True Confessions

Katie Girl

Katie Girl

Pool Newbie
Silver Member
Okay, I have not been playing pool for very long. I first picked up a cue on May 1st of 2009. One week later I purchased my first cue... a McDermott MG14. Five weeks after that I purchased an 8x4 Goldenwest pool table and converted my living room into a billiards room (I got tired of hanging out in bars every night.)

So, here's my confession... for the first year I was so good about taking care of that table. I brushed it at the end of every day, and covered it too. Every other week I vacuumed the table, wiped it down with a damp cloth and polished the Aramith Super Pro balls. In the past 6 or 7 months I've gotten kind of lazy. I brush the table every couple of weeks; I never cover it anymore, and I vacuum the table and polish the balls when I notice that they're getting grubby. I play the table every single day for at least 2 or 3 hours. So, there's a question that goes with this confession... What are the consequences of neglecting a table in this way? I expect to need to replace the cloth sometime soon... as much as I play the table, I'm surprised that the cloth is still in as good of shape as it is. The balls are holding up fine. And the table seems to play just fine for my purposes... helping me to get my chops up to speed to hold my own in league.

I'd love to hear some perspective on the error of my ways.

Thank you all.
Katie
 
I was hoping for something a little more juicy. But I don't think you will be having issues if you neglect your balls that much.
 
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Sorry, Craig. I have to ease my way into the true confessions.... I'll save the juicy stuff for the next post maybe.

Thank you.
 
I have to think that vacume once a week would be fine....How much dust collects in 1 day on a home table.

I think brushing and vacuming every day would be more damaging to the cloth than letting a little bit of dust build up over a weeks time.

I vacume mine once a week with just the small brush attachement (no beater bar) and than take a damp cloth and lightly wipe down the cloth and then the rails,side of the table and inside the drop pockets...

I do cover my table at least every morning before I go to work......I heard that tables are like vampires...The cloth does not like daylight and fades from the light that makes its way though the window blinds during the day.

My table usually only comes out at night...:wink:
 
Build one of those home made ball polishers for $40 and get some Brillianize for $15 ... makes keeping your balls clean a 10 minute process. I believe that clean balls wear the cloth less, at least that's what I remember reading here. Covering your table has always been something based on circumstance, as far as I'm concerned. If you don't have a ton of dust flying around, don't have forced hot air heat, don't have pets in the house, don't have little kids running around, and use the table almost daily ... why bother covering it?

I'm getting a Simonis X1 cleaner and I think that will also cut down on cleaning time. Spin the balls in the cleaner while moving the X1 around and you have perfect playing conditions in less than 10 minutes.

BTW, next time you mention the pink stick you bought and talk about dirty balls ... make it more interesting and include photos please! :D

*edit* One other thing I thought of regarding the condition of your cloth. Dartman once told me that worsted cloth looks worse sooner but plays better longer but napped "felt" looks better longer but plays worse sooner. If you have a napped cloth, your table may look great but have funky rolls (especially along the rails) that you aren't even aware of.
 
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welcome !

:welcome:
sounds like for a newbie , you've made quite a commitment !:) 2-3 hours daily~ I know PROS that don't make that much of a commitment . Good Girl !
If I remember correctly , Golden West tables use Simonis cloth (I believe it is standard - I KNOW it is available).
1 person , drilling for only (ONLY , as compared to almost constant use in a Billiards Parlor) 3 hours per day , should get many years of happy use without replacing this cloth .
here's a link to a cloth maintenance thread we ran a few months ago :
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=200082&highlight=vacuum

I also noticed in another thread you were worried about the lifespan of your tip , and replacing it .
Some people will tell you that with proper maintenance , your tip should last you for years . Some top pros replace them weekly .
So the 'when' is up to you . The who/where ? In Portland you can get it done by our own Scott Gracio , Gcuescustoms@aol.com . If for some reason Scott doesn't want the work , he'll certainly direct you to someone locally who you can trust .

Advice I give to all newbies on the forum ? The 'search' button is your friend - no matter what the topic , we've discussed it here before (twice :lmao: ) , and the info you want is easy to find .

Don't be afraid to jump in & participate in threads- what's the worst that can happen - get yelled at by an anonymous poster ??
 
Okay Paulie, thanks for the belly laugh... for the stout that I just spit all over my computer monitor... not so much. I will be certain to snap some candid shots of the stick and balls just for you.

