some specs needed

R

rch

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi
I'm trying to understand how pool table are made and why little things can affect the playability of the table.
i think i can understand how the angles of the pockets and the mouth opening or the high of the nose of the cushion, but there are other things i don't understand.
The sights or diamonds in the rails. just the distance from the nose of the cushion. some specs refer 9,36 mm exactly, some people say in the middle of the rail, Glen say "from the back of the feather strip/rail laminate 1 1/4" back". It will affect wen wee play for 3 or 4 cushions.
There are some rule for the different size of the tables? one of 7', 8' or 9' have the same distance?
Other little thing is the thickness of the facings in the rails, what is the minimum and maximum? 2mm, 5 mm?
the thinner make more noise? there are any problem with double facings?
according to Glen "…because thinner facings do nothing to protect the stencial cutting of the cloth in the corner pockets.", what is that thickness? "
i want to thanks in advance and send my compliments to the living encyclopedia. GLEN.
Best regards
rch
 
I'm no table mechanic, but...


In my searches here reading the posts of guys like Glen and other pro table mechanics - the general consensus seems to be to avoid using facings greater than 1/4". And also, when going to 1/4" to use a single 1/4" facing, rather than stacking two 1/8" facings.


From my personal experience, I hate playing on a table that has pockets shimmed down a lot by using facings. The main reason why is that the pocket plays awful. There are two reasons why the pocket plays awful:

1. The stacking of facings makes the inside of the pocket too bouncy. If they were suppose to be that bouncy, then tables would have been designed with that part of the rail being thick rubber cushion instead of wood. The facing is there to protect the rail and pocket, not to become a cushion.

2. Stacking of facings to decrease pocket size results in a continuation of the existing pocket angle. This is a problem because as the pocket size decreases, the angle of the cushion should also decrease a little. The angle used on 5" pockets is meant for 5" pockets, not 4.5" or smaller pockets.


The other reason I don't like it is because it's ugly. Most table mechanics are hacks. There are only a handful of genuine pros out there. Most of these hacks do not cut and sand the facings to fit them right and create a nice continuous cushion profile. This results in the pockets looking different from one another.

If taking a pocket down from 5" to the 4.5" range or smaller...the pros recommend extending the wooden subrail. That way, you get a smaller pocket with the correct angles and you use 1/8" or 3/16" facings instead so that it plays right. Best of all worlds. However, this process is involved and I wouldn't have anyone except a proven pro table mechanic do it.
 
-nice

Let the knowlege spread so every table owner can be aware..
Well said bola, thanks for taking the time to post your input.
-
Robert M
 
If any of you play One Pocket on stack shim or pockets with multiple faces you will notice the banks shorten. This happens because the multiple strips of rubber plus the multiple stress membranes [glue] create a rigid wall like structure that the rubber is glued to. It actually changes the way the rubber displaces when the ball contacts the cushion. When a cushion banks with equal entry and exit angles, cushion compression is equal. When the bank angle is shortened the exit side of the cushion forms the shape of a hook. This hook shape acts in the same way speed or top spin shorten a bank. Stacked facings can cause a rail to perform so poorly or play short [ within a few inches of the facings ] that cueing adjustments cannot be made by even the best of players. Sub-rail extensions allow for peak cushion and pocket performance.
 
Thank you very much Bola Hocho, very good post.
now, if someone could explain the other part i will be grateful.
best regards
rch
 
rch said:
Thank you very much Bola Hocho, very good post.
now, if someone could explain the other part i will be grateful.
best regards
rch
Click to expand...

In answer to your question about facing thickness, 3/16" is the thickness in which the stencil cutting of the cloth in the pockets stops, but that thickness has to also be in conjunction to hardness as well. What I use is 3/16" neoprene with a durometer reading of 60...that's not to hard as to make the pockets play easy, yet not to soft as to allow the stencil cutting to start showing up again. Thicker than 3/16" neoprene starts to get on the borderline of making the pocket play soft/easy...because the stiffer the facings are, the less rebound they produce, meaning less bobble in the pocket if a ball is hit bad or incorrectly, on the other hand, so soft and they'll bobble almost everything back out unless it's right down the middle of the pocket.

Glen
 
thank you so much Glen, i'm learning a lot with you
best regards
rch
 
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