How to assemble a pool table

• Socket set and spanners
• Long spirit level or machinist's level
• Screwdrivers
• Staple gun (for cloth, if not pre-fitted)
• Tape measure

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Legs and leg levellers
• Main frame and cross beams
• Playing bed (MDF or slate sections)
• Cloth
• Cushioned rails with bolts
• Pockets or ball-return parts

1. 1

   Step 1: Measure the room: you need the table plus a cue's length of clear space on every side, and a floor that can carry the weight.

2. 2

   Step 2: Assemble the frame and cross beams upside down if the manual says so, then bolt on the legs and levellers and turn it over with enough helpers.

3. 3

   Step 3: Set the frame in its final position before the bed goes on, because moving it afterwards is hard and can twist the frame.

4. 4

   Step 4: Level the frame in both directions with the leg levellers, using a long level across the length, the width and both diagonals.

5. 5

   Step 5: Lower the bed onto the frame. For slate, this is where a professional installer is recommended: the sections are very heavy and must be seated, shimmed and aligned precisely.

6. 6

   Step 6: Align any slate seams so they are flush, fill them as the manual describes, and re-check the level across each section before fixing the bed down.

7. 7

   Step 7: Fit the cloth, stretching it evenly from the centre outward and fixing it as the manual shows, so there are no ripples or loose spots.

8. 8

   Step 8: Bolt on the rails with their pockets or ball return, tightening each bolt evenly so the cushions sit at the same height all round.

9. 9

   Step 9: Roll a ball slowly across the table in several directions and adjust the levellers if it drifts.

• Levelling the bed before the table is in its final spot.
• Lifting slate with too few people or without the right grip.
• Stretching the cloth unevenly so balls roll off-line.