New Here. Thinking about refelting my table myself

[nitro28]

I am new to the forum but have been playing leagues for a while now. A little bit about me. I play with a Troy Downey cue. I bought this cue from him in 1998. It was one of the very first, if not the first cue he made. I am actually contemplating selling it soon because I want to buy another custom cue from him. I got a pool table given to me by my father in law. It is in really nice condition but one of the rails is rock hard and the felt is the long nappy stuff. So I was thinking about replacing the bumpers and the felt myself. I am a big do it yourselfer and I have watched guys do it before. One issue I have is the pockets on this table are really wide for some reason and the corners going into the pockets are rounded. It is WAY to easy to slop a ball into. So if I double up the end pads on the end of the rails do you think I can bring the table pockets back to spec? Here are a few pics with measurements and a couple of my cue.

 

[TurdFerguson]

Quite easy to do, but takes some practice.The second time you do it will be perfect...the first you may have some glitches.

Key:

Very carefully take off old rubber. It is easy to pull some of the wood with the rubber. This you don't want.

Measure how high the old rubber is off the bed. Check internet for optimum height for your balls.(basically 2/3 of height of ball) When attaching the new rubber, carefully keep it all at that height consistently.

You can cut the length of the rubber how you want. Check the standard angles for corners and sides, or can simply use old rubbers as template.

You can cut the rubbers slightly longer in order to close up your pockets, and/or add another facing or tow to the ends of the rubbers. When applying facing(s) you can tailor the edge how you want.

Use very fresh razor blades for cutting rubber and facings. Plan to use 4-5 blades easily. I use the replacement OLFA blades, which are about 4 inches long.(no knife) Use soapy water to allow the blade to slide through rubber more easily.

When re-applying the cloth to the cushions, be sure not to "overpull" the cloth...which can cause very subtle differences in the rebound. Also, when upholstering the cushion/rails it takes some practice to pull it around the corner angles, so be patient. Be sure that you do not leave a "bunched" up bit of cloth under the rail, which will slightly affect the height of the nose from the bed.

Note: It looks as though one of your corner pockets pictured is not "square". The rails are not set quite perfectly on the table I don't think. In the last 2 pocket pictures, they both don't appear square.

Cheers...Good luck.

 

[matteroner]

I guess i disagree here....I think it is actually very hard to do this work properly...

check out the mechanics forum

this will help you level the table

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=54538

you can put thicker facings on but you need to use 60 durometer neoprene and can only use a max of a 1/4"

The rubber you need to know what profile to use k55 or k66 . The best rubber is artemis and will last a lifetime

Simonis makes DVD's for the rail cloth install and bed cloth install. Any other way of doing it is wrong.

Use 3m-10 glue to adhese the new rubber .....

if you truely want to tighten the pockets then you need to do subrail extensions which will take some woodworking skills.

but do a ton of research on the mechanics forum....and it can be done

you'll probably want simonis cloth as the cloth you have now is junk.

good luck .....there is a huge difference between a hack mechanic (99% of them) and a real table mechanic anyone who says it's easy probably doesn't know how to do the work properly...

 

[quadrary]

Quite easy to do, but takes some practice.The second time you do it will be perfect...the first you may have some glitches.

Key:

Very carefully take off old rubber. It is easy to pull some of the wood with the rubber. This you don't want.

Measure how high the old rubber is off the bed. Check internet for optimum height for your balls.(basically 2/3 of height of ball) When attaching the new rubber, carefully keep it all at that height consistently.

You can cut the length of the rubber how you want. Check the standard angles for corners and sides, or can simply use old rubbers as template.

You can cut the rubbers slightly longer in order to close up your pockets, and/or add another facing or tow to the ends of the rubbers. When applying facing(s) you can tailor the edge how you want.

Use very fresh razor blades for cutting rubber and facings. Plan to use 4-5 blades easily. I use the replacement OLFA blades, which are about 4 inches long.(no knife) Use soapy water to allow the blade to slide through rubber more easily.

