed first is so critical. i've seen most the youtube vids and they were lacking, which is why i posted mine. judging by the overwhelming positive feedback, your remarks are in the minority. the reason you cannot tell us or provide the link is that there is no advantage to doing it that way. its nothing more than preference and I called you out on it. sorry, but that is life.

Although they don’t cover all the reasons for setting the middle slate first they cover the main ones. The rest of the reasons cannot be explained in two sentences. You said “i would like you to tell the world why that matters. i'm betting you cannot” I believe “betting” in this context is a verb.

Lmfao! Take a penny (AFTER you level the table slate) and slide it back and forth on the seam..if you hear a click thats where its high

if i were dumb i would take the bait and pursue the tangential topic that you are offering, but i will not. i'm staying on topic and will not let you hijack the thread with non-related issues. i've offered you plenty of chances to tell the world why the center slate being installed first will yield better results and all you can offer is that you are a pro, and that i have an ego, that i use crayons, that i've made a bet, and that you can name drop a name of some pro.

without bragging too much, i've been tested with a genius IQ. it would't surprise me that it would take me 20 seconds to think about something that would take you an hour. and your role of being plant manager doesn't impress me. what WOULD impress me is if you can explain why starting from the center slate would be so advantageous. again, the steps are the same. only the order is different. i would like you to tell the world why that matters. i'm betting you cannot

he was probably a tweeker for 25 years too.. anyways, enjoy your table that isn't properly set up

i've reread my text and i'm not sure what "bet" you are talking about. also, i really dont care how many tables you have set up, the fact remains that there is no advantage to installing the center slate first and you cannot bamboozle your way through this. i knew you would have a lame response and you did not disappoint. i've given you plenty of opportunity to tell how but all you can do is brag about other stuff.

snakeclaw, you would be laughed at in the industry

I’m not fishing. I told you where to get the information. I am not going to reinvent the wheel for you. It would be a waste of time. If I thought you really wanted to know I would explain it. I mentor geniuses, it takes years to teach them to open their ears and shut their mouth. Most of the time when a kid is told they are a genius they instantly think they know everything. If you were keeping up, the subject is why I won’t explain. I believe I have sited sufficient reasons. Take care.

r e l a t e d (remove the spaces.)

you do realize that in two sentences you can explain why the center slate being installed first is so crucial and why its more than just preference, don't you? instead, you've chosen to waste 10 minutes of your life insulting me about having too big an ego, using a crayon, making "bets" that i have not made, etc. this is a public forum. people who read this will think you are full of BS. and there is no video that supports your claim, fyi. if there were, you'd show the link in a second.

just so you know bud, in order to properly get the balls to roll straight you need to put a few machinist levels on the table and figure out which slate is furthest out of wack. Starrett makes a good level and they are .005" accurate. just eye balling the balls to see if the slate is level is absurd and honestly is laughed at by anyone who is in the business.. and I'm not trolling you, im just making it clear to people that this is absolutely not the way to level the table

f e a t u r e =

Bad job