facing angle

D

dendweller

Well-known member
Was talking to a local mechanic the other day and he was saying he likes to angle the facing back some so it's not in play when a ball hits the rail next to the pocket. The initial setup on my table appeared to be like that and and although it was double shimmed the pockets played pretty lively.

I've also seen pics by mechanics where the facing appears to be trimmed right in line with the rail making a very sharp point.

Having had 3/8 soft facings and knowing the way that reacts when a ball hits it (pretty dead), I'm wondering how much better it is if you have 3/16 facings that are sharp. Seems you would get the same dead hit only less often.

So I guess I'm wondering what people that install them think, do you like to have the facing give a sharp point or do you angle them back a bit to get them out of play.
 
Anytime you hit right where rubber and facing touch you can get a 'thuddy' hit. Varies due to facing thick/hardness. He went this route due to price and the table plays fine. WAY less than a full-on sr mod.
 
I ended up going with 3/16" neoprene facing material rated at 60A. This was at the advice and examples of the top mechanics that frequent the forum. The goal being to have a facing material that closely matches the durometer rating of the cushions to avoid that dead hit.

I also ended up tightening up the miter to 141 to offset the softer facing. The thought was that traditional (harder) material should hold it's shape better when struck and direct the OB into the pocket. The softer facing would bend open when struck by an OB and generate rattle. The logic seemed reasonable so I went with it...lol
 
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