How do I make pockets play tighter

[hang-the-9]

getting longer rails are better than shimming pockets, ive played on tables that were shimmed weird and at certain angles rejected balls every time even hitting dead center with pocket speed.

find a good mechanic to get longer rails for you.

I hate having things like that happen, it's like you are playing 2 opponents. The guy starring at you with the cue, and the table. Where I play I have had many many nice runs foiled by a "thunk" off the inside pocket cushion. Some sides of the tables you have to plan out how the pockets play to avoid having a shot rattle. I'd go with longer rails.

 

[Fast Lenny]

If you want to make the pockets play tighter,find a top player and bet high,the pockets start to get small that way.

 

[grindz]

The cheapest, easiest way is...........

I have noticed that the pockets on my home table are wider than most of the places where I play. How can I make the pockets on my home table tighter?

Can I loosen the rails and try to push them inwards? What exactly is involved with shimming the pockets?

Thanks,
JW

Play the ghost..........and count everything that hits a rail (outside the pocket) as a miss. When you've mastered that....take it to the next step and count every shot (where you have a full pocket to shoot at) and you touch a rail as a miss. That should cure any bad habits until you can get your table shimmed.......the right way.

Good luck.

td

 

[unknownpro]

I guess you kind of miss the point...and reason for replacing the cushions when extending the sub-rail to make the pockets tighter. If you simply use the same cushions you took off, you'd have to stretch the cushions to make up the added length needed to attach the cushions to the now longer sub-rail. In stretching the cushion longer, the draw back to that is that down the road the cushion will pull back from the pocket causing a cupping effect in the pockets. I for one refuse to do half ass, shabby work, but I also charge accordingly. That don't mean that YOU are qualified to charge the same as I do...unless YOU can do the same work as I do, as I've earned the right to charge for what I do, and as always...it's the customers choice to pay it, but under NO circumstances will I lessen the quality of the work I perform...just to satisfy the customers price range....or just to put some much needed money in my pocket. I'd go broke before I start cutting corners...PERIOD!

Glen, the "Realkingcobra"

I don't know if you are talking to me with the quotes being screwed up and all but the stretch marks I am talking about are in the cloth on the underside of the cushion where you can see it with the table recovered. I never heard of anybody trying to stretch a cushion, and never meant for anything I said to imply that. When I say replace the cushion I mean with a new one of the right length.

Are you saying you cannot see tension lines on your cloth even underneath the rails after the table is done? Because I do mine where you can feel and see the bumps immediately after recovering even on the top of the rail. I do this so the rails will play fast. New cloth always plays like crap so it needs to be tight. As it breaks in it smooths out on the top and you can still see stretch lines underneath.

 

[unknownpro]

"Tightened tables" are not done right by adding facings and "quite good" is not the same as "good".
Why give the wrong advice?

Hard facings and soft facings are two completely different animals. One is like leather, the other is like... rubber. Why else would they call them "double shimmed", if they weren't done that way? I didn't say it was the absolute best way, I said it can work well and can be a better option than ripping rails off a table for some situations. You don't believe that it is in fact done that way in many pool rooms with good results?

 

[Dartman]

Hard facings and soft facings are two completely different animals. One is like leather, the other is like... rubber. Why else would they call them "double shimmed", if they weren't done that way? I didn't say it was the absolute best way, I said it can work well and can be a better option than ripping rails off a table for some situations. You don't believe that it is in fact done that way in many pool rooms with good results?

What I believe is that it's time for you to get off your attempt at rationalizing the wrong way to tighten pockets.
If you're getting stretch/tension lines on your rails it seems you also need to train up on installing rail cloth.

The hole you're digging is already pretty deep - possibly a good time to toss the shovel.
.

 

[unknownpro]

What I believe is that it's time for you to get off your attempt at rationalizing the wrong way to tighten pockets.
If you're getting stretch/tension lines on your rails it seems you also need to train up on installing rail cloth.

The hole you're digging is already pretty deep - possibly a good time to toss the shovel.
.

If you don't want to answer the question, then just don't answer it. Oh, that's right, you didn't. You are running your own shovel. If you like slow rails, that's fine. I don't.

 

[Dartman]

If you don't want to answer the question, then just don't answer it. Oh, that's right, you didn't. You are running your own shovel. If you like slow rails, that's fine. I don't.

I, as well as several other respected folks here, have posted the correct way to tighten pockets to assure a good playing table.
Adding an extra set of facings is the cheap way to tighten pockets but does Not assure a good playing table.
What was your question?

 

[realkingcobra]

I don't know if you are talking to me with the quotes being screwed up and all but the stretch marks I am talking about are in the cloth on the underside of the cushion where you can see it with the table recovered. I never heard of anybody trying to stretch a cushion, and never meant for anything I said to imply that. When I say replace the cushion I mean with a new one of the right length.

Are you saying you cannot see tension lines on your cloth even underneath the rails after the table is done? Because I do mine where you can feel and see the bumps immediately after recovering even on the top of the rail. I do this so the rails will play fast. New cloth always plays like crap so it needs to be tight. As it breaks in it smooths out on the top and you can still see stretch lines underneath.

I don't have the cloth stretch shadows under the rails I recover. I in fact posted pictures of correctly recovered rails in the mechanic section, you should look at them And I DO install the cloth tight...LOL

Glen

 

[Dartman]

I don't have the cloth stretch shadows under the rails I recover. Glen

Ditto here.
I'm wondering what tight cloth on the rails has to do with tightening pockets.

 

[Bigtruck]

Rails

I don't have the cloth stretch shadows under the rails I recover. I in fact posted pictures of correctly recovered rails in the mechanic section, you should look at them And I DO install the cloth tight...LOL

Glen

Here's some pics of freshly recovered rails by RealKingCobra.