Care of the Snooker Table!

[thienyo12]

Hi there everyone at TSF!

My post is basically about care on the snooker table.
I know that the cloth of the table is ironed down when put onto the table, but i was wondering if it is necessary to iron the cloth regularly. My 9ft table has a thick Strachan cloth in which after a long game leaves finger and hand marks all over the table. I usually use my horse hair brush to clean and straighten the table cloth, but still has noticeable lines and hand marks down the side. So i was wondering if using an iron makes any difference to the speed of balls and it is necessary to do so.

If it is important to iron down the table once and a while, can somebody post up instructions or methods on ironing; type or iron, temperature, the do's and don't.

Thanks so much for reading, and i hope this shall help other users throughout this forum

Regards, Thien.

[Acrowot]

There are special irons for using on snooker tables. Depends on how much you use it, as to how often it needs to be ironed. Not sure that horse hair brush is correct for brushing the table.
What do you mean by staighten it with the brush. If it has creases, then the cloth is not on tight enough.
:snooker:

[philip in china]

There is already a thread on this in which Geoff Large tells you exactly what to do and, equally important, what not to do!

What it boils down to is keep good care of your table. Brush it and iron it frequently. I almost always brush mine after use and then cover it. I don't iron it but probably should. Never vacuum it. If you find that thread it will tell you all you need to know.

[mick.hinde]

just come across your page and suprised to find no replies,(unless I have a problem seeing them on my computer). I used to do the tables at my club for a year or so , so I am no expert but this is what I picked up.
Always hoover the floor and clean the dust off the lamp shade first or dust gets back on the table bed.
Do the cushions next, baulk cushion brush from yellow to green direction then from green to black , then black end cushion from green to yellow then last rail from yellow to black.
Now sweep under the rails with ideally a cushion brush or if non available then the end of the normal brush. Either sweep the dust into a pocket or vacuum off with a brush fitting gently.
Now brush the main bed of the cloth from baulk downwards in overlapping strokes.
Now brush in one continuous stroke over the whole bed.
Vacuum again if needed.This is just the dust at the top of the table not the whole cloth!
NOW FOR THE FINGER MARKS
Most should be gone by now but if you place a VERY LIGHTLY dampened cloth around the handle of your brush and hold it tight upside down and sweep down the bed so the cloth is between the bed and the wooden part of the brush this should help to rid the fingermarks somewhat.
Some irons have a temperature gauge, but if not then keep a piece of brown paper handy. The iron usually needs approx 15 minutes to heat up but before placing on the bed of the table put it on the brown paper. If it marks the paper then do not use until it has cooled further.
Make sure the area around the table is free from trip hazards, It's not a broken leg I'm bothered about but if you fell and let go of the iron you will burn the cloth!!!
Iron from baulk to furtherst railin a CONTINUOUS motion and lift the iron as you get to the end. Also start immediatly the iron touches the cloth. A split second is enough to burn the cloth.
On your next occasion of ironing, do the first stroke with the iron lengthways and then the rest sideways.This stops the cloth being ironed every time in the exact same lines, leaving ugly tramlines . Some advocate turning the iron 45 degrees after starting the stroke to give a better overlap. If you do this then make sure you turn back to parrallel at the end of the stroke.
After a couple of weeks of ironing two or three times per week you will notice a big difference in the table speed (and the speed it takes to clean the tables).
I take approx 10 seconds per length with a cool iron or about 5 seconds with a hotter one.
Don't forget to clean the pockets and pocket runners, otherwise you put the dust back onto the table after potting.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.

[mick.hinde]

Further to my above DOWSINGS are the best known iron manufacturers. They make them with or without thermostats, and for domestic and club use. If you can afford it , a thermostated club iron is best as they are heavier duty, but even with a thermostat always check the temperature before use manually.
I forgot to say that to regularly clean the balls in warm water, and occassionally with MILD detergent will have a massive affect on the speed of roll over the cloth. At the club I cleaned at ( I won't mention the name) the cloth would smell of urine after cleaning the balls, so a good lesson for everyone is to never lick your balls to clean them! ( a good lesson in life generally). Equally always wash your hands before playing, particularly if you use hand softener as this tends to be greasy and holds dirt more.

[philip in china]

I keep a pair of white gloves in the box where I keep the balls. When racking up I wear these which polishes the balls and saves too much handling. A wash from time to time definitely helps.

[thienyo12]

Thanks so much guys, haha and ill definitely never lick my balls . But i still havnt got the balls to iron the cloth LOL

Once again thanks guys and good day!

Thien.

[Freddie Ng]

I think different brand of detergent will get you different smell.

[philip in china]

I wondered about that as well, Freddie. Must try to avoid that club!

We had a good CNY here by the way. Back to work on Monday.

[Freddie Ng]

Haha.. Maybe if we happen to go there someday, lets make sure we bring our own snooker balls .. With 21 urine smell balls on table, I wondered how they stand .. HAHA(just kidding-no offense)
We have a good new year here too.. I skip all my uni classes this week. Will back in uni on Monday.
Happy Chinese New Year there mate..

[Terry Davidson]

Rather than the lightly damp cloth to remove the fingermarks I would say get yourself a blocker. Although these are commercially made (I've seen a Riley one) they are easy to make.

Take a 1ft long length of 2"x4" wood, wrap some table felt around it so the nap is outwards and then staple it tightly to the wood.

Then brush the table lightly to remove the chalk marks and loose dust/dirt. After that use the blocker just like an iron, running it in straight overlapping lines from the baulk cushion to the top cushion (with the nap). Do not press hard on the blocker.

If you use your table daily then I would say you could brush it once a week and then block it 3 times in a row at one time. This will keep your table clean and fast (or at least as fast as it can be with a thick cloth) and should remove the fingermarks.

Tell your mates and yourself to not drag their fingers either against or sideways to the nap too as that is considered bad etiquette. Also, you might not need to spend 200quid on a proper table iron.

Terry

[philip in china]

Thanks Terry. A cheap way of doing it. I am all in favour of that!

[RCMIGil]

[QUOTE=
Then brush the table lightly to remove the chalk marks and loose dust/dirt. After that use the blocker just like an iron, running it in straight overlapping lines from the baulk cushion to the top cushion (with the nap). Do not press hard on the blocker.
[/QUOTE]

Terry:

Does it matter which way the nap on the blocker is pointed as you are running it with the nap of the table? i.e. should the blocker's nap be pointed in the direction of travel (sort of digging in) or away from direction of travel, or does it make a difference.

Thanks

[miscuehamburg]

Good advice here. Would like to add that ironing the table has a huge impact on how fast the cloth will be. Therefore I do it everytime before I start to play. Just be sure that the table is cleanead properly (brushed&blocked) before you start to iron it.

[stephen povey]

If you cannot afford a thermostatically controlled iron you can always use the old trick with an iron , leave it about 10mins switched on then using newspaper put the iron on the newspaper if it does not burn the paper its NOT TOO HOT . BUT remember when the iron IS hot you must iron a little more quickly . You can always start using the iron at a lower temperature first till you have the confidence to use it at a higher temperature, This is what i used to do at the Regal in Bedford. Cheers Steve.