I have been over to St Johns snooker club in Bloxwich to re-stretch the bed cloths on two full size snooker tables .
at the same time fit new nets and leathers to the two tables .
I re-covered both the outside tables in the new 29 oz Strachan 6811 tournament cloth bed and cushions around one year ago so they where ready for their 12 month re-stretch of bed cloths
the term re-stretch really means tighten up of the cloth as it gives a bit , just like a drum skin when first put on slackens off after use ,a snooker table will do exactly the same .
if you do not re-stretch you run the risk of two things happening , one the slack cloth can tear easy if left , and two the ball track marks around the pocket openings are moved down the fall
and are replaced with some more thicker unworn cloth that is stretched into place to replace it .
the benefits of a tight re-stretched bed cloth is truer level of tables and faster tables .
The bed cloth has been untacked and re-stretched back on , the line was to try and keep the old spots in the center of the table
and to give equally pull all the way around the cloth , this also helps when remarking the baulk line .
The measurement from the end of the slate to Baulk line is 31 inch , so we erase the old line that I marked out in soft pencil 12 months ago with Acetone
this fades the line back so that you do not get horrible two line syndrome when playing .
To be Honest Keith the person who looks after the tables had let the old lines really fade back so they where well faded anyway , but the Acetone faded them a bit better .
we always recommend Black pencil rather than white tippex , white tippex cannot be faded back .
the reason they use white on TV is for the camera’s to pick it out , otherwise they would use black , and the spots are on to protect the cloth , the TV tables being replaced every three days do not require spots , but club tables lasting 24 months do !
the finished table , re-stretched , re-marked out and re-spotted , with new nets and leathers replaced also .
ready for the run in of the last 12 months of wear .
in 12 months time these tables will be recovered again , I have suggested 29 oz on the bed and 30 oz on the cushions just to guarantee more wear of the cushions cloth that extra 1 oz will give .
New Center and corner pocket nets and leathers really finish the table off , I have put slits in the face of the leathers to prevent bounce back
corner leather fitted with more overhang to close the gap between wood and leather
note the slate fall , those lines used to be on top of the bed , they have been stretched down around 1.5 inch
providing a fresh thickness of cloth where the balls hit the cushion and form tram lines .
this is very normal for wear on a table when approaching the pocket fall .
while I was there Keith took me over to another club across the road to look at 4 tables that require work and to give a quote
the tables have had some very bad work carried out on them , but if they do have GCL Billiards they can expect the same quality of workmanship that I do for all my clients .
nothing rushed and a job done the proper way , which is the only way to do it !
if I get that work I will do another report with photo’s showing what I have rectified and made good .
and big thank you to Keith who has remained faithful to GCL Billiards and has recommend us to the other club .
We are not the lowest costing although not too far off what other low cost firms charge , we do not charge VAT though which may be a bonus for some , but we do a thorough job and improve the table where possible taking much more time than some speed fitting firm .
we are recommended by the NBSA and we have some fantastic write ups for work we have carried out by our clients , and many who write on the snooker forum in the tables section .
so if you have a table that requires a professional approach to fitting then contact Geoff Large at GCL billiards , with 40 years experience as a Billiards fitter .