Thank you all for putting my mind at ease. No kids. No pets. Tightly shut blinds. And HEPA filters on the furnace... I live in a pretty clean house. I'll relax about table maintenance and just keep doing more or less what I'm doing. Though I am intrigued to know more about this homemade ball cleaner.... I'm going to look around for more information about that.

I suspect that what you say about the cloth playing worse than it looks might very well be true, Paulie. This is going to sound funny.... but... I have bubblegum pink cloth on my table... and I've searched and I've searched and I can not find a piece of high quality worsted wool cloth in hot pink... or even in white so that I can dye it hot pink. I know, I know... I'm a freakin' girly-girl... I can't help it. I'm one of those obnoxious women you see playing league pool in tight dresses and high heels. People keep telling me not to play in skirts and dresses... but I can't help it... I won't help it. You can take the girl out of The Valley, but you can't take The Valley out of the girl... like, fer shure.

So, is it even possible to find a nice, high quality piece of worsted cloth in either white or bubblegum pink? I really don't want to put another piece of napped cloth on my table......... but I really want pink!
 
Thank you very much, Ridinda9. I will most definitely be looking up Scott sooner rather than later. I have an inexpensive Nick Varner stick (relatively inexpensive at $125... hey, it's purple) that I use only for breaking. I don't know what kind tip it has on it, but It's getting kind of flattened out... I'm sure that that poor stick needs a harder tip. And thank you, thank you, thank you for the links to previous discussions... I don't suppose you have a link to a discussion about bubblegum pink high quality cloth... just checking.
 
http://www.poolfelt.com/simonis_860_pool_table_felt.html

If you click on that link and scroll down the color list, fuschia is offered, and to me it seems pretty close to pink. Of course, that's from a guy's perspective, because I still have no idea what the difference between lavander and purple is.

I notice that not only is it special order but it is absolutely last on the list of colors ... /puke

You should have people over and play them for money, get some pink LED lights and some pink neon signs on the wall ... hell, maybe you can even get one of those "lava lamp" cues in pink. Nobody would be able to shoot through all that!
 
I, too, have a home table...with purple napped felt...the one concession to my ol' man. I will eventually replace it with Championship Tour or 30/30 if I can find it in standard green...but am honestly in no rush. I only brush it down before play.

My reasoning is this: most of the tables available for local league and tournament play are 8' bar boxes with typically dirty napped cloth and scrummy balls. Why on earth would I frustrate myself by moving from equipment that is much better/cleaner than what I have to actually compete on?!!

Lisa
 
The worst that will happen is the cloth will get built up chalk and become like a bar table. It will get gradually become slower. Eventually you will not like the playing conditions and decide to have the cloth replaced.

I have found that folding a micro fiber cloth and then dragging it over the cloth removes the chalk as good as the Simonis X. I use a chalk that clashes with the cloth color. After a rack if I see a bad track I just whisk the cloth over it and you can see the mark disappear.
 
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Hot pink Simonis 860? Anything's possible if you want it bad enough and can afford it. Call them. Congrats on your level of motivation to learn the game...keep it up! And let's see some pics!
:p
 
Hi Lisa,

Good point about playing league on bar boxes with sticky balls. Though I play in a league that's in-house at Sam's Billiards in Portland, Oregon. We play on 9 foot Brunswick tables with Aramith Super Pro balls. Practice at home on a clean, fast table with clean balls, fortunately, won't work against me for league play.

Thank you Pauli for the link to the (puke) fuchsia cloth. I suddenly feel motivated to move forward with recovering my table. At least I know who to call now... I'll give them a call to see if they can work with me to get me into a piece of Simonis 860 cloth that's a bit brighter than the fuchsia that they have listed.

You don't know the half of it, Pauli... my pool room is decorated with super hero Barbie dolls all over the place... with Betty Page posters and drink coasters... even the 4 ball and the 12 ball are pink... sometimes I even paint my nails to match my pink stick. It's down-right, nauseating, ain't it?

See what happens when there's no man around to keep a girly-girl in check?

PinkTable-vi.jpg
 
I wonder if the folks at Aramith would set me up with a custom set of Hello Kitty Super Pro balls...... Just a thought.
 
