Building a Pool Table

Building a fine Hardwood Pool Table - Rustic Style
Choosing my table size, and buying the slate.

Room Size
I am building the table in the basement, and I calculated just enough room for an 8' standard table. The rule-of-thumb is, you need 5 feet of clearance from each side/end of the table. Even better, Bestbilliard.com has a very helpful Room Sizing Guide.

The slate I purchased is 95" Long by 51" Wide, and 1" thick. Slate comes thicknesses less than an inch, but a 1" is highly recommended.

Slate Backing
The Slate should ultimately have solid wood glued to its back, for support and shimming distribution. Some choose to do the backing themselves, but I purchased the slate pre-backed. It was also pre-drilled. The necessary holes are drilled, and in perfect position (this saved me hours of work.)

I purchased the slate from Bestbilliards.com, and it was delivered in just over a week. To save some CASH, I chose to pickup the slate from the trucking company's will call, instead of home delivery. Be sure to inspect the slate for damage before signing for it.

NOTE: This is solid rock, and it is very HEAVY! Don't try to lift it by yourself. Move it close to where you will be building your table, because you will want to build your table in place.

ANOTHER NOTE: To avoid the feeling that I'm delivering shameless plugs for bestbilliards.com throughout the article, I will just note once and for all, I purchased EVERYTHING to do with the billiard supplies through bestbilliards.com. They honestly have everything you need at one on-line store. The thing that sold me was they were the only place on the net that I could actually find Slate listed for sale.

#1 Rule
Don't start building until you have the slate in your hands (on the floor.) The entire table revolves around the slate, and the dimensions are crucial.

An example: I read somewhere that the cabinet frame should be seven inches less than the slate. After I received the slate, I drew lines to represent the frame-to-be,

and noticed that the frame would be protruding from the corner pockets. Not a good thing! I adjusting the dimensions of the cabinet to be around 14" less than the total dimensions of the slate. I suppose the author intended to "nub off" the corner of his Cabinet, which is something I have seen before.