Kurt Schmidt didn't set out to save marriages. His goal was simple: make a pool table that could double as dining room furniture. The only problem? "It is hard to build a table you can actually sit at," says Kurt, who runs A.E. Schmidt Billiards, America's oldest family-owned billiards company, now in its 157th year. The biggest challenge for Kurt was building a frame tall enough to accommodate a full-size dining chair but strong enough to hold the 1000 pounds of slate necessary to create a pool table's smooth surface.

Kurt designed the first billiards-cum-dining-table, called the Carsten Diner, last year to fill a custom order. "It took me eight months and seven collapsed frames, but I never met a challenge I didn't like," says Kurt with a laugh. The Carsten, which sells for $6650, is 7 ft., regulation for billiards. The four wooden leaves that create the dining surface take minutes to install, expanding the Carsten to an 8 x 4 ft. dining table that comfortably sits 12. The table typically comes in oak or maple, but can be custom ordered in a variety of woods and finishes. The table also comes with a full set of billiards equipment; fork and knife not included. --BEN POPPER

READ MORE:
Heirloom athletic equipment comes out of retirement
Win a Samsung 58-in. wireless HDTV

MVSTAT: Until steel became popular in the 1930s, golf clubs were constructed with hickory, although many golfers found the material too brittle...