Steel Block Cushions - Pro and Con

[philip in china]

Agreed. That is why it is so refreshing to get input from Geoff. When the current generation of table fitters retire who will take their place?

[Geoff Large]

A UPVC table. Now there's an idea......

Allready Been done back in the 80s Phil , I used go to my father in laws time share at Layla Playa in Spain near fungerola back then and they had outdoor 10ft snooker tables with speed cloth on , the frames and cushions where UPVC just like those patio chairs al;so the bed was not slate but some sort of Resin , indoors they had a full sized riley table , but whoever covered it just went straight at the centre pockets , the cloth was not formed around the slate fall and cloth was all loose , I restretched it borrowing just basic tools for the Manager of the resort , and I had free drinks all week for my party for doing it for him .

[CGQ]

hsn you posted on the other page help me " Build my dream Table"you should build it out of plastic!!!:snooker:

[philip in china]

There was some lighthearted disparagement of plywood on this thread. There is nothing wrong with plywood! I think it was Thomas Chippendale who invented it.

[hsn]

I wish I could do it! By the way the frame of my table is ready but to me the real table is the top part not the frame.
thanks for commenting though.

hsn you posted on the other page help me " Build my dream Table"you should build it out of plastic!!!:snooker:

[maryfield]

Philip Do you not have google over there? Immanuel Nobel is credited with plywood`s invention although the Egyptians were using it 3000 years ago. I have a feeling your at the wind up!

[philip in china]

Maybe I had heard that Chippendale USED plywood rather than invented it then. Yes we have Google most of the time although it is sometimes blocked. Anyway ply is a very good product. Mosquito fighter bombers proved that!

It is true that I do sometimes provide bait for others to swallow but this time I wasn't.

[nikki+daveaddmanxpool]

Steel Block Cushions - Pro and Con

So much nicer to play on

[philip in china]

I don't know. I am no player as most of you know but I have been playing for a very long time now. I wonder how much difference there actually is between the bounce on a really good, dense hardwood table- a heavy mahogany or something like that- and a steel block table. I know a steel will always outplay a lighter wood standard table but some of those K & H tables or the good B & W are very good.

[Frying Scotsman]

I havnt been on here for ages for various reasons but I am looking for a set of steel block cushions for a K and H table-can anyone help?

[philip in china]

A question for Geoff I think.

Would it be possible just to get a local machine shop to machine a set of steel blocks? Any half decent fitter could make them to the required tolerances and there is probably a standard size of steel stock that is correct to start from- or close enough. After all we aren't talking fantastically accurate tolerances. If I were doing it I would probably pay a bit extra and get them machined out of stainless.

[poona]

Only as good as the rubbers in front of it..

[Geoff Large]

any good engineering firm would be able to make steel block cushions , but I would not bother phil , the cushions on youre table are as new and made of good hard wood . you may well regret useing steel blocks they have a tendancy to split the cloth open at the middle pocket due to the ball getting right into the edge . look at any table with steels with cloth over 12 month old . they sometimes split after just 6 month use .
What people do not realise is the tables on tv have new cloths just about every 3 days . so no chance of wear on those .

as for the rubber in front of them use this

[maryfield]

Have several sets available. Drop me a pm

[SimonBarker]

I will just add my weight in the defense of Steel Block Cushions.
Steels are simply the best possible cushions for that very reason they are selected for the professionals and for tournament play the best possible spring and response you can get from a snooker cushion. The fact that you have a 3\8 inch or 13 mm piece of steel plate bolted by 6 bolts on new steels and 5 bolts on older Burroughs & Watts type steels to a solid piece of 2" slate and tightened up to a fantastic amount of torque. Gives the cushion an almost silent amount of resilience, kick and response that you just do not get with any wooden type cushion. Yes the better the wood and especially the better the wood on the middle section of the ground that the bolts go through in the slate will give you a impressive amount of bounce and I would say 90% of tables in this country are perfectly good wooden cushion.
But play on a wooden cushion for a few games and then play on a steel block table straight after and you will appreciate the level of kick, speed off the cushion, throw of the ball, change of angle, pocket entrance kick back and you will understand the difference even after a few shots. Steels do need a little extra maintenance as yes even after a steel that has been struck to the correct striking height it will start to kick upwards once some of the resilience has been lost out of the cushion cloth and bed cloth fibers at the point of cushion and ball contact. We would after 6 months raise the end cushions by 2mm just to take the kick upwards out of the cushion and keep the ball from rising upwards when hitting the end cushions at a medium speed.
To just ask a machinist to make some steels blanks would be a practical nightmare for him with all the different centers for drilling and the milling procedures that need to be done on the steels and would need specialist machinery with extra long beds for the travel of the milling tool for the groove for the cloth retaining piece of wood (slip)
Usually it is just a badly fitted wooden frieze (secondry cushion part) that is at fault for any cloth that gets split and can be rectified by looking where the damage is being done.
Have a look at my web page if you need some more info on steel block cushion as I have a page dedicated to these type cushions.
http://snookermania.weebly.com/steel...-cushions.html
I also sell and fit these cushion and have worked on thousands of them with my time refurbishing the professional players tables and working on the professional tournament.
http://http://snookermania.weebly.com/index.html
My Name is Simon Barker and my company is Barker Billiards and have been in the cue sports industry for 28 years.
So if you need any help with anything my number is 07976 326715 and I'll be pleased to answer any questions
Cheers Simon