Katie Girl said:
Hi Lisa,

Good point about playing league on bar boxes with sticky balls. Though I play in a league that's in-house at Sam's Billiards in Portland, Oregon. We play on 9 foot Brunswick tables with Aramith Super Pro balls. Practice at home on a clean, fast table with clean balls, fortunately, won't work against me for league play.

Thank you Pauli for the link to the (puke) fuchsia cloth. I suddenly feel motivated to move forward with recovering my table. At least I know who to call now... I'll give them a call to see if they can work with me to get me into a piece of Simonis 860 cloth that's a bit brighter than the fuchsia that they have listed.

You don't know the half of it, Pauli... my pool room is decorated with super hero Barbie dolls all over the place... with Betty Page posters and drink coasters... even the 4 ball and the 12 ball are pink... sometimes I even paint my nails to match my pink stick. It's down-right, nauseating, ain't it?

See what happens when there's no man around to keep a girly-girl in check?

PinkTable-vi.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice looking table, but wow that felt is bright!
 
Just ... ummm ...wow...

I'm trying like hell but can't think of anything funny to say ... that picture has me speechless...
 
Katie Girl said:
Okay Paulie, thanks for the belly laugh... for the stout that I just spit all over my computer monitor... not so much. I will be certain to snap some candid shots of the stick and balls just for you.

Thank you all for putting my mind at ease. No kids. No pets. Tightly shut blinds. And HEPA filters on the furnace... I live in a pretty clean house. I'll relax about table maintenance and just keep doing more or less what I'm doing. Though I am intrigued to know more about this homemade ball cleaner.... I'm going to look around for more information about that.

I suspect that what you say about the cloth playing worse than it looks might very well be true, Paulie. This is going to sound funny.... but... I have bubblegum pink cloth on my table... and I've searched and I've searched and I can not find a piece of high quality worsted wool cloth in hot pink... or even in white so that I can dye it hot pink. I know, I know... I'm a freakin' girly-girl... I can't help it. I'm one of those obnoxious women you see playing league pool in tight dresses and high heels. People keep telling me not to play in skirts and dresses... but I can't help it... I won't help it. You can take the girl out of The Valley, but you can't take The Valley out of the girl... like, fer shure.

So, is it even possible to find a nice, high quality piece of worsted cloth in either white or bubblegum pink? I really don't want to put another piece of napped cloth on my table......... but I really want pink!
Click to expand...

As I read your earlier, opening post, I found your writing, personality, and point of view, most refreshing! I got the biggest kick out the fact that you quit doing table maintenance with clock-like regularity, but kept playing a couple of hours a day. That's thinking more like a player and beginning a journey, away from the more MUNDANE!.
All good news for your pool playing ability!

Keep thinking like that and you might even find yourself becoming completely won over to the "DARK SIDE," to the point of forgetting about any color of cloth, other than the color you see the balls best on.
That'll probably be the day, you quit playing in heels, TOO! LOL!!!:rolleyes:
 
Katie Girl said:
Hi Lisa,

Good point about playing league on bar boxes with sticky balls. Though I play in a league that's in-house at Sam's Billiards in Portland, Oregon. We play on 9 foot Brunswick tables with Aramith Super Pro balls. Practice at home on a clean, fast table with clean balls, fortunately, won't work against me for league play.

Thank you Pauli for the link to the (puke) fuchsia cloth. I suddenly feel motivated to move forward with recovering my table. At least I know who to call now... I'll give them a call to see if they can work with me to get me into a piece of Simonis 860 cloth that's a bit brighter than the fuchsia that they have listed.

You don't know the half of it, Pauli... my pool room is decorated with super hero Barbie dolls all over the place... with Betty Page posters and drink coasters... even the 4 ball and the 12 ball are pink... sometimes I even paint my nails to match my pink stick. It's down-right, nauseating, ain't it?

See what happens when there's no man around to keep a girly-girl in check?

PinkTable-vi.jpg
Click to expand...

That totally rocks!! You are so gonna shake up the 'scene'...I love it! You need a 'Pink Ladies' jacket like in the movie Grease when you go out to play...in your heels! :thumbup:

When you get ready to order your first custom cue...let me know...I can hook you up with a great maker whom I know, and get him to do a Pink Ivory PJ cue for you at a good price...you'll love the Pink Ivory! (It's not ivory, it's a naturally pink colored wood.)

One of these days when I'm down in Portland to visit the ex-in-laws we'll have to get together a knock some balls around...could be way too much fun!

Lisa
 
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