Napping block

[Geoff Large]

Mind you if they hardly get cleaned as you say, it may take a lot longer the 1st time, but it's worth it

and don't forget to wear a mask or you will end up with lungs like an Old billiard fitter

[philip in china]

You get brushing and have somebody following on with the napping block and you will be finished in no time

They have recovered some of the tables in our club, but they hardly get cleaned, I was considering brushing and blocking the table I play on before I start, (if they will let me ,and if they have a block, I have never seen them use one just brushed and ironed)could you tell me roughly how long it would take, as I no doubt will have to pay for the light while I'm doing it.

[DeanH]

this is my procedure, please feel free to correct me if wrong
1. Rule NO. 1 ALWAYS, ALWAYS brush, block, iron from baulk to black end in straight lines.
2. Turn iron on to warm up.
3. Brush - this can take time if the table has not been done for a while, you may want to take a break (smoke'm if you got'm) and come back and rebrush after the dust has settled
I do multiple sweeps in areas working my way across the width of the table (brushing always from baulk to black) and work my way up the table to the black end. The pressure is not that heavy just enough that it "feels" you are getting "into" the cloth
Brush the cushions and under the cushions. (This is one aspect I am not sure of, I do the side rails in the same direction as the bed - does this matter as much? any particular direction at the ends?)
Then brush the bed in continuous sweep from baulk to black lifting of the bed at the black end, work across the table.

4. Block - this lays the cloth fibres in the correct direction. With only slight pressure do, one continuous sweep from baulk to black, lifting at the end and onto the next run. Tend to only do this once but if a table has not been done for a while a second pass wont hurt.

5. Iron - should be heated up now, gently place the iron under the baulk cushion and let its own weight do the work and run the iron straight down the table to the black end, lift off bed and return. Never let the iron sit in any one place for any amount of time. The next pass I have a slight overlap with the previous. Return and continue across the table. Once is usually enough.

This usually does not take long but I personally dont do it every time I go to the table as it can be a waste of a 50p for the light

[itsnoteasy]

How do you get the dirt off the table once you have swept it all down to the black Cush. Do you sweep one half into one pocket and the other half into the other pocket ? Or go right across the table and all of it into one pocket.
Dean played on a table that has been covered for less than a month yesterday, well for past few days, it looked like a Jackson Pollock with all the chalk streaks on it lol, when you put your hand on the table you could feel the nap was not just raised but it actually felt it was lying the wrong way, the lad I was playing got some horrendous kicks when up around fifty break point that stopped him getting much much higher totals, I was getting fed up for him. I think it would be worth the 50 p lol, although it probably would mean I was just picking out more balls.

[DeanH]

the dust accumulation under the black cushion was another question I had, I have done both as you describe but I ensure that I am only using the end part of the brush so I try not to affect the cloth too much into the playing area (i.e. the actual limit of where a ball will sit when against the cushion).

I knwo what you mean, just last night had a pool league match (I know not a snooker table but...) and the cloth was like a carpet it was so raised and thick that it was so difficult to get any movement from the balls!
I doubt it had been brushed for years, or (I suspect) it had been brushed but in every direction possible!
never mind, we won 12-3 away win

[Geoff Large]

The end cushion nap should go in the direction of the left pocket .

always brush the end dust pile towards the left pocket , cushions on the side of the table are in the same direction as bed cloth nap , or should be if recovered correct . I do know of some firms cover them all to the left which makes two cushions nap direction run against the nap of the bed .

Baulk end cushion again brush towards left hand pocket

, you can use a Vacuum for the under part of the cushion , but please do not go anywhere near the slate joints , use the crevice tool of the vac to get under the cushion .

