Dead rails questions

A dead rail is a rail that does not rebound the ball or has less action than a good rail.

A few common causes are:
the rubber has hardened over time
The rubber has separated from the backing

Dead rails play....dead.
 
A dead rail is a rail that does not rebound the ball or has less action than a good rail.

A few common causes are:
the rubber has hardened over time
The rubber has separated from the backing

Dead rails play....dead.


....Or the rail can be loose.:(
 
The balls will typically lose speed coming off the rail (no life in the rubber) and the rebound angle is longer (wider). They play like crap and very difficult to figure out how the ball will react coming off the "dead" rail.
 
lack of play can kill a rail. happens a lot when buying a table that's been in storage for a long time.
 
on the topic of rails

my rails are new but balls are hopping in the air and when shooting directly into them and up the rail, the balls are bouncing out of the pockets or off the table, lol. I attribute this to cheap ass rails, too soft maybe and the angle of the short rail is too open causing ball to bounce back out instead of accepting it. the hop I know is usually from rail being a little low but looks fine compared to local bar table. Any suggestions on brand or place to buy quality cushions at a reasonable price would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
my rails are new but balls are hopping in the air ...snip.

I got one hoppity-hop side rail. The sound of a ball hitting the rail in the bad area is "boinnnggg" , and the balls just hop into the air as they rebound from the rail.

I measured the rail nose height at the bad section, and it was lower than every other rail by almost 1/16 inch.

My balls going airborne because the rail was hitting them below the belt.

Ouch, not fair.
 
my rails are new but balls are hopping in the air and when shooting directly into them and up the rail, the balls are bouncing out of the pockets or off the table, lol. I attribute this to cheap ass rails, too soft maybe and the angle of the short rail is too open causing ball to bounce back out instead of accepting it. the hop I know is usually from rail being a little low but looks fine compared to local bar table. Any suggestions on brand or place to buy quality cushions at a reasonable price would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Could be rails too low. What kind of table is it. Johnnyt
 
not a name on it anywhere, just a cheap 8' , 3 piece slate. may be imperial a friend thought, but at any rate, basically trying to make an ok table with what I got now.
 
Gentlemen, there's a lot of junk pool tables in the market just waiting for someone to buy them, either new or used. I say junk because there's a whole lot of pool tables out there that I just won't work on because I consider them to be throw away tables, that mean when you're done with it, throw it away, and if you pay someone to work on them, then all you're doing is throwing away your money, of which I won't take part in.

Glen
 
Gentlemen, there's a lot of junk pool tables in the market just waiting for someone to buy them, either new or used. I say junk because there's a whole lot of pool tables out there that I just won't work on because I consider them to be throw away tables, that mean when you're done with it, throw it away, and if you pay someone to work on them, then all you're doing is throwing away your money, of which I won't take part in.

Glen
Good to know!

Might be helpful to tell people what tables you do work on VS. Those you don't!

I would hate to see someone make a poor decision over the holidays! Especially, when it can be avoided!

Kd
 
Cushions play "dead" when the nose becomes hardened or the cushion becomes detached from the subrail. The cushion is made from a combination of natural gum rubber, synthetic rubber, and stabilizing chemicals. Over time, the cushion can harden which makes it lose its rebound speed. You can depress the nose of a cushion with your thumbnail. If it depresses easily then it is probably OK. It is very easy to feel a cushion with a hard nose.

Have a qualified mechanic replace your cushions and the problem will be solved. If the cushion is detached from the subrail, your mechanic can reattach it when your table is being recovered.
 
This is a big problem with old Valley tables...

I got one hoppity-hop side rail. The sound of a ball hitting the rail in the bad area is "boinnnggg" , and the balls just hop into the air as they rebound from the rail.

I measured the rail nose height at the bad section, and it was lower than every other rail by almost 1/16 inch.

My balls going airborne because the rail was hitting them below the belt.

Ouch, not fair.

over time they keep getting recovered and the rails somehow get a little lower in spots. Sometimes the whole rail.
The only solution to the problem is to shim up the rail. This will also cause the rails to react real springy. Players think the rails are bad but you can put more rails on and the problem is still there.

Shim up the rails and this will fix the trouble.
 
Bandaids...bandaids...bandaids, that's all that is. Fix the rails right, then there's never a problem. The problem is, who to call to fix them right in the first place...that is the real question. With so many so called self proclaimed pool table mechanics that everyone seems to give a shout out to, and the old saying...."it ain't rocket science"....then why are there sooooooo' many screwed up pool tables out there?
 
Bandaids...bandaids...bandaids, that's all that is. Fix the rails right, then there's never a problem. The problem is, who to call to fix them right in the first place...that is the real question. With so many so called self proclaimed pool table mechanics that everyone seems to give a shout out to, and the old saying...."it ain't rocket science"....then why are there sooooooo' many screwed up pool tables out there?
Good point!

"Who" amongst the repair community does work you approve of?

You travel the country and have a wait list! I am sure there are other mechanics specifically qualified in rail extension?

Mid-Atlantic area Scruffy1 = John Burns
West Coast area Oscar Dominquez
Mid West area Perfectpocketz = Mark
USA area Realkingcobra= Glen

These are the "BIG" players in the table mechanic business. Please add and subtract to this list! I have first hand experience with John Burns!!! The rest I have either seen posted examples of their work or heard good things from reputable pro pool players. My geographic locations may be off, please update accordingly!

KD
 
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