Table plays funny

pw98

Registered
I had a custom made table installed about 8 months ago. It is a 92' table with k-55 superspeed cushions.

Anyways the problem is it plays very short and the rails are very fast. I dont play near as good as I used to on the old table (which had beat up cushions) I had that didn't play as short or fast and I am a much better player now....

For example if I hit a ball perpendicularly into the short rail with max side spin I can only get about 2 diamonds of travel regardless of tip height or speed. With my old table it was close to 3. I suspect this might have to do with why my english positions off one rail come up short often.

So I have had a mechanic look at the table and he says they really messed up the rails as they are too low. He installed some cloth under the rails to raise them a little bit and the shortness problem still persisted but it wasn't as bad. One rail was so inconsistent in height across the face he had to bend the rail a bit to make it the same height but now if you lag a ball the rails at the same speed the ball comes off a few inches shorter off the tweaked rail than the other rails.

In addition to the rails being too low they are not glued on at a consistent height across the rail. This means the nose height probably fluctuates about 1mm across the same rail.

So basically I need new rubber at this point and if that doesn't fix it then I need to replace the table. I am wondering what cushions have a nose height higher than superspeed k-55s? He said he thought accufast or the Diamond Blacks were possible options.

I am also wondering if any other people who had a problem similar to this felt they played better on their table once they got the problem resolved?

Basically I feel the table plays less consistent than any of the hall tables around here except for one hall with Gandys from the 60s where it might play a little better. In either case both my table and the gandys from the 60s play bad, even though they probably have the best rubber....
 
Last edited:
Not a mechanic, but what is a "custom made table?" Is it made by any company or a homemade table? Rails used from a different table? Who made it, do they have the dimensions they used? The reason I ask is it's going to make a hell of a difference on what answer you get.

Without specs the question probably can't be answered.

A knowledgeable mech could probably fix it but they might have to take the existing rubber off to get measurements. Hopefully a mechanic has advice but to me it seems very difficult to diagnose without more info.

I'd think "shimming" under the rails with cloth would be inconsistent at best and very hard to properly torque the bolts. Seems kind of hacky. Maybe some pics would help identify the table?
 
I had a custom made table installed about 8 months ago. It is a 92' table with k-55 superspeed cushions.

Anyways the problem is it plays very short and the rails are very fast. I dont play near as good as I used to on the old table (which had beat up cushions) I had that didn't play as short or fast and I am a much better player now....

For example if I hit a ball perpendicularly into the short rail with max side spin I can only get about 2 diamonds of travel regardless of tip height or speed. With my old table it was close to 3. I suspect this might have to do with why my english positions off one rail come up short often.

So I have had a mechanic look at the table and he says they really messed up the rails as they are too low. He installed some cloth under the rails to raise them a little bit and the shortness problem still persisted but it wasn't as bad. One rail was so inconsistent in height across the face he had to bend the rail a bit to make it the same height but now if you lag a ball the rails at the same speed the ball comes off a few inches shorter off the tweaked rail than the other rails.

In addition to the rails being too low they are not glued on at a consistent height across the rail. This means the nose height probably fluctuates about 1mm across the same rail.

So basically I need new rubber at this point and if that doesn't fix it then I need to replace the table. I am wondering what cushions have a nose height higher than superspeed k-55s? He said he thought accufast or the Diamond Blacks were possible options.

I am also wondering if any other people who had a problem similar to this felt they played better on their table once they got the problem resolved?

Basically I feel the table plays less consistent than any of the hall tables around here except for one hall with Gandys from the 60s where it might play a little better. In either case both my table and the gandys from the 60s play bad, even though they probably have the best rubber....
who made it?? pics??
 
I had a custom made table installed about 8 months ago. It is a 92' table with k-55 superspeed cushions.

Anyways the problem is it plays very short and the rails are very fast. I dont play near as good as I used to on the old table (which had beat up cushions) I had that didn't play as short or fast and I am a much better player now....

