Are Any Tables Made to BCA Specs?

TheBook

Ret Professional Goof Off
Silver Member
According to these BCA specs my table is not right.

http://www.bca-pool.com/play/

6. Rail and Cushion
The rail width must be between 4 [10.16 cm] and 7 ½ inches [19.05 cm] including the rubber cushions. 18 sights (or 17 and a name plate) shall be attached flush on the rail cap with:

12 ½ inches [31.75 cm] from sight to sight on a 9-foot regulation table
11 ½ inches [29.20 cm] from sight to sight on a 8-foot regulation table.

The center of each sight should be located 3 11/16 (+ ) inches [93.6625 mm (+ 3.175 mm)] from the nose of the cushion. The sights may be round (between 7/16 [11.11 mm] and ½ inch [12.7 mm] in diameter) or diamond-shaped (between 1 x 7/16 [25.4 x 11.11 mm] and 1 ¼ x 5/8 inch [31.75 x 15.875 mm]). Any nameplates and score counters should be flush level with rail top. All rail bolts should be thus located that when properly torqued render a quiet and optimum rebound from any point of the cushion nose of the table.






13. Fastening of the Cloth (Guidelines)
Before cloth-covering the slate, a strip of canvas (or table-cloth) should be glued to the vertical pocket cuts of the slates and their underlying wooden slate liner. The table-bed cloth must be stretched for "proper tension" and mechanically attached to the underlying wooden slate liner with fully driven fasteners (staples or tacks) spaced a maximum of 1 inch on center approximately, with at least inch [.9525 cm] penetration into the wooden slate liner. Guidelines for proper tension are as follow:

1. Length of the cloth should be manually stretched as tight as possible,
and then relieved ½ inch [1.27 cm] before attachment, and
2. Width of the cloth should be manually stretched as tight as possible,
and then relieved ¼ inch [.635 cm] before attachment.

When covering the cushions, the cloth must be lengthwise evenly and consistently well-stretched while inserting the featherstrip as well as thereafter. While the cloth is in a stretched condition lengthwise, the cloth must then be stretched in the width up to the moment when indentation of the nose of the rubber cushion is about to start and attached underneath the wooden rail with fully driven fasteners (staples or tacks) spaced a
maximum of 3/4 inch [1.905 cm] on center approximately, with at least 3/8 inch [.9525 cm] penetration into the wood. At the side pocket openings, the rails are to be covered with a minimum overlapping of fabric over the facings. When doing overlappings, great care must be taken so that hidden folds, if any, do not cause balls to jump off the table during play. No folds are allowed in the cloth over the facings of the corner pockets.


The sights on my Brunswick are 3"

What is the purpose of the canvas ?

Does anyone actually use staples that are 1" long?


If you read the other specs I think they are out of date or something got lost in the translation.
 
Yeah, those cloth specs are obviously a little out-dated. The canvas is to prevent the ball from cutting through when it gets rebounded into the edge of the slate. Obviously it's been proven that staples aren't the ONLY way to attach cloth, and many of us have been convinced that gluing is a better way for several reasons. Also, when using the "band-aids" a lot of us use now, it's not necessary to put a strip in behind the tabs.

Fortunately our methods and techniques are finally advancing after many many years of doing things the same way.

Those rule/spec books seem to change year to year. It always kills me playing league when the rul book changes every year. You would think after hundreds of years, we would know how to play 8-ball by now. ;)
 
Those specs are actually from the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) rules effective November, 2001. They may be a little outdated:

http://www.wpa-pool.com/index.asp?content=rules_spec

TheBook said:
Does anyone actually use staples that are 1" long?

You've got a typo in there, it should read "...with at least 3/8 inch [.9525 cm] penetration into the wood".

The BCAPL has it's own rules and equipment specs:

http://www.playbca.com/Downloads/Rulebook/CompleteRulebook.aspx

Here's what the BCAPL says about diamonds (rail sights not tables):

""Diamonds

The center of all diamonds will be 3 11/16” from the cushion nose (no tolerance)."

They don't get into cloth attachment in their specs, I guess they left that up to the professional billiard mechanics :thumbup2:
 
Those specs are actually from the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) rules effective November, 2001. They may be a little outdated:

http://www.wpa-pool.com/index.asp?content=rules_spec



You've got a typo in there, it should read "...with at least 3/8 inch [.9525 cm] penetration into the wood".

The BCAPL has it's own rules and equipment specs:

http://www.playbca.com/Downloads/Rulebook/CompleteRulebook.aspx

Here's what the BCAPL says about diamonds (rail sights not tables):

""Diamonds

The center of all diamonds will be 3 11/16” from the cushion nose (no tolerance)."

They don't get into cloth attachment in their specs, I guess they left that up to the professional billiard mechanics :thumbup2:

That 3 11/16 spec is one that I am referring to. My Brunswick measures 3".
What does that Anniversary in your avatar measure?

The difference would affect shooting at the diamond for 2, 3 and 4 rail shots.

Have they all of a sudden decided to change the diamond system?

Some of those specs remind me of architects writing specs so as not to name a certain product but due to certain features only one can be used.
 
The one in my avatar was hard to measure, but the one in my basement measures 3-9/16ths from the nose of the cushion to the center of the sight. now if id just get the refinishing done, I could get it put together....
 
Who cares about the BCA, they DON'T build pool tables, ever seen how wide the rails are on a Brunswick Metro?...yet the BCA sanctions the tournaments played on them!

Glen
 
Who cares about the BCA, they DON'T build pool tables, ever seen how wide the rails are on a Brunswick Metro?...yet the BCA sanctions the tournaments played on them!

Glen

granted, at least they have something. It highlights some good points but not all for sure.
 
When I started this journey 10 years ago I thought the BCA was the PGA of pool........ WRONG!

Now I think the BCA don't mean squat. That's probably wrong too but not as wrong as my earlier assumption.

The BCA is only a manufacturers organization. They have very little to do with real pool and real pool equipment and real pool players. They've got the $$$$ to do something for pool but they don't do it and that destroys their credibility... imo.
 
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