Rails attachment?
- Thread starter TrxR
- Start date
I'm not a mechanic but I prefer T-Rail design. Mechanically IMO a rail bolted in this fashion gives the most resilience against the ball pounding a million times.
That said, there's Pro's and Con's for both designs.
The ideal would be a design that incorporated both vertical and horizontal clamp loads.
But... Who would pay that kind of cash?
That said, there's Pro's and Con's for both designs.
The ideal would be a design that incorporated both vertical and horizontal clamp loads.
But... Who would pay that kind of cash?
The problem I see with the T- rail is the leverage of the fasteners. It's like only nailing the the bottom 1.5" of a 2x6 with the rest exposed to side load. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how I looks to me. I do understand that bolts are better at pulling loads than side load though.
If the T-rail design was a great way to bolt the rails to the slate from the sides, then they wouldn't have been redesigned to use steel rail blocks! Vertical bolts clamp the rails DOWN on the slate, with more than an 1" of the slate being used, like the side of the slate offers, which makes the system far more superior than the T-rail system, which is why most of those moved away from that system, or went out of business. Brunswick changed from the T-rail design more than a 100 years ago.
Do the the snooker tables with the steel rail blocks use vertical rail bolts as well?
this one has steel-backed cushions and looks like bolts go in the side.
No
All T-rail slates are undersized when compared to vertical bolt rail slates, by 1 1/2" per side. It's on that 1 1/2" removed that the vertical rail bolts would go up through.
That is not bolted to a 1" slate, and still no room for vertical rail bolts!
The top row goes into 50mm slate. The bottom row goes into wood.
I know Brunswick offered a choice of 1" and 1-1/2" slate on their old T-Rail design.
The slate on my old Brunswick Regal actually measured 1-5/8".
Not trying to argue anything. I just supplied the photo that shows a stronger IMO version of a T-Rail.
The fact that this end rail had to be attached with 10 rail bolts is a testament to the inferior design compared to a rail mounted with just 3 or 4 vertical rail bolts.