We have just completed a re-rubber and re-cover of a full size snooker table in Bagworth near coalville Leicestershire
our client contacted us stating they had bought a table off a well known Snooker firm in Leeds
now playing surface renovation and fully renovated do mean different things and anyone buying a renovated table should always ask , has the rubber been replaced ?
it was obvious this table that something was wrong with the rubber , bad bounce inconsistent from cushion to cushion , badly cut angles all different from pocket to pocket
and pocket openings that where different sizes to each other .
on strip down this is what we found
This mess is what we found under the cloth on the cushions , very bad undercut nailed and stapled on rubber that could be hit with a ball
and part of the undercut was missing !
so we stripped all the rubber off the cushions and set about making good a bad job .
the new Rubber we use is allways Northern Rubber we use no other brand ,
made in the UK now owned by Hainsworth , Northern rubber is located in Retford Nottinghamshire .
every set shows the date of manufacture , this set July 2015
the set that came off was dated May 1983 which makes it 33 years old , and it had started to harden up so was ready for a re-rubber.
as you can see this is how to cut angles on a Full size snooker table , proper undercut
clean sanded and rasped to erase any knife cut marks , and just to show I have added two examples of what I took off just underneath this finished cushion
I have just fired one retaining staple into the lower undercut to anchor the rubber into place when tucking cloth behind the angle rubber , the ball cannot touch this one staple
the face is also flat the same depth as the front of the rubber all the way into the back of the pocket opening .
Click on any photo to enlarge .
I raked out the soft plaster of paris in the slate joints and filled with a good quality soft sand car body filler ,
this is more resistant to coming out during ball bounce on cushions vibrating the slate
a common occurrence with plaster of paris
The pocket openings are set to B&SCC template size with these falls they are 3.5/8ths at the fall
the corner template in position a nice tight fit
the Centre pocket template in position also a nice tight fit , our client complained of having very large openings on the centre pockets
and when I checked them before I started they had a gap of 3/8ths on my template so way oversized and also very odd cut angles .
but as you can see they are now set correct .
The finished table which had a Riley square legged frame and BCE cushions with match pocket plates of the 1980s circa .
Another view of the finished table re-covered in Strachan 6811 30 oz Tournament cloth
the cloth I recommend and most used and sought after by Thousands of snooker players and Pubs and clubs around the UK
there are thinner finer faster cloths but this one has all round Qualities such as life span of around 2 years , short medium length nap made from 100% pure new Merino wool
The most used grade of cloth in the World .
The same Brand as used in most World snooker Tournaments by World Snooker .
The cloth that was fitted by the leeds firm was Hainsworth smart , not a bad cloth but the Strachan 6811 is a better choice and only around £30 in price upgrade over the Smart , make sure you have a choice of cloth when you buy a table and take advice from an independent source like Geoff at GCL billiards about cloth qualities speed and life span , make sure the cloth you choose suits your play and your pocket and expect good life span from it , sadly there is not a thin cloth that lasts , speed is to sacrifice life span , too thick a cloth and you are annoyed with the slowness of the table , this 6811 Tournament grade is well known for it’s balance of both speed and a reasonable life span depending on how much it is used of course .
Our client is very delighted and watched as his table was slowly being refurbished to a first class playing one .
I am sure He and his Son , will have many happy hours in the Snooker shed at the bottom of his Garden .
A link to Strachan cloth grades
w.wsptextiles.com/strachan-snooker-cloths-product-range