Installing cloth on rails

panthike

panthike

Kool-Aid --- "Oh Yeahhh!"
Can someone explain to me how to put cloth on rails properly? Or if possible direct me to a website with some instructions. The problem is at the ends of the rails inside the pockets to be exact.. when i first got my table i didn't know how to put everything together properly and someone mentioned to my father that they used to do it professionally years and years ago...

The only thing I couldn't really figure out was how to wrap the pieces of cloth i had around the ends without getting folds in the felt. He said he would assemble the rails and dad and I finished up the rest. After a while he comes out with all the rails and they were butchered (took pictures see below)... he wasn't chargin us anything for doing it (you'll see why).. and I didn't know how to do it any better.. after 3 days of having a partially assembled brand new pool table just sitting there, I decided to just put them on like they were.

A few months had passed and 5 of the 6 cushions went completley dead, and the company offered us new rails, which i received yesterday. So today I took all of the rails off and tomorrow i'm gonna put the cloth on the new ones and then put them all back on..

When i see other tables i can't even see a seam where the cloth may have been cut.. but it doesn't seem possible to fold the cloth like that without overlapping occuring.

Any help's appreciated

- they told me i could keep the old rails.. which are basically the same as the new ones except the design on the outside isnt as good.. i'm considering using them to build a nice matching poker table

- it's 2:30am here and i'm pretty tired, please excuse my typing

- i would pay a professional to do it but i live in the middle of nowhere and can't find one

- middle of nowhere = the closest pool hall is a few hundred kilometres away ( i don't even have a car/license.. there was one about 90km from here but it along with a bank and convenience store burnt down last december..






pockets0cd.jpg
 
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Look at the simonis web site

try the simonis website. i think they have a diagram of cloth instalation. Seems you have the old style heavy cloth. It should work out.

pat
 
Go to Bestbilliard.com They have excellent instructions for covering rails. There are even a couple of videos that show how to handle the rail ends. You might have to pay $10.00 but it is worth it. I used there instructions and my rails came out good.
 
cloth guide

If you go to www.seyberts.com. they have the installation guide in the cloth section of Champion cloth. There are other places to find it on the web just can't remember right now. Good luck.
 
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I am sorry but this has to be one of the funnier posts there is on here. I am sorry to laugh @ your expense but that is the WORST rail job I have ever seen!!! Here is a quick breakdown on how to do it...

You see the top right picture. The rail on the right is the correct way to do a side pocket. You do what is known as a hospital corner if you were making a bed. This will be tough to explain in words but here goes . Lay the rail topside down. let the cloth cover the end of the rail from the top (as you are looking at it) over the facing. Put a finger on the cloth to push it against the face and fold the cloth over your finger and wrap it over (which would be the top as you were looking at it). Now pull it tight angling your pull towards the back of the rail. This will tighten the crease on the face. Wrap it under (or over the top as you are looking at it) the rail and staple it.

For a corner pocket facing you angle the way you pull on the cloth over the rails and try to get your folds under the rail so there are no visible folds on the face or the underside of the rail. Being that your cloth is thick there is a good chance you will end up with ripples in the cloth on the underside of the rail. Those are ok as long as you dont have any on the pocket facing or on the nose of the rail. I like to start my corners first when covering a table because when I put the feather strip in I can actually start angling the cloth then. Thus when I wrap the cloth around the rail there are no ripples in it. But it sounds like you want to repair what damage has been done using the existing cloth so try to work with what you have. Start pulling from the middle and work your way to the end. Pull the cloth and angle your pull (from the center to the end) until the wrinkles are gone and staple. Grab the cloth around 1 staple width away and pull that one and angle the pull again. As you make the turn around the end of the rail the cloth may fold over itself. That is ok as long as the fold does not go over the edge and into the visible part of the rail. Just staple it and grab another piece. I find using a pair of pliers works very well when doing the end rail. It helps in angling the direction of your pull. I also think it will be essential to what you are trying to do because I am sure that there won't be much cloth left to pull on after this guy got a hold of it.

I hope I was able to explain this properly. It really is difficult to put into words.

JV
 
Folding the corners is like doing upholstery work or wrapping a gift. Either you are a patient person and will take your time and do a good job or you are impatient, will be in a hurry, and it will look terrible.

If you are patient, then the secret is to fold the cloth time and again until it looks just right. Then use an electric iron on the "wool" setting to iron the fold just right. Next fiddle with how the cloth will fold back behind the cushion. Trim away excess cloth while at the same time leaving certain pieces long which will keep the fold in place.

Here are all the books and links I know about...

At the bottom of the page (on the following link), click on the following...

View The Championship
Fabric Installation Guide

http://www.champbilliards.com/product_details_fabrics.asp?prod_id=1

Cloth cutting...
http://www.poolndarts.com/store.cfm/cat/86.cfm

Book: The Green Book - Pool Table Maintenance Manual...
http://www.ozonebilliards.com/greenbookpoo.html

Booklet: Secrets of Pool Table Recovering...
http://www.mccauleyweb.com/secrets.htm

Book: Pool Table Sales and Service
Order from:
Conway Billiards
1696 W. Morton Ave.
Porterville, CA 93257
559-782-0505

The following site offers online instructions, but to get a password, you need to make a purchase or pay for access...

BestBilliards - Pool Table Recovering Instructions...
http://www.bestbilliards.com/recover

Book: The Billiard Guidebook - Mose Duane
(I have not read this, so don't know what it covers...)
http://www.billiardfanatic.com/product.asp?ID=699&DPTSub=03-006


Also there is a book called "Minnesota Fats on Pool" which has recovering instructions.

Note: The only book I know of which covers coin-op table recovering in any detail, and at that very little, is "Pool Table Sales and Service".
 
all done

well i went at it today and am a lot happier with the results...

there's only one pocket that has a fold over that could possible affect the ball's entry into the pocket and that was the first one i did (top picture)..

i would've done the rest the same as that but on the very next one i did, the cloth i had to work with was kinda limited in places which made things alot harder... and ended up coming up with a way of doing it that worked better gamewise (bottom picture)..

i ended up doing that for the rest of them.. just a short crease at the bottom of the rails under the contact point of the ball to the rubber... and not actually on the inside of the pockets... so the balls can't actually hit it.. they didn't look as clean as the first one of course but it was still 10x better then the way the originals were.. thanks for your help guys

pocketsnew1zx.jpg
 
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