Star Tables

[throtts]

Anyone played on these tournament spec tables.

http://www.xingpaibilliard.com/en/pr...?ProductId=463

Tia..

[Terry Davidson]

throtts:

These tables are presently used for all professional tournaments plus there are 13 of them in the Southwest Snooker Academy that I visited in April.

So to answer your question, yes I've played on them and so has every pro along with everyone in the Pink Ribbon and the PTCs held at the Academy.

They are very good tables but the ones I played on were lightning fast (#10 cloths with heaters) and also to my mind a bit tighter than I'm used to with the average club table

Terry

[throtts]

Thanks, Terry.

Also, how do the heaters work. And whats the general opinion to which is the better table out of the Star Tournament and the Riley Aristocrat Tournament Champion table. The Riley does not have the heaters, is that correct ?..

Thank you.

[maryfield]

The STAR I believe has slimline ceramic heaters. The RILEY ARISTOCRAT on TV was fitted with under table tubular heaters. The intention of both is to maintain a low moisture level in the cloth, thus keeping it very fast. A damp cloth plays very slow in relation.

[Geoff Large]

I do not know why they fasten heaters too close to the slate , heat rise's thats why hot air balloons rise , the side frame of a table is just like a hot air ballon trapping the heat that has risen it is then absorbed by the slate as a heat sink or storage heater , I like to recomend Oil filled radiators , I have seen a few match tables which have heat touching or almost touching the slate and the slates are warped because of too much heat .
I think they are going over the top with how much heat is realy required to keep a cloth from getting damp .
the slate only requires to be warm not hot to the touch .
Ceramic heaters ? thats what I cook on .

Geoff

[Terry Davidson]

I haven't installed them yet but I have 4 x 4ft under shelf heaters primarily used for greenhouses which only use 35W and provide a nice even and low heat. I also have a dehumidifer running in my snooker room and keep the humidity below 50%, usually around 43% most days depending on the outside conditions.

As to the question as to which table is better, I am not enough of a table expert to answer that but perhaps Geoff can as he would know what each table is constructed like and which is more solid with better pocket backings, etc.

Terry

[Geoff Large]

I'm sorry to say i have never worked on a star table as yet , I tend to work on mainly older tables , but i am sure one will come my way sooner or later .
The chinese do tend to copy rileys design anyway , one thing that the later tournament steel block riley aristocrat had was two pin pocket plates as oposed to bolt up type like buroughs and watts or even BCE , over time those two pin plates will become loose with the impacting of the ball against the plate the two holes will get larger and the pocket plate will become loose , now the bolt up type would not have this problem , just now and again check that the bolts are tight .
so you need to know what type of pocket plate is on a star table . maybe some of the other fitters who have worked on one can inform ?

Geoff

[bricktip]

I would think the table heaters are useful for the professional circuit where they are generally playing in very large venues. Other than that, probably overkill.

[throtts]

Guy's, I am led to believe that the Riley Tournament is partly built by a company called Sovereign, it then goes on to BCE Riley for other parts to be fitted and then finished with a Authentification Certificate, stating its unique serial number. Can anyone clarify that?.

I wonder what the system of things is on ordering an Star. Is it fully crafted in China and then delivered to its destination for erection?...