Best replacement cushions to increase rail speed for Brunswick table

[John Matranga]

Hi guys,

I have a 9' Brunswick table with Champion ProAm cloth. The cushions on my table are verifiably slower than the clubs in which I shoot in, and I decided to change the cushions.

The table mechanic (recommended to me by two different friends) changed the cushions recently, but my stimp meter shows the new rails are actually slower than the ones replaced! The mechanic says Brunswick speed cushions are identical to the K66 cushions he just installed and won't make a difference. He further states that Artemis cushions will not fit my rails. I am flummoxed. I suspect there are faster cushions available but do not know which brand or type to select.

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ChrisinNC]

Mechanic said he used K66 profile cushions. This is one thing that concerns me.

That is your problem. If he was an experienced mechanic, he would have known to use K55 profile cushions on a Brunswick table, or if he didn’t know, at least make sure to check and find out before he went through the trouble of replacing them. Good luck with getting him to do it right at no additional charge to you.

 

[Lawnboy77]

True, however, I would like to replicate the speed of the tables on which I play

Yeah I'm in agreement with garczar, just get used to adjusting to different tables. There are way too many factors involved to expect every table to play the same. You are going to be so distracted from the game if you get caught up in this chase to achieve the perfect speed. Cushions are only one factor. I did a little testing with my two different rails at the foot end using my stock Anni foot rail with an Artemis cushion (K-55) installed and the other with a pro-cut rail with a Superspeed cushion (K-55) installed. This video is the Superspeed rail torqued to 15 ft.lbs. Really not much difference when all the other factors are the same. I didn't post a link to the Artemis video, but you can see where the Artemis paper circle ended up in this video. Just get the right cushion for your table (K-55) and use a good quality cloth that is stretched correctly and go play pool!

 

[mikemosconi]

Mechanic said he used K66 profile cushions. This is one thing that concerns me.

Not trying to jump all over you, but a lesson here for any other "still learning" - don't spend money on table repairs, expensive cues or cue repairs until you ask advice on this site. Some of the guys here really know their stuff, as evidenced by the responses, Too many table and cue repair guys claim to know their stuff, when they really do not, or cut corners anyhow to make more $$.

That said, at this point you may just learn to adjust from table to table; the guy won't come back for free and give you K-55s- all of us have been through costly learning experiences regarding billiard stuff.