How to Disassemble a Pool Table? 101 Guide

Classical pool tables are highly hefty and bulky objects — characteristics that make this fantastic piece of furniture hard to move. If you’re moving houses and you want to take yours, you will likely have to take to disassemble it at your old home and reassemble it at your destination before it’s ready for a game again. But how? This article will provide you with a step-by-step guide.

Before you start: Make sure you don’t tackle this task alone. For your safety and to avoid injuries, you should ask someone to assist you with the heavy lifting.

The 101 of Disassembling

First, you gather your supplies. You’ll need the following items. It may also help to have some lubricant to help get stuck bolts.

• A spanner. An adjustable spanner will be the best or a set so that you are prepared for whatever size bolt you encounter.
• Needle nose pliers
• Flathead screwdriver.
• A robust electric screwdriver/a drill with a variety of screwdriver bits.
• 1. Detach the Drop Pockets

Use the flathead screwdriver to remove the staples, which secure the drop pockets. For this step, you have to lie on your back under the table. Since the pins can easily fall, make sure that you are careful. Consider wearing eye protection such as clear goggles or glasses. After removing all of the staples, you can take the pockets off and put them securely into a box for transport.

2. Remove the Side Rails

For this step, you have to take the spanner and unscrew the side rails. Usually, there are three bolts on each rail. Some pool tables have one piece of side rails; others consist of multiple elements. When you have unscrewed the last bolt, carefully remove the side rails from the table and put them aside. Ensure that you keep the screws together in one well-labeled bag, so they don’t get lost.

3. Remove the Felt

This step is probably the most challenging. The felt is either secured to the slate bed by glue or by staples. You must be working very gently to make sure you don’t damage the material. If it’s already old and worn out, this might also be an excellent chance to replace it. This step needs a lot of patience. Take your time and go slow!

• Glued: With glued felts, you start at one corner and carefully pull it off the slate.
• Stapled: With stapled felts, use your flathead screwdriver to remove the staples which are fixed to the slate, and then peel the felt off.

After removing the felt, fold it carefully and put it securely into a box for transport.

4. Remove the Slate Bed

While you’re removing the slate, you should be especially careful because it’s very heavy — it can weigh up to 450 pounds. Sometimes the slate is one piece; sometimes, it’s composed of several parts. The slate of a table can weigh anywhere between 150–200 pounds. You should get help with this step!

First, you have to remove all of the screws from the slate’s edges with the electric screwdriver. Usually, each corner of the slate has one screw, but depending on your pool table, you might also find additional screws in its center. Before you start unscrewing, locate all of the screws. There might be some with a beeswax coating, which you have to scrape off before removing the screw. Again, make sure that you put the screws in a safe place and label the bag which screws they are so they don’t get confused with the screws used anywhere else on the table.

After you unscrewed the slate bed, you can lift it off the pool table’s main body and put it aside carefully.

5. Remove the Legs

The next thing you have to remove is the legs. These are screwed into the body of the table and should be easy to unscrew.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to disassemble your pool table smoothly. Make sure that you thoughtfully organize your screws so that you can reassemble the table easily at its new home. Before transportation, cover the separated parts of your table with blankets or other protective material to prevent scratches.

How to Reassemble Your Pool Table

After you disassemble your pool table, you also might want to know how you can reassemble it. You need the same tools plus an extra hand for this project. Additionally, you might need glue or staples for the reattachment of the felt. You should put the tables back into place in the room it will stay, so you don’t have to lift this heavy piece of furniture through doorways. The steps are pretty simple. You just go backward in the steps before. The entire process will probably take you two or three hours.

1. Attach the legs
2. Screw on the slate bed: Here, you should make sure that the slate bed is straight before you’re securing it with the screwdriver. Use a level to get a perfectly flat table.
3. Reattach the felt: If it was glued, you should buy specialized glue such as 3M Super 77 Glue and go step-by-step in spraying the glue on and attaching the felt on the slate. With every step, you should wait a couple of minutes for drying. It’s crucial here that you are precise and patient since bumps will disrupt the quality of your pool games. If it was stapled, you just have to re-staple it at the same places it was fastened before.
4. Reattach the side rails
5. Reattach the drop pockets: Again, take care of your eyes while lying under the pool table.

Conclusion

Disassembling and reassembling a pool table for a move is unavoidable, and with a bit of time and help, you should be able to do it following the previous steps. If you lack the time, the tools, or the energy, you can consult a professional and experienced mover for this job. For example, you can post the details of your pool table and the move on the online marketplace of CitizenShipper, and qualified professionals will send you offers for the job. Good luck with your move!