We were recently out on a job in Anaheim Hills, CA. The client hired us to disassemble their six-year-old American Heritage billiard table located in an upstairs bonus room. The first thing I do when I arrive at a client’s home is to inspect the pool table cushions. Sure as the Sun rises in the East, this eight-foot, Malaysian-made American Heritage had two rails with dead cushion rubber. The reason why I say Malaysian-made, is because the Ohio-based manufacturer of this table claims that all of their pool tables are American-made. Which is a big lie! There is nothing wrong with Import pool tables. In fact, the manufacturer that we deal with for our own Import pool tables, namely the Fischer brand was actually made in the same factory in Malaysia. One of the huge differences between the two companies is that CL Bailey and Fischer tables use a totally different cushion rubber formula. Bailey’s cushion rubber stands the test of time, with a usable life expectancy of 20+ years. American Heritage cushions on the other hand have been known to fail in as little as 3 years.
So after pointing out the fact that two of the rails were already dead and the others would follow suit shortly. The homeowner decided wisely to postpone the pool table set up until we replaced all of the inferior cushion rubber. We wrapped up all six rails and placed them in the recushion queue at our billiard shop. We returned about two weeks later to finish installing the entire pool table.
[…] have delved into issues with American Heritage cushions before (see here and here and here). In this particular case, the sun only sped up the inevitable rubber […]
And 2017 a few years later, and the same problem exists. Brand new American Heritage Eclipse with so-called K-66 rubber and I am not happy. I just knew I should have had that changed out before rail cover, delivery, and installation from a billiards only company 4 hours away. The rails are not dead, but I told these guys I am used to Brunswick Superspeed K-55 rails. They are a Brunswick dealer and licensed installers. Why didn’t I trust my instincts of playing on quality rubber for over 40 years? New Simonis and new rubber; a small fortune w/delivery and install
Sorry to hear that Pete, if it continues to irk you there’s hope. Your rails could be converted to K-55 cushion rubber by running them through a table saw. The angle would need to be changed slightly to accommodate the 55 profile. Happy cueing, David
Dec 2019 house purchase in Ellicottville, NY. American Heritage Billiards table. Not more than 7yrs old . 3 dead cushions. There is a life warranty ONLY for the original owner. AHB says I can buy replacement cushions for $200 and pay someone to install. But why would I buy from them if they are still using inferior materials as has been mentioned by others here.
Would you know of someone close to Ellicottville that could replace the cushions? Table looks nice but dead cushions make the table almost useless. Thank you.
Sorry, but we don’t know anyone in your area. I do believe AHB has changed the composition of their rubber, but suggest talking to someone in New York in the billiard business for more info.