What to do with some salvaged 3/4" slate?

[Kevin S.]

Just helped some friends move today. In the new house is, was a slate pool table dominating a small rec room. So now I have three pieces of slate, ~2ft x 4ft x 3/4", although useable area is somewhat less due to screw holes and pocket notches.

Its too soft I would think for a lapping surface, but might make a nice tops for some small tables, or ???

Anyway, my questions are:

1) Under what temp/humidity conditions should I store it? Can it spend the winter in the garage in the upper Mid-west? Wrap it in plastic? Just keep it of the floor?

2) Any one have any experience working slate. Hand vs. power? Hi speed vs. low? Carbide? Scotch pads? Wet/dry paper/emery? Any sort of finish?

Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[rew]

A pool table would be nice . . .

[Andy Dingley]

Depends on your slate. There's a lot of variation in it. Sawn or cleaved ? (probably sawn, if it was a table). Cleaved slate especially, it doesn't like getting damp and then cold, as it will start to delaminate on the surface.

Slate works quite easily, but can split if you force it. Be carful when drilling and always use a backing board. A "tile file", carbide abrasive on either a steel file or a piece of gridwork, is useful. Dust is a moderate hazard.

[Robert Bonomi]

No concerns there. I would *not* wrap. Truthfully, I'm not sure _how_ one would 'hurt' it. Some kinds of liquids might cause staining, i guess..

real slate is somewhat brittle, doesn't take large impacts well. *very* durable. A common use is church roofs.

Not a clue on 'working' it.

[J.B. Bobbitt]

Slate is a rock.

It was around for hundreds of millions of years at great temperatures and pressures before it was brought to the surface, and then sat around for millions of years near the earth's surface before it quarried. Storing it at "surface temperture and pressure" shouldn't be a problem (as long as it isn't saturated w/ water, which should be hard to do). The reason it was used for a pool table bed is its dimensional stability and relative hardness (compared ot wood, anyway), and its fissility.

It is too soft to be used as a lapping surface. The most abundant minerals in slate are micas (Mohs hardness ~ 2-1/2 to 4), but with some minor quartz, feldspar etc., which are quite a bit harder harder (Mohs hardness ~7). It'll cut easily w/ a diamond blade, but I'd be leary of using a carbide blade on it. I'd think it produce ragged edges due to the fissility.

Just my $0.02 worth.

-JBB

[Lew Hodgett]

Another pool table shot to hell.

What a waste.

[Kevin S.]

It was a rather small table, scarcely bigger than a bumper table. Even still, I personally would have left it, but my friends apparently have other plans, dictated by the confines of the room.

Several responses have suggested building a new table but I don't see a big demand for a playing surface less than 40" x 60". Given the diminutive surface, the slate might be better served as several future projects.

[Lew Hodgett]

Standard pool table is 4-1/2'x9' and a snooker table is 5'x10', so can understand your comment.

Having far too many hours of my youth bent over real slate tables with live cushions and high quality felt on top of that slate, guess I'm a little sensitive.

It is a part of my past.

[Cult of Nurse's]

We had a slate coffee table once. It was quite nice for a living room with a 'jungle' motif.

['nuther Bob]

Oh, that's different, never mind :-)

That might work. It's fine for a table top as long as you don't expect it to resist all markings. You might be able to find a local stone yard that would make any cuts you need with a jumbo water saw for less money than you'd pay for a blade.

Bob

[Andy Dingley]

What colour is this slate ?

And does it matter ?

Here in the UK, we have two sorts of slate. Green slate comes from the lake district. It's hard, doesn't split, and is sawn to shape. Lousy for roofing, makes good billiard tables.

Grey slate (which is sometimes purplish) comes from North Wales. It splits easily, so is used for roofing. I've also seen it used for water tanks (all houses used to have one in the roofspace), formed from slabs glued together with molten lead. Surface tends to fail (slowly) if you leave it outdoors, especially with moss on it.

What's US slate like ? Where does it come from ?

[raven]

Hostoricly, US slate is from the exact same deposits as UK slate, only they're in the North East (these slate deposits formed when Europe and North America were together) the properties are similar.

Now adays, slate in the US comes from India :(

John

[Kevin P. Fleming]

Not pool table slate, though. Most of it comes from Brazil, or Italy if you buy a high-end table.

[Upscale]

I assume there's different types of slate. Would a pool table need harder slate or slate less likely to chip?

[Kevin P. Fleming]

That, and more. I believe there are issues with moisture content, stability and others. You can get the whole (marketing-related) story at:

[Swingman]

Hehe ... know the feeling. Spent a good part of my youth playing straight pool to supplement my income ... practiced straight pool for hours on end on a snooker table, using regular balls.

When the money went down, the regulation table, and the bigger pockets, were a piece of cake ... and the coin operated bar tables looked and felt like a bumper table.