Using an ironing board as a pool table? What?

[BillPorter]

The laundry/utility room of our condo is where I fiddle around with my cue sticks. I put on tips, clean shafts, change out weight bolts where possible, and do various other stuff related to cues. When I get a new cue or put on a tip and haven't had a chance to try it out at the pool hall, I use our ironing board as my "test bench." I just shove it up against the far wall and use a little pillow I stole from my wife. You can't fire a ball at the pillow at break speed, but you can hit it pretty hard and have it just roll right back toward you. I did have to experiment a bit to find a pillow that would work and you do have to reposition the pillow every few "shots."

You might be surprised how handy this set up is. I have gotten a new cue or shaft and was able to tell right away that the tip was hard as a rock and needed changing or maybe that the tip was just not on the cue solidly. You can also work on your stroke a bit with the old stroking into the neck of a bottle technique or using a training ball to see if you are putting unintentional English on the ball.

Off to the right of the image showing most of the room you can see my extremely crude "spinner." Just an old electric drill duct taped to a little work bench and fitted with a crutch tip. Great for cleaning/smoothing shafts and shaping tips.

 

[ShootingArts]

Good Ideas!

Bill,

With the closest decent pool hall being anywhere from 35 minutes to several hours trip each way depending on traffic I tend to improvise too. I'm still trying to find the "perfect" way to practice my stroke at home but I have found several things that work pretty good.

I just bought several hundred miniature hard rubber "pool balls" on e-bay. They were cheap and they may reveal stroke flaws in a hurry. I'm thinking that hitting them might be like hitting a bucket of balls at a golf driving range. I still haven't tested that theory though.

Hu

 

[cleary]

I have a mini table in my mini apartment. Its about 3' long. Ive spent many nights playing safety drills on it. And before that, I had an old wooden desk. I would place a tshirt under the cueball and learn to jump. Try to make it in a laundry basket across the room. haha. I cannot wait to have a place large enough for a table!