Dents in the felt

P

poolsparky

New member
Can anyone provide documentation on weather you can put a dent in felt by just dropping a ball on the edge of the cushion to check the table roll/level. I have a local person that is telling me that when I drop a ball on the edge of the cushion it causes a dent. I don't see how that's possible. The people I have talked to agree, but if anyone has proof either way I would appreciate it. Thanks
 
poolsparky said:
Can anyone provide documentation on weather you can put a dent in felt by just dropping a ball on the edge of the cushion to check the table roll/level. I have a local person that is telling me that when I drop a ball on the edge of the cushion it causes a dent. I don't see how that's possible. The people I have talked to agree, but if anyone has proof either way I would appreciate it. Thanks
Click to expand...
What do you mean by 'dropping on edge of cushion'?? Other than tapping the head ball on the spot to set it i've never heard of dents in the cloth. Sounds like old pool lore to me.
 
If you could put dents in the felt like that, the felt at tournaments would be cratered like the surface of the moon from the pros playing jump shots on them, where they don't just drop balls but actually hit downwards on them with a good bit of force to make them jump.

That said, I don't understand why you need to drop the balls on the edge of the cushion to check for table roll. Just roll a ball slowly and see if it turns or does anything funny before it comes to a stop. Try that in a couple of directions and at a couple of different parts of the table and that should be all you need to get a good sense of how level the table is.
 
Last edited:
vinay said:
If you could put dents in the felt like that the felt at tournaments would be cratered like the surface of the moon from the pros playing jump shots on them where they don't just drop balls but actually hit downwards on them with a good bit of force to make them jump.

That said I don't understand why you need to drop the balls on the edge of the cushion to check for table roll. Just roll a ball slowly and see if it turns or does anything funny before it comes to a stop. Try that in a couple of direction and a couple of different parts of the table and that should be all you need to get a good sense of how level the table is.
Click to expand...
Well said.
 
poolsparky said:
... I have a local person that is telling me that when I drop a ball on the edge of the cushion it causes a dent. I don't see how that's possible. The people I have talked to agree, but if anyone has proof either way I would appreciate it. Thanks
Click to expand...
If you hold the cue ball up very high and miss the nose of the cushion and hit the table directly, then yes, you could dent the felt. But you have to hold it like 10 feet up. When you hit the nose of the cushion on the way down, the cue ball is deflected nearly parallel to the table and it's like dropping it from a few inches. It's not a problem and it's the way table installers have checked for straight roll for decades if not centuries.
 
I think I know what you are talking about as far as dropping the ball on the rail cushion. A guy I play with likes to do that when he is racking and the cue ball is on that end of the table. He drops it at the edge at the right height so it rolls up to the other end of the table. Maybe the guy testing the table level believes the ball will start rolling straighter than with the hand? Either way the ball won't hit the table any harder than it does when they hop off a cushion any other time during play. It is coming down at an angle, not straight down on the table so that reduces the impact as well.
 
Bob Jewett said:
If you hold the cue ball up very high and miss the nose of the cushion and hit the table directly, then yes, you could dent the felt. But you have to hold it like 10 feet up. When you hit the nose of the cushion on the way down, the cue ball is deflected nearly parallel to the table and it's like dropping it from a few inches. It's not a problem and it's the way table installers have checked for straight roll for decades if not centuries.
Click to expand...
Been playing for 40yrs and i've never seen this done. Not once.
 
garczar said:
Every installer i've seen just slow rolls a ball with a cue.
Click to expand...
If you hold a ball with two fingers, with your fingers fore and aft of the direction you want to roll the ball, then drop it on the nose of the cushion , there should be absolutely no accidental spin on the ball to throw it off.
 
buckshotshoey said:
If you hold a ball with two fingers, with your fingers fore and aft of the direction you want to roll the ball, then drop it on the nose of the cushion , there should be absolutely no accidental spin on the ball to throw it off.
Click to expand...
How hard is it to slow-roll a ball without spinning it?? Not very is all i'm saying.
 
garczar said:
How hard is it to slow-roll a ball without spinning it?? Not very is all i'm saying.
Click to expand...
I understand where you're coming from . But , for some people, it's very difficult. Just ask some people to hit a long straight in shot, and follow the cue ball into the pocket. You know exactly what I mean.
 
buckshotshoey said:
I understand where you're coming from . But , for some people, it's very difficult. Just ask some people to hit a long straight in shot, and follow the cue ball into the pocket. You know exactly what I mean.
Click to expand...
I bet i've seen 500+ tables re-covered over the last 40yrs. Not one mechanic ever did this. Slow rolling a ball straight for 7-9ft is not hard. Use a stripe and just soft hit it, a tad above ctr. Pretty easy folks.
 
garczar said:
I bet i've seen 500+ tables re-covered over the last 40yrs. Not one mechanic ever did this. Slow rolling a ball straight for 7-9ft is not hard. Use a stripe and just soft hit it, a tad above ctr. Pretty easy folks.
Click to expand...
Just because you haven't seen it before, doesn't mean it's a bad way to do it . And I can do it without ever picking up a cue. So which way is easier? I swear to God you just like to argue sometimes .

The best time to check for table level is before you recover it. If you roll it on bare slate, it's REALLY easy to see.
 
buckshotshoey said:
Just because you haven't seen it before, doesn't mean it's a bad way to do it . And I can do it without ever picking up a cue. So which way is easier? I swear to God you just like to argue sometimes .

The best time to check for table level is before you recover it. If you do it on bare slate, it's REALLY easy to see.
Click to expand...
Why do you keep answering then?? BTW, i've seen tables re-done by some of the best in the biz. NOT ONE ever did this. If the tech knows how to use a mach. level he shouldn't have to roll any balls. I've watched the Diamond factory guys set up a Pro and it was dead perfect when they got done. No ball rolling of any kind.
 
Last edited:
buckshotshoey said:
You are right... Everyone else here is wrong. It's not that old dogs can't learn new tricks... Sometimes they just refuse to learn.
Click to expand...
Can't be much of a trick seeing how not one mechanic that i know of has ever used it. Not against new things if they work/make sense. This just seems lame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top