Magic rack, ball redirection

Never had a problem with the Magic Rack. I've had the CB lose draw because the center of the CB upon contact was directly on the rack...but that's my own fault for being lazy and not removing it after the break.

Template racks work better than any type of rack on the market and for a fraction of the price of say a Delta.
 
My point is that the rack scrunches up and you can see what happens to the balls.

The wood rack has no way to interfere with the game once you remove it.

Black-Balled said:
what is your point?
Is it:
That any change to a surface will change the surface?
Traditional racks work better than templates?

Yes and no.
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Pidge said:
Never had a problem with the Magic Rack. I've had the CB lose draw because the center of the CB upon contact was directly on the rack...but that's my own fault for being lazy and not removing it after the break.

Template racks work better than any type of rack on the market and for a fraction of the price of say a Delta.
Click to expand...

The clear vinyl paper reinforcement rings (avery #05722) rack just as tight as the magic rack and they will not redirect a ball even at the slowest speed. They take some work to get them in the exact spots but once you do they are good for the life of the cloth because if one of them shows wear you can replace it in the exact spot easily by peeling it off and using the clean ghost ring to reposition the new one. I have had mine on for several months and have only replaced one of them. Start with a normal spot and punch a hole in the center of it about the same size as the one in paper reinforcements and build your rack back from there. They are not a distraction for aiming either as sometimes you cant even see them unless the light shines on them just right. I built only a nine/ten ball rack on my table and use the regular triangle to rack 8 ball as the front rows sits tight in the template and the last row is simple to get tight with the two outer balls on each side up to it without additional circles. You can buy a roll of 1000 of them for about 6 bucks. This is a lifetime supply for many of us.

JC
 
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tommyceilings said:
My point is that the rack scrunches up and you can see what happens to the balls.

The wood rack has no way to interfere with the game once you remove it.
Click to expand...

As Blackballed mentioned, they aren't even using it properly. It's all scrunched up before they even break. Looking at it, it doesn't even look like a magic rack, but an imitation of one that isn't even cut right to start with. Never seen a white one, only clear and black.
 
tommyceilings said:
My point is that the rack scrunches up and you can see what happens to the balls.

The wood rack has no way to interfere with the game once you remove it.
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i use one at home and dont remove it after the break. it is true that is does alter the path of slow-moving balls.

that said, it rarely comes into play in a manner that changes the shot in any measurable fashion.

using a triangle rack results in an imperfect rack every time, basically.

therefore, the benefis of the template far outweight its negatives, imo.
 
JC said:
The clear vinyl paper reinforcement rings (avery #05722) rack just as tight as the magic rack and they will not redirect a ball even at the slowest speed. They take some work to get them in the exact spots but once you do they are good for the life of the cloth because if one of them shows wear you can replace it in the exact spot easily by peeling it off and using the clean ghost ring to reposition the new one. I have had mine on for several months and have only replaced one of them. Start with a normal spot and punch a hole in the center of it about the same size as the one in paper reinforcements and build your rack back from there. They are not a distraction for aiming either as sometimes you cant even see them unless the light shines on them just right. I built only a nine/ten ball rack on my table and use the regular triangle to rack 8 ball as the front rows sits tight in the template and the last row is simple to get tight with the two outer balls on each side up to it without additional circles. You can buy a roll of 1000 of them for about 6 bucks. This is a lifetime supply for many of us.

JC
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Thanks for that i might try them out. 1000 should last me a good few months. I play too much pool :(
 
Pidge said:
Thanks for that i might try them out. 1000 should last me a good few months. I play too much pool :(
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but the problem with reinforcers is they do not provide protection against the hole that the 1 makes on bare cloth with repeated hard breaking.
 
Black-Balled said:
but the problem with reinforcers is they do not provide protection against the hole that the 1 makes on bare cloth with repeated hard breaking.
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That's why I start out with a regular spot and punch a small hole in the center of it for the front ball to sit on and construct the rack back from there. I used my magic rack as a template to position the circles initially but even then it's tricky to get them in the right spot. But you can peel them up and move them pretty easy, usually without even destroying them if you do it right away. Oddly the longer this is on my table the better it seems to rack tight without much effort.

JC
 
JC said:
That's why I start out with a regular spot and punch a small hole in the center of it for the front ball to sit on and construct the rack back from there. I used my magic rack as a template to position the circles initially but even then it's tricky to get them in the right spot. But you can peel them up and move them pretty easy, usually without even destroying them if you do it right away. Oddly the longer this is on my table the better it seems to rack tight without much effort.

JC
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Ahh...I have never been clear that the punched out piece was used. I thought you made a hole in the spot and used the missing part as the tepmplate for the 1.
 
