United pool table

I have an old United pool table. It's actually in pretty damn good shape. The Slate is flat, and it's not all beat up. I bought it from an old lady that wanted it out of her house. I assumed it belonged to her deceased husband. Paid 150 bucks for it, and it came with two sets of balls and a 2001 JP J-14 stick ($450 msrp). I'd say I got a pretty good deal on it. She knew what she had. She just wanted it gone. I obliged.

Here's my dilemma... I believe the cushions were replaced and it appears that k66 cushions were put on it. From the rail facing to the tip of the cushion is an 1 1/8. Problem is, the cushions are too high. The pic looks like they are very close to 1 7/16. Would like to get them between 1 3/8 and 1 7/16. They play kind of dead. It's also possible they're just wore out.

I was wondering if any of you Old-Timers they have worked on United tables remember what profile cushions came on this originally?

The only other solution I can think of would be a little intensive. That would be planning the bottom of the Rails so I can raise this Slate a little bit. I know it's not an expensive table but it's a nice table. And for what I got invested in it I can afford to do a little bit. I'm going to put on new cushions, and Championship Worsted Ultra. I should probably stick with the Mercury Ultra or the valley Teflon, but I've been itching to try this worsted Ultra. Might be a little too fast for a 7-foot, but I can live with that.

The other reason I think the table has had work done on it is the corner pockets are about 4 5/8 ". I thought that was a little uncommon for pockets that tight on a cheaper Bar Box, but I suppose it's possible it's factory.

Is this what you mean? I measured to the aluminum back plate as it is part of the rail assembly.

The playing surface dimensions dont add up either. 38.5 w X 79 L. That's why I dont want to put too much in it. I could get a decent Valley for 500 or 600 around here.

Lawnboy77 said:

Measuring just the cloth covered area. Looks to be about 1-3/4”.

Click to expand...

Correct. And I was wrong about the Aluminum bar. I took a rail off and it stays on the table. But it is 1/8 thick.

After looking for a bit, I found this.
It says they use K55 cushions. And mine does have the sliding T nuts.
The odd part is my end rails are 35 3/4.
It says that should be a fixed T nut rail... but its not.

https://www.moneymachines.com/product/united-billiards-ubi-pool-table-rail-assemblies/

I took a rail apart. It doesn't look like its been re profiled. The angle is between 20 and 23 deg. I'll get a precise measurement when I get a better tool. The profile face is 1 1/4 in. The cushion that came off was definitely a k-66.
1 1/8" top, 1 3/16" glue side.

I guess I'll use the K-66 and mount them slightly below flush with the top of the rail. It won't fix my playing surface dimensions, but it was probably made that way. Good enough to practice on.

I'm progressing (finally) on my table.
Have a question.....

Background.... my previous cushion height was 1 1/2". Played dead as dead can be. Put on new k66 rubber and recovered subrail with worsted cloth. Turned out very well. Better then some of the work I've seen on the tables on town.

Sub Rails... 1 5/8 thick... 23 to 24 deg angle.
k 66 cushions...

I cut 1/8" off the bottom of the subrails (before new cushions were installed) so I could shim the slate up. They still mount in the same location. That was not altered. I put 3/16" shims under all contact points under the slate.

My cushion height is now 1 5/16". A little on the low side. But the ball wont jump even when I throw it pretty damn hard.

The object ball comes off the rail well, but it tends to slide. Should I lower the slate to get closer to 1 3/8"? Or leave well enough alone? I do have 1/8" shims available. Still have old cloth on bed for the moment, so the slide is not from new cloth.

Edit.... to add, I was careful to get the cloth tight without pulling the nose of the cushion down. It did pull down a little, but after stapling and letting go of the cloth, it would spring back up. BOY! I bet you table mechanics have a firm handshake! It sure works those hand muscles!

Ok. I that's how they were when I got it. Never worked on a United till this one and I wasn't sure. That should rotate the rails up slightly and that might get my 1 3/8" nose height. Thanks. Will let you know.

realkingcobra said:

Make sure the rail is under the metal strip before you tighten it up, you can angle it back a little to line it up.

Click to expand...

Will do. First on my list tomorrow.

Thank Glen. You da man. I didn't get the glue off of the slate, but I did remove the 3/16 shims and replaced with 1/8. That allowed me to get the top of the cushion blocks under the lip of the aluminum. Perfect! 1-13/32". The ball slides normally on rebound. On My Way!

realkingcobra said:

Very few mechanics know that the cushion blocks mount under that aluminum trim.

Click to expand...

It does change the angle of the cushion block a few degrees.

Well its done! Turned out really well . The rails were near perfect. Only mistake was a side pocket cushion facing didn't get trimmed quite enough. It sticks up under the cloth a little. The 1/4 facing are a little harder to work with.

The bed cloth turned out really good. It's all nice and tight, the pocket stretches are all perfect. I can see curves in the weave of the cloth in spots. But I'll learn from it and do better next time. Its not to bad but noticable.

The pockets are definitely tighter. Can't get two balls into the jaws of the corners. They are about 4 1/4". The sides are also much tighter...about 4 1/2".

Now the bad... somehow a stray drop of glue got on the cloth, and I didn't notice it in time to get it cleaned off properly. I cleaned it off with acetone and the glue is gone but left a stain. That really PISSED ME OFF! But it might fade over time. I'll have to live with it.

But it really plays good. A lot more action. But the pockets are harder. Just what I wanted.

Oh... and Glen, I took your advice took the time to clean as much glue off that I could. Much cleaner job.

Thanks. All the cushion nose heights are spot on now...plays like it should. It will do for a garage table.