Non adhesive material that sticks to table cloth?

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
Hi all, I wasn't sure what the right forum to ask this question was so I thought the main would be the best place...

I'm curious if anyone is aware of a material either plastic, cloth or otherwise that is very thin and stays in place on table cloth, but not with adhesive like the little paper donuts..

I was thinking that very thin film type material like telecine, with one side slightly 'scuffed' might do the trick but thought I'd ask about any other thoughts before I started experimenting..

Thanks for entertaining such an odd question -

b
 
What are you trying to do with it?

Another piece of cloth will "stick" on the table as it is often used as a pad when breaking.

🎱
 
I'm thinking about re-usable alternatives to the little white donut stickers, I can't stand trying to peel them up and move them, it annoys me.

So I looked for something better and reusable and found nothing, therefore I thought I might be able to find / invent something better.

Using standard cloth would be too thick, that's why I was thinking scuffing up some thin flexible plastic *might* do the trick. I've ordered some .003 thickness acetate film to start testing with, but I'm skeptical it will stay in place without adding some kind of 'tack' to it, we'll see if scuffing works or not I suppose.

b
 
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I'm thinking about re-usable alternatives to the little white donut stickers, I can't stand trying to peel them up and move them, it annoys me.

So I looked for something better and reusable and found nothing, therefore I thought I might be able to find / invent something better.

Using standard cloth would be too thick, that's why I was thinking scuffing up some thin flexible plastic *might* do the trick. I've ordered some .003 thickness acetate film to start testing with, but I'm skeptical it will stay in place without adding some kind of 'tack' to it, we'll see if scuffing works or not I suppose.

b

"Avery" clear self adhesive reinforcements are .003 inches thick.
They peel off easily and re-stick many times.
Keep track of where you put them, as they are hard to see once stuck down.
 
"Avery" clear self adhesive reinforcements are .003 inches thick.
They peel off easily and re-stick many times.
Keep track of where you put them, as they are hard to see once stuck down.

I have some of these and maybe it's just me but I still feel like they are a giant pain in the butt to peel up and re-use.

Here's my use case and thought. I practice 9 ball racks by breaking or throwing the balls out, then I number donuts 1-9 + blank for cueball. I sticker up everything and do my runout, stickering the cueball if I know a shot or position is going to be tough. This allows me to repeat tough shots or positions and try new patterns. I usually play each rack 3 times - this creates an awful lot of 'sticker work'...

In my head I see a thin acetate sheet of larger donut type things, colored and numbered for balls, these are not adhesive but stay put when placed on the table (scuff, tack, something). Easy to pickup and put in new places for new racks, and can be stuck onto a single sheet for storage.

Crazy, unnecessary or interesting? I'll be testing something soon to see if my scuffed acetate has any merit.

b
 
You might just photo the layout first....wouldn't that be good enough?

Jeff Livingston

Good suggestion, I tried this but I could never get the balls to the exact same spot. it's workable for when I'm resetting the entire rack, but when I screw up a shot mid-rack I like to quickly put it back exactly and keep trying until I get the right shot + position 3x in a row...
 
I'm thinking about re-usable alternatives to the little white donut stickers, I can't stand trying to peel them up and move them, it annoys me.

So I looked for something better and reusable and found nothing, therefore I thought I might be able to find / invent something better.

Using standard cloth would be too thick, that's why I was thinking scuffing up some thin flexible plastic *might* do the trick. I've ordered some .003 thickness acetate film to start testing with, but I'm skeptical it will stay in place without adding some kind of 'tack' to it, we'll see if scuffing works or not I suppose.

b

Learn Meditation...

Or, do what the brits do to mark Snooker Tables for million dollar tournaments,
make x's with white chalk - brushes off with no discernible residue.

Dale
 
I have some of these and maybe it's just me but I still feel like they are a giant pain in the butt to peel up and re-use.

Here's my use case and thought. I practice 9 ball racks by breaking or throwing the balls out, then I number donuts 1-9 + blank for cueball. I sticker up everything and do my runout, stickering the cueball if I know a shot or position is going to be tough. This allows me to repeat tough shots or positions and try new patterns. I usually play each rack 3 times - this creates an awful lot of 'sticker work'...

In my head I see a thin acetate sheet of larger donut type things, colored and numbered for balls, these are not adhesive but stay put when placed on the table (scuff, tack, something). Easy to pickup and put in new places for new racks, and can be stuck onto a single sheet for storage.

Crazy, unnecessary or interesting? I'll be testing something soon to see if my scuffed acetate has any merit.

b

I see where you are going. What about a thin plastic that clings to wool/nylon electro-statically? Rub on the cloth to charge? Of course a ball rolling over might have a better attraction, and lift it.
 
