"Ball Hop" off the rail

9BallPaul

9BallPaul

Banned
Owning a home table sometimes drives me crazy. Now I'm convinced that balls "hop" off a couple rails on my talbe. I can't see this happening, and I can't detect any weird bounces, but it sure seems like I can hear it.

Sounds like a ball bouncing off slate.

Is this a bad thing? What should I do about it?
 
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nothing to worry about, if you lived in lower elevation this wouldn't happen a bit. if it really bothers you though, try Florida, sure the hurricanes can be a pain, but no more hops off of rails....
 
sorry Paul, I'm in one of those moods....I'll give you another BUMP, so someone who ACTUALLY knows something will see this and answer. :)
 
have you checked the cushions to make sure they are firmly attached? And ditto the bolts holding the entire top rails down. Either can make a deep sound when it first starts to get loose, even before affecting the playability. You might also consider posting this in the table mechanics forum, as the combined knowledge of those guys is nothing short of spectacular:)
 
9BallPaul said:
Owning a home table sometimes drives me crazy. Now I'm convinced that balls "hop" off a couple rails on my talbe. I can't see this happening, and I can't detect any weird bounces, but it sure seems like I can hear it.

Sounds like a ball founcing off slate.

Is this a bad thing? What should I do about it?
Click to expand...

Cloth is damp. This often happens when table is in basement or some other very humid place. makes the balls climb the rails.

Dick
 
i played in a room full of Gandy Big G's years ago, when they had them recovered once right after that the balls went off the slate bed when ever you went into a cushion with any speed, playing banks would have been impossible. After a month they realized the rails were a bit to low and raised them just a hair and the problem was solved(kinda, they were still not so good)
 
What you need is a rail height guage. Rail hop happens when the rails are to low or the rubber is getting hard or a combination of both. I've had it happen and raising the rails usually corrects the problem. However there was still a tiny hop on a couple of tables because the rubber was hard. Changing the cushions took care of the problem.

Rod
 
I would also post this in Ask the Mechanic section. The response might be better.
 
Low cushion nose height is not always the correct answer;) as there are several reasons you can get that slight ball hopp off the cushions. Take a Diamond for example with Artemis cushions. Even with the nose height set at 1 7/16" and no humidity to speak of, if the cloth on the nose of the cushions is very worn because of the amount of play there is on the table, the balls when banking can actually grip the cushion more depending on the angle of rebound. This increased grip is caused by thinner cloth on the nose of the cushions. Kind of like if there was no cloth at all on the cushions, all the balls would hopp no matter what kind of cushions they are. So, one needs to have all the facts before rushing to any "one" conclusion, so you need to know what kind of table it is, what kind of environment it's in, what kind of cloth is on the table, for how long, what condidion the cushions are in, what is the nose height...etc...

Glen

PS. Believe it or not, it even makes a difference in how tight the cloth was installed on the bed and rails.
 
realkingcobra said:
Low cushion nose height is not always the correct answer;) as there are several reasons you can get that slight ball hopp off the cushions. Take a Diamond for example with Artemis cushions. Even with the nose height set at 1 7/16" and no humidity to speak of, if the cloth on the nose of the cushions is very worn because of the amount of play there is on the table, the balls when banking can actually grip the cushion more depending on the angle of rebound. This increased grip is caused by thinner cloth on the nose of the cushions. Kind of like if there was no cloth at all on the cushions, all the balls would hopp no matter what kind of cushions they are. So, one needs to have all the facts before rushing to any "one" conclusion, so you need to know what kind of table it is, what kind of environment it's in, what kind of cloth is on the table, for how long, what condidion the cushions are in, what is the nose height...etc...

Glen

PS. Believe it or not, it even makes a difference in how tight the cloth was installed on the bed and rails.
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What more can you tell me if the table only has and area of about eight inches that has the hop? The rest of the table is fine.
 
dabarbr said:
What more can you tell me if the table only has and area of about eight inches that has the hop? The rest of the table is fine.
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Is it the foot rail that has the hopp, right around the first diamond in from either side?

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
Is it the foot rail that has the hopp, right around the first diamond in from either side?

Glen
Click to expand...
Actually it's on the side rail by the foot the first 8 inches next to the corner pocket. Very annoying when playing one pocket.
 
dabarbr said:
Actually it's on the side rail by the foot the first 8 inches next to the corner pocket. Very annoying when playing one pocket.
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I see that a lot on one pocket tables, on both sides. The cushion is unglued at the bottom of the cushion right there. Feel it, and see if you can detect where it's unglued. Is this a GC?

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
I see that a lot on one pocket tables, on both sides. The cushion is unglued at the bottom of the cushion right there. Feel it, and see if you can detect where it's unglued. Is this a GC?

Glen
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If it's unglued I can't really tell. It pretty much feels the same to me as the other rails. The table is a Brunswick centennial.
 
dabarbr said:
If it's unglued I can't really tell. It pretty much feels the same to me as the other rails. The table is a Brunswick centennial.
Click to expand...
Look down the nose of the cushion from the side pocket to the corner pocket, look to see if the cushion dips right there in that area compared to the rest of the cushion, that would create a low spot in the cushion giving you the hopp. If it's straight, then the cushion is unglued. Are this the original cushions, or have you had them replaced, if so what are the cushions?

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
Look down the nose of the cushion from the side pocket to the corner pocket, look to see if the cushion dips right there in that area compared to the rest of the cushion, that would create a low spot in the cushion giving you the hopp. If it's straight, then the cushion is unglued. Are this the original cushions, or have you had them replaced, if so what are the cushions?

Glen
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After giving it the eye ball test from the way of the side pocket the rail appears to be slightly lower at the area in question. Actually fairly noticable.
The rubber was replaced about 5 or 6 years ago to the German rubber. Artimus?
 
dabarbr said:
After giving it the eye ball test from the way of the side pocket the rail appears to be slightly lower at the area in question. Actually fairly noticable.
The rubber was replaced about 5 or 6 years ago to the German rubber. Artimus?
Click to expand...
Was it the K66 or K55 cushion profile, or do you know? If you don't know, then who replaced the cushions?

Glen
 
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