SERVICES

MOVING

Pool tables can weigh between 700 - 1,200 pounds. They are not meant to be moved without breaking them down into multiple pieces (3 pieces of slate, frame, legs, rails, blinds, pockets and hardware). Taking them apart in the right steps and marking the parts is essential. Trying to move a pool table with 4-6 men can be hazardous to the table, the floor and the men moving it. Paying the extra money to have a professional move it is worth it and may prevent multiple types of accidents. With decades of experience, save yourself the hassle and potential hazard by giving us a call to schedule your pool table moving. We will protect your table and house! GUARANTEED!

If you desire new cloth, this is the best time to recover the table and to replace the cushion rubber on the rails if needed. Call us at 361-774-7401 .

We have seen the “after” and had to fix major problems. Movers, carpet installers, piano movers, friends, even 14-year-old girls at a slumber party, have pushed and tried to get a table moved and had a leg bolt strip out of the cabinet and the table comes down with maybe one leg holding part of it up.

If you need to move the table to another room, or just out of the way while you get new flooring, we have special dollies just for that purpose. Or if the table goes to storage, that’s fine. We also offer slate-crating services that national movers require.

SET-UP – 3 pieces of slate

Setting the table back up is even more technical in nature than breaking it down with many tricks involved to have the pool table installed correctly. We can set-up your table if you already have the slates and parts in your game room. The installation may look like a DIY construction project. However, 600-1000 pounds of slate, with legs at the corners of your cabinet, will make any cabinet sag in the middle! And slates will sag from their own weight. We use Starrett Machinist Levels that read .001” of an inch per foot. If you don’t use at least 16 tapered wedges to lift the low spots, the slates won’t be flat!!! The most common problems with installations are that the center slate is lower than the outside of the end slates and the cloth is way too loose, which makes the ball slow down quicker and slightly curve. 

It is possible to skip many of these precise steps and save 3 hours, but we will not!!!

If you want to do this yourself, please follow this format. You can see youtube.com videos of guys showing how to do a quick job. But that isn’t worth it in the long run. You will always have a table that “rolls off” and the cushions will bank inconsistently!

Please allow us to serve you. Call us now and schedule an appointment at 361-774-7401 .

After leveling the cabinet to the floor, it is necessary to use 16-20 tapered wedges, one next to each screw that holds the slates tightly in place, and 4 under the seams under the table. The wedges are between the cabinet frame and the bottom of the slates. The 3 slates have two seams, and perhaps screws heads that must be filled with water putty and sanded smooth. Then the cloth is stretched and stapled (or glued if necessary) so tight that you cannot feel the cloth move after finished. The cloth is pulled down into the pockets, and all staples should be hidden in the pocket areas. Then the pockets are installed to the rails, and then the rails and pockets are squared up and installed to the bed of the table. All leg, cabinet, slate, pocket and rail bolts must be very tight to avoid any vibration. 

Many times we find a table had been set up previously and the rails or pockets were loose because of missing hardware. Loose rails make the balls not rebound properly. Missing hardware is also a sign of stripped female inserts and the previous installers just didn’t fix the problems and therefore didn’t use the bolts. We also bring with us many common rail and pocket bolts and washers. We can fix these problems.

CLOTH & RE-COVERING

Please review cloth colors and quality levels in the sales menu.

We will need to know the size of your table for certain to bring the correct size cloth. 2 ways to measure your table.

If set-up, how far across the table can the cue ball roll? From nose of cushion to nose of cushion! ANSWER either 39”, 40” (both 7’ tables), 44” 8’ table, 46” oversize 8’ table and 50” 9’ table. Tables play areas are always twice as long as they are wide.

If rails are off the table, how much space between (measured center to center) any two diamond (or round) markers on top of the rails. They are all the same except where Logo is on head rail.

ANSWER either 9.75”, 10” (both 7’ tables), 11” 8’ table, 11.5” oversize 8’ table and 12.5” 9’ table.

We will come inspect your rails and check to see if the slates are level. We will take apart, re-cover the rails and stretch the cloth around the corner pocket facings, so there are no wrinkles in the rail cloth. Then we will cover the bed and stretch the cloth so tight that you cannot feel the cloth move when finished. All staples are hidden in the pocket areas and on the rails.

If you have loose rubber, dead rubber, bad and broken feather strips and badly worn pocket facings, we will inform you right then. We can fix these issues but at an extra cost. We will ask you about the condition of your rubber cushions before we come.

REPAIRS - REPLACING RUBBER CUSHIONS AND POCKETS

A ball going at a medium fast speed should travel about 4 lengths of the table. At a slower speed, you should get the same response on every part of all 6 rails. If you “hear a low thud” sound and the ball doesn’t bounce the same on that part of the rail, the rubber is dead there, and rest of the rubber will get worse soon. If the table is 12 -15 years old, it probably either needs new rubber or will soon.

The rubber cushions may be okay but just loose in some areas but just need to be re-glued with either super glue or contact cement. Can you feel the rubber move up or down? Usually, a ball will “hop” if the nose of the rubber is loose and drops 1/16” of an inch.

Most pool tables use K-66 profile cushions. Brunswick, Connelly and Diamond tables use K-55. Bar style tables use U-23. We want to know what brand table you have. This is a very important procedure. Installing the wrong rubber profile will make the balls hit the cushion at the incorrect height. Balls can bounce or have a restricted rebound.

After installing the correct rubber, the pocket angles need to be cut, and cushion facings are added. We measure so that all corner pockets will be the same, and both side pockets are equal. The new rubber should last for 15 years! Replacing cushion rubber requires an extra trip, and we need to know what kind of rubber to use. The table rails will need to be recovered with your new cloth.

We offer a variety of replacement parts and professional installation, including replacing either leather, rubber or plastic pockets.

NOTE: Many good players want us to make the pocket openings tighter by about 3/8” to 1/2" so when they practice at home they achieve better fundamentals and skills. Then when they play in league matches or tournaments the pockets on the tables look like “buckets, ” and they have more confidence. This involves extra costs since we have to lengthen the body of the rail.

“POOL TABLE RESCUE”

When a pool table is older and has many bad issues, cost-wise sometimes it is better to replace it!

However, if it has sentimental value to the family (like Grand Father’s table from 1928 or 1952), it can be brought back to life. Cabinet and rails refinished, new rubber, slates repaired, new pockets and new cloth. This might cost more than a new pool table, but now it is restored and still “part of the family”!

Sometimes we do not refinish the table cabinet and rails but restore the way it plays for a budget that is far less than a new pool table.

REFINISHING RAILS

The top of the rails can take a beating when players are careless or just don’t care.

Stripping, Sanding, Staining and Spraying Clear on the rails only before recovering can make the table look almost new. The cabinet and legs rarely get scratched. So this is an option!