I use a plastic evo stick glue spreader to clean out under the cushion , getting brush in one hand spreader in the other , use the first tooth of the thin spreader to get the fluff out of the crevice and the vac to remove it . or simply brush it down the cushion in the direction of the cushion nap and out of the pocket it is napped towards .

always leave a Brushed table for around 15 mins for the dust to settle before napping , and when ironing slant the iron diagonal , some plates are warped by slanting the iron as a diagonal you are limiting the chance of deep tram lines from a warped plate of the iron , and keep the iron 1/4 of an inch away from the rubber in all cushions , Heat from the iron will reduce rubber life by upto 50% as well as wearing the cushion cloth out as you rub against it.

when you Iron the table take note of the side you started first as this will have the hottest iron , when you do the table next time , start from the other side , this is to make sure you never always iron on one side hotter then the other , alternate the ironing .
and over lap by 20% of the plate on each glide of the iron to make sure you are ironing every bit of cloth .
Place iron on the bed just under the end cushion and side cushion without touching the cushion cloth , twist the iron as you place it down so it is at a Diagonal slant , glide down the bed keeping 1/4 of an inch away from the side cushion ,as you are nearing the end cushion straighten the iron up and lift off about 1/4 of an inch off the end cushion .

NEVER back brush the nap , some have stated this is good for the table , the manufacturer of the cloth spend time and effort making the nap in one direction allways keep brushing in that direction , the same with cushions , they are numbered from D end baulk in a clock wise direction 1/2/3/4/5/6 ...1/2/3/4 the nap is to the left , 5/6 nap is to the right .

1&4 cushions are end cushions

one thing has amused me for years is that some people think the iron has to be plugged in all the time when in use , and they have long extension leads come out to plug the iron into , just heat up to to an acceptable heat setting for your cloth , unplug and iron unplugged .

[DeanH]

thanks for that Geoff, to the left pocket as you stand at the end cushions, great thanks.
Yes, the slight slant of the iron, I forgot to mention that
Alternating the sides you start ironing - great tip thanks

[Geoff Large]

thanks for that Geoff, to the left pocket as you stand at the end cushions, great thanks.
Yes, the slight slant of the iron, I forgot to mention that
Alternating the sides you start ironing - great tip thanks

forgot to say always stand the iron up on it's end when plugged in and when cooling down , just because the stand is the same shape and has a heat pad , this is not to place the iron flat on , the worst thing you can do is trap the heat from the sole plate this will warp the iron .
if you have the old two pin plug on an old iron , always turn off the electric and un plug before attempting to pull that old pot two pin out , I have seen some electrocuted trying it when the plug came apart in the hand or the pot or plastic plug is cracked and you touch the exposed pin's .
I do not know how those New low priced Chinese iron's can still be passed under Health and safety laws , I am sure they have to have a UK kite mark on to be Legal , if you can afford it always buy the Dowsing make of Iron which comes with the heat slotted fully moulded Kettle plug that is passed by our UK laws .
I have even seen low cost irons like this pass the electric tests that club's have , if an Employee was to be electrocuted using an iron that was not safe , you can bet the employer would be strung up , I always warn club's that saving £60 on these low cost iron's is not worth someone's life .

[DeanH]

yep I read elsewhere about standing up when heating and cooling (down to stone cold).
I remember you mentioning electrocution danger before, luckily the club only has modern Dowsing irons.

I remember the slight twisting of the iron from the Nic Barrow Gym dvds, but also I was told it buy an old chap years ago at a now no-longer open club, his reasoning was that the slight angle allows the iron to ride over the slate joints easier if they happen not to be perfect and to not mark the cloth at the same place. That is possibly true but I would want the table corrected if they were not perfect

[itsnoteasy]

Thanks Geoff, very detailed, much appreciated

[inevermissblue]

Here we go again!!! lol Sound familiar Geoff??? :snooker:

Heres a very interesting video i saw recently! very informative indeed!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrdBmRYY8r4 i know its about pool tables, but the principle is the same and even more alarming!!!

[Chappy5]

Here we go again!!! lol Sound familiar Geoff??? :snooker:

Heres a very interesting video i saw recently! very informative indeed!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrdBmRYY8r4 i know its about pool tables, but the principle is the same and even more alarming!!!

I don't know what to think of that! No mention of different cloth types/naps etc and no info on the product itself at all except trying to see what it was from 10 meters away!

What the hell is that Chicken sound every 30 seconds also! lol

[itsnoteasy]

I don't know what to think of that! No mention of different cloth types/naps etc and no info on the product itself at all except trying to see what it was from 10 meters away!

