Making a mini pool table?

Question

lol alot of people have told me that its not a good idea but still i wanna try and make it. i was just wondering, wut type of surface should the table be? i heard that slate is used. lol sounds expensive. How much would slate cost? Are there any alternates to slate? Also where would i be able to find mini balls? (not the standard size) THANKS alot for your time:)

Answer 1

what size table are you consider making? i've never made 1, but know there are many many little things to consider. alot of people think a regulation pool table is a certain size, when infact a regulation pool table is twice as long as it is wide. what size balls do you plan on using? they have to match the pocket sizes, like just being able to fit 2 balls through at the same time is pretty tight pockets. where are you going to get the rail rubber? it must match up pretty well as pool tables do, otherwise the ball will jump, if its to low, or not respond correctlly, if  to high. the smallest balls i would think you would want to deal with is 1 7/8" to 2"! ebay. anything smaller you would be getting the executive table sized balls you find on ebay allover. not sure of slate cost, but better off probablly buying an old junk 3 piece slate table? the main question i guess would be what size table do you want to build? you dont want to use store bought felt also! i'd recommend some worsted cloth, if your building a small table. your going to want to be able to play with some sort of finess, especially if a small table= don't use napped cloth. if you building a small table, you might find some marble type sheets of rock at home depot or lowells? use screws and bolts for everything, not nails. if you found some marble type rock, you can either spray 3m glue on the underneath side, when stretching and cutting the cloth, or you can glue boards to the back, of the rock, so when you go to stretch the cloth, you staple it instead of glueing it. it called wood backed slate on pool tables. let me know what size of table your looking to build, and you budget? and i'll try to help, along with others on this site, who may have built 1. i'll drop some links off here, if i run across something also, im going 2 google some things. good luck.

Answer 2

Here's a link for mini balls, from a trusted dealer:

http://www.platinumbilliards.com/miniatu...

I've seen them at a local game store too, so if there's any in your area, you might want to check them out.

The cheaper tables use MDF instead of slate. I think it stands for multi-density fiberboard. You can probably find this at Home Depot or other large hardware store. The rails are probably going to be the toughest thing though. I'm not sure what to do about those. You can always use standard pool cloth and cut it down to whatever size you need.