Pool table + PC?

T

Tt Ownage

Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2004
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513
just an idea i was thinking of...

i am going to have to get a pool table for the living room pretty soon,

*within 3 monthish*

i see that pool tables normally cost $800 and up + shipping costs

seeing how wood that costs to make the table seems to be only like 200 dollars and about 200 dollars for special (nice looking) wooden crafted legs, i m thinking ths cost to make it by myself is $500 MAX

so taht gives me around 600 dollars to play around with....

so i was thinking, why not add a pc to the pool table? Pool table server :D

POOL MAME CABINET!!! LOL :D

hrmm maybe it's a bad idea?

anyways it's either make a pool table + computer or make a pool table and make a air hockey table.

i want your opinons and ideas on what i should do!
 
I would never make a pool table myself. A shoddy-made pool table is the absolute worst thing to ever play on. If anything, go look for a used one and get it refelted.
 
actually i have wood crafting skillz and it would only take me some measuring + geometry skillz to make it good as "in-store" ones. (also it would look better ;))


anyways i mainly want to know is..


make a Compooltable?

or just make a pool table, and an airhockey table :D
 
how bout all 3..............whichever way u go..........make sure to post pics!
 
would be cool as shit to have an LCD embedded in the actual playing surface, but i guess that would fuck up the balls path :(
 
I would recommend getting a used one also... and make sure it has a slate bed (not a wood one).

As for putting a computer in it, that's a pretty cool idea. I wouldn't embed the display in the table anywere though, have the display hang above the table (and above the lights). Although, you would need an excessively long monitor cable. Maybe have two lcd displays, one facing each side. You could also set up one of those cheap usb cameras looking down on the table to record your games. Maybe even have a camera embedded in each pocket!

Damn... The more I think about it, the more I want to try it too... but I have no room for a pool table at my place.
 
not to smash your ideas, but this sounds like its a disaster all the way around. As said before, a poorly made pool table sucks ass to play on, and unless you are a pro at it, its very hard to do. I also cant see a way to place a monitor because you cant put it on the sides due to the fact that all sides need to be open for playing, and you cant put it in the playing field because the screen would change the speed of the ball. Well, good luck, but I don't endorse this plan.
 
I have to agree....the best tables have >1" slate beds in either 2 or 3 pieces and they are both heavy and expensive...trying to build your own table and include a comp though inventive and admirable is not going to make a good match....best bet would be to (like others have said) get a nice used one and work on that...putting a server in there wouldn't be that hard if done right but placing the display will be an issue because it needs to be functional, accessable but out of the way of play
 
The out of the way part could come by putting it in the sides of some nice pool table lights. As long as you don't plan on often having sex on the table, you should be fine. If you do, then skip the lights and avoid bumps and burns on the head.
 
How about using ULTRA bright LEDs under the felt to show the score? Distracting, yes. D@mn cool, definitely.
 
dude, I admire your effort but honestly, there is no fucking way in hell it will work, I own a pool table and I saw the guys put it together, here's why:

1. If you want your balls to travel straight the table has to be totally level, its kind of hard to do with custom cut legs and no easy way to adjust them

2. the side bars where the ball bounces off of, where do you get them? the leather pockets for the balls when they fall in? the felt? the slate? now the slate is a biggie, if its not perfectly balanced or perfectly straight your pool table witll be a disaster, not to mention that my pool table is made of 3 slate pieces put together, good luck

Honestly, it will be a headache and result in failure. As for the PC idea, I think its quite a dumb idea. I'm usually open to stuff but I know pool tables and its no use. Unless you want a crazy ass mangement system that will scan where each ball is and recomend a shot. I say forget it
 
Originally posted by :LJ:
How about using ULTRA bright LEDs under the felt to show the score? Distracting, yes. D@mn cool, definitely.
Click to expand...

You can't get LEDs under the felt unless you drill through the slate, but then you have several ice holes in your table
 
Not too difficult to flush-mount large LEDs. If he can do the rest of what he's suggesting, then he can certainly do this....
 
