My Simonis cloth plays extremely slow? Help or Advice Appreciated

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can you cut a small piece of cloth hanging somewhere around the edge of the slate? From a small piece it's pretty obvious which side should be up, the up side is much smoother than the down and the down side's a bit fuzzy.
Usually a good installer / mechanic will / should at least offer to leave you some scrap pieces of the cloth he's trimmed off the sides or ends after installing the bed cloth, for you to use for break pads.
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Omg, I think you might be right! Looking at the biggest picture, it does indeed seem to be upside down! If true, that mechanic should be hung, drawn and quartered! It's tough to tell from a picture, but really easy when you hold it in your hands and look at it in person.
This is right side up.

See if you can get to a piece of cloth by going underneath the table, and feel it. The down side should feel rougher and fuzzier. The other side should feel smoother, with more even texture.

This is what the weave pattern looks like on the surface side, don't matter what color it is, look how tight the weave is.
 

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JZMechanix

Active member
Silver Member
One way to tell for sure would be to turn the room lights off and shine a black light on the cloth. You should see a serial number printed on the cloth which is a security measure that Simonis uses to tell if the cloth is indeed Simonis. I don't think the serial number will show up if the cloth is indeed upside down.

That being said, it looks correct to me, but the pics aren't the clearest.

I'm going to be reclothing a table here soon in the slate grey Simonis 860, which is I think the same color you have. I'll try to take a few good pics of the top and bottom of the cloth to show the difference.
 

Johnny Rosato

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If it's installed upside down and you want the installer to reimburse you, re-install it, or cover the cost for someone else to install new cloth correctly, be aware that some members will want you to just eat the cost and not bother the guy. You know, just "let it go"!
(Read a couple recent threads about stolen cues and you'll understand what I'm saying. SMDH)
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If it's installed upside down and you want the installer to reimburse you, re-install it, or cover the cost for someone else to install new cloth correctly, be aware that some members will want you to just eat the cost and not bother the guy. You know, just "let it go"!
(Read a couple recent threads about stolen cues and you'll understand what I'm saying. SMDH)
If you can confirm for certain the cloth was installed upside down, I certainly would't want the same mechanic touching my table again! If he doesn't know the right side of the cloth, I guarantee you he doesn't know how to properly level a table and properly install / stretch the cloth on the table. The best you can likely hope for is to get him to reimburse you either for the cost of the labor to hire another mechanic to do it correctly, if the cloth can be flipped over and re-used, or the cost of the cloth, roughly $225. Then find a reputable and experienced table mechanic to fix / finish the job correctly. Either way, you're likely to take a hit for $ something, unless the installer has enough integrity to admit his error and reimburse you for the entire $ amount you spent - cloth and labor.
 
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JZMechanix

Active member
Silver Member
Here's a few comparison pics of the top and underside of Simonis 860 in Slate Grey. The bottom in noticeably "nappier" and not near as smooth as the top side.

IMO it's obvious that the OP's cloth is indeed installed correctly.


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bradsh98

Bradshaw Billiard Service
Silver Member
Here's a few comparison pics of the top and underside of Simonis 860 in Slate Grey. The bottom in noticeably "nappier" and not near as smooth as the top side.

IMO it's obvious that the OP's cloth is indeed installed correctly.

Jack! Good to hear from ya!

I think that close-up photos can be deceiving, as I still believe that the OP's cloth is upside-down. And here is why:

The OP's cloth has been installed for a year, so most of the fuzziness would have been worn away by now. Also keep in mind, the OP's cloth is currently installed, so it is under tension. If you look at the first picture that he showed, you can see a well defined thread weave pattern in his cloth. It looks like straight channels in the cloth. Simonis only looks like that from the backside. When installed correctly, you have to look very carefully to see the weave, as the surface is quite smooth. The surface of the OP's cloth does not look as smooth as it should. Hence the comments about the "blue jean table".

I could be wrong, but that's my take anyway.. Reminds me of the first Gold Crown that I ever bought.. That had Simonis Green 860 installed upside-down. It was a turd.
 

JZMechanix

Active member
Silver Member
Hi Geoff,
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, buddy! I say its correct as is but the black light test will be the proof, short of seeing which side the logo is printed on. Have a great day! :thumbup:
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Jack! Good to hear from ya!

