Do folds at side pockets affect play?

Shaft

Shaft

Hooked and Improving
Silver Member
It seems to me that no matter how little flabric you tuck under the fold, the surface will be uneven and could affect the rebound of a ball hitting the inside of the corner.

Plus, a fold would have two (or maybe even three) full layers of cloth on the angled face and this might deaden the bounce.

On the other hand, pre-compressing the cushion with a super-tight foldless stretch might affect the play as well.

So I have two questions:

1. Is this a lesser-of-two-evils kind of thing?

2. Is it "pool heresy" if I consider using two types of cloth: A good worsted wool for the bed (like Simonis 860), and something really stretchy for the rails? (Color match could be a problem.) Anyone ever do this?
 
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's possible to tuck the fold in a way that it's a single layer of cloth covering either facing of the side pocket. The fold can go underneath the rail adjacent to those facings. Therefore it shouldn't give any weird bounces.

Basically, if the ball has enough gas to touch that facing, it will drop based on the rebound angle. If it rebounds past the shelf it drops and if not it stays up. There isn't one situation in 10 million where 1 layer of cloth will rebound harder and make the ball drop, while 3 layers of cloth would slow it down too much and it stops just at the lip. If you hit a ball that soft into the side, you screwed up anyway.

A badly folded/cut/glued facing sucks, and the worst is a slightly curved facing. It can make balls rattle out for no apparent reason. Stuff that comes close to the nipple flies away at random angles.
 
Shaft said:
It seems to me that no matter how little flabric you tuck under the fold, the surface will be uneven and could affect the rebound of a ball hitting the inside of the corner.

Plus, a fold would have two (or maybe even three) full layers of cloth on the angled face and this might deaden the bounce.

On the other hand, pre-compressing the cushion with a super-tight foldless stretch might affect the play as well.

So I have two questions:

1. Is this a lesser-of-two-evils kind of thing?

2. Is it "pool heresy" if I consider using two types of cloth: A good worsted wool for the bed (like Simonis 860), and something really stretchy for the rails? (Color match could be a problem.) Anyone ever do this?
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If the folds are done properly they won't affect play as much as trying to do them without the folds. You end up with the cushions pulled in adjacent to the pockets. If you have a ball frozen to this area of the cushion you can't shoot it directly in any pocket.

And to answer your other question about rail cloth, years ago they used to sell rail cloth on a roll that was like a sock with open ends. I've only seen it used on barboxes by people who couldn't cover rails correctly. It really sucked! I'd stick to conventional methods with a good table mechanic.
 
Yes, the folds at the side pockets can definitely affect play. I have played on many tables where balls hit at the top or outside edge of those folds and bounce sideways or upwards and out.

I came up with an ugly solution, lol. My 4 and 1/2 inch side pockets have a loose edge glued along the outside and down the point to keep the doubled fold at the top of the rail and out of play. It doesn't look that great but plays true so that ball speed is not much of a factor. My pockets are pretty square cut compared to a gold crown though, so that may not work on other tables. I'd be interested in a more professional looking solution.
 
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