Pidge said:
Template racks work better than any type of rack on the market and for a fraction of the price of say a Delta.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. I use the Magic Rack and have had several odd things occur when shooting over it. I rarely shoot over it now.

What I gain in a good consistent rack is far more than what I lose by having to remove it after the break. Which is less than the time I gained by using the template rack.
 
JC said:
That's why I start out with a regular spot and punch a small hole in the center of it for the front ball to sit on and construct the rack back from there. I used my magic rack as a template to position the circles initially but even then it's tricky to get them in the right spot. But you can peel them up and move them pretty easy, usually without even destroying them if you do it right away. Oddly the longer this is on my table the better it seems to rack tight without much effort.

JC
Click to expand...


I put the regular spot on first, then put the re enforcer over the spot. I bought one of the slug doctors when they were available and its the absolute nuts. When playing full rack I put them all in my delta and slide it up into place. Perfect rack every time, and have not had to change out one enforcer yet.

When playing away from home I always try to use a magic rack, the slight chance that a ball may be minimally effected is no biggie compared to having a good rack every time.
 
woody_968 said:
I put the regular spot on first, then put the re enforcer over the spot. I bought one of the slug doctors when they were available and its the absolute nuts. When playing full rack I put them all in my delta and slide it up into place. Perfect rack every time, and have not had to change out one enforcer yet.

When playing away from home I always try to use a magic rack, the slight chance that a ball may be minimally effected is no biggie compared to having a good rack every time.
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Same here, I have the Slug Doctor and just apply to the spot. What I like is everyone gets the same rack, to twisting or turning of the rack..
Mark
 
Here is an example of this rack template in use from my three breaks while performing Dr. Dave's exam. Notice from this camera angle you can't even see the rings on the table.

JC
 
The way I'd put it is:

Will a magic rack interfere with where the balls end up after the break? Yes.
Will a triangle interfere with where the balls end up after the break? Yes.

They both affect the outcome of the game.
One affects the outcome very rarely by causing a rolling ball to slightly veer off,
in cases where someone can't or won't remove the rack.

And the other affects the outcome by causing shitty dry breaks with extra clusters,
and by allowing the money ball to drift dangerously close to the hole.

I choose the first option.
 
Hole reinforcers only work if the balls are all the same size... Same as the magic rack in that if the balls end up getting out of spec by more than a little bit you won't have a frozen rack... Hole reinforcers will allow you to move them closer to the center ball but now you have to have the right ball in the right hole which means you are having to pattern rack to get it to work....

Accu-Rack Templates work on the balls even when they are worn... That's my sales plug for today... followed up with.... I'll take a good rack on a template every day over having to deal with the inconsistencies of a wooden triangle, tapped spots on the table, and the additional wear a template prevents in the rack area....

Not to mention the fact that some shady individuals will never give you a good rack if you leave them with the triangle...

1st Funniest thing I have seen so far was a rack mechanic trying to shit rack using one of my templates... He racked 12 times trying to split the balls the whole time swearing it wouldn't freeze them... I was concerned and was walking over to ask him if they were having an issue when I heard him tell the guy who was with him he couldn't keep his opponent from making a ball because he couldn't get any gaps....

2nd funniest thing was a guy who swore he made more balls without the 10ball template and it was hurting his break.. He was counting on the gaps in the rack to randomly let a ball fall when he had no clue as to how to even break 10ball.. Got the same thing from a girl who didn't even have a break.. Granted if you know what gaps can help you it's one thing but when you think any gap is gonna help you are misinformed and a few bricks shy of a load.....

Since the balls spread out properly using a template the only ball in the rack area is usually the key ball... The odds of the template interfering with a rolling ball that was going to maybe freeze up or block a pocket are way less than 1%... I've been making and using templates for 2+ years now and while I will admit the path of a ball sometimes is changed slightly I have yet to see a case where I thought it may have impacted the actual outcome of the break to make it substantially harder or easier.....

My last comment is that a hole re-enforcer will alter a slow rolling ball just like a divot where the balls have been tapped in will... Anything on the surface or done to the surface is going to have an effect. It just comes down to the fact that having a good rack every time is far outweighs the few times you see a rolling ball alter course by a small amount....

Food for thought,
Chris
 
nateobot said:
Sounds like a job for SloMoHolic!
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I have some slow motion shots of the Magic Rack rippling during the break. It's like a wave that travels from front to back.

However, it is very rare. Usually the Magic Rack just lays perfectly flat throughout the break.

I might shoot a few clips of what happens when you try to draw the cue ball from a shot that positions the bottom of the CB in the plastic...

-Blake
 
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