Match cloths

[dpdubai]

How much does it cost to fit one?

[philip in china]

Probably best to say where you are and which cloth you want. There are several people on here who will then be able to let you have a firm quote.

[DeanH]

yep, as Philip has said it depends on location and the type of cloth you are wanting fitted.
Also, I would mention the make/model of table as these can vary.
From what I have seen recently is that you can have a range of prices for the "same" job, but beware of cheap quotes as there have been occurances of people quoting cheep and not doing a very good and you have to pay again to correct the problems.

[dpdubai]

I'm in Glasgow, Scotland.

Not sure on the model of the table think it might be a riley aristocrat or similar, it is a pro spec table set up with the steel blocks and the bags shallow cut.

As for the cloth i don't know much about that I'm guessing strachan of some sort cos that's what I hear about on here and have seen on TV.

[NorthWestJunior]

I think it is the Strachan No. 10 that is used for the tables on the World Snooker Tour. Strachan 6811 Gold is the most popular I've heard, not sure on that. I imagine the Strachan No. 10 has great playability but less durability whereas the 6811 is probably more of a balance between both playability and durability.

[Geoff Large]

Beware that no 10 will not have much wear in it , they wear out at a very quick rate , it is known that in some clubs the cloth has only lasted less than 3 months due to overload of play .

Not the best cloth to fit either , as the pro's have asked for a cloth that the balls travels at speed the manufacturers have responded with lighter wieght cloths to the point that some toilet papers are thicker , fitters are very wary of fitting it as fingers have been known to simply go straight through it , you have to be very diligent that youre finger nails are cutt short and filed smooth , damp hands for grip to stretch it , and be very carefull not to overstretch because it just rips .

Hainsworth Match is around the same thickness but in my opinion a little better to fit .

most clubs and snooker halls , do not realy like paying out for a cloth that is not going to last , they try it now and again under pressure of the better players in the club who pester them to have it fitted , in reality the only time players should come across match cloths is at the highest level , I played football for many years to semi pro level but the pitches I played on never had the same turf as Wembley . they had good turf just not the best .

Bottom line is do you own the table that the cloth is being fitted to , or are you asking the owners of the club to have it fitted rather than the standard high quality normal cloths such as Strachan 6811 trournament , take a look at it form the owners of the clubs point of veiw , they are fitting good quality cloth that wil get a decent life out of it , they have set their buisness up to make a profit , if they have to recover every 3 months do you think they will makea profit on that table or a loss , taking into account that only the better players will use it and they do not drink like the average punter so no added profit over the bar , I asked a club owner who had been asked to fit the Match cloth his thoughts about it , he told me not only did one or two players wanted the table fitting with it , but they also wanted exclusive use of the table and no one else play on it ? he told them if he ran a taxi firm do you think he would put one taxi aside put leather upholstery in it and a game boy TV and only use it for you two ? well I had to laugh at that one because he described exactley a true scenario of what they wanted from him .

Match cloth is very expensive , I only fit it now and again for one or two clubs and I do that very frequently , the most you will get out of a match cloth is 12 months with little play , but with players not only wanting to play a game but also practice on it the cloth will wear out much quicker 3 to 6 months being the norm . one of the clubs has now seen the light though and only has 6811 Tournament fitted .

As strachan 6811T cloth and hainsworth smart is the industry standard for most clubs this is the cloth you are most likley to play on in and around the leagues at match standard , if you had no 10 on youre home leg table , then played away you will notice a differance from table to table for speed and reaction , those no 10 cloths soon lose their nap lenth and with it the ability to screw back or swerve balls with side .
the 6811 quality can keep those qualities far longer , they can also be stretched and prolong their life span .
so what I am saying is there are very few tables out there fitted with Match cloths at club level , you are 99% more likley to be playing on good Quality 6811 T and hainsworth smart , if you play at league level youre play should be used to the good qaulity cloths , playing on a no10 now and again will in my opinion put you off youre normall game , youre expectations of ball travel and speed will be greatly affected just on this one table . you will try to adjust youre play to suit , then next time you are playing on another table you have to alter youre game to suit that table . Better to be playing on the same cloth all round then you know the Run of the cloth , of course things like regular Brushing and irong will also make a differance , these are things that you always have to take into consideration when playing on a table .