What the hell is that Chicken sound every 30 seconds also! lol

Sat through all that keek and didn't even see the product in action, my guess as to the noise is it's a parrot, I thought I heard him say the pool cues he made were called Parrot cues, if it was mine it would be pining for the fjords lol.

[Geoff Large]

Here we go again!!! lol Sound familiar Geoff??? :snooker:

Heres a very interesting video i saw recently! very informative indeed!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrdBmRYY8r4 i know its about pool tables, but the principle is the same and even more alarming!!!

He is agreeing though that damping the cloth is not doing anything to it and is actually bad for the table this is something I have been saying on this forum for the last 5 years and yet people still come on here saying it is good ?

also Vacuum is a no go , I do recommend using a vac nozzle for the under cushions but not really on the bed or any where near the slate joints

when he is on about negative charge and positive charge , he is talking about static

His spray if putting static electricity into the cloth his cloth is man made mix cloth and the spray he is using works best with that man made product , it would have a much less an impact on Pure New wool cloths .

if anyone has had any rayon type trousers you will know what I am on about , the trousers stick to your legs especially in cold weather , I always buy a wool or a good wool mixed trousers or suits as I do not like rayon and he may be onto something for American pool cloth but you cannot say YET if it is good for pure new wool Strachan cloths until someone here has a go with it on test fro say a year on a good used cloth with chalk dust embedded into it .
If I was a betting man I would say there will be still chalk on the slate and underside of the cloth when a re-cover is required , the only time I have seen no chalk dust present is when someone has regularly used a vacuum cleaner on the bed .

I for one do not believe that every bit of chalk dust is suddenly going to leap out of the cloth and onto a negative charged blocker ,
I do take on board that some positive charged dust will attach itself to the negative blocker , but not those that are under the cloth .
What he is doing is selling his product of cleaning spray which he claims gets all the chalk out like a magnet , you can put static into a cloth by just Brushing even wool cloths do absorb static , I have when folding old cloths that we have taken off for stretching sometimes get a static shock if I have another person shaking the cloth dust out , I then fold it up ,if we occidentally touch fingers you can actually see a spark and we get a belt of static electricity as if i have touched bare wire , and it is quite a shock too , other fitters will have come across this , I get this more on Hainsworth cloth than Strachan because Hainsworth has a mix fibre content of wool and man made fibre.

I would say it is a poor way of trying to get his product onto the market , a poor home made film with a parrot squeaking in the back ground , if he was really serious about his product and wanted to make an impact then he would have a much more professional way of presenting it , from that basis , I would say his product is just as poor as his advertising skills .
He should be presenting free cans to all the table fitters and pool halls he knows to try as a free sample get their PROFESSIONAL feedback and bounce his product off that , not off a poor home made movie .

His product if it works will only work on Surface dust , not dust trapped in the weave or dust that is sitting under the cloth .
I would say your napping block would have some sort of static built into it if you use it often , I noticed he was using Magnet power as a example of what the Pos and Neg static charge is doing , now I am not into these physics too much but for example if the charge into the wiping cloth changes its static pole then it will push the dust into the cloth just like putting two poles of the same type together on two magnets ?

The best way to keep built up brushed in dust out of a cloth that has to last 2 years,is to have it re stretched after 12 months and the dust shaken out off the table , the slates cleaned joints checked , cloth re stretched back on tight and the table rechecked for level .
this has been the way for over 100 years , someone with a can of spray on dust remover is not going to improve on the old ways that actually is proven to get dust out .

[billabong]

NEVER back brush the nap , some have stated this is good for the table , the manufacturer of the cloth spend time and effort making the nap in one direction allways keep brushing in that direction , the same with cushions , they are numbered from D end baulk in a clock wise direction 1/2/3/4/5/6 ...1/2/3/4 the nap is to the left , 5/6 nap is to the right .

1&2 cushions are end cushions

If the cushions are numbered 1-->6, in a clockwise direction, starting with #1 as the baulk end cushion,

surely then cushions 1 and 4 will be the end cushions, with cushion 4 at the black end ?