A True “Felt” Job
It is very common to when referring to billiard cloth, to use the term “felt” interchangeably.Even professionals in the billiards business use this term. Remember that billiard cloth is much different than craft felt. We recently came across this 8′ pool table in Garden Grove, CA that had been re”felt”ed by the owner’s friend. From far away it looks relatively normal, but upon closer inspection you can see major differences. Needing new cloth for his pool table, this owner purchased a few yards of felt from a local craft store. One of the big differences is that billiard cloth is woven from wool and nylon. We almost exclusively use “Mali 10820F” billiard cloth. This cloth is 75% wool and 25% nylon, 21 ounces per linear yard. It stretches beautifully and has very little “nap” (fuzzy stuff). Craft store felt is not woven and can’t be stretched tightly over the slate or rails. If you do manage to put it on your pool table, the balls will roll very slow because craft felt is very thick and “nappy”. We do sell billiard cloth pre-cut, for those who want to tackle a do-it-yourself “felt job”. Just remember to measure your pool table between the cushions, see our FAQ section if you are unsure where to measure.
How NOT to Recushion a Pool Table
Yet another addition to our Hall of Shame. A very nice fellow from Long Beach, CA brought his rails into the shop a couple of days ago. He explained to us that he had hired a pool table company in Bellflower, CA to recushion his “dead” rails and to refelt the rails to match his 12 year old Dark Green bed cloth. The 7′ Eliminator pool table he purchased was actually from one of my former competitors and past employer, Best Billiards in Santa Ana, CA. One of the funnest and most rewarding jobs I have ever had. Thanks a million Rick! Now let’s get back to this bungled bumper job.
- The cushion rubber should ALWAYS be cut evenly with the angles on the rails. Not doing so will create big voids between cushion facing and rail.
- The cushion facings should ALWAYS be trimmed and shaped evenly with the nose of the cushion rubber. If this important step is missed, a ball traveling down the rail will be kicked out as it passes by the side pocket.
- The cushion facing should NEVER protrude past the nose of the cushion. Long rail shots would IMPOSSIBLE for even the most seasoned player with cushions like these.
- The cushion height is one of the most important steps in re-cushioning a rail. As you can see in the photo on the right, we set our cushions to the correct height of one and thirteen sixteenths of an inch. This is very, very important! If the cushion is set too low, the cue ball can actually jump up and over the rail. Too high, and the balls won’t rebound.
- Lastly, you should not see gaps between the staples. This would cause a noticeable wrinkling effect on the downward slanted part of the rails. Excess cloth should always trimmed neatly away, not doing so will cause cushion height to be off. Pool table rails were designed to sit perfectly flat against the slate.
All of these things I’ve mentioned, have a dramatic effect on the overall “playability” of a pool table. Whether it be an inexpensive Eliminator or a top of the line Brunswick pool table nobody should be taken advantage of or be misled into dealing with incompetence.
Hall of Shame: Poor Installation
We know that everyone is trying to save money that every dollar counts. But where do you draw the line? We came upon this beautiful Monticello pool table by Presidential Billiards. The family had just moved from Texas to Coto de Caza, CA and was in a hurry to get their pool table setup. The company that came in (from San Diego) had a very low price, but also did the poorest job we’ve seen in a while. The photos below illustrate why haste makes waste. Pockets and rails were not snug or aligned. Table was not leveled at all. There were no shims under the legs and the three-piece slate was all out of whack. Balls were falling on the floor due to inexperienced/lazy installers not stapling in the right position. Minnesota Fats was rolling in his grave. The re-setup took so long, we didn’t have time to do what we were called out to do – refelt the pool table. We’ll post a photo of the finished table when we return with the newly refelted rails and put the new bed cloth on.
Surprise Sorbonne Pool Table
What a great birthday surprise! A beautiful traditional mahogany stained pool table delivered just in time for a birthday/Memorial Day celebration. This Fischer Sorbonne pool table has scalloped rails and cabinet frame, provides a perfect party centerpiece.
Most Interesting Pool Table of the Month
Sometimes we get called to service a pool table and the owner “forgets” to tell us they have something a bit unusual. Take this custom pool table in San Juan Capistrano, CA. We came out to disassemble this pool table so the moving company could safely move it up north to Santa Barbara,CA. Wow! It is made from real logs. The burled legs are massive to say the least. But the pool table’s construction is well thought out and made the disassembly almost as easy as a common pool table. The only hiccup was the extra long lag bolts (12″) that required hand tool removal. Seeing it as a pool table is cool, but seeing it disassembled is even better. Sort of reminds me of a Lincoln Logs set but on a whole different level.
