break shot on older table - balls don't spread?

S

smashmouth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i'm convinced the local 7 ft bar table has something wrong with it, balls barely spread on the break

new cloth, new balls, new rack, and I personally bring a magic rack and enough decent enough players with decent enough break shots

balls spread ok from a centre table position but anything off centre like a corner break to either head ball or second ball gets nothing and even the centre table shots are hit and miss

would it be the slate causing this? hairline cracks maybe messing with the initial inertia?
 
smashmouth said:
i'm convinced the local 7 ft bar table has something wrong with it, balls barely spread on the break

new cloth, new balls, new rack, and I personally bring a magic rack and enough decent enough players with decent enough break shots

balls spread ok from a centre table position but anything off centre like a corner break to either head ball or second ball gets nothing and even the centre table shots are hit and miss

would it be the slate causing this? hairline cracks maybe messing with the initial inertia?
Click to expand...

Some tables just don't break well but it can be because of a lot of factors. The rubber on the rails could be shot, the rack itself could be bad (even though it's a magic rack), there could be cracks in between balls, etc..
 
smashmouth said:
i'm convinced the local 7 ft bar table has something wrong with it, balls barely spread on the break

new cloth, new balls, new rack, and I personally bring a magic rack and enough decent enough players with decent enough break shots

balls spread ok from a centre table position but anything off centre like a corner break to either head ball or second ball gets nothing and even the centre table shots are hit and miss

would it be the slate causing this? hairline cracks maybe messing with the initial inertia?
Click to expand...

Good question. I just played in a new local tournament for the first time Thursday night and experienced, mostly the same scenario. But in this case, everything but the cloth was old and ragged. No different than in other bars here in town but both of these tables were extremely stingy on the breaks. Not sure what cloth was used, it's in good condition, but it is a little nappy. It was humid Thur night and doors were wide open. I first suspected the rails and while they probably aren't in great shape, they didn't seem dead or anything while playing banks, etc.
 
smashmouth said:
i'm convinced the local 7 ft bar table has something wrong with it, balls barely spread on the break

new cloth, new balls, new rack, and I personally bring a magic rack and enough decent enough players with decent enough break shots

balls spread ok from a centre table position but anything off centre like a corner break to either head ball or second ball gets nothing and even the centre table shots are hit and miss

would it be the slate causing this? hairline cracks maybe messing with the initial inertia?
Click to expand...

Replace the rubber on your rails
 
zpele said:
Some tables just don't break well but it can be because of a lot of factors. The rubber on the rails could be shot, the rack itself could be bad (even though it's a magic rack), there could be cracks in between balls, etc..
Click to expand...

as mentioned, it's more than one type of rack and its new balls with no cracks
 
smashmouth said:
as mentioned, it's more than one type of rack and its new balls with no cracks
Click to expand...

Most likely the rails like was mentioned. If it's the slate that's a bigger problem. Sometimes slate can get dented from people banging balls in with other balls during the racking process. Racking correctly is also something that has to be learned and may have something to do with it.
 
I'd say its the rubber in the rails. Either the rubber itself is dud, or its become loose from the rest of the table. I've played on tables like that and the balls just die off the first rail they contact, and its more noticeable at high speeds such as the break. One table I played on was a bar table in Greece. It was in the running for the least responsive rails of all time. I had to hammer the break, and use a ton of topspin to send the cue ball through the pack after in the hope of kicking a few balls into open play. Its awful playing on a table that bad, so my advice would be to look elsewhere for a table to play on.
 
The three most common culprits for dead breaks ....in my experience....
Humidity
Loose and or dirty cloth
The weight of the table.....the lighter the table, the worse it breaks.
 
I don't stay up with this stuff so this is just a guess, besides the obvious bad cushions, I know years ago they made rubber backed cloth for commercial use, It prolonged the life of the cloth but played like mud. Maybe they used that stuff. Not to mention the balls are probably cheapo balls. But, I have no idea if that cloth is even used anymore.

Well ... guess they do still make it.
 
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The OP said the balls are not spreading out of the rack... twice. It has nothing to do with the rails. Johnnyt
 
JohnnyT has the answer I believe. Try moving the cloth with your hand. It prob moves. There are a lot of bad table mech's out there.
 
I'm gonna sound like a total jerk here, but I've played on all kinds of tables! Everything from perfect to garbage all in the same day;) this being said, when it comes to the break, it's 99.99% all about you!! Period;)

First thing is you need to learn how to rack, second, you need to learn how to break!

All I will say is "Joe Tuckers racking secrets"

Give me 5minutes on pretty much any table, any game, I'll figure the break out;)

Oh, and 1 more thing, when I play, it's always rack your own;) 99% of the players really don't understand the rack! They think it's always gotta be perfectly tight and perfectly straight. Soooooooo not true;)

Get racking secrets by Joe Tucker, you will learn:)
 
Johnnyt said:
The OP said the balls are not spreading out of the rack... twice. It has nothing to do with the rails. Johnnyt
Click to expand...
The balls aren't spreading out of the rack...err, so they don't make it to the rails? Is the OP breaking with a tooth pick? Or perhaps they are glued to the baize. I've played on cloth that
was only glued on the outer inch or so of the table and it broke fine, played fine, even though I could pinch the cloth in the air. It must be the rails that are absorbing all the impact and completely killing the balls. If they aren't spreading and not even making it to the rails then its the person breaking, not the table, humid or not.
 
Pidge said:
The balls aren't spreading out of the rack...err, so they don't make it to the rails? Is the OP breaking with a tooth pick? Or perhaps they are glued to the baize. I've played on cloth that
was only glued on the outer inch or so of the table and it broke fine, played fine, even though I could pinch the cloth in the air. It must be the rails that are absorbing all the impact and completely killing the balls. If they aren't spreading and not even making it to the rails then its the person breaking, not the table, humid or not.
Click to expand...

This is correct.
 
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