Originally posted by :LJ:
Not too difficult to flush-mount large LEDs. If he can do the rest of what he's suggesting, then he can certainly do this....
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if its flush or not
the surface is a different texture from that of the felt and it will roll different
 
why dont you just look in teh sunday classifieds and buy a used one for a couple hundred bucks and just refinish it?

Brian
 
seems like all you want me to buy a used one and add it on from there...

I think i will do that, get a used one.. sand it down a bit... make some holes.. and refinishing it...

sounds lesser work for me...

maybe if i get one cheap enough. i can make an air hockey table too ;)
 
Where are you?

I got a 8' table i might be selling because its the punishment for partying to hard last night
 
yeah, like other people have said, unless you are Bob Vila you are not going to make yourself a decent pool table.

You have a large piece of perfectly flat slate on top of a perfectly flat frame. Then you have the felt, not to mention the rails, you really can not make your own rails, you have to buy them yourself.

Refelting a pool table is pain enough already, building one, yeah right.

The felt and adhesive alone will cost you 100+
Not sure how much a nice piece of 3/4" thick slate is, but i can't imagine it's less than $100-150
The pockets will cost you like $50
The wood will cost you probably over $200 depending on quality.
No idea how much rails will cost.
then you factor in the balls and a few accessories.

You are already at $700 for it, and it isn't going to be a good table either.

Or you can buy a used pool table that's frame is in decent condition and has a decently thick slate that's flat for about $500-600 and spend about $150 to refelt and perhaps refinish it, dependin on how bad the finish is.

I mean if you think you are up to the task, go ahead, but don't expect it to play like a professional table.
 
Originally posted by SpeedSlayer
Where are you?

I got a 8' table i might be selling because its the punishment for partying to hard last night
Click to expand...

CAlifornia 90620

give me a price ;)
 
im in cave creek arizona....

If i do end up selling it, i dont know what for 500-600 depends..
 
Originally posted by hatecc
yeah, like other people have said, unless you are Bob Vila you are not going to make yourself a decent pool table.table either.
Click to expand...

you 2 can be just like bob vila.

1: hire someone to do the work
2: take credit
3: profit!
 
Originally posted by Muttsta
dude, I admire your effort but honestly, there is no fucking way in hell it will work, I own a pool table and I saw the guys put it together, here's why:

1. If you want your balls to travel straight the table has to be totally level, its kind of hard to do with custom cut legs and no easy way to adjust them

2. the side bars where the ball bounces off of, where do you get them? the leather pockets for the balls when they fall in? the felt? the slate? now the slate is a biggie, if its not perfectly balanced or perfectly straight your pool table witll be a disaster, not to mention that my pool table is made of 3 slate pieces put together, good luck

Honestly, it will be a headache and result in failure. As for the PC idea, I think its quite a dumb idea. I'm usually open to stuff but I know pool tables and its no use. Unless you want a crazy ass mangement system that will scan where each ball is and recomend a shot. I say forget it
Click to expand...

Answer to question #1...On the bottom of each leg is what is called a leveler, this basically is a bolt that threads into a shaft and has a soft foot on the bottom of it to protect the floor so that the table can be perfectly balanced, even on an uneven floor. Your laundry machines also have the same thing but on a much smaller basis.

Answer to question #2..."The side bars" which are actually called rails, leather pockets, slate and a felting job can all be purchased from the same store that sells pool tables........the same place you will have to go if your table ever gets damaged to buy replacement parts.

Nobody here knows the skills this person has working with wood.......he claims to be pretty good with his skills, so don't shoot him down untill you see what he is (or is not) capable of doing. I have a neighbor that makes custom furniture, but this is only a hobby of his.......he is a fire fighter. The furniture he makes looks better than anything I have seen even in some of the high end furniture stores. Don't put out the mans fire before it is even lit.
 
