Loosening the pockets on a Diamond table

snookered_again said:
at about 1 min 8 sec, you can see he has the rails upside down and you can see how the pocket irons or corner pocket castings or whatever you like to call them fit there.
If one were to move the rails inward or outward there might need to either material removed or shims to get those parts to fit tight to each other where they butt against the ends of the rails.

My take is that one could add more thickness to the rubber facings at the ends of the rail cushions without doing damage ( if you dont mind recovering the rails.)

Adjusting the shelf or trimming the rails or adding to them to move the cushions is technically possible, but a bit extreme. If you add 1/8" more to the facings that would reduce the pocket size by about 1/4"

If one did not like the modification, or was selling the table to another, then the rails can then be adjusted or recovered with new rubber.

if the table is sold or moved then the felt may be renewed anyway, and its nicer if the carpet matches the curtains, so that might be the time to fool around with all that.
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If you add an 1/8" facing to both side of the pocket, the reduced size is about 3/8" not a 1/4", sorry. And there is NO changing the pocket size on the Diamonds from the corner pocket assembly, you're talking about something you know nothing about!
 
Coos Cues said:
I have the best nine foot diamond table on the planet earth. Rebuilt from the ground up by the best diamond table mechanic on the planet earth. Every pocket is exactly the right size. Every cushion is exactly the right angle and height.

No roll offs anywhere.

And I didn't see a miter saw on his truck.
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Roll offs I buy. What exactly is, "Every pocket is exactly the right size." ?
 
straightline said:
Roll offs I buy. What exactly is, "Every pocket is exactly the right size." ?
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The rails were marked with a template while the table was assembled. So that once it was cut and put back together, they were all exactly as they should be.
 
straightline said:
Roll offs I buy. What exactly is, "Every pocket is exactly the right size." ?
Sheldon said:
The rails were marked with a template while the table was assembled. So that once it was cut and put back together, they were all exactly as they should be.
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Not only are each pocket exactly within thousandths of an inch the same opening size but also the same angle both opening and down. The condition of the original sizes and angles from the diamond factory was appallingly sloppy. And since the work was done by the best table mechanic on the planet, the actual opening size is exactly correct too as well as the angles. Not too loose, not too tight. So the table plays exactly as it needs to in the overall best interest of the game of pocket billiards. 4 and 7/16" for those not in the know. But also in conjunction with the angles I can't recite but they are perfect. Well hit balls never rattle and poorly hit ones do frequently. Exactly right with the world. Players of all skill levels can enjoy the game. Some of you will think well that's just my opinion but it's actually fact. Every deviation from this is going in the negative direction of equipment. There should be once and for all one standard specification for all tables manufactured to be taken seriously and this is it. The coin ops serve a different market and set of goals.

I have to add that when new cloth is installed on this or any other table they will play unnaturally easy for a couple of weeks before settling in to perfect. This is why it's too easy for so many pros you see on newly reclothed tables. Get them on used cloth they miss way more shots.
 
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Have an 8' Diamond professional and ordered it with league cut pockets. I would not do that again if I were to ever purchase another table. Table plays great, now that it is releveled, but that situation of two balls trapped in the corner does happen at times.
Also when out playing on 7' Diamond bar boxes, they seem to accept the balls much easier, and they appear to have the 4 1/2" pockets. This is not just my opinion, but also a masters player that comes over by us to practice. You really have to watch your speed on some shots.
I have read somewhere that the league cut pickets create a slightly deeper shelf, but have no idea if that is so.
Really love my 8' professional table, it is one of the best investments I have ever made in quality and enjoyment, but if ever doing over would get the standard 4 1/2" cut.
 
muskyed said:
Have an 8' Diamond professional and ordered it with league cut pockets. I would not do that again if I were to ever purchase another table. Table plays great, now that it is releveled, but that situation of two balls trapped in the corner does happen at times.
Also when out playing on 7' Diamond bar boxes, they seem to accept the balls much easier, and they appear to have the 4 1/2" pockets. This is not just my opinion, but also a masters player that comes over by us to practice. You really have to watch your speed on some shots.
I have read somewhere that the league cut pickets create a slightly deeper shelf, but have no idea if that is so.
Really love my 8' professional table, it is one of the best investments I have ever made in quality and enjoyment, but if ever doing over would get the standard 4 1/2" cut.
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Wider pocket openings create more surface shelf area for the balls to sit on, that's why the pocket shelfs appear to be deeper.
 
If all the bolts are not tightened all the way, its possible to create a bend in the rail to favor the pocket.

I think its the inner bolts have to be tight and the out bolts are not tightened.

Not installing a pool table the correct way can provide unusual insights.
 
justnum said:
If all the bolts are not tightened all the way, its possible to create a bend in the rail to favor the pocket.

I think its the inner bolts have to be tight and the out bolts are not tightened.

Not installing a pool table the correct way can provide unusual insights.
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Wow, in 40+ years working on pool tables and I've never heard that one before😅🤣😂
 
rostym said:
I have a friend that has a Diamond 4 1/2 x 9 table that has very tight pockets. I didn't measure them, but I can attest that they are the tightest I've ever played on. He's having his table re-felted in August and I asked if he was going to have the pockets opened up a bit. He said he had considered this but someone told him that they would have to cut back the cushions to do so. I set up a few of my own tables years back (always Brunswick tables) and there was enough play in the positioning of the cushions so that the pocket width could be varied by moving the rails in or out a bit. Possibly there is a single position where the rails are supposed to be set, but I know on those tables the pockets could be opened or closed a little by repositioning the cushions. What is the correct way to open up the pockets a little. Is repositioning the cushions out a little acceptable? Thanks for any information you can provide.
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4.5 is standard. The only "looser" pocket is their league cuts at 4.75 vs 4.5. I did the swap from league to pro cuts and I had to do a full rail swap. Once I have the coin I wanna go down to 4 inches. I would say keep the 4.5's and work on fundamentals. These are the standard pockets for league tournament play for non pro's.
 
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