When re-applying the cloth to the cushions, be sure not to "overpull" the cloth...which can cause very subtle differences in the rebound. Also, when upholstering the cushion/rails it takes some practice to pull it around the corner angles, so be patient. Be sure that you do not leave a "bunched" up bit of cloth under the rail, which will slightly affect the height of the nose from the bed.

Note: It looks as though one of your corner pockets pictured is not "square". The rails are not set quite perfectly on the table I don't think. In the last 2 pocket pictures, they both don't appear square.

Cheers...Good luck.

the pockets are never cut at 45 degrees or 135 depending on your perspective so ignore that piece of advice.

 

[nitro28]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I was going to go with either simonis or the gorina basalt which is what my local pool hall uses where I play leagues. I am a woodworker and I use to do custom car stereo installation, so I am at least a little familiar with wrapping items and building out things. That said, I realize this type of thing is an art, but I just want to give this a try because the table isnt a high end table by any means and the supplies are relatively cheap.

 

[Cdryden]

I think if you were just changing the felt, that's not too hard. Changing the cushions....well I'm glad it's you and not me. Just be meticulous and make sure you get good info from someone who knows what they are doing.

Good luck to you.

BTW--- I like your cue!

 

[Not Dead Ted]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, I was going to go with either simonis or the gorina basalt which is what my local pool hall uses where I play leagues. I am a woodworker and I use to do custom car stereo installation, so I am at least a little familiar with wrapping items and building out things. That said, I realize this type of thing is an art, but I just want to give this a try because the table isnt a high end table by any means and the supplies are relatively cheap.

If you are a woodworker and want to do the job right, you won't tighten the pockets by gluing rubber on the end. Your best options are:
a) mill a new set of rails for the table (good woodworker project)
b) perform subrail extentions.

I suggest you search the mechanic's forum for subrail extentions, and go to the bestbilliards.com website (which is not available Sundays) for more info. The bestbilliards website also has some good instructions and video for refelting and building.

 

[nitro28]

If you are a woodworker and want to do the job right, you won't tighten the pockets by gluing rubber on the end. Your best options are:
a) mill a new set of rails for the table (good woodworker project)
b) perform subrail extentions.

I suggest you search the mechanic's forum for subrail extentions, and go to the bestbilliards.com website (which is not available Sundays) for more info. The bestbilliards website also has some good instructions and video for refelting and building.

yah, I have a full woodworking shop so I will at least fabricate some extensions. Just seems odd to me that a table would have such wide pockets. But i guess that is why it was a cheaper table. At least it is slate.

 

[matteroner]

yah, I have a full woodworking shop so I will at least fabricate some extensions. Just seems odd to me that a table would have such wide pockets. But i guess that is why it was a cheaper table. At least it is slate.

here is what you will need to do

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=251071&highlight=subrail+extensions
(make note that this is a thread that shows how to fix an improperly done subrail extension...so it shows what not to do and what you need to do.)

when you cut the cushions you just really need to rough cut them. Then you take a mini makita belt sander and smooth them out.

again you'll want artemis cushions but you need to know the profile that the table takes which involves finding out the angle of the subrail.

try to get the simonis dvd's they will show you how to do the recover of the rail and bed....


when you do the subrail extensions the down angle is important, so keep that in mind ...


60 durometer neoprene should be used for the facings .....again you rough cut and smooth with the belt sander .....i got my neoprene from amazon

1/4" facings are as big as you can go....so to get the optimum results you combine that with the subrail extensions....


let us know how it goes ....btw what kind of table is this?

 

[quadrary]

yah, I have a full woodworking shop so I will at least fabricate some extensions. Just seems odd to me that a table would have such wide pockets. But i guess that is why it was a cheaper table. At least it is slate.

not really unusaul 5inch corners with 5 1/2 sides are common.

