Anyone lifted a full size snooker table 1-1/2"

[toolsntat]

Is it possible without calling in the snooker table boys?
All hints, tips and advice welcome....
Cheers Andy

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

I think you would struggle by yourself . Are you thinking of getting some bodies around it, using a mechanical method or taking it apart?

It is definitely possible but would suggest you have a good look at it first for contact/ jacking points and also the floor it’s standing on.

 

[MARK.B.]

It could be done with the help of several strong assistants but you would likely have to remove the legs, as even on its side it will not fit through a average sized doorway

 

[Terry - Somerset]

If the object of the exercise is merely to lift it an inch or two because it is too low, I would think a car hydraulic (or screw?) jack would suffice with suitable packing to avoid damage.

It could be balanced on bricks, offcuts or something more elegant - just need to ensure the table is not under stress and possibly distorted when raised.

Or have I entirely misunderstood??

 

[MARK.B.]

I believe you are right Terry , i should have read twice before posting

 

[Jameshow]

I think you need to be very careful....

A proper full sized snooker table will have a slate bed....

I think you would want at least three beams running across wise jacked up with Jack of some sort in unison.... You don't want to be straining the table / slate in any way.

However if you brought it from Argos use you pinkie and all the balls will roll to the middle anyhow!!

 

[Sideways]

Never done it but I know how I would tackle it.
Car trolley jack for the lift.
Solid piece of timber balanced vertically on the jack (4x4 or 6x6 offcut)
A robust + heavy steel beam balanced on that to spread the load across the full width of the table at one end at a time. Something like an old lintel or I beam from the scrapyard that will take half a ton without bending.
A strip of timber on top to protect the bottom of your snooker table from any stress points and damage from the metal.
You will need a couple of helpers to hold the metal in place while you get the jack lined up and take the weight. Your lifting gear will look like an unstable T shape.
Don't put your fingers under the feet when you are slotting the packing pieces into place

Rinse and repeat at the other end.
Don't forget a photo to show us how you did it in the end

 

[RobinBHM]

wear thinner shoes

 

[RobinBHM]

Never done it but I know how I would tackle it.
Car trolley jack for the lift.
Solid piece of timber balanced vertically on the jack (4x4 or 6x6 offcut)
A robust + heavy steel beam balanced on that to spread the load across the full width of the table at one end at a time. Something like an old lintel or I beam from the scrapyard that will take half a ton without bending.
A strip of timber on top to protect the bottom of your snooker table from any stress points and damage from the metal.
You will need a couple of helpers to hold the metal in place while you get the jack lined up and take the weight. Your lifting gear will look like an unstable T shape.
Don't put your fingers under the feet when you are slotting the packing pieces into place

Rinse and repeat at the other end.
Don't forget a photo to show us how you did it in the end

my 5.4m x 2.7m shed had dropped a bit in one corner -its sitting on 4 steel I beams and one was low -I bought a cheap car trolley jack from halfords -dug out under the beam stuck in a bit of ply and used the jack -it worked a treat, I raised it about 15mm no probs

those jacks really do work well and its controlled as you lift.

 

[First sea dog]

Is it possible without calling in the snooker table boys?
All hints, tips and advice welcome....
Cheers Andy

I have actually done this in order to place castors beneath the legs. I used some plates from Machine Mart which have 3 castors on each plate.
I used my big trolley jack with a rubber “cushion” , one end at a time and took it very steadily. I thought there was a risk that the slate bed might crack but I wanted to use the thing mainly as an assembly table in my workshop. I have not played snooker on it for some years and so a cracked bed would not have been a disaster.

 

[Limey Lurker]

There are 2 qualities of full-size snooker table: 5-piece, and 4-piece, beds. The 5-piece are considered to be better, as the joins in the bed do not occur in line with the side pockets. When the tables are installed, fillers are used to avoid any mismatch at the joins. Lifting the table at one position could bend the frame, which might cause the filler to be pushed up into the cloth. The only safe way to lift the table without removing the slates, is with similarly-threaded screw-jacks spread evenly around the table. (I sold my snooker table 20 years ago. The buyer took it apart: 6 strong young men (building workers) struggled with each section of slate: 8 SYM struggled with the frame, even after all the cushions, etc., were removed. Not a job to be undertaken lightly.)

 

[Illy]

There are 2 qualities of full-size snooker table: 5-piece, and 4-piece, beds. The 5-piece are considered to be better, as the joins in the bed do not occur in line with the side pockets. When the tables are installed, fillers are used to avoid any mismatch at the joins. Lifting the table at one position could bend the frame, which might cause the filler to be pushed up into the cloth. The only safe way to lift the table without removing the slates, is with similarly-threaded screw-jacks spread evenly around the table. (I sold my snooker table 20 years ago. The buyer took it apart: 6 strong young men (building workers) struggled with each section of slate: 8 SYM struggled with the frame, even after all the cushions, etc., were removed. Not a job to be undertaken lightly.)

I would echo the caution in this post. If you want to continue to use it as a snooker table then you need to treat it as a piece of precision machinery. Personally, I would get some expert advice.

 

[RichardG]

I remember one being moved about 2m at our work social club, the pros refused to move it without first removing the slates. They said there was too high a risk of twisting the frame and causing the slates to move against each other and then cracking. As it was used for matches the club paid up....

 

[OCtoolguy]

Here in the States, we have businesses that specialize in moving billiard/snooker tables. Nothing like that on your end? Are you just needing to lift it to maybe recarpet or something like that? Curious!

 

[toolsntat]

Thanks for the replies.
It's not my job to be lifting it but was asking as I think it is a shame to tile around the legs which the client is saying to do .
If it hadn't been a snooker table with risk of damage I'd have suggested lifting one long side at a time with the necessary kit.
The other thing is how do you level a table? They must be adjustable somehow.
Sometimes leaving things well alone is the smart move but having options for future reference is always a good place to be.
Cheers Andy

 

[Spectric]

You cannot tile around the legs, that is like cutting a fitted carpet round the furniture or painting a wall without removing the pictures!

If you could get hold of a couple of pallet trolleys and some scaffold boards then it could be done.

 

[Alasdair]

Used to move a half sized one years ago to clear a dance floor . We had to remove slate bed before moving. They are very heavy and dont like being moved. They have to be lifted equally all round similar to pianos. If the frame twists the slate bed wont sit correctly. If there is a local pool snooker club ask them who moves and maintains theirs.