Originally posted by Muttsta
It doesn't matter if its flush or not
the surface is a different texture from that of the felt and it will roll different
Click to expand...

Errr....read my post. This is why I said *under* the felt. Hence the capitalisation of the word ULTRA, also.
 
Geez.. you guys are so negative!! all with the "you suck guy", "you can't make a pool table", and "just go buy one". I mean.. sheesh... if he wants to make a table, let him try. He will learn that he is a good wood crafter, or that he isn't. As for the leds, you could surface mount them underneath the felt, and use epoxy to level the surface above them. (ie drill hole through the rock) I know you all just want to save him money, but don't drill the guy just because he wants to try something new that you haven't before. What if he succeeds, and builds his own pool table, and puts in the leds, or uses two lcd panels on either end and you all love it, what will you be saying then? NOTHING!!

Just my two cents;)
 
Originally posted by 8Complex
... often having sex on the table, you should be fine. If you do, then skip the lights and avoid bumps and burns on the head.
Click to expand...

I would recommend routing out a channel for fluid drainage at minimum.. no fun playing on a mushy table..
 
You know at hockey/basketball games, they have the big displays hanging from the ceiling? Usually something like a giant skewed cube with displays on all four sides.

If you went with pool table idea, or any sports game table, you could kinda recreate one of those for your display. Maybe not the whole 4 sided cube, but 2 LCDs back to back and a slight angle... \ / . Then you could take it a step further and themize it a bit too make em look like scoreboards, put LED scorekeepers and a timer up there.

Just have it high enough you're not knocking your head on it, but not breaking your neck looking up either.
 
Cut into any part of your pool table and you balance will be off. A typical nice 9 feeter such as Brunswick or Olhausen will weigh around 1200-2000. It takes years of research to create a pool table that have a certain spec. I suggest looking into other things to mod on. Take this suggestion from a pool enthusiasts/gambler/hustler, whatever i am.
 
how about making a projector to hook up to ur pc that would shine down on the pool table! you could put the computer with the projector, this would give it a very unique look
 
Originally posted by Morphes
how about making a projector to hook up to ur pc that would shine down on the pool table! you could put the computer with the projector, this would give it a very unique look
Click to expand...
I like this idea myself: http://cpk.auc.dk/education/IMM/pooltrainer/
However, the implimentation would be more than it's worth especially if he is just going to buy a used pool table. If he was an enthusiast I would probably say otherwise.

-special [k]
 
well i would have the projector coming head on with a mirror which makes it go down so he can watch movies or tv so him and his crew arent missing anything, it would also help if he got a white table for that
 
Building a pool table isn't hard. However, I don't care if you are the world's greatest woodworker, that has shit to do with it. Unless you think you can take 2-3 pieces of 3/4 or 1 inch slate, lay them in the table, and seam the joints together PERFECTLY, you've just got a massive "carpetweight" sitting in the room. Trust me, my father used to work on pool tables.

Get a good used one, re-finish it, and mod the hell out of it. Much much better end result.
 
What would be really sweet with the pool table would be to set up a machine in the hanging lights above it with an LCD display on either side. Hook up a few cameras to the machine and run ball recognition and locating software to display the game or statistics of the game on the monitors. You can then set up sets of games with scorekeeping and whatnot, or even tutorials on some different games on there.
 
If you ask me a homemade pool table is not a good idea, my families pool table cost over $5,000. Not a good idea to mess with the construction as the smallest change in level can make it completely useless, hell it took the people who intalled it 3 hours to level the damn thing. Just not something I would do =/ Also like someone above mentioned, do you know how much 1.5 inch slate weighs? Ours has 3 peices of slate, each weighing in at about 150lbs each =/
 
Its a creative idea, but I don't think the pros outweigh the cons. I don't know much about pool tables but I know that they have to be perfect to be playable. I think adding projection screens or scorekeeping side computer to used pool table would have a better outcome.
 
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