Geoff

[throtts]

My no 10 is coming up to 4 month old and where I practice around the black ball area alot the black spot + is almost worn away and the actual cloth is wearing away where the black fires of the its spot. So yes, beware. Great cloth to master the game on though, however, can really show up ones flaws..

[Geoff Large]

With match cloths the players also want the same conditions as on TV and that means NO SPOTS just an x marked on the cloth , with continuous ball replacement on the black and pink and also the blue spots , these tend to just wear away in weeks , the reason spots are not used on TV is because the cloths are only on the table for a max of 2 to 3 days , a cloth in a club under normal wear and tear such as 6811T is around 12 to 24 months useing spots to protect against premeture wear , on a NO 10 useing no spots would wear the cloth through out pretty quick at the point of the ball spot . especialy the black .

[highbreak 8]

Our club is considering using Hainsworth Match . which is the best grade to go for for regular club usage .

[Geoff Large]

For club use unless the table is only used for matches ( which in 100% of the time is not the case ) the best cloth is 6811 tounament or Hainsworth smart , no 10 is not cost effective costing upto twice the amount of these cloths . it is made thin , and recentley made even thinner , i have had a problem with one cloth wherethe cloth just gave way on fitting , also hainsworth match i have put my fingers through this when stretching it on .

I do not know of one club on my rounds that when a match cloth has been fitted they stand this table idle and only use for matches , in fact the opposite , because once players find out it is the same cloth as TV they all want to practice on it , yes you can get upto 1 year of use , but not at normal club playing time .

Geoff

[philip in china]

How much difference would an actual match cloth make to most players?

[Terry Davidson]

philip:

I've found the 6811, as long as it's cleaned and blocked regularly actually plays better than a worn #10 plus the nap will last longer. Also the #10 is a real b*tch to stretch and remember the pros only use it for a couple of days and then replace it in their tournaments. Both money and playability-wise 6811 is definitely the way to go.

I had a 6811 on my table and then when it wore out (5 years, practicing and coaching at least 4hrs every day) I replaced it with one of those 'nearly new' #10 cloths and I'm a little disappointed with the #10 which has been on the table for about 6 months now. I tried to stretch it a bit but as it was used there was nothing to grab onto and I gave the project up after stretching it about 1" to get the black spot moved a bit.

I did buy a Hainsworth 'Precision' as an experiment but haven't had it fitted yet. It's 30% nylon and 20oz so it's thin and fast and Hainsworth (of course) says the wear is the same as 6811 gold.

I would recommend you go for the 6811 gold and use a water-based white marker as you'll likely have to stretch the cloth after about a year or so in your holiday facility and you can remove the old marks with acetone easily.

Terry

[philip in china]

The cloth I shall be using is whatever Geoff supplied with the table. I am not sure what it is as it is all sealed up and I am not going to unseal it before I am ready to have it fitted.

[Geoff Large]

I think you will find it is Hainsworth smart that came with the table Phil thats what the Seller had fitted last time by riley . thats a small amount of man made fibre mixed in with the wool to make the cloth last , there is not much differance between Hainsworth smart and stracahn 6811 Tournament .

Geoff

[philip in china]

I sneaked a look Geoff. It's effectively new! The spare isn't bad- I have played on plenty a good deal worse!

I think you will find it is Hainsworth smart that came with the table Phil thats what the Seller had fitted last time by riley . thats a small amount of man made fibre mixed in with the wool to make the cloth last , there is not much differance between Hainsworth smart and stracahn 6811 Tournament .

Geoff