How do I make pockets play tighter

JMW

JMW

Seen Your Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW
 
JMW - Post this in the Talk to a Mechanic forum... you'll likely get more/better responses there. :wink:
 
Well,

You could always pound the crap out every shot (that makes pocket quite tight). But seriously, unless you are a good mechanic, I would find one and either replace the rubber or go for shims. But depending on your level, and the game of choise, you should only tighten them so much.

If you play 14.1 and 8 ball 4.75" and 5" (side are good), 1 pocket and 9 ball, true 4.25-4.5 would be good.

Just my opinion...

Pete
 
Chokin' up them pockets

JMW said:
I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW
Click to expand...

Click the link in my signature line. This was done to an antique which now has 4.5 inch pockets.
 
JMW said:
I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW
Click to expand...
The right way is to extend the subrail with wood shims then install new (longer) cushions.
This will also require new cushion facings and rail cloth.
subrail_extension.jpg


Donny (sdbilliards) just posted some pics of the process on a table he recently did here -
http://s336.photobucket.com/albums/n336/sdbilliards_photo/MattGC4/?action=view&current=4a5fb8d3.pbw
 
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JMW said:
I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW
Click to expand...
JMW:

A temporary solution that you can implement right away are these:

http://poolndarts.com/p-5884-Practice-Pro-Pocket-Reducers/

Would these work for you?

EDIT: P.S.: by the way, there are six of these in a box per the price shown. When ordering, you don't have to buy a quantity of six of these. ;-)

Hope this is helpful,
-Sean
 
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getting longer rails are better than shimming pockets, ive played on tables that were shimmed weird and at certain angles rejected balls every time even hitting dead center with pocket speed.

find a good mechanic to get longer rails for you.
 
I have used the Practice Pro Pocket Reducers on my 8 footer at home and like them. They are spring loaded and are easily installed and removed, and cheap. Do they play exactly as if you extended your rails or shimmed your pockets? No, but they are exactly $35.
 
JMW said:
I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW
Click to expand...

No, they don't work that way.

Without extending the sub rail or replacing the rubber rails the simplest answer is this. Buy a set of cheap soft rubber pocket facings. Remove your hard facing (they are glued on) and put a soft one in its place. Trim to almost as small as the rail, but not quite. When the cloth is installed over it it will pull it in some, a trial and error deal. Or trim them thicker than the rail point so they have less give. Or a combination of the two. Then replace the hard facing over the soft one.

Rail cloth should be pulled tightly enough to see the stretch lines from the closely spaced staples for years after installation. Mines been about 8 years and you can still see them all.

Although I wouldn't recommended it for one pocket players, for other games it is a good alternative to pulling perfectly good rubber off the rails. I have personally never seen worn out rail rubber, even on tables approaching 100 years old, used 6 days a week since they were new.

I put 3 extra shims on mine to get 4" pockets. The sub rail not being extended didn't make any noticeable difference. But it's very hard with so many to carve them correctly.

Some tables have the cheap soft facings (olhausen?), in which case you can just get a hard facing and put it on the end.
 
The pocket reducers work well if you have a table with large pockets. However, if you have Diamond, they will make it play disgustingly tight. Almost to the point where it's just not fun. :) I had to shave them down a little to play on my Diamond. Definitely worth the investment until you can get longer rails.

Dennis
www.desertclassictour.com
 
unknownpro said:
No, they don't work that way.

Without extending the sub rail or replacing the rubber rails the simplest answer is this. Buy a set of cheap soft rubber pocket facings. Remove your hard facing (they are glued on) and put a soft one in its place. Trim to almost as small as the rail, but not quite. When the cloth is installed over it it will pull it in some, a trial and error deal. Or trim them thicker than the rail point so they have less give. Or a combination of the two. Then replace the hard facing over the soft one.

Rail cloth should be pulled tightly enough to see the stretch lines from the closely spaced staples for years after installation. Mines been about 8 years and you can still see them all.

Although I wouldn't recommended it for one pocket players, for other games it is a good alternative to pulling perfectly good rubber off the rails. I have personally never seen worn out rail rubber, even on tables approaching 100 years old, used 6 days a week since they were new.

I put 3 extra shims on mine to get 4" pockets. The sub rail not being extended didn't make any noticeable difference. But it's very hard with so many to carve them correctly.

Some tables have the cheap soft facings (olhausen?), in which case you can just get a hard facing and put it on the end.
Click to expand...

This "simple" fix is definitly NOT recommended!
 
Are you serious??? You wrote exactly should not be done. Why would you pull the cloth so hard that you can see stretch lines for years? And rubbers don't go bad? Is that a myth like Zeus?
 
Dartman said:
This "simple" fix is definitly NOT recommended!
Click to expand...

Not by table mechanics. Not for one-pocket as I said. Recommended by me for people that have perfectly good rails on their table but want a tighter table to play 9 ball, ten ball, straight pool, etc.

Lots of people screw it up, for sure, but you can redo it again without pulling the rubber off the rails. Once you pull the rubber off the rails, somebody has to put it back on correctly. Anybody that can't put one extra shim in and have a good table for 9-ball/straight pool I would never trust to get the rubber on correctly to start with.

Are you saying it is easier to remove the rubber and replace it and keep the same pocket angles?
 
ChrisShanklin said:
Are you serious??? You wrote exactly should not be done. Why would you pull the cloth so hard that you can see stretch lines for years? And rubbers don't go bad? Is that a myth like Zeus?
Click to expand...

Yes.

I know.

The same reason they set up all the Diamond tournament tables that way.

How many near 100 year old tables would you like to see with perfectly good rails to prove my point? They may dry rot, wet rot, get destroyed. But wear out? Show me one worn out rubber rail.
 
Fatboy said:
THIS IS SOUND ADVICE AND IS 100% CORRECtT.
Click to expand...

Yes, of course it is, Fatboy. But not everyone has your money. And not everyone playes one pocket. Other games it really will not matter.
 
unknownpro said:
How many near 100 year old tables would you like to see with perfectly good rails to prove my point? They may dry rot, wet rot, get destroyed. But wear out? Show me one worn out rubber rail.
Click to expand...

In the last month I have replaced 6 sets of cushions that were bad. Four were American Heritage tables(7 out of 10 usally have rock rubber), One Imperial International, and One Gandy furniture table. Now cushions like Accu-fast and Artemis you can make the 100 year claim. But there is alot of crappy rubber out there. If the average person takes the cloth off a rail to add a new facing, what is the chance they will be able to replace the rail cloth? I have gone to many homes where the homeowner recovered there table before. It isn't very pretty. Spend the money and hire a pro. Just my 2 cents.
 
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