I know that a lot of traditionalist will be horrified at the mere suggestion of playing snooker on anything else than a slate bed table but I was thinking why? I been looking at some full size tables for sale on ebay and it got me thinking about the weight of the slates, which made me wonder why are we still using slate at all. We don't use ivory ball's any more. This is because modern materials have replaced them. Surely this day an age someone could come up with an alternative to slate that is lighter and has better property's especially with regard to adsorbing the bounce of the white ball. Has there ever been a modern day substitute. I know there maybe other factors that have not taken on board so I would like yours thoughts please.
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slate is there an alternative?
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Have seen a few glass bedded snooker tables, although they didn't have baize which I think looked a little weird and I wouldn't have a clue what they'd feel like to play on. I see what you mean thought and slate is a huge inconvenience due to its weight, I personally think that's the only problem with slate other than that I think it's perfect. Wouldn't mind seeing a new alternative though.
What about ice lol!? http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/...-table-111.jpgLast edited by willtyson; 21 June 2012, 07:42 PM."You have to play the game like it means nothing, when in fact it means everything to you" Steve Davis.
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obviously you need a certain amount of weight or it just wouldn't feel right but these slates need 4 big guys to move them. There are loads of man made materials out there that I'm sure could work. I've also heard that slate will warp when heated for over a long period of time? I don't quite know what your getting at maryfield if that was a joke it was lost on me, but you might have an idea it might be a way of adding weight to a table! if the frame had a lattice in it you could have plastic containers that you can fill with water this would add weight ans stability to the frame.
The new light bed sections could be place over these and these water filled containers could have heating elements in so they can form the under table heating which would spread then heat much better than the current table heaters.Last edited by cazmac1; 22 June 2012, 06:23 AM.
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I suppose as the game is not as popular as it once was the appetite for change or the need is not there. It would not surprise me if the Chinese came up with something.
I only started this tread because I was thinking of my buying one of the table's on ebay, but when I started to think about moving it and storage it put me right off. I think a table based on my idea would make owning a table more practical. Easy to assemble and disassemble and to store. I think a table made this why would hold it's resale value better just for the reasons I've mentioned. Of course it would have to made really well and maybe used in a few tournaments for it to be accepted.
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I suspect that a high density vibrated concrete would work well. The thing at present is supply and demand. There is a good supply of slate bed tables so why would anybody try to make a replacement product? Also slate is not so expensive that a substitute would actually make a difference to the price. Chinese tables are made cheap by using low grade wood- hence they are sprayed with paint so that the relatively low quality wood is not obvious. Also they do sometimes use a substitute material. It is similar to the faux marble that is sometimes seen in up market kitchen work surfaces.王可
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Looking at the equipment in the Metrology lab where I work, I would say that Lapped Granite could work
( although probably even heavier ), or ceramic material would work too.
If you asked a formula 1 designer to apply himself to the problem of weight, you'd probably get an expensive
but lighter option .
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