For example if I hit a ball perpendicularly into the short rail with max side spin I can only get about 2 diamonds of travel regardless of tip height or speed. With my old table it was close to 3. I suspect this might have to do with why my english positions off one rail come up short often.

So I have had a mechanic look at the table and he says they really messed up the rails as they are too low. He installed some cloth under the rails to raise them a little bit and the shortness problem still persisted but it wasn't as bad. One rail was so inconsistent in height across the face he had to bend the rail a bit to make it the same height but now if you lag a ball the rails at the same speed the ball comes off a few inches shorter off the tweaked rail than the other rails.

In addition to the rails being too low they are not glued on at a consistent height across the rail. This means the nose height probably fluctuates about 1mm across the same rail.

So basically I need new rubber at this point and if that doesn't fix it then I need to replace the table. I am wondering what cushions have a nose height higher than superspeed k-55s? He said he thought accufast or the Diamond Blacks were possible options.

I am also wondering if any other people who had a problem similar to this felt they played better on their table once they got the problem resolved?

Basically I feel the table plays less consistent than any of the hall tables around here except for one hall with Gandys from the 60s where it might play a little better. In either case both my table and the gandys from the 60s play bad, even though they probably have the best rubber....
PW: I agree with 3kushn. For your convenience, copy your post then Click this link (below) and paste it as new thread:

https://forums.azbilliards.com/forums/talk-to-a-mechanic.54/

Arnaldo ~ You'll get plenty of expert replies there.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
  • Like
Reactions: bbb
It sounds like the table should have K66 cushions installed. This would raise the nose height approximately 1/16" from a standard K55 cushion.
 
I had a custom made table installed about 8 months ago. It is a 92' table with k-55 superspeed cushions.

Anyways the problem is it plays very short and the rails are very fast. I dont play near as good as I used to on the old table (which had beat up cushions) I had that didn't play as short or fast and I am a much better player now....

For example if I hit a ball perpendicularly into the short rail with max side spin I can only get about 2 diamonds of travel regardless of tip height or speed. With my old table it was close to 3. I suspect this might have to do with why my english positions off one rail come up short often.

So I have had a mechanic look at the table and he says they really messed up the rails as they are too low. He installed some cloth under the rails to raise them a little bit and the shortness problem still persisted but it wasn't as bad. One rail was so inconsistent in height across the face he had to bend the rail a bit to make it the same height but now if you lag a ball the rails at the same speed the ball comes off a few inches shorter off the tweaked rail than the other rails.

In addition to the rails being too low they are not glued on at a consistent height across the rail. This means the nose height probably fluctuates about 1mm across the same rail.

So basically I need new rubber at this point and if that doesn't fix it then I need to replace the table. I am wondering what cushions have a nose height higher than superspeed k-55s? He said he thought accufast or the Diamond Blacks were possible options.

I am also wondering if any other people who had a problem similar to this felt they played better on their table once they got the problem resolved?

Basically I feel the table plays less consistent than any of the hall tables around here except for one hall with Gandys from the 60s where it might play a little better. In either case both my table and the gandys from the 60s play bad, even though they probably have the best rubber....

What's the rail height above the cloth? Is it within the WPA spec?


"Rail height (nose-line to table-bed) should be 63 ½% (+1 %) or between 62 ½% and 64 ½ % of the diameter of the ball."
 
Unlike cues, you don’t see a lot of custom tables.
Most of the custom tables I’ve seen have been very high end monsters.

Picture please
 
What's the rail height above the cloth? Is it within the WPA spec?


"Rail height (nose-line to table-bed) should be 63 ½% (+1 %) or between 62 ½% and 64 ½ % of the diameter of the ball."
Nose height specifications are not so cut and dry. Nose height changes with different sub-rail thickness. While these percentages may work for 1 11/16" - 1 3/4" sub-rail thickness, the percentage for a 1 1/2" sub-rail (very common with cheaper tables) is closer to 61%.
 
The continuation of this thread in "Ask A Mechanic" is here:

 
The continuation of this thread in "Ask A Mechanic" is here:

Seems the mechanics won't touch this either.
 
Back
Top