***Rail Confusion***
There is a tremendous amount of confusion concerning the Valley 7' rails made since the merging of the Valley and Dynamo companies in 2001. The 93 inch tables (7’) with the Valley name made after the merger have a different rail bolt pattern. The newer END rails have the same bolt spacing left-to-right but the threaded fasteners (t-nuts) are 1/16 inch closer to the bottom of the rail.
The newer SIDE rails not only have the t-nuts 1/16 inch closer to the bottom of the rail but the
side-to-side spacing is off by 1/8 inch making the newer style rails very difficult to mount on the older tables. The newer side rails are also longer by approximately 1/4 inch and will be equally hard to install on an older table without drilling out the table sides.
Any 7’ Valley tables made in Bay City, Michigan (models ZD6 and older) will take the older style rails which we call the 9355. Any tables made in Texas or Mexico with the Valley name (ZD7 and newer..Great 8, Black Cat, etc) use the newer rail set that we call the 3855 or DV38.
The newer style tables came from the factory with rails that have t-nuts that go all the way through the rail and are crimped into a donut shape on the rails back. These t-nuts are a bad design in our opinion as if you happen to cross thread one it will spin, cutting a one inch hole right through the rail rather than popping out the back side. Also, the factory supplied rails on the newer tables use K66 cushion. Most of the cushion (but not all) is Championship Pro-AM or Championship Tour Edition rubber that is dark brown in color and overhangs the wood on the bottom side. Valley tables made in Michigan never used the K66 profile cushion. The original Valley tables used U23 cushion until 1988 at which time they switched to the K55 profile. The U23 sets and K55 sets are interchangeable so long as all 6 are the same. If your rails bear the Championship Regency logo they are U23 profile. If they have Championship Fleetwood cushion they are K55 profile.
So…, if the table came with K66 cushion it WAS NOT made in Bay City and requires the newer 3855 rail set. If the table is ZD6 or older and came with K55 cushion (Championship Fleetwood) it uses the older rail set 9355.
Some table operators have thrown up their hands in frustration and drill their tables so that either rail set will fit on the new table or old table. This can be accomplished by drilling the 4 holes closest to the side pockets with a 3/8 inch drill bit allowing installation of older rails on a newer table or newer style rails on an older table. Care must be taken to insure the nose of the rail is at the correct height off the face of the playfield. The optimum height of the nose of the cushion according to physics is 1 13/32 inch from the finished slate. This is 62 1/2% or 5/8 of the diameter of a pool ball. 62.5% x 2.25” = 1.40625 inch There is usually enough “wiggle room” to push the rails down closer to the slate or to lift them to achieve this even though the bolt holes vary by 1/16 inch.
Other table operators have decided to mark the tables either “old” or “new” and use the appropriate set of rails.
Any questions? Please call us at 866 772 3636 or go to www.penguinamusement.com
There is a tremendous amount of confusion concerning the Valley 7' rails made since the merging of the Valley and Dynamo companies in 2001. The 93 inch tables (7’) with the Valley name made after the merger have a different rail bolt pattern. The newer END rails have the same bolt spacing left-to-right but the threaded fasteners (t-nuts) are 1/16 inch closer to the bottom of the rail.
The newer SIDE rails not only have the t-nuts 1/16 inch closer to the bottom of the rail but the
side-to-side spacing is off by 1/8 inch making the newer style rails very difficult to mount on the older tables. The newer side rails are also longer by approximately 1/4 inch and will be equally hard to install on an older table without drilling out the table sides.
Any 7’ Valley tables made in Bay City, Michigan (models ZD6 and older) will take the older style rails which we call the 9355. Any tables made in Texas or Mexico with the Valley name (ZD7 and newer..Great 8, Black Cat, etc) use the newer rail set that we call the 3855 or DV38.
The newer style tables came from the factory with rails that have t-nuts that go all the way through the rail and are crimped into a donut shape on the rails back. These t-nuts are a bad design in our opinion as if you happen to cross thread one it will spin, cutting a one inch hole right through the rail rather than popping out the back side. Also, the factory supplied rails on the newer tables use K66 cushion. Most of the cushion (but not all) is Championship Pro-AM or Championship Tour Edition rubber that is dark brown in color and overhangs the wood on the bottom side. Valley tables made in Michigan never used the K66 profile cushion. The original Valley tables used U23 cushion until 1988 at which time they switched to the K55 profile. The U23 sets and K55 sets are interchangeable so long as all 6 are the same. If your rails bear the Championship Regency logo they are U23 profile. If they have Championship Fleetwood cushion they are K55 profile.
So…, if the table came with K66 cushion it WAS NOT made in Bay City and requires the newer 3855 rail set. If the table is ZD6 or older and came with K55 cushion (Championship Fleetwood) it uses the older rail set 9355.
Some table operators have thrown up their hands in frustration and drill their tables so that either rail set will fit on the new table or old table. This can be accomplished by drilling the 4 holes closest to the side pockets with a 3/8 inch drill bit allowing installation of older rails on a newer table or newer style rails on an older table. Care must be taken to insure the nose of the rail is at the correct height off the face of the playfield. The optimum height of the nose of the cushion according to physics is 1 13/32 inch from the finished slate. This is 62 1/2% or 5/8 of the diameter of a pool ball. 62.5% x 2.25” = 1.40625 inch There is usually enough “wiggle room” to push the rails down closer to the slate or to lift them to achieve this even though the bolt holes vary by 1/16 inch.
Other table operators have decided to mark the tables either “old” or “new” and use the appropriate set of rails.
Any questions? Please call us at 866 772 3636 or go to www.penguinamusement.com
Last edited:
If it's pointed at my comments about the age of vendor pool tables, I'll pass as I see no point in getting into this with you, the FACTS speak for themselves
