Which Rack?

F

footshooter5

Registered
Morning all,

I have this cheap plastic 8 ball rack, which I know - many people will say is the best rack they've ever used, why would you spend more than 5 dollars on a rack, etc.; however, I find that I spend an inordinate amount of time, maybe because I'm obsesssive, about getting the tightest (relatively) rack I can when I use it. It seems like 1 or 2 balls, usually in the 3rd row always rolls off a bit. There aren't any dents in the slate, and the felt is brand new as well.

Has anyone had any success with other racks? Either the Magic Ball Rack or the Master Rack?

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

And yes, I'm certainly open to just buying another plastic 8 ball rack to see if that makes a difference :)
 
footshooter5 said:
Morning all,

I have this cheap plastic 8 ball rack, which I know - many people will say is the best rack they've ever used, why would you spend more than 5 dollars on a rack, etc.; however, I find that I spend an inordinate amount of time, maybe because I'm obsesssive, about getting the tightest (relatively) rack I can when I use it. It seems like 1 or 2 balls, usually in the 3rd row always rolls off a bit. There aren't any dents in the slate, and the felt is brand new as well.

Has anyone had any success with other racks? Either the Magic Ball Rack or the Master Rack?

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

And yes, I'm certainly open to just buying another plastic 8 ball rack to see if that makes a difference :)
Click to expand...

Rack and cloth are one part of this, how good and how old is the ball set you are using? Magic Rack is good, the Outsville rack is good (better than Magic Rack for older or cheaper ball sets), I just tested out some racks from Seybert with a pool hall I play in and those were good (a dozen were ordered for the room after we tried them) https://www.seyberts.com/ball-racks/yukon-8-ball-rack/

If you want something that is a bit more engineered and fancy, Delta 13. The cheaper one is about $70.
 
footshooter5 said:
Morning all,

I have this cheap plastic 8 ball rack, which I know - many people will say is the best rack they've ever used, why would you spend more than 5 dollars on a rack, etc.; however, I find that I spend an inordinate amount of time, maybe because I'm obsesssive, about getting the tightest (relatively) rack I can when I use it. It seems like 1 or 2 balls, usually in the 3rd row always rolls off a bit. There aren't any dents in the slate, and the felt is brand new as well.

Has anyone had any success with other racks? Either the Magic Ball Rack or the Master Rack?

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

And yes, I'm certainly open to just buying another plastic 8 ball rack to see if that makes a difference :)
Click to expand...


Check all corners, and rub your thumb at the contact points on every corner at both sides. Plastic racks are great for gathering dirt and gunk. Better to invest in a thick wooden rack at the very least. Plastic bends too much. Ebay always has a few decent Oak racks available, fairly cheap.
 
Unless your equipment is perfect, its near impossible to get a perfect rack with a triangle.

Get a template.

Did yoi google "perfect rack"?

Be honest...:rotflmao1:
 
hang-the-9 said:
Rack and cloth are one part of this, how good and how old is the ball set you are using? Magic Rack is good, the Outsville rack is good (better than Magic Rack for older or cheaper ball sets), I just tested out some racks from Seybert with a pool hall I play in and those were good (a dozen were ordered for the room after we tried them) https://www.seyberts.com/ball-racks/yukon-8-ball-rack/

If you want something that is a bit more engineered and fancy, Delta 13. The cheaper one is about $70.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Brand new Aramith Premium ball set. I'll definitely check out the Magic Rack!
 
Black-Balled said:
Unless your equipment is perfect, its near impossible to get a perfect rack with a triangle.

Get a template.

Did yoi google "perfect rack"?

Be honest...:rotflmao1:
Click to expand...

I was about to google "perfect rack", but then I realized I was at work...and probably wouldn't be viewed so favorably on a university server ;)
 
What happened to all the vendors selling elite inserts? No one except maybe Delta 13 has any
 
ShakesSea said:
In agreement with the above, template racks all seem about the same to me but people do speak highly of the Accurack from Outsville. I haven't used it enough to know. They come cheap so you can't really go wrong but I only use templates for practice.

For a traditional rack, I went with the Delta Select after reading many rave reviews. Picked it up off Ebay for $60 or $65 then spent another $25 or so for the leather inserts because apparently these can be very noisey without them. At around $90 total, I think I spent too much. I just don't think this rack outperforms the Diamond rack that can be had for around $60 or less. It's a great rack, but I don't see where it's a better rack for the money.
Click to expand...



It very convincingly outperforms the diamond rack in my experience.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 
I like the Diamond wooden rack. Rack a set of 8b in a second. Close enough to perfect each time for me.
 
The Diamond wood rack is really the gold standard if you like handling a real life rack. The template racks are good too and much more accurate IMO, but some people do not like the idea of the balls resting on a foreign material for the break shot.... I do not blame you. But as far as a perfect rack each and every time... BlackBalled said it best.... perfect rack, accu-rack, plenty of people out there claiming they have the magic solution... oh yeah, magic rack too LOL.

Structurally speaking, I like the fit and finish of the Delta-13 rack, but refuse to use it... don't care if its wrapped in a pillow, its still the loudest thing on the planet. Shove as many leather inserts in it as you like. It's loud.... so... so very loud. Loud it is. It may even result in someone giving you an eye-roll in the hall.... and we all know what that means. Loud.

Lesh
 
Lesh said:
Structurally speaking, I like the fit and finish of the Delta-13 rack, but refuse to use it... don't care if its wrapped in a pillow, its still the loudest thing on the planet. Shove as many leather inserts in it as you like. It's loud.... so... so very loud. Loud it is. It may even result in someone giving you an eye-roll in the hall.... and we all know what that means. Loud.

Lesh
Click to expand...

I'm not going to explain on here again, but there is a way to quietly rack balls with a Delta-13 rack w/o inserts by simple finger placement. I find it surprising that more people haven't figured it out yet.

Those eye-rollers....how do they react to the loud juke box??? A Delta-13's noise pales in comparison to the music in many pool halls.

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
I'm not going to explain on here again, but there is a way to quietly rack balls with a Delta-13 rack w/o inserts by simple finger placement. I find it surprising that more people haven't figured it out yet.

Those eye-rollers....how do they react to the loud juke box??? A Delta-13's noise pales in comparison to the music in many pool halls.

Maniac
Click to expand...

I get it. But few people are conscientious enough to make a Delta quiet. They just toss it on the table and dump the balls in there like a load of.... well, balls. I know you can make the rack quiet through slowing things down and setting the rack on the table much like a sacrificial fish to the Norse boar god Gullinbursti... a rare sight it is to witness such reverence.

Agreed as well, the juke drives many nuts even to the point of sharking.

Lesh
 
Ya got me

I have a bronze Delta 13 that is good and a wooden Diamond rack and Magic racks and will eventually order some from Outsville. I try to keep cloth, balls and racks clean.

I use all of the racks to get an understanding of how they perform. I think a person is wise to use the kind of rack that they will be using in tournament and league play, etc.

It always amazes me how the pros adjust to the many different racks, tables and balls they have to use. Wish I could!
 
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