Dowsing Snooker Iron - What temp?

[DeanH]

Hi all.
At our social club we have a Dowsing snooker iron with a temperature dial which goes from 0 to 180 in 30 steps.
What temp should it be set to for using on the snooker cloth?
It seems that the people who use it only have it at max (180), is this ok?
The image below is one I found online, it is very close to the one we have, our dial has a "H - T" below the temp numbers.
cheers

[ryanah147]

The attached thumbnail is not a Dowsing iron. I know of the Dowsing irons that Iv passed through my hands over the last few decades, the thermostatically controlled ones were numbered 0--9. The 9 was used on 100% pure wool, the 8 was used on any cloth that had 5 - 10% nylon. Are you sure your iron is a Dowsing, and not an imported look-alike ?

[Geoff Large]

That is a COPY of a dowsing iron , dowsings only go from 0 to 9 , I think that iron is of chinese origin . sorry do not know what temp to put these on , iv'e had one scary moment with the black lead melting at the point you plug it into this type of iron in a local club , made amess of the iron and the club filled with smoke , obviously the thermostat must have stuck on and it overheated .

a dowsing iron has a label riveted on the shiney metal bracket just below the handle with wattage rating etc and type of model has they do two types one for normal use and one for industrial use say for a snooker club etc .

[Geoff Large]

Ha ha .. Gerard beat me to it ..lol but just read his message at the bottom ...when you buy cheap...you buy twice .... i know of many who have bought these lower priced irons and they always fail way before a dowsing iron .

[DeanH]

You both are probably right that this is not a proper Dowsing iron and that was my problem that I could not match the temperature dial, Dowsing 0-9 and under the handle, this one 0-180 to the side of the handle.
This iron has been in the club for many years, no one remembers it being bought let alone from where
I will pass onto the committee your words of warning, but (one thing I forgot to mention) as the thing does not actually get used that much I don't think they will overly worry

[ryanah147]

I can remember in the 80s there were quite a few of that type iron around, but to be honest Iv never seen them giving trouble. I can understand how frightening it could be for one of them catch fire, but then as the saying goues... you pays your money, and you make your choice.
On the subject of irons, I wonder if there are many clubs, or individuals using the old non electric irons, the ones you heat on the gas, or the old `tailors goose`which Iv come across many in my time. Can you expand on that Geoff ?

[DeanH]

When I was down at Chandlers Ford snooker club I saw a chap with a long lump of iron (looked like a rounded ingot of lead ) with a long high handle, no plug inlet that I could see.

[Geoff Large]

Yes Gerard , the Old billiard irons which where very heavy lumps of iron and most carried the Billiard firms name on where often used in the old gentlemans clubs I used to service back in the late 70s and 80s , but they where replaced over the years with the electric type , Mick Robb used to tell me they where the best type to use as the plate never warped , but most people did not like having to heat them up on the Gas or electric rings , and then have to put a tea towel around the handle as the heat always traveled up into the handle as it was all cast as one , I have on some tables used them if they where handy , and also had to heat my own iron on a stove once because the electircs went on it .
I have seen the ones where you put the iron ignot lump into the fire then with tongs insert it into a cavity inside a sturdy iron , these old cast iron's where a bit hit and miss though and many scorched bed cloths where found on my visits , because people did not test them on scrap cloth before useing them on the tables .

[ryanah147]

When I played Snooker way back in the 70s, our club used to have one of these irons and was heated by the gas rings under the table. If the iron had collected any bit of rust or dirt, the caretaker would bring it down to the kitchen and clean it off with a light sandpaper, heat it up, and then place it in a `standing`position and apply a candle to the top of it and let the candle grease cascade down the sole of the iron. According to him the candle would collect any rust dust and have the sole of the iron spotless.
The half heated iron was then brought back to the Billiards Room and heated until it was the right temperature. It was tested on a sheet of brown paper before applying to the bed of the table. Any excess candle grease would have melted off during the second heating.
The Thurston Museum in Liverpool has a fantastic collection of old Billiard table irons. There are about 50 in all, all painted black and the name of the Billiards firm painted in white on them. Thurstons, B&W, Orme & Son, George Wright, Cox & Yemen,EJ Riley, Ashcrofts and so on and on.... Im sure they are featured on Norman Clare`s Heritage site.

[Geoff Large]

Talking about candle wax on the sole of the iron plate , on my rounds I come across many tables that have irons in the room and are never used , the cloth is a right mess , but when I ask has the table been ironed you can always bet they say of course at least once a week , so I put E/H in candle wax on the sole of the plate , next time I visit maybe 3 months or even 6 months , I look at the iron to see those E/H initials still in candle wax on the plate ,Ii ask again yes of course , then I show them the plate of the iron . I point out that if the iron was heated up those E/H initials would have melted ?

[DeanH]

sneeky
I may do that as I am convinced that the table cleaner has not touched the iron for ages
:snooker:

[philip in china]

I swear this forum casts magic spells. Just reading about irons and the thermostat on mine has suddenly mysteriously started working again! Geoff, how do you do it? From so far away??

[DeanH]

I swear this forum casts magic spells. Just reading about irons and the thermostat on mine has suddenly mysteriously started working again! Geoff, how do you do it? From so far away??

glad this has started working for you
do you have the same type as the one we have down the club? If so, what temperature do you set it at?
cheers

[philip in china]

No, I just have a normal domestic iron but it works fine. When I was unsure about the thermostat I would switch it on for a couple of minutes. Once it had warmed up I would first try it on some paper. If it browns the paper it is too hot. If it doesn't try it on a piece of cloth. If it doesn't damage that cloth I iron half the table, warm the iron again for maybe 30 seconds then iron the other half. It is a bit hit and miss but it works fine. If I can't see where I have ironed I warm her up a bit more and iron again. Better to iron it too cool than risk burning the cloth!

Before ironing I always brush well and block the table. Make sure you aren't ironing dirt into the cloth.

[jaffa.johnson]

No, I just have a normal domestic iron but it works fine. When I was unsure about the thermostat I would switch it on for a couple of minutes. Once it had warmed up I would first try it on some paper. If it browns the paper it is too hot. If it doesn't try it on a piece of cloth. If it doesn't damage that cloth I iron half the table, warm the iron again for maybe 30 seconds then iron the other half. It is a bit hit and miss but it works fine. If I can't see where I have ironed I warm her up a bit more and iron again. Better to iron it too cool than risk burning the cloth!

Before ironing I always brush well and block the table. Make sure you aren't ironing dirt into the cloth.

What temperature does the iron reach before you switch it off for use?