DIY pool table

A pool table is an excellent complement to the interior in any room. The design and appearance allow the table to be an independent unit of furniture.
You can buy a table for playing billiards at any sports store, but its cost is simply sky-high. In size, the finished product may also not fit into the available area, especially if it is planned to organize a billiard room furnished with furniture. How to build a billiard table yourself, what material and working tool will be needed, how to correctly determine the dimensions will be described in detail in this article.

Preparation of materials and tools for creating a billiard table

Making a table yourself is not particularly difficult. You can get all the necessary lumber in the store.
The main thing, with the independent production of bars and subsequent assembly, you must be careful and not rush.
It is necessary to carefully verify the dimensions, and only then saw or fasten the parts.

IMPORTANT: in no case can you use raw lumber: when dry, the details of the table will shrink and the billiards will be irreparably damaged.

Materials that will be required during operation:

• table legs made of profiled timber;
• timber for the manufacture of battens and planks;
• grinding skin of medium and small grain size;
• lining cloth;
• green cloth;
• mosquito net to create pockets;
• water-repellent impregnation, nitro-varnish, epoxy putty;
• rubber edging of a triangular section;
• chipboard or plywood;
• pockets;
• 200 pcs. self-tapping screws;
• Euroscrew 20 pcs.;
• nails
• wood glue.

Note: the cheapest option for countertops will be multi-ply plywood. But it should be noted that the cost of the material will correspond to the quality.

From the tool you will need:

• folding meter or tape measure;
• construction pencil or marker;
• level;
• electric drill and drill;
• power saw, grinder, jigsaw;
• tool for screwing in screws;
• set of wrenches;
• pliers and hammer;
• file or rasp;
• milling cutter;
• flutes and putty knife;
• stapler with staples.

Execution of product drawing

Nowadays it is easy to find a suitable billiard table drawing on the Internet. The main project should fit into the dimensions of the room in which the playing table will be located.
If there is no suitable option, you can prepare a sketch yourself on paper or, even better, on graph paper.
You can also order a sketch from an experienced woodworking master. He will correctly execute the drawing and put down all the necessary dimensions. This option will help to save personal time for sketching and save from hassle in the manufacture of parts and assembly of billiards.

IMPORTANT: it must be remembered that the aspect ratio should be 2 to 1.

The optimal dimensions of the product are:

• length: 2.0 m;
• width: 1 m;
• height: 80 cm.

Considering the size, it is necessary to take into account the area of ​​the room in order to create conditions for the movement of players, as well as determine the place for the rack where balls and cues will be stored.
The width of the billiard room must be calculated so that on all sides of the table the space to the wall is greater than the length of the cue.
Traditionally, a room of 20 m2 or 4 by 5 meters stands out.

IMPORTANT: it is necessary to take into account the free area for the unimpeded movement of those participating in the game.

Step-by-step assembly of a billiard table

All bars should be solid, and not consist of separate elements. This will give the parts strength and evenness. The length of the transverse bar is mentally divided into 4 parts. Example: table length 3 m. 3: 4 = 0.75 m. After every 75 cm we insert fastening bars and connect them with transverse ones for glue and screws. We fasten two outer bars with transverse ones to nails. The size of the bars in cross section is 7.5 cm x 4.0 cm.
At the finished frame, we check the accuracy of the shape and angles, which should be exactly 90.
While the glue dries, we will produce legs, the size of which is in the section 100x80 mm.
The ends of the legs are greased with glue, set them at the corners of the frame and additionally fastened to the screws.
We clean the finished base with a sandpaper: first medium-grained, and then small.
We cover the sides of the base and legs with nitro-varnish in 3-4 layers.

IMPORTANT: The edges of the bars at the base must be strictly rectilinear.

Countertop. We take the material selected for the countertop, carefully inspect it and if any irregularities are found on the surface, remove them with a file or clean it with sandpaper.
Mark out the contours of pockets. We cut out the grooves with a hacksaw and clean the “excess" chisel.
Assembling a billiard table with our own hands, drawings, sizes, the photo of which are given in the article, we process the edges of the grooves with a file and a grinding sand.
Boards and decorative levels. We prepare decorative strips: for this, we cut off the corners at 45 degrees from the workpieces.
We clean the cut corners with a rasp and grinding sand. We do the same with the blanks for the sides.
We cover the parts with nitro-varnish for at least 3 layers.
On a rubber edging, about one centimeter, apply glue and nail it with two cloves to the end of the side. Then, we pass the edging along the entire side, slightly pull and fasten in the same way as on the opposite end.
Cut off from the green cloth, which will cover the countertop, stripes. The strip should be of such a size that it is possible to fit the sides and rubber edging, bending the edges.
Apply glue along the edge of the fabric to the full length. Glue the fabric. It takes 5-7 minutes to dry. Thus, we paste over all the sides.
The fabric at the corners is closed after the fabric is firmly glued along the length of the side.
We bend the edges, apply glue, let it dry slightly, press it to the surface and fix it on the cloves.
Billiard field.

IMPORTANT. Before stretching the cloth, spread it on the stove and leave it in a tense position for a day. During this time, the cloth will absorb the moisture and equal to the humidity in the room. If this is not done, then literally in a few days the stretch of cloth will weaken and the balls will roll out badly.

We nail the countertop with nails, after 20 - 250 cm, to the base. Lubricate the plane and edges of the countertops with glue. We put the lining fabric on the surface and smooth it with a rag from the center to the edge so that there are no wrinkles. You also need to iron the edges. After the glue has set, the edges of the fabric need to be tucked under the countertop and attached with staples using a stapler.
Then we spread the cloth on the countertop, distributing it so that the edges protruded identically from all sides.
How to make a pool table with your own hands? On the long side, bend the edges and nail on the staples. We do the same with the short side of the countertop. The edge of the cloth should be bent under the countertop not less than 1.5 cm.
The fabric is stretched evenly and extremely tightly.
Install the sides, assembling a billiard table with your own hands, step-by-step assembly instructions for which are presented in the article, you need to be very careful and accurate.
We fasten the sides by 3-4 screws, pre-drilling holes in them and making a countersink so that the screws are flush with the surface.
First you need to install the sides near the side pockets.
After installing the side, gently apply glue to its upper surface and impose a decorative strip. The bar is flush with the outside of the side.

IMPORTANT: carnations must not be placed at the end of the bar, because then there will be problems with installing brackets for pockets.

Cooking the grid. Cut a square from the mosquito net, depending on the size of the ball. Fold and stitch on both sides. We put on the staples of the pockets with the help of wire staples.
We attach the bracket-pad in the center and mark the holes in the bracket with an awl or nail. We remove the bracket. Now you can clearly see how to correctly set the bracket with the grid.

Checking the product for durability and convenience

There are several ways to help check out the pool table:

1. Checking the geometry of pockets.
2. Board research. With a small blow, directing the ball along the side, it should roll without changing the line of movement.
3. The quality of the rubber edging. With a strong blow along the length of the table, the ball should hit the sides several times.
4. Checking the tension of the cloth. If the cloth is pulled correctly, then holding a palm over it with force, thin folds will appear.
5. Frame Check. If you comply with the dimensions and correctly complete the assembly, the frame will not “walk”.
6. Checking the playing field. Having passed along the surface of the table, the hand should not feel any irregularities.