 

[nitro28]

here is what you will need to do

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=251071&highlight=subrail+extensions
(make note that this is a thread that shows how to fix an improperly done subrail extension...so it shows what not to do and what you need to do.)

when you cut the cushions you just really need to rough cut them. Then you take a mini makita belt sander and smooth them out.

again you'll want artemis cushions but you need to know the profile that the table takes which involves finding out the angle of the subrail.

try to get the simonis dvd's they will show you how to do the recover of the rail and bed....


when you do the subrail extensions the down angle is important, so keep that in mind ...


60 durometer neoprene should be used for the facings .....again you rough cut and smooth with the belt sander .....i got my neoprene from amazon

1/4" facings are as big as you can go....so to get the optimum results you combine that with the subrail extensions....


let us know how it goes ....btw what kind of table is this?

Its a Harvard table from Sears I assume. My father in law bought it and used it about a dozen times so it looks new. Not great construction because the frame is mostly mdf but its very solid and like i said its slate. I had professionals move and set it up so seams in the slate are done nicely. Just been sitting for a few years and the rails hardened up. That is the main reason I dont want to pay someone $600-$900 to cover it, fix the rails and extend the subrails. The table was only $1000-$1200 in the first place.

 

[Thunderball]

Been there done this....

The table bed aint squat...some common sense and a little research will get you home...

The rails? Not so much....and no so much by a long shot.

The next time I do it, I will pull the rails and take em to someone, or have someone come here to do em. These is some tricky little fawkers. Its a matter of not knowing what ya don't know, ya know?

My table plays ok, but the rail corners look like donkey butt. Hate it.

 

[Scott Lee]

Thunderball...I'm with you! I don't do my own surgery, argue my own lawsuits, or try to fix my broken truck. I let experts do that for me...so it is done correctly the first time.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Been there done this....

The table bed aint squat...some common sense and a little research will get you home...

The rails? Not so much....and no so much by a long shot.

The next time I do it, I will pull the rails and take em to someone, or have someone come here to do em. These is some tricky little fawkers. Its a matter of not knowing what ya don't know, ya know?

My table plays ok, but the rail corners look like donkey butt. Hate it.

 

[nitro28]

Thunderball...I'm with you! I don't do my own surgery, argue my own lawsuits, or try to fix my broken truck. I let experts do that for me...so it is done correctly the first time.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I know. I may just remove the rails and take them in and do the bed myself. Just hard for me to justify spending a ton on a cheaper table. Maybe I'll just have them do the 1/4 neoprene with new bumpers and be happy with pockets that are 4 3/4 and 5 1/4. That would save some $$.

 

[Thunderball]

Just hard for me to justify spending a ton on a cheaper table

I can understand that no doubt.
You sound like a man about to buy a better table
If thats not an option, I would play it for what it is until that is an option.
I would not throw money at this table either fwiw.

ONE option for me would be to pull the rails off, and recovering the bed so it rolls to your liking and putting the same rails back on as is.

It aint perfect, but it aint expensive and the playing surface will be corrected.

If you get into rerubbering/refelting those rails, you're gonna hate yourself.
Trust a brother.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

 

[matteroner]

Its a Harvard table from Sears I assume. My father in law bought it and used it about a dozen times so it looks new. Not great construction because the frame is mostly mdf but its very solid and like i said its slate. I had professionals move and set it up so seams in the slate are done nicely. Just been sitting for a few years and the rails hardened up. That is the main reason I dont want to pay someone $600-$900 to cover it, fix the rails and extend the subrails. The table was only $1000-$1200 in the first place.

those tables are horrible and not worth the time to fix imo.....I would try and sell it and then get a cheap gold crown that you can work on ...

if you want to do it right then you will have to back the slate, re-do the seams, re-level, completely rebuild the rails with real wood. you probably also need to add some cross bracing so you can compensate for the slate sag that has most likely happened already.

essentially you will be building a table from scratch .....waste of time ....
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=262576

as RKC says ...these tables are disposable .....