Replacing Rubber Cushions
Replacing rubber cushions is one of the most
common things we get questioned about. People want to know when their pool
table may need the cushions replaced and what their options are.
Hard, Soft, or Loose
There are 3 things that can affect a pool table's
bounce. If the cushion rubbers become hard the ball will hit the cushion
and "thunk". There will be very little rebound and the player will have to
smash the ball to get it to rebound off the rail.
If the cushion rubber
goes soft the ball will be pinched by the rubber and will squirt off the rail
strangely. This is hard to describe but is very noticeable.
The
third problem is if the cushion rubber starts to become delaminated from the
wood rail. The worst-case scenario is if the glue joint fails completely.
Then the rail cloth is the only thing holding the cushion rubber in place.
When a ball hits the rail it can act like a hard rail, a soft rail, or just veer
off at any random angle.
When any of these 3 things happen the cushion
rubbers need to be replaced. Cushion rubbers must be replaced as a set to
ensure a consistent bounce, rail to rail.
Compounds
The first part of the cushion equation is the
compound of the rubber. Cushion rubber consists of gum rubber and other
added materials to get the properties the manufacturer wants.
Soft
If rubbers were made from 100% gum rubber they
would go "soft" very quickly from exposure to the sun's ultra violet light.
There are some pool tables advertised as having pure gum rubber cushions.
If they really are they won't last very long before they will need the be
redone.
Hard
Gum rubber has become expensive. It has been
described as the "Oil of the Orient". Because it is expensive, some
manufacturers try to add more fillers and not use as much rubber. When
that happens the rubbers go hard over time. The more filler the
manufacturer uses the faster the rails go "dead".
Cushion Profiles
There are many different profiles or shapes of
cushion rubbers. You may have heard someone tell you that their table has
K-55 or K-66, or U-23 or many of the other trade names. All that this
refers to is the size and shape of the actual rubber cushion. Generally,
the bigger the cushion rubber the better. The K-55 profile is the biggest
and that is the size of Brunswick's Superspeed cushion.
The cushion rubbers on a pool table cannot be
changed to another size or style without a lot of modification to the wooden
rail.
Installation
Replacing cushion rubbers is best left to
professionals. This is a job that must be done in the shop. Special
glues, jigs and fixtures are required if you want to get the cushions on
straight, even, and with the proper nose height.
If someone says that they can do the job onsite
they either don't know how to do the job right or don't care.
Billiards Plus can replace your cushion rubbers
the right way. We have all the proper jigs, fixtures and "know how" to do the
job right.
Our technicians know what to do so you don't have
to.
Stop in and let our
professional staff help you today.
Do you have a
question? Contact Us.
Telephone at
519-739-1822
Top of Page
