How to Level a Shuffleboard Table: Everything You Need to Know

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Last updatedLast updated: November 20, 2024
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So you finally bit the bullet and went out and got yourself a brand new shuffleboard table. After all, it is the perfect companion to any air hockey table in a gaming room. While you might be tempted to set it up as quickly as possible and start playing with your friends, you need to first make sure that the table is completely level. If it isn’t, then you won’t be able to play at all.

Of course, you need to know how to level a shuffleboard table in the first place. While it might sound like a simple operation, it isn’t as easy as leveling a coffee table. This is a slow process that needs patience. After all, these tables are a big investment, so you will want to make sure that you get the most out of them by stabilizing and leveling them properly. Then you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come.

What you’ll need

How to Level a Shuffleboard Table: Everything You Need to KnowIn order to properly level out your table, you are going to need several different tools. These include two wrenches, a shop vacuum, 4-foot level, 2-foot level, sheets of plain white paper, WD-40, and a flat surface. As you can see, you don’t need a lot of tools to get this job done correctly. The most important factor in making your new shuffleboard table level is going to be the amount of time that you provide to acclimate to any adjustments that you might make.

Since, as you will see, you might need to adjust the tension of the playing surface itself when you are leveling your table, you need to make sure that you go nice and slow. Otherwise, you could end up ruining your surface altogether, which is, obviously, less than ideal.

1. Pick a Level Spot

The very first thing that you want to do to make sure that your shuffleboard table is level is something that needs to be done before you even get it home. You need to look around your house and search for a completely level spot to put your table. While this might seem like a no-brainer, it is actually very important. This is especially true if you have an older home that might not be level anymore. By figuring out the right spot beforehand, you can spend the rest of the time making sure your playing surface is set up correctly.

2. Vacuum powder and dust from the table

Once you have your table in place, you need to make sure that you take the time to clean off the tabletop. Though it might not seem like it, there will be dust and powder left over from the manufacturing process and shipping. As such, you need to use a powerful vacuum and clean all of these surface contaminants off so that you can get an accurate idea of the level of the playing surface.

3. Spray the nuts with WD-40

Now that the table itself is nice and clean, and level, it is time to start working on getting the playing surface correctly aligned. Underneath the table are different sets of nuts called climatic adjusters. These nuts need to be prepped before you try to adjust them. All they need, thankfully, is a quick spray down with some WD-40. This will help to loosen them so that you can more easily turn them with your wrench.

4. Place the level lengthwise

Next, you should place your level along the playing surface of the shuffleboard table lengthwise. You want to make sure that you use a longer level so that you can get a more accurate idea of the level of the entire table. A properly leveled shuffleboard table Trusted Source Table shuffleboard - Wikipedia Table shuffleboard (also known as American shuffleboardindoor shuffleboardslingersshufflepuck, and quoitssandy table) is a game in which players push metal-and-plastic weighted pucks (also called weights or quoits) down a long and smooth wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table. Shooting is performed with the hand directly, as opposed to deck shuffleboard’s use of cue sticks. en.wikipedia.org will be a bit higher on the ends so that the pucks slow down as they get towards the different point sections.

5. Adjust the warp

After you have an idea of the leveling of the playing surface, it is time to adjust the climatic adjusters that you should have already lubricated with WD-40. These adjusters can be maneuvered in such a way to either make the playing surface more convex or concave. Convex means that it will be humped upwards while concave means that it will sink down a bit.

Convex table adjustment (Hump)

How to Level a Shuffleboard Table: Everything You Need to KnowNow that everything is as level as can be, it is time to finally adjust the level of the playing surface. To accomplish this, you need to use the climatic adjusters underneath the table. These are basically rods with two sets of bolts on them, which are either on the outside of the table or the inside. If you have a convex table, then you will want to loosen the outer bolts and tighten the inner bolts a few times. This will push the adjusters farther apart, which will loosen the tension and bring the playing surface down a bit.

Concave table adjustment (Dip)

How to Level a Shuffleboard Table: Everything You Need to KnowOn the other hand, if you have a concave surface, you will need to bring it up a bit. In that case, you simply need to do the same process but with different bolts. To make the tension tighter on the playing surface, simply loosen the inner bolts and tighten the outer ones. This will increase the tension on the playing surface, resulting in a more concave arrangement.

6. Measure the table 2 days later

When you are first setting up your table, you need to make sure that you take your time. This is not something that you want to rush. In fact, after each adjustment, you need to let the table sit for at least two days before you remeasure it. Since you are adjusting the tension on the playing surface, you don’t want to go too fast. If you do, you could end up cracking the table since it won’t have the proper amount of time necessary to acclimate to the new tension level. As such, you need to wait at least two days before you remeasure and readjust how concave or convex the table might be.

Final thoughts

Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of how to properly level your shuffleboard table Trusted Source Shuffleboard | game | Britannica Shuffleboard, game in which disks are shoved by hand or with an implement so that they come to a stop on or within a scoring area marked on the board or court (on a table, floor, or outdoor hard surface such as concrete). www.britannica.com . It needs to be done very carefully over several different days. Start out by leveling the table itself and then clean the surface. Once the surface is clean, prep the bolts with WD-40 and get your level setup. Once you know which way to adjust them, take your time to change your table so that it is more concave or convex, depending on your needs.

No matter what, remember that you need to take a long time, at least two days, between adjustments. Otherwise, you might destroy your table. But if you follow these simple steps, you will know how to level a shuffleboard table without any issue at all!

References

1.
Table shuffleboard - Wikipedia
Table shuffleboard (also known as American shuffleboardindoor shuffleboardslingersshufflepuck, and quoitssandy table) is a game in which players push metal-and-plastic weighted pucks (also called weights or quoits) down a long and smooth wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table. Shooting is performed with the hand directly, as opposed to deck shuffleboard’s use of cue sticks.
2.
Shuffleboard | game | Britannica
Shuffleboard, game in which disks are shoved by hand or with an implement so that they come to a stop on or within a scoring area marked on the board or court (on a table, floor, or outdoor hard surface such as concrete).
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