Steps
Step 1
I have been trying to figure out how to mod a standard table into a snooker table for the past couple of years. After convincing myself that there was a workaround with the snooker holes I took the plunge and started.
The table that wasnt being used, I really didnt want to mark it or end up with holes in it.
I drew up the plans, more to help me figure out how things were going to connect to each other and how I could fit them to the table without screwing anything directly to it.
The Bumps, If I did it again I would make sure I measure the mid height of the ball and make it corrispond to the mid height of the bump nose. More explanation later.
A sheet of hardi plank for the surface of the tabletop. There was a more solid piece but it was close to $200.
Wandering around Bunnings, seeing what I could find that could be repurposed to be the hole hoops. It was an interesting walkaround.
I was thinking of using these on the underside of the corners to help tie the table together. I decided not to as it added $80.00 ish to the overall cost.
I thought I had solved the hoop problem by using the Aluminium strip and bending around a paint tin for the hoops. It wasnt consistant, Well my skill level wasnt consistant more to the point..
I had a piece of left over timber that I used as a test piece to make the angled edge of the table. No real knowledge other than remembering what the edge looked like and "thinking" its right...
Lots of meausuring and marking it out as I dont have a bench saw and needed some long cuts.
I angled the saw so it would give me an angled nose.
Trying to hold the timber and cut it at the same time was a little hard. A table saw is on the list for sure!
First cut done... And wouldnt you know it, missed cutting all the way through by about 2mm.
Lots of transposing and re-measuring the cutting line to match up with the other side.
Trimmimg of the "nose" to give that flat surface to the bumps face.
Some fine cutting was needed.
I generally take a photo of the item and what it looks like so I know if I need to go back and get more. It also helps when I pay for it at the trade desk.
Step 2
There was no real knowledge I had of what angle the nose should be cut at so I guessed it.
A little bit under 30degrees was what i came up with. Photo taken in case i had to change the cut back to straight. Luckily I did as I needed to know later when I made the next pieces.
The one piece now two, pretty similar 🙂
New piece to do.
I found using the handle of the horse to hold the clamp worked well as the barrel of the horse plus the timber was about 10mm too high for the clamp.
Slow and steady will get me there I kept telling myself.
Making sure the profile matched with the previous piece I had made.
As you can see, matching up the cuts was a little difficult.
So close but not quiet yet....
Step 3
Next step was to mark out the holes that arnt holes and also how long the bumps should be (noses?)
I started off looking up how wide the holes should be and then guesstimating from there on.
The noses were cut at 45deg I think...The holes are a ball and a half wide for the corners. Different width for the middle hole.
The Hardi plank just fitted in the car!
There was about a 3-5mm difference from the hardiplank to the tables width. Negligible 🙂
Was happy with how it looked and how smooth it felt.
Next was placement of the bumps and getting the lengths right.
The middle hoels have steeper angles for the balls to roll through. Not sure how game accurate they are but from the information I found it looks right. 🙂
Pretty happy at the layout, I began to procastinate at this point as I knew the next step was a do or die option...
One of the cuts I had done wasnt as square or fine as I would have liked...
So I used two offcuts instead of reworking the timber
Really not sure how I managed to cut like that.
Wasnt worried about these two being slightly different
Cutting the felt to then be shapped and glued to the "bumpers"
Stressful times... I had read that contact glue is "contact glue" lol and yeah it wants to stick immediately!
It really worked well, I had pretty much a production line going as all the timbers had been cut, it was a matter of being consistant in the way I was folding the felt over on the ends and also leaving the join to be the underside of the nose.
Step 4
The next step was figuring out how to get the bumpers in the correct location after I had put down the felt. Meausure and use tape to mark where the edge was supposed to be sitting was the answer.
The most stressful part of the project, glueing the felt down correctly as I knew I had one shot and that was it.
Managed it! It was done in about 3 mins flat! Had beads of sweat on my forehead but done!
The way I managed it was to lay the felt out on the table, cut it to size (length as the roll was 900mm wide) and then roll the felt up with a tube, keeping it all in line. Once the tube was rolled all the way I sprayed the materials underside and also the hardiplank, then unrolled the felt spraying both material and hardiplank as I went. Keeping the roll on track and in a straight line....
Was Cheering afterwards!
Th bumpers in their correct order under the table. Sitting on their associated side pieces, yet to be joined.
The Glue station
Wastage 🙂 I was really happy at how little wastage there was.
Go little Telstra horses! They really made the perfect level to work at. Screwing the bumpers together was easy this way, I used a couple of clamps, predrilling the holes and then using the Ozito drill to screw them together.
I used black screws with the rounded heads as I thought it was keeping it with the style of the room and table.
This is how they will sit on the table.
You can see the folds over the ends. It worked well.
Was disappointed with the screws, They would burr so eaisly that I gave up on using them. They were a pain in the neck to remove once burred. I used a pair of pliers, and vice grips to remove the two that were stuck. This was with predrilled holes that I had thought were large enough.
I was cursing myself as I should have stayed with silver screws.
All sitting nicely! 🙂
If you look closely at the corner you can see the black electrical tape I used to mark where to put the bumpers.
Level 🙂
Level, the room is a sunroom that slopes so I had to chock the feet up on one side. I was and am very happy with how smooth the table is.
Step 5
The final stage was to figure out how to make the "Hoops" for the holes. I had to accomodate the corners and sides as I could not drill into the table.
I started off trying to make my own hoops using flat bar and a paint tin. They were not consistant is the kindest way to describe my efforts.
Home made efforts with flat bar.
Using large pipe brackets and expanding them to suit, only needed a little stretching.
Bought against homemade.. you choose the better.... 🙂
Opening them up to make them fit to the outside edge
Working my way through them all, adjusting them all to make them fit.
Time to paint them.
Now comes the hard part, joining them without joining them to the table. You can see the black tape to make sure I kept them in the right locations.
Clamped a piece cut at two 45 degree angles, predrilled some holes and then used some wide flat head screws to join them together. I couldnt go for the black screws I was going to use as the shaft would have split the 45 degree piece of timber. at 19mm thick.
The second part of the problem was keeping the bumpers true vertical while attaching the underside. Because of the felt material underneath they wanted to roll a little out of true.
Wasnt going to let them, Once they were straight they stayed straight.
All in, all screwed together and solid as a rock.
Making sure there would be enough space for the balls to fall through.
Checking corner pockets would work.
All hoops screwed into place.
I was wondering how to make a net for the balls. I ended up using bird netting and stitching a center line to join the two sides and also spiraling the wool I used to hold the net around the hoops
A sail needle worked really well.
Always take photos, I know I will be asked "What did you use for the stitching?" 🙂
Showing how I made the net for the balls
If I made them again I would give more depth to them all. Once I went over with a finer spiral it did pull the net upwards.
First spiral. It really worked!
To show how the corner pockets look. It works and adds a complexity to the game when a ball sits past that point 🙂
After the second finer spiral wrap
Before the second spiral wrap.
Definitly looks nicer after the second spiral wrap.
Note the silver headed screws to fasten the underside of the table together.
Black sharpie pen solves the issue!
Blends in so you dont even see them.
Used almost a whole roll of wool 😲
Contact spray is a winner, messy but a winner.
All done! 🙂
To show that the room is narrow, big enough for a dinner table "just" and works pretty well.
Things Id change for the next table-
-lower the height of the nose on the bumps to be the same as the middle of the balls. Note balls are a different size!
-Use pre-made nets such as the fruit nets from Woolies to keep the same look.
Other than those two things, the table really works. Still yet to mark the half circle and lines on it plus relearn the rules but thats another day.
