Make a valley bar table less noisey?
- Thread starter p00lp00l
- Start date
An easy fix would be to plug the pockets, and pull the balls out when they get full
New game version.. Once a pocket has three balls in it, it is no longer an option.
Maybe gluing a heavy fabric like denim would help? Or how about the Flex Steel spray that is advertised. It might help some, but would slow the balls down and result in more jams.
Or you could turn the music up.
New game version.. Once a pocket has three balls in it, it is no longer an option.
Maybe gluing a heavy fabric like denim would help? Or how about the Flex Steel spray that is advertised. It might help some, but would slow the balls down and result in more jams.
Or you could turn the music up.
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Make Valley quieter
I had same issue living in a first floor apartment. I called Valley and a good friend who works on tables. It turned out to be somewhat easy, but it requires two people. You take the the slate off and take out that they call the "spider" which is the ball return. Then for less that $30 we screwed drop pockets in. It worked great and if you have somewhere to store the parts, it can be put back to a ball return table. One things, do no try to just glue felt or anything soft to dampen sound. It will get dirty and ruin balls. Hope this helps. Cost me about a $100 parts and labor and some beer. LOL
I had same issue living in a first floor apartment. I called Valley and a good friend who works on tables. It turned out to be somewhat easy, but it requires two people. You take the the slate off and take out that they call the "spider" which is the ball return. Then for less that $30 we screwed drop pockets in. It worked great and if you have somewhere to store the parts, it can be put back to a ball return table. One things, do no try to just glue felt or anything soft to dampen sound. It will get dirty and ruin balls. Hope this helps. Cost me about a $100 parts and labor and some beer. LOL
Table
The inside of the table is hollow, it's like a huge speaker box/cabinet... Stick your mobile phone in a empty drinking cup with audio on and speaker facing in the cup, you get a megaphone effect... It's the same with the inside of the pool table cabinet.
Use thick carpet pad lined the bottom of cabinet to absorb the sound and vibrations.
If you want to to be almost unheard you'll have to use both the carpet padding and 1/16th EPDM rubber roofing to line the chutes.
If you need the rubber I sell it in strips to line the chutes.
Enjoy'
Rob.M
The inside of the table is hollow, it's like a huge speaker box/cabinet... Stick your mobile phone in a empty drinking cup with audio on and speaker facing in the cup, you get a megaphone effect... It's the same with the inside of the pool table cabinet.
Use thick carpet pad lined the bottom of cabinet to absorb the sound and vibrations.
If you want to to be almost unheard you'll have to use both the carpet padding and 1/16th EPDM rubber roofing to line the chutes.
If you need the rubber I sell it in strips to line the chutes.
Enjoy'
Rob.M
PoolCat
Registered
Worked for me !
I bought a package of large sponges. They are used for washing cars. About 3.5 inches wide, 5 inches long and 2 inches thick. I double the sponge over lengthwise and stuff the doubled end in the pocket entrance to the ball return. If you get the right size sponge the undoubled end (the fat end) will stick out slightly and will be flush to the inside pocket edge. This keeps the balls in the pocket. I can get 6-7 balls in a pocket before emptying.
Also I fold over a wash rag or use left over billiard cloth and put it in the pocket bottom. Totally silent won't wake up my spouse.
I can send pictures if required, it took me longer to type this then to stuff the sponges in.
I bought a package of large sponges. They are used for washing cars. About 3.5 inches wide, 5 inches long and 2 inches thick. I double the sponge over lengthwise and stuff the doubled end in the pocket entrance to the ball return. If you get the right size sponge the undoubled end (the fat end) will stick out slightly and will be flush to the inside pocket edge. This keeps the balls in the pocket. I can get 6-7 balls in a pocket before emptying.
Also I fold over a wash rag or use left over billiard cloth and put it in the pocket bottom. Totally silent won't wake up my spouse.
I can send pictures if required, it took me longer to type this then to stuff the sponges in.
Do you have the regular pockets for a Valley? I tried that and could only get about 4 balls in a pocket. I play a lot of 14.1 on it...so it's a pain stopping my run to take them out. Johnnyt
The inside of the table is hollow, it's like a huge speaker box/cabinet... Stick your mobile phone in a empty drinking cup with audio on and speaker facing in the cup, you get a megaphone effect... It's the same with the inside of the pool table cabinet.
Use thick carpet pad lined the bottom of cabinet to absorb the sound and vibrations.
If you want to to be almost unheard you'll have to use both the carpet padding and 1/16th EPDM rubber roofing to line the chutes.
If you need the rubber I sell it in strips to line the chutes.
Enjoy'
Rob.M
THIS! I'm doing it when I recover my table! Thanks
Once upon a time at a bar I hung out at the current at that time business owner wanted to put in his own pool tables in instead of the building owners family's tables as was customary. So he put the appropriately sized red solo cups in the pockets to catch the balls and dampen the income of his business competition. It worked pretty well.
Thanks Rob, great idea, Im going to do this on the Valley I just bought. My Valley is from 1974, the chutes are made of wood until it empties into the plenum, would the rubber work on the wood chutes??
The inside of the table is hollow, it's like a huge speaker box/cabinet... Stick your mobile phone in a empty drinking cup with audio on and speaker facing in the cup, you get a megaphone effect... It's the same with the inside of the pool table cabinet.
Use thick carpet pad lined the bottom of cabinet to absorb the sound and vibrations.
If you want to to be almost unheard you'll have to use both the carpet padding and 1/16th EPDM rubber roofing to line the chutes.
If you need the rubber I sell it in strips to line the chutes.
Enjoy'
Rob.M
This is a good solution, except that I'd substitute rock wool for the carpet padding. I've used rock wool to soundproof dozens of rooms for music recording (think of a drummer who lives in an apartment
). It's about 3" thick so I'm not sure if it fits in all the areas of Valley. That's important because you've got to make sure you've covered every millimeter of the surface; sound will escape out of any gaps. The rubber liner will help with any gaps. You can buy non-commercial quantities at Home Depot or Lowe's under the brand name Roxul.You can buy the entire return system, put the rubber on it and then just install it without modifying that wooden one.
Found this thread from a while ago. I was thinking about trying to dampen the sound on my ball return when I next recover. I am curious what the effect would be of spraying a few coats of plasti-dip on the return would be? The return system is wooden, and I don't really like the idea of putting old felt on them. Plasti-Dip is very rubbery after a few coats and might be enough to make the balls not sound like a freight train coming down the tracks... also read something where a dude laid out insulation in the box to deaden the sound.
Just wondering if there had been any recent success stories of quietening down old valley ball returns.
Just wondering if there had been any recent success stories of quietening down old valley ball returns.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I wonder if using thin cork would work? That or the thin rubber gasket material. They do have thin self adhesive backed felt at hobby lobby. I used some on the front sides of a wooden triangle that was giving me less than desirable racks. It helped tighten the rack up but it also made it much quieter. Without the felt it really had a xylophone like sound, very loud. With the felt it is much quieter and got rid of the "ringing" type sound.
The modification I did, of converting the table to a free return, had the side effect of quieting it down somewhat and freed me from having to work the lever. I pulled off the ball view door and removed the gate that keeps the balls in that area. Pretty easy to do and eliminates the loud noise it otherwise makes when all the balls drop and move into the racking end access area.
Once that is done, you could apply sound deadening treatment to the exposed area behind the door. I live alone, so I haven't tried any of that.
Once that is done, you could apply sound deadening treatment to the exposed area behind the door. I live alone, so I haven't tried any of that.