I see where you are going. What about a thin plastic that clings to wool/nylon electro-statically? Rub on the cloth to charge? Of course a ball rolling over might have a better attraction, and lift it.

Interesting idea, that's my worry about the acetate or thin film in general that the balls will lift them. I have some material coming next week and I'm going to play with some ideas. Most likely i'll just go back to those annoying donuts, but who knows...

I'll be the acetate donut king of the tri-state area!! muahahaha.
 
Learn Meditation...

Or, do what the brits do to mark Snooker Tables for million dollar tournaments,
make x's with white chalk - brushes off with no discernible residue.

Dale

I always assumed this would be bad for the cloth, and not come out entirely, is it really that simple? Why would people mess with those annoying little sticky bastard donuts?
 
I always assumed this would be bad for the cloth, and not come out entirely, is it really that simple? Why would people mess with those annoying little sticky bastard donuts?

Because they are there?

An alternate method would be to use a thin piece of paper. It is probably easier to dream up
a few ways of ensuring the paper can be returned to the same spot, than to find
something that sticks but is not sticky.

Dale
 
Because they are there?

An alternate method would be to use a thin piece of paper. It is probably easier to dream up
a few ways of ensuring the paper can be returned to the same spot, than to find
something that sticks but is not sticky.

Dale

Good point, thank you for the input

b
 
Why would people mess with those annoying little sticky bastard donuts?

Because they have a tiny hole in them that automatically centers the ball in the exact location every time?

Personally, I couldn't be bothered with the things for most drills. Why be anal about precise ball placement during drills when the balls never lay that way during a game? A long back cut to a corner pocket is a long back cut to a corner pocket. You need to learn how to see that shot in all of its variations, not just at certain predetermined angles.
 
Without some kind of adhesive, wouldnt you be faced with either a velcro-type stickiness, or attachments prone to move?

The first would be a poor choice for long term use, due to potential thread damage, the second inneffective.

I think...
 
Because they have a tiny hole in them that automatically centers the ball in the exact location every time?

Personally, I couldn't be bothered with the things for most drills. Why be anal about precise ball placement during drills when the balls never lay that way during a game? A long back cut to a corner pocket is a long back cut to a corner pocket. You need to learn how to see that shot in all of its variations, not just at certain predetermined angles.

I would respectfully disagree. The benefits of being able to place the ball and cueball in the EXACT same spot to repeat failed shots and entire runs quickly over and over has been incredibly valuable to my improvement. I can play with english, speed etc. and know that there are no minor angle changes that are influencing each shot differently.

In my humble opinion it addresses the 2 most important things in my practice, 1) being able to repeat a shot over and over. If just playing the ghost, I might see a tough shot/position a couple times all with small differences and 2) it really forces me to pay attention and I believe my brain is registering all of these shot pictures faster

b
 
I would respectfully disagree. The benefits of being able to place the ball and cueball in the EXACT same spot to repeat failed shots and entire runs quickly over and over has been incredibly valuable to my improvement. I can play with english, speed etc. and know that there are no minor angle changes that are influencing each shot differently.

In my humble opinion it addresses the 2 most important things in my practice, 1) being able to repeat a shot over and over. If just playing the ghost, I might see a tough shot/position a couple times all with small differences and 2) it really forces me to pay attention and I believe my brain is registering all of these shot pictures faster

b

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as dismissive. Lots of very good players use them in their practice routines. If it helps you play better, I'm all for it.

One thing you might try is the stuff the Accu-Racks are made from. It is has a fine felted backing to it that keeps it in place on the table during the break. Maybe Chris Renfro would supply you with some scrap material. Or maybe he can manufacture tiny circles of the stuff himself and market them to serious pool players. Heck, I might give the markers a try myself if they weren't so annoying to place and remove.
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as dismissive. Lots of very good players use them in their practice routines. If it helps you play better, I'm all for it.

One thing you might try is the stuff the Accu-Racks are made from. It is has a fine felted backing to it that keeps it in place on the table during the break. Maybe Chris Renfro would supply you with some scrap material. Or maybe he can manufacture tiny circles of the stuff himself and market them to serious pool players. Heck, I might give the markers a try myself if they weren't so annoying to place and remove.

I wasn't offended, just not trying to sound like a know it all when I play at a C level, lol.

The accu rack material idea is really a great idea, thank you - I'm going to follow up on it along with the other materials I'll be testing, although I would be greatly dissapointed if they stole my idea and created it :(

b
 
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