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Pool Tables and Snooker Tables
So you fancy yourself as a Ronnie O'Sullivan. You have room for a snooker or pool table. Which one do
you choose?
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Remember a billiard, pool or snooker table is a piece of furniture. If you opt for a foldaway table it doesn't much matter, which you choose, as it folds away after use. In that case go for a functional table with as many features as you can afford, such as ball return etc. For a permanent table look for the same things you would look for in any piece of furniture as you are going to have to look at it all the time. Then consider the quality of playing the game on the