Rail height

M

mohrt

Student of the Game
Silver Member
Is there a diagram anywhere that shows exactly where the rail should touch the ball? I got some new ridgeback rails for my BB and the ball hops a bit when rolled softly into the rail. I think the slate needs to come down a hair, but I want to be sure, and how much.

Thanks
 
mohrt said:
Is there a diagram anywhere that shows exactly where the rail should touch the ball? I got some new ridgeback rails for my BB and the ball hops a bit when rolled softly into the rail. I think the slate needs to come down a hair, but I want to be sure, and how much.

Thanks
Click to expand...

There's more to ball hop that just the nose height of the rails, such as when the rails had the rail cloth installed on them, was the cloth wrapped around the bottom side of the rail block, like it is on the back of the top side? If the cloth isn't wrapped around the bottom back side as well, what happens is the back of the rail at the top is shimmed by the thickness of the cloth, but the lack of the cloth being wrapped around the bottom back side, causes the rail to dip down at the nose...therefore the cushion blocks are not recovered correctly. The balls can have a lot to do with ball hop as well, just as the choice of a wax on the balls can make the balls hop. If this is a Valley table, the rails are not built wrong, I can assure you that.

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
There's more to ball hop that just the nose height of the rails, such as when the rails had the rail cloth installed on them, was the cloth wrapped around the bottom side of the rail block, like it is on the back of the top side? If the cloth isn't wrapped around the bottom back side as well, what happens is the back of the rail at the top is shimmed by the thickness of the cloth, but the lack of the cloth being wrapped around the bottom back side, causes the rail to dip down at the nose...therefore the cushion blocks are not recovered correctly. The balls can have a lot to do with ball hop as well, just as the choice of a wax on the balls can make the balls hop. If this is a Valley table, the rails are not built wrong, I can assure you that.

Glen
Click to expand...

Kelley put the cloth on the rails, they are done right. This is an old United Billiards box, so things are *not* to exacting standards as say, a Valley table. I'm pretty sure this has to do with rail height. I'd like to see a photo of where the ball should meet the rail. I'll probably go to the pool hall and take a pic for myself on a Valley.
 
FYI the original 40+ yr old rails have been replaced with ridgeback rails.
 
Last edited:
mohrt said:
FYI the original 40+ yr old rails have been replaced with ridgeback rails.
Click to expand...

The nose height should be at 1 7/16"ths, but take a rail off and put a square up against the face of the rail cap and check to see if the rail cap is at 90degrees to the surface of the slate, if it's not, and in fact is tilted downward, then when the rails are bolted up to the rail cap...the rail will tilt downwards as well. IF that be the case, then what needs to be done is to staple a strip of cloth at the bottom side of the rail cap below the center of the rail bolt holes, as a way of lifting the nose height back up to the correct position when bolted on. If one thickness of rail cloth the length of the rail is not enough, then add a second one.

Glen
 
mohrt said:
Kelley put the cloth on the rails, they are done right. This is an old United Billiards box, so things are *not* to exacting standards as say, a Valley table. I'm pretty sure this has to do with rail height. I'd like to see a photo of where the ball should meet the rail. I'll probably go to the pool hall and take a pic for myself on a Valley.
Click to expand...

I'm very familiar with the United Billiards coin-op pool tables, we had a bunch of them dumped on the bar owners up in Washington State, as well as 22 other kinds of coin-ops built and sold up there as well....I've seen them all.

Glen
 
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