Room Owner's Perspective

[Saturated Fats]

I posted the following question on the Talk to a Mechanic forum:

Why do pockets go bad and what's the fix?

I play on a number of Gandy Big G tables. They are getting pretty old and there's a developing problem where pockets that used to play normally now rattle. What is it that is breaking down over time and what is a solution that is affordable for a room owner to tackle?

What's the answer from the room owner's perspective?

 

[SBC]

The contact area of the object ball on the facing can get cupped and/or the down angle of the facing is lost. The object ball is coming off an indented facing at an unexpected angle off a cupped facing. Or the object ball doesn't stay down as it goes across the shelf because of a flattened facing.

When you recloth, you need a qualified mechanic to look at the pockets. At least replace the facings with high quality neoprene facings. You may need to build out the rail before replacing the facing. I've see old gold crowns with the wood under the facing deeply dented. That has to be reconstructed to ever play right.

All of this is most obvious on tables with wider pocket facing angles, like Gandy and older Gold Crowns.