This week I have been working away for a few days and staying overnight at a caravan park in Lincolnshire. I took on around 4 jobs in the same area, so stayed central to complete them all at the caravan park I was doing the main work at.
The main job was the caravan park’s 10ft snooker table which had been badly installed from new and had dead Chinese green rubber on the cushions. I started by stripping the rubber off the cushions and then I replaced it with best Northern Rubber as used on the main tournament tables used on TV.
After fitting the new rubber I had to reform the pocket openings on this table. As the table is used mainly by the park’s tourist caravanners and residents, they did not want small hard to pot tight pocket openings so opted for a large 3 3/4 inch width at the drop, which is around 1/8th larger than club tables in most snooker clubs.
The slips that hold the cloth in on the last re-cover where all nailed in. This is bad practice and will in time split those wood blocks off the cushion.
Just take alook at the badly carved rubber around the pockets and the nailed in cloth retaining slips. I have lifted the nails up to show just how many were in. This is just utter cowboy work.
Take a look at the next photo to show new slips that were fitted after the new rubber was fitted and new pocket angles cut. As you can see, not a nailed in slip, just a tight fitting one.
The finished table
The bed of the table was not very level and the frame bolts where all loose. The table was fitted with adjustable muntins (centre slate supports) but these were not even tightened up against the under side of the slate. The slate also had beer mats put between frame and slate in an attempt to level it. I removed all the beer mats, took all the packing out of the legs, tightened the frame bolts, levelled the table, adjusted the centre slate supprts to prevent slate sagging and refilled the joints with a good soft sand car body filler, before sanding the entire bed down.
The table, although not 100% level, is 98% better than it was before I levelled it.
A photo showing pocket openings after the re rubber with ball for referance of size of opening. You may also note I fitted a new set of Riley match plate pocket leathers.
A photo of the old cloth and pocket opening , as you can just about see the rubber is not as thick at the back end of the old pocket as it is on the new opening. You need this extra rubber at the back edge to avoid cloth wear and the noise of knocking as the ball hits the thin rubber. Better to have a bit more rubber there to protect cloth from splitting and also ball bounce out from the thud of the ball hitting the wood. The old pocket openings where around 4 inch wide at the fall! That’s almost two balls side by side being allowed in – the term ‘buckets’ can be aptly used to describe pockets like this by snooker players.
I was not finished after this re-cover and re-rubber as they also wanted me to re-cover the old pool table out the back that the kids use. I turned the old cloth over from the snooker table.
Here it is, not too bad for second hand cloth turned over is it? It is only used by the kids anyway.
During my stay there I nipped out each evening. One trip to Woodhall Spa to pick up some 9ft cushions to take home to the workshop for re-rubber and re-cover. Due to refit next thursday with other work in the area. The next night a trip up the road to dismantle a full sized snooker table in a garage. It really helps if you are in the same area to combine these jobs as it helps to reduce travelling time (and costs) and thus increase the time I can spend on fitting. I estimate with all the work I did on this trip, it saved me 8 hours travelling and that’s a day that would have been lost.
Not finished there, on the way home on Friday I popped into Newark to look at a job to quote for and then over to Southall to quote for another job. So a very productive week.
Next two weeks are just as busy, with tables to move and set up, re-rubbers x 3 and recovering pool and snooker tables.
Not much on for June although the first week is starting to look full, so anyone requiring work for June, just pop me an email at c.large@btinternet.com or phone me 0n 07753 466064.
By all means leave comments on this work just done, but any enquiries please use the two contacts just supplied. Email is the preferred contact method, but if you want a quick answer the mobile phone is the best.