I think that close-up photos can be deceiving, as I still believe that the OP's cloth is upside-down. And here is why:

The OP's cloth has been installed for a year, so most of the fuzziness would have been worn away by now. Also keep in mind, the OP's cloth is currently installed, so it is under tension. If you look at the first picture that he showed, you can see a well defined thread weave pattern in his cloth. It looks like straight channels in the cloth. Simonis only looks like that from the backside. When installed correctly, you have to look very carefully to see the weave, as the surface is quite smooth. The surface of the OP's cloth does not look as smooth as it should. Hence the comments about the "blue jean table".

I could be wrong, but that's my take anyway.. Reminds me of the first Gold Crown that I ever bought.. That had Simonis Green 860 installed upside-down. It was a turd.
Yep, and it would have shed little nap balls.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Jack! Good to hear from ya!

I think that close-up photos can be deceiving, as I still believe that the OP's cloth is upside-down. And here is why:

The OP's cloth has been installed for a year, so most of the fuzziness would have been worn away by now. Also keep in mind, the OP's cloth is currently installed, so it is under tension. If you look at the first picture that he showed, you can see a well defined thread weave pattern in his cloth. It looks like straight channels in the cloth. Simonis only looks like that from the backside. When installed correctly, you have to look very carefully to see the weave, as the surface is quite smooth. The surface of the OP's cloth does not look as smooth as it should. Hence the comments about the "blue jean table".

I could be wrong, but that's my take anyway.. Reminds me of the first Gold Crown that I ever bought.. That had Simonis Green 860 installed upside-down. It was a turd.
After re-reading the original post, if it's been roughly a year since being installed, I think it's a little late for the client to expect the installer to reimburse for anything other than perhaps the free labor to flip the cloth over,
if it is indeed confirmed to have been installed upside down.
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After re-reading the original post, if it's been roughly a year since being installed, I think it's a little late for the client to expect the installer to reimburse for anything other than perhaps the free labor to flip the cloth over, if it is indeed confirmed to have been installed upside down.
UH, yeah. Way too late.
 

PoolBoy1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
install a dehumidifier, my son had the same problem with his cloth and voila. This has been an exceptionally year for humidity.
 

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
After re-reading the original post, if it's been roughly a year since being installed, I think it's a little late for the client to expect the installer to reimburse for anything other than perhaps the free labor to flip the cloth over,
if it is indeed confirmed to have been installed upside down.

Why, is there a statute of limitations on incompetence? He should re-do the job, with new cloth, and do it quickly. This is down right embarrassing for a professional to get this wrong.

It was his fault and he should make it right, whether or not it was 1 day or 1 year.
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Why, is there a statute of limitations on incompetence? He should re-do the job, with new cloth, and do it quickly. This is down right embarrassing for a professional to get this wrong.

It was his fault and he should make it right, whether or not it was 1 day or 1 year.
There shouldn't be.
And that mech should jump on the opportunity to make a friend by redoing his own work and helping his customer .
And he should jump on it so he'd learn and be better at his trade .
It's not like it's going to take him weeks in fixing that table .
It'll take him one off night .
 

jtothea

Registered
Sorry I haven't commented back in a couple of days as I've been busy with work.

I understand completely that its been a year and am not at all looking for any reimbursement nor do I want to publicly bash the installers as they were professional and courteous during the install. If it is upside down (could've possibly just been human error?), I would have someone reinstall it correctly, if its installed correctly, I'm not sure what I will do. I have indeed tried to cut some excess cloth from underneath the table or around the pockets but the installers did such a neat trim job around with a razor that there is hardly any excess. Sorry for the poor quality, I will try to snap a couple of better photos. Thank you everyone for the responses. I will almost be relieved if its upside down as I can have someone just flip it and solve the problem.
 

jtothea

Registered
here are some updated photos that may be better, one has the flash on so it looks bluer. If its installed correct, i just don't want to invest money in a new cloth if I'm going to get the same results. I've also noticed that this cloth feels (when you physically run your hand on it) starched or stiff (kind of like when you buy a new dress shirt) whereas other tables feel more delicate silky and smooth, I've just assumed that it felt like that because it was new and lightly played on?
 

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Cory in DC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
here are some updated photos that may be better, one has the flash on so it looks bluer. If its installed correct, i just don't want to invest money in a new cloth if I'm going to get the same results. I've also noticed that this cloth feels (when you physically run your hand on it) starched or stiff (kind of like when you buy a new dress shirt) whereas other tables feel more delicate silky and smooth, I've just assumed that it felt like that because it was new and lightly played on?

I'll be damned if half your pictures look right and half don't. Maybe it was installed only halfway upside down!
 
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