Banking week for sure! Visited Ashville, NC last week and saw two guys playing bank pool. I’ve never seen it played before live. No one at my local hall plays bank pool. (one pocket is big).

The Predator bank pool tournament is also the first one I’ve ever watched. Read the rules beforehand so I would know what is going on.

Coincidentally, the month of April I dedicated to practicing banks. I’ll spend 30-60 minutes a day doing nothing but. I have an area of focus every month - kicks in March, breaking in Feb, and so on. I planned to do banks in April even before I knew about the Predator event.

I’ve been very impressed with Jayson Shaw. He beat Thorpe in the first round to send him to the loser’s side. Later he beat Woodward. I think Thorpe is the best banker in the world and Sky is in the top five.

Shaw was the superior tactician and defensive player, however, in his wins over Billy, Sky and Filler. He also played banks with the most medium consistent speed, and I think that was a difference.

Billy and Sky missed some shots they ordinarily make.

Justin Hall, who I’ve never seen before, was impressive. He played more higher speed shots than most others and was very accurate. Bergman was even better.

One thing I am not sure I like: The ability of players to pocket a ball when playing safe. Seems too easy of an out to me, and it lengthens the game.

Still, the defensive play in banks is something to behold.

muskyed said:

Here it is, pretty close to a quarter.
Wood lathe is a no go, I have a small one and one of the biggest ones, a Robust 25" 3hp. Wood lathes just don't work.
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Hey Muskyed! What's the headstock through bore on the Robust lathe? That's my dream lathe, but it has yet to make sense for me to upgrade.
I currently have a 1/2" bore through my headstock and can use my lathe to do tips for 11.8mm and under shafts with a pro taper, nothing larger without setting up dedicated steady rest.

Prize money is not prize money is not prize money. Pool rooms that host events do so knowing that there're going to lose money. They host/add money as a give back to the players and to advertise the room and maybe try to leave their mark a bit on the sport. Major tournaments are a different matter. They are looking at the bottom line maybe not for the specific event but certainly for the future of the brand they want to promote. I think we need to separate the two when looking at prize monies and the politics of sport.

shoot me some offers. i have some other sugartrees that may be available as well

I'm certainly not as experienced as many on here, but I've done quite a few CA finishes, and you need to wipe with oil between CA coats. I did not like using starbond or any accelerator, loctite worked the best for me. Two to three coats, sand flat, finish coat, then finish sanding.

With that said, I really don't like using the CA finish due to health risks, even through its the most durable IMO. Auto clear is the best all around, but slightly less durable with just as good of clarity is an oil based urethane. I've been trialing one common wood working product lately and I've been very pleased with the results so far. It's surprising how far some of these products have come in the recent years.