I am the person selling the True Rack and there would like to explain a few things about the True Rack. First its use which has been talked about on here though many have not seen it or use a True Rack there appears to be a comparison between this and the Magic Rack or the Delta. The design of the folding rack allows portability and requires a different racking technique but also allows an improvement in the racking function. The True Rack can be adjusted to fit the balls it can be opened and closed. The user expands the rack to greater than 60 degrees and loads the balls. Then while holding the outer sides with their fingers over the rack the thumbs press forward on the balls. Slide the balls and rack as a unit up to the spot and pull the sides together while maintaining gentle pressure on the back of the balls in the rack. When the balls come together the user will feels this and then slide the rack forward with no concern about the back of the rack touching the balls. Thus the rack fits the balls and the balls form the angle, they act as the stop. If a ball rolls off or some other adjustment is needed then slightly open the rack bring the rack back to the balls and repeat. Opening the rack and resetting the rack is what Brian Gregg calls reforming the rack. I have some video of Brian using the rack and talking about it and I will be posting that online this weekend.
As to the cost which seems to have the attention of a few people, the current cost of a True Rack is $120 delivered to anywhere in the US. The cost is what it is due to the method of construction and the materials used in the rack. The parts were made by a tool maker in a small batch mode and each side of the rack had to be reloaded into a CNC setup 11 times so that is a lot of handling. However all edges and corners are radiused giving it that sexy iPod feel. At the start of the manufacturing process each rack arm was the size of a complete True Rack, so over 60% of the rack is machined away and then each part is polished anodized and laser engraved. There is no hinge in this current design each of the arms act as a part of the hinge. There are no threads in the joint.
As to the other racks I am sure they each have something going for them and all can rack the balls. The Magic Rack is cheap and allows the balls to be placed close together in slots and then when you push them together to touch some of the balls are leaning in similar to a globe. When you break the balls with a Magic Rack the balls seem to explode out of the template, I believe that is because the rack acts a ramp (the balls are in holes the edge of the hole is higher than the ball) so the first 6, 8 12 inches a ball is moving out of the Magic Rack it is not actually on the table it is very slightly above the cloth so the cloth is not slowing it down and the balls are then going faster when they come to there first point of collision after the break. You will make more balls on the break when the balls are moving faster, this rack does that by altering the path of the balls in my opinion. The Magic Rack can slightly alter the path of a ball after the break. The cost to manufacture this rack is very low it is a template stamped out of plastic, it has a huge markup.
The Delta company makes 2 racks out of aluminum, both are conventional 3 sided fixed angle racks. Both are very high quality with the cost difference being due to the method of construction. The higher priced model goes for 139.95 list plus shipping can be found at Amazon/Pool Dawg for 114.95 so the cost of the Elite is comparable to the True Rack. The Delta Standard rack is $75 plus shipping you can find it for around $45 at Pool Dawg. They did make an Elite which was gold plated and was $1499 you can find that rack for $995 at Seyberts. The difference in price for the two Delta racks is due to the different methods of construction. The Standard rack is cast aluminum, the Elite has extruded sides and billet corner pieces. The Elite is said to be more accurate and generally better (quoting Fatboy and others from here on AZ). The Delta is an excellent conventional rack but not very portable. The Elite is made with higher quality components than the Standard thus the higher price, higher quality costs more to produce.
Then there is the Wing Rack, I had never saw this rack prior to making the True Rack. This rack has the same basic design concept to the True Rack. The quality of manufacture and materials is the difference between these two, at this time I have still never saw a Wing Rack anywhere except on the net, they used to be available at Pool Dawg but I think they are gone now. I have found a video (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpxJocWibIs). The cost for a Wing Rack is 19.90 Euros which is under 30 dollars plus shipping and taxes. It appears to be exactly two boards and a hinge with a graphics painted on via a templete. I am sure it racks the balls great, the rack fits the balls the same as the True Rack it is portable etc, the difference is materials and quality of manufacture,aesthetics etc. I believe they have a higher markup on this product at ~30 bucks then I do with the True Rack. You can buy the Wing Rack at
http://wing-rack.com/. Here is a picture of the Wing Rack.
The feel and quality of the True Rack is very high, the entire True Rack is billet aluminum. This True Rack is not for everyone as it is an investment your game which allows you to carry a high quality rack in your case, you can always have your rack in hand when you rack the balls. The rack is made to last a lifetime. I would highly recommend it to people who play rack your own, you will definitely make more balls on the break over the course of a session. The balls come out of the rack when breaking the same as any conventional rack, the balls go because you can get more balls to touch with this rack since the rack is formed by the True Rack forming itself to fit the balls.
I do have a website
www.thetruerack.com.com which is a work in progress. Scroll down to read the text. Look at the site send me a comment. I will post here some links to video I will be posting shortly. I am considering putting up a small batch for sale on the For Sale section of AZ at a discounted price just to get feedback if there would be interest in this PM me and I will start a thread and sale a few racks directly here on AZ.
