Vacuum attachment

pete lafond

pete lafond

pete.l@slipstic.com
Silver Member
Does anyone know of a gentle vacuum attachment that could be used on felt? Has anyone built one? I'm looking for one that can reduce the suction so that it does not pull the felt and still be able to pull the chalk and dust from it. Also, one that can get under the rails easily too.
 
Hi Pete,
I have been using an attachment that came with my Kirby Vacuum. it is approx. 8 in long X 2.5 in wide X 1/2 in tall. It has little wheels with a brush that pivots back and forth and the suction occurs the length of the brush, but not at a viscious amount. I have had no problems whatsoever using this attachment.
BTW I have just bought some "Quick-Clean" TO give a try as well. THeir claim is no vacuuming or brushing what-so-ever.
 
Scottster said:
Hi Pete,
I have been using an attachment that came with my Kirby Vacuum. it is approx. 8 in long X 2.5 in wide X 1/2 in tall. It has little wheels with a brush that pivots back and forth and the suction occurs the length of the brush, but not at a viscious amount. I have had no problems whatsoever using this attachment.
BTW I have just bought some "Quick-Clean" TO give a try as well. THeir claim is no vacuuming or brushing what-so-ever.
Click to expand...

You still have to vacuum to get the dry residue off the felt left from the cleaner. I was hoping to find a universal attachment specific to pool felt.

If nothing exists, it would be a great product for some one in the plactics business to come up with.

.
 
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Our household vacuum has an upholstery attachment that connects to the end of a hose. Its bristles are about the same coarseness as a pool table brush. Just brushing lightly with that, just as you’d use a regular table brush, picks up all the dust and it gets sucked away. The direct suction on the cloth is minimal and it doesn’t pull on the cloth. Just the tips of the bristles touch and some of the air is coming in from around the bristles, not just straight up the center, it never “seals” itself against the table. I’ve been using this for about 5 or 6 years and have seen no ill effects to the Simonis on my table.

Only drawback is its size, maybe 4 or 5 inches in diameter but I can still get a 9 footer spotless in about 15 minutes.
 
pete lafond said:
You still have to vacuum to get the dry residue off the felt left from the cleaner. I was hoping to find a universal attachment specific to pool felt.

If nothing exists, it would be a great product for some one in the plactics business to come up with.

.
Click to expand...
There is no residue left over. It evaporates and is ready for play in 60 seconds.
David
 
david hodges said:
There is no residue left over. It evaporates and is ready for play in 60 seconds.
David
Click to expand...

It may not be yours, the one I reviewed foamed a little on the felt. In the case of that product, the foam (chemical reaction) is what does not evaporate and dries onto the cloth. The concept is good, just need to vacuum up the residue after using that product once and a while.
 
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Scottster said:
Hi Pete,
I have been using an attachment that came with my Kirby Vacuum. it is approx. 8 in long X 2.5 in wide X 1/2 in tall. It has little wheels with a brush that pivots back and forth and the suction occurs the length of the brush, but not at a viscious amount. I have had no problems whatsoever using this attachment.
BTW I have just bought some "Quick-Clean" TO give a try as well. THeir claim is no vacuuming or brushing what-so-ever.
Click to expand...

The problem with brushes is that is does push the chalk into the cloth and may damage the felt (some-what). The key is to be gentle while vacuuming. An attachment with just a smooth coil that rides the table would be perfect.
 
Something like this is what I'm looking for;
 

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pete lafond said:
Does anyone know of a gentle vacuum attachment that could be used on felt? Has anyone built one? I'm looking for one that can reduce the suction so that it does not pull the felt and still be able to pull the chalk and dust from it. Also, one that can get under the rails easily too.
Click to expand...


Just a thought Pete, and not even sure If your looking to fabricate a model for this, but If you wanted to have a attatchment that reduces suction you just need to create a vacuum leak in the attatchment It'self, so you loose suction through that. Could be as simple as drilling some holes in it, or You could even use some kind of small valve tapped into the attachment and have the ability to ajust It. Seems like I may have seen some kind of attatchment that had a needle valve on the head of it, but could'nt tell you what make It was.

The best attatchment I have used for under the rails was a crevice attatchment that I had cut the angle on the end of, to match the angle of the underneath of the rails. I just took any rough edges off the cut so nothing snagged the felt, and the edges to be almost a polished surface.

There are attatchments that have the brush around the bottoms as mentioned, and some are very soft. I have one around here somewhere Myself. They may also let some of the vacuum pass by, and reduce some the suction like you want.

Greg C
 
I have two vacuums that have a slider built into the hose that you can open up to reduce the suction. One vacuum is a cantister type and the other is a upright model that has a hose built into it. I think most newer vacuums have this now. I have even tape one shut because it will slip open and I want all the suction it has. I have used shop vacs but the newer vacuums have just as much as if not more suction.

I use the upright on my table and it does not appear to affect it. I will also use the hose with the upholstery attachment. Both seem to work great. The cloth on the table is worn more by the burn marks than from the vacuum. I have been doing this since I bought the table 30 years ago and it is still the original cloth. The upright is a Simplicity Synergy, it has a lot of suction, plus you can turn the brushes off.

When I tell people that I am thinking of replacing the cloth they all tell me that it looks and plays good to them.
 
While expensive, the new Dyson's(brand of vacuum) have a neat attachement which is basically a superwide head with no brushes that gets a TON of suction(about 2-4x as much compared to other 2 vacuums we have which were good models)....

Dont have a pool table, but the size and design of attachment makes it seem perfect for the cloth
 
Cue Crazy said:
... you just need to create a vacuum leak in the attatchment It'self...
Click to expand...

On my Beam built-in vac hose-monster, the handle has a 'vacuum-leak-valve'. I use it to lower the vacuum when doing the table and my plants.

Dave
 
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