|
Table
Construction
Billiard
and snooker tables are a complex piece of equipment requiring
many kinds of highly speciliased component parts to create
the whole / finished table.
With mahogany
and oak frames, legs, rails and side panels, Italian slates,
beize cloth, cotton nets, pockets rails, broad bow leathers
and pocket templates, coupled with hundreds of screws, bolts,
and tacks, dismantling and erecting a table professionally
is a specialist trade requiring many years expertise and experience
to get right.
The component
parts of the table are laid out in a pattern roughly corresponding
to the way that they fit together.
A pair
of legs to which the end rail has been joined is attached
to the rest of the frame. The above surfaces of the frame
are checked for balance and planed if necessary.
The five
slates each weighing between 4 and 4.5 cwt and 1.75 to 2 inch
thick are set on the frame. Gravity holds the slates together.
Wooden
lining strips are screwed to the underside of the slate around
its edges and shaped to the pocket openings. These strips
are necessary to hold the tacks which secure the cloth.
The five
slates are butted together and any cracks / gaps are filled
with car body filler, or similar hard drying substnce. All
slates are then checked for accurate balance to ensure they
and the structure remain level.
A spirit
level or digital balance is placed over every area of the
table. If the surface is not completely level the table is
jacked up and discs of masonite or veneer of varying thickness
are placed under the appropriate leg. Beer mats and other
material which can be compacted and absorb water are unsuitable
for this purpose.
The bed
cloth is stretched as tightly as possible, with clamps and
tacked to the wooden lining strips. Approximately 150 tacks
will be required to ccomplete this operation.
The baulk
line and 'D' are then marked onto the table.
All spots
are then then marked onto the table consistent with standard
measurments.
The new
table cloth is then ironed with the nap of the cloth always
running from the baulk end 'D' towards the black spot end
of the table.
The cushions
are then bolted into place with the aid of a ratchet and brace
and as each corner is completed the pocket opening are set
in accordance with standard templates.
Pockets
and pocket rails are fitted to the table.
The table
is then re-checked for balance as the slates and table slowly
settles. Once perfectly level, you are READY TO PLAY!
The
Frank Callan Suite - 8 Collinson Street - Ribbleton - Preston
- PR1 5EY
t.
+ 44 (01772) 702211 - f. 44 (01772) 793700
|
