Out of Round Balls vs. Unlevel Pool Table

Apr 26, 2013

OC’s Pool Table Experts to the Rescue…

Have you ever rolled a ball slowly from side to side on your pool table? Does the ball drift towards the center of the playfield? If the pool table in question is a slate pool table then one of two things are possible. The first possible reason is your billiard balls may be out of round. It’s rather unlikely but possible that one or more of your billiard balls are slightly imperfect. Check the box that your pool balls came in to see what brand they are. If your balls are anything besides a Belgian or an Aramith set I’d say it’s somewhat possible that it’s your pool balls and not an unlevel pool table. Go to the side of your pool table and try rolling each of your balls with the same speed from the same spot and watch the ball’s path for any deviations. If you notice the same drifting effect with each of the balls then you’ve got a bigger problem which will require your pool table to be releveled.

There are three potential reasons which can cause an unlevel pool table. The first is the most common and least expensive to fix assuming nothing was damaged internally. Let’s say that you’ve just replaced the flooring in your gameroom and the floor guys simply man-handled the pool table to get your new flooring installed, but when they were finished they failed to re-insert the leveling shims which were originally underneath the pool table legs. If this is the case then all you’ll need is a minor relevel. But this type of minor pool table releveling will only work if your pool table was installed correctly from day one. This leads us to the second reason for an unlevel pool table. If your original pool table installation was done hastily or poorly, no amount of releveling done at the legs will produce a truly flat playing surface. The only way to achieve a truly flat and level pool table is to tweak and manipulate the slate, whether it be a one piece slate or three piece slate table. The third reason for an unlevel pool table has to do with the age of the table. Sometimes a pool table’s cabinet can sag or bow in the middle from all of the weight bearing down on it for years and years. In the case of a three piece slate pool table the last two scenarios can be remedied by fully disassembling the pool table down to the bare slates and starting from scratch with a Machinist’s level. In the case of a one piece slate table, an unlevel pool table can usually be corrected by crawling underneath it and inserting a few hardwood wedges between the slate and cabinet cross support beams.