Care of the Snooker Table!

[Freddie Ng]

Dont, Dont, Dont use a steam iron!!! You can use any dry iron, if a Dowsings one is too much for you. Steam will get into the fibres of the cloth and does not do the cloth any good!!!!

I Agree with most of the points already said. However, the one that everybody has missed is that there's a trade-off between ironing and not ironing the cloth... That being the life-span of the cloth. If you do Iron regularly, the cloth will wear faster. Conversely, if you just brush or brush/nap* the table, the cloth will last longer before you need to replace it. But from the description you give "thick Strachan cloth" it would seem reasonable to iron the cloth maybe once every 2 weeks.

The blockers that Terry mentioned are called *Nappers - I have 3 of these in stock from Cue Craft if anyone wants one. They should be around £15 - £20 (more from Peradons!) now I think, but as a special offer for TSF members I'll do them at £10 plus the postage. Also I'd recommend Cloth cleaner. This is used after the initial brushing that gets rid of the dust etc. Then spray this on in areas, brush with the nap (will remove fingermarks) then iron afterwards.
Cloth Cleaner will be £3.50 per tin if anyone wants some. PM me or eemail me at cueist@genie.co.uk Dave, Snookerpoolman

How do this cloth cleaner looks like ? are they really good ?

[snookerpoolman]

Cloth cleaner helps to get rid of chalk marks and gives a nice sheen to the cloth when ironed....

[Freddie Ng]

How big is 1bottle ?

[cam]

does the tension on the cloth have alot of imnpact on the speed? and what staples or tacks should i use on a full size cloth?

[gazza147]

I would Definately Recommend Cleaning the Balls which I do with Warm Water with alittle Fairy Liquid, Then Dry Them with Clean Dry Cloth/Towel.

Yes the Cloth Cleaner is very good which is Mostly used on Pool Tables.

[Maxx Snooker]

Hi Guys,

does anyone know what temperature a snooker Iron should be set at. Mine has a thermostat but I don't know what temperature to set it at. It goes from 0-200 C. Anyone any ideas?

[Maxx Snooker]

Also, another quick question. I have a slight roll in the table which i would like to level out. What i was planning to do was put a car jack and length of wood under the slate at the low part and raise it up slightly and then put bits of veneer under the slate or legs. Could anyone advise if this is correct or not.

[Acrowot]

When the cloth goes brown, then the iron is too hot .... fact. Lol.

I do not think you want to be messing with the slates. I have seen some tables where the fitters have put beer mats under the legs, when the table was over a cellar and one corner of the table came higher up your body than the other corners, but the table was level.

Maybe Geoff will some and give you some good advice when he come online.
:snooker:

[cam]

anyone know if staples are ok to use on cloth?. if so what size?

[Geoff Large]

Also, another quick question. I have a slight roll in the table which i would like to level out. What i was planning to do was put a car jack and length of wood under the slate at the low part and raise it up slightly and then put bits of veneer under the slate or legs. Could anyone advise if this is correct or not.

if the table has a good straight frame then putting anything under the slate is a big NO , tables are leveled from under the main 8 legs only .
Jacking points are between SIDE legs only under the long lenth of wood that is through all 4 side legs , not on end part of frame or especialy under any cushion or slate ????

Side jacking only is for a reason , if you have mortice and tennon frame joints and you jack under the end part of a Frame you could also lift the end part of the frame up in its mortice , when you let the jack down after putting disc shims under the legs , the end slate will be up at that end , held up by the under part of the frame .

Now if the frame is dowl jointed then it is safe to lift by end of frame if it is out of level at one end and the two end legs require shimming , but you cannot be sure of this , so used side frame only as the rule of thumb .

So ONLY jack the side of the frame up . NOT the end .

Lifting slates will disturb the joints and can damage them , by making them pinch together and crack at the joint .

DIY leveling usualy tends to end with disaster , Iv'e lost count at the times Iv'e had to put tables right , best get a pro in to level and do a full service , but on Recovering a Good pro will include any leveling free as long as the slates do not have to come off in with the price of a recover .

also note that the slate is not attached to the frame any lifting of the slate with a jack will not lift the legs up , the cushions are bolted to the slate , but as stated slate just rests ontop of the Frame , a story i like to tell is where i fitted a table on a prison wing , after I finnished the staff did not like the position of the table , so they decided to get a few inmates to lift the table by getting upto 24 prisoners 12 each side of the table and lift it up , they did this and started to walk down the wing , only for them to realise they where only lifing all 5 slates and the cushions intact off the frame and they quickly lowered it back onto the frame but with about 2 foot overhanging one end ???
I got the job of putting it right the following week .
Talk about paying for a job twice

The guy who is asking Tacks or staples in bed cloths ...its 5/8th tacks only never staples in a Snooker Bed cloth , staples in cushions yes . but not in the bed .
A billiard fitter having to take all those staples out on a recover will not be happy .

[cam]

THANKS i did think that staples would be a pain to remove, but alot easier to insert. is there an easy way of tacking. ie. power tool or gun of some sort, rather than the old hammer.

[Geoff Large]

THANKS i did think that staples would be a pain to remove, but alot easier to insert. is there an easy way of tacking. ie. power tool or gun of some sort, rather than the old hammer.

No just hands and a hammer and leave the tacks about 1/8th proud for easier to get out for the next recover , I am afraid I will NOT explain how to fit a cloth as I have to protect a fitters right to a living , and giving away too many pointers is a NO NO .

if the Fitters who advise on this Forum gave away all the secrets of billiard fitting then all will be out of work , I hope you see sense in why I have to explain that .
all I can say is practice makes perfect , and if it's just a second hand cloth then you have nothing to lose if you rip it having a go .
you can always get a pro fitter in to put it right . witha recover or maybe another second hand cloth if he can source one , and most fitters will .

I have seen beds fitted with staple guns , and prob will continue to find them as some people who think they know best fit this way , but it is wrong , a bed cloth should have at least one re-stretch in it's lifetime , stapleing is realy not going to allow you to achieve this .
if youre table had been stapled bed cloth on , I think they would have cutt off any cloth below the slate , thus preventing retretching a cloth on as you have almost nothing to grab hold of to achieve good tightness of cloth .

as for speed of the job or ease as you say , I could keep up with a stapler fitting a bed cloth , just by tacking the bed by hand . and would not have to stop for the compresser to recharge it's air

there is a right way and awrong way .

[cam]

thanks very much, i have seen some vids on youtube with old eddie charlton they are very detailed but again he was working on a 8 or 9 foot table. i will see how i get on and let you know maybe next week as 101 jobs still to do. better get the kids off to bed now. cheers

[philip in china]

More major work

I suspect I know the answer to this but here goes anyway.

If doing a fairly major refurb on a table is it correct to remove the cloth and rubbers, leave the slates in and the table assembled (obviously) and then repolish. Then recloth and rerubber? Or is that wrong? SHould it be totally dismantled?

If having a knocked about table delivered in what order should the refurb work be done? Erect the table, polish, slates in and recloth?

[bwls730]

Geoff,

After restretching then the ball marks and the bulk line all got dislocate slightly, 2 problems:
1) This look ugly
2) When trying to put the balls on the spots, the ball always have a tendency to roll into the location of the old spots

Can you please share any remedial measures that I should take? Thank you.