Dead Rails

9 ball

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I play in my local club & I have noticed that the balls don't react off the cushions as they should during bank shots & such, so I was wondering can anyone tell me how to spot a dead rail during play.
 
dead rails

a thud sound is a good indicater, or shoot a hard table lengyh shot into the foot rail and see if you 4 to 4 1/2 table lengths. As far as not acting like you think they should are you referring to speed or angle as in banking short?
 
Try pressing your finger against the cushion and feel if it still compreses. The rails on an old Gandy in our center felt like concrete. You'll also hear a thud when struck smartly with a ball. You should get three or four rebounds along the length of the table if you hit a ball hard against the rail. Good luck in your endeavor.
 
Try pressing your finger against the cushion and feel if it still compreses. The rails on an old Gandy in our center felt like concrete.

Same with my GoldCrown. The dead spots can be felt. You'll know it when the OB hits there.
 
a thud sound is a good indicater, or shoot a hard table lengyh shot into the foot rail and see if you 4 to 4 1/2 table lengths. As far as not acting like you think they should are you referring to speed or angle as in banking short?

if its a valley, going by sound isn't going to help. Go by the feel of the cushion, it will either get hard or soft. Your second test will also be helpful.
 
You may also want to check and see if the rail bolts have loosened over time.

The Baileys here in town has a bunch of worn out A.E Schmidts and the rail bolts would work loose over the course of a month and they would start banking funny...
 
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