Looking at buying USED BCE WESTBURY

[lesedwards]

Well still nothing from Geoff but after looking over the photos closer I really do not think it has steel block rails. In the one photo it looks like some kind of duct tape over the rail but you can also see the feather strips which you normally don't find in Steel Blocks. This would be the forth table going into my house in two years so I am pretty good at picking things out. Also I see there are no pockets attached to the nets which is not a good sign either. But I will wait to hear from Geoff.

[itsnoteasy]

Does it have to be steel block Les, what's the difference.

[Terry Davidson]

Les:

The table appears not to have steel-blocked cushions, just a normal BCE Westbury.

There is no need to go through the hassle of taking down your table and installing a new table even if cheap. All you need to do is get new rubber and then take the wood down properly (it appears Pat didn't do a great job so do it yourself with a belt sander but do a lot of measurements first like thickness of the new rubber so you can determine how much wood you have to take off each side of the corner pockets).

Also, most of your playing problems are coming from not driving the cue through the cueball. I believe I mentioned this once before and told you to take a few days and just practice hitting balls hard but concentrate on accelerating all the way through to the end of the delivery, never mind if you get the pot or not. This exercise will get you used to accelerating through the ball.

What helps big-time with this is to ONLY grip (or more accurately 'hold') with JUST THE FOREFINGER and leave the back 3 fingers completely off the cue just until you get used to it as they should actually be lightly touching the butt. Keep the forefinger loose and use a slow backswing and with this exercise I think you'll soon start potting balls accurately and once you settle into accelerating smoothly you will also find your positional play will become more accurate.

You can start doing this exercise now, before you either change tables or get new rubber and less wood on your own table (to me it would be a shame to dismantle your present table as it is a classic).

Terry

[ADR147]

i am no expert on tables but 99.9% of the time it is not the table mate!

[philip in china]

The number of men who buy a new gun, it won't shoot straight and it is the fault of the gun. Next it is the fault of the cartridges. Only 3rd do they ever consider it might be them! As said above, it is rarely the table. Just get a really good player to play on it. The next thing is "It's this cue".

[lesedwards]

Les:

The table appears not to have steel-blocked cushions, just a normal BCE Westbury.

There is no need to go through the hassle of taking down your table and installing a new table even if cheap. All you need to do is get new rubber and then take the wood down properly (it appears Pat didn't do a great job so do it yourself with a belt sander but do a lot of measurements first like thickness of the new rubber so you can determine how much wood you have to take off each side of the corner pockets).

Also, most of your playing problems are coming from not driving the cue through the cueball. I believe I mentioned this once before and told you to take a few days and just practice hitting balls hard but concentrate on accelerating all the way through to the end of the delivery, never mind if you get the pot or not. This exercise will get you used to accelerating through the ball.

What helps big-time with this is to ONLY grip (or more accurately 'hold') with JUST THE FOREFINGER and leave the back 3 fingers completely off the cue just until you get used to it as they should actually be lightly touching the butt. Keep the forefinger loose and use a slow backswing and with this exercise I think you'll soon start potting balls accurately and once you settle into accelerating smoothly you will also find your positional play will become more accurate.

You can start doing this exercise now, before you either change tables or get new rubber and less wood on your own table (to me it would be a shame to dismantle your present table as it is a classic).

Terry

Thanks Terry for all your input. I think the best I felt was after we had that coaching session with your new coaching gadget from Nic. I tried potting some balls last night with a peice of chalk right beside the cue ball so I could see how long my follow through was and believe it or not my cue finished short of the chalk after the the strike. So I am doing the same thing I was doing when you first put me on the machine. The minute my cue strikes the CB I jerk the cue back. I will work on this. Now as for my table I am not sure what I will do. Probably just play on it the way it is for now but like you said the only thing I can do is pull back the cloth and take my belt sander to the wood below the rubber.

[lesedwards]

i am no expert on tables but 99.9% of the time it is not the table mate!

Hi ADR isn't that the truth. I was just over hitting balls at the range and here is a guy chatting about his new driver he has ordered, figures he will really be able to hit the new one straight....LOL next it will be the golf ball then the grip then the shaft and then it will be time to buy another new driver.....

[robertmac]

I have a lot of friends who golf and each spring
they get excited about the new clubs that have
come out. Of course they buy them. Much like
those who have numerous cues perhaps.

[lesedwards]

I have a lot of friends who golf and each spring
they get excited about the new clubs that have
come out. Of course they buy them. Much like
those who have numerous cues perhaps.

Yep that's me still shooting par with clubs I used on tour 25 years ago except for driver and fairway wood. But then it comes to Snooker and I am buying every training aid and cue I can find.....LOL I know it's not the cue but you like to make yourself think it is. well I am not buying the table. It is not a steel block table so I will stick with mine.

[mythman69]

Having an expensive car does not make you a good driver

[coomsey76]

i am no expert on tables but 99.9% of the time it is not the table mate!

Bingo....!!

[Terry Davidson]

Thanks Terry for all your input. I think the best I felt was after we had that coaching session with your new coaching gadget from Nic. I tried potting some balls last night with a peice of chalk right beside the cue ball so I could see how long my follow through was and believe it or not my cue finished short of the chalk after the the strike. So I am doing the same thing I was doing when you first put me on the machine. The minute my cue strikes the CB I jerk the cue back. I will work on this. Now as for my table I am not sure what I will do. Probably just play on it the way it is for now but like you said the only thing I can do is pull back the cloth and take my belt sander to the wood below the rubber.

Les:

vmax (on another string) believes the reason you don't improve is because you don't look at the object ball at the time of strike. I think you do look at the object ball but there is another reason you're not potting well and that is because you never accelerate through the cueball.

Just try this the next time you practice. Take all 21 balls and spread them out all over the table with none on the cushion. Place the cueball wherever you like. Do not play position yet and in fact don't worry (yet) if you aren't potting balls, just concentrate on driving the cue right through the cueball and remember to accelerate the cue all the way through the delivery until the back of your left hand hits your chest (try not to drop the elbow yet either). I believe if you can accomplish accelerating through AND BEYOND the cueball you will start to see improvement.

As I said in a previous post the key to all of this is your grip. Use JUST the forefinger and keep it LOOSE and let the cue do the work. Take the back 3 fingers right off the cue and leave them off and just work on the drive through and beyond.

You can come up anytime and we can hook you up to the analysis machine from Nic, free of charge. What we should be able to see if you have it right is the constant acceleration of the delivery.

In summary, loose grip with forefinger only, slow backswing, rear pause if you can get one as that will help you drive through, accelerate through and beyond the cueball (and oh yes, as vmax says...'eyes on the object ball at moment of strike'.

Terry

[lesedwards]

Les:

vmax (on another string) believes the reason you don't improve is because you don't look at the object ball at the time of strike. I think you do look at the object ball but there is another reason you're not potting well and that is because you never accelerate through the cueball.

Just try this the next time you practice. Take all 21 balls and spread them out all over the table with none on the cushion. Place the cueball wherever you like. Do not play position yet and in fact don't worry (yet) if you aren't potting balls, just concentrate on driving the cue right through the cueball and remember to accelerate the cue all the way through the delivery until the back of your left hand hits your chest (try not to drop the elbow yet either). I believe if you can accomplish accelerating through AND BEYOND the cueball you will start to see improvement.

As I said in a previous post the key to all of this is your grip. Use JUST the forefinger and keep it LOOSE and let the cue do the work. Take the back 3 fingers right off the cue and leave them off and just work on the drive through and beyond.

You can come up anytime and we can hook you up to the analysis machine from Nic, free of charge. What we should be able to see if you have it right is the constant acceleration of the delivery.

In summary, loose grip with forefinger only, slow backswing, rear pause if you can get one as that will help you drive through, accelerate through and beyond the cueball (and oh yes, as vmax says...'eyes on the object ball at moment of strike'.

Terry

Thanks Terry I will try that. Thanks for the invite. If I can find time I will send you an email.

[itsnoteasy]

A few things to try ,which might help getting you cueing through Les, they are just daft little exercises.
First play the white up and down the spots with your eyes shut, just concentrate on the cue action, stay down in the finish position and see how far you have gone through, put a bit of chalk there,to one side, play the next shot up and down with your eyes open but the cue has to go through as far as the chalk.
Another one is the deliberate foul, place a red say four inches in front of the white and try and play the shot so it becomes a push shot, so the cue white and red are all in contact, you will have to get right through the white to manage this.
jabbing and a floating bridge, just screams out movement to me, so until you sort it, you will never move on.

[Geoff Large]

Sorry for delay in replying .
Cushions are standard and NOT steel block
I have been very busy pulling all the work in so that I can get away for 10 days holiday so have not been on the forum lately to read any new posts
Add to this the World cup and I have been away from the PC to log in . apart from one private message I got from another enquiry about a pool table advice .

Geoff