Awesome Billiards

Inspired by the stainless steel pool ball made by MyMechanics, Cool Again Restoration set out to make their own. They used different techniques to set their pool ball apart and incorporated copper and epoxy resin. They started by machining cylindrical sections, gradually refining into a spherical shape. We’d love to see a whole rack filled with these.

Put three different games in the space of just one with this versatile gaming table. Its center rotates between air hockey and billiards modes, and can be covered up with a table tennis surface, which attaches securely to its top. It measures 84″ l x 44.5″ w x 32″ h, and comes with all necessary accessories for all three games.

A normal pool ball is made from polyester or phenolic resin, which makes them hard and durable. But the idea of playing billiards with metal balls intrigues us. My Mechanics rises to the challenge with this impressive stainless steel and brass 8-ball he made from scratch. We’d love to see a complete set of balls made this way.

“I don’t have skill, but I do have technology!” Shane of Stuff Made Here adds to his collection of robotic sporting goods by engineering a pool cue that automatically lines up the best shot. We love how Shane shares his failures and troubleshooting process along the way. Also, we learned a cool new word: fiducial.

In this clip from an old USA vs. Canada 9-ball tourney, America’s Jeremy Jones did a great job hiding the cue ball. But it wasn’t good enough, as Alain Martel found a crazy way to extract the cue ball and set up another shot.

Adam Wynne doesn’t have the strength yet to do a break shot, and his arms barely clear a pool table. But this talented 3-year-old has been playing snooker for most of his life. It sounds funny, but the result speaks for itself.

Space-saving game room furniture that switches between a 7-foot billiards table and an air hockey table by turning over the playing surface. Locks securely in place when flipped. Now we want a three-sided version with a foosball table.

Cléon Daniel designed this table to challenge pool sharks (and pool monkeys?) Aside from its odd shape, the table only has four pockets. It’s made of hardwood, leather and brass and comes with one white, one yellow and 10 brown balls.

PoolLiveAid detects the table, cue and ball and then provides a virtual overlay of the ball’s trajectory. We’re not sure if it takes into account the strength and angle of the strike though.

Why would someone need a self-leveling pool table? To hustle suckers on their yacht of course. Spotted on board a cruise ship, this table uses a gyroscope to keep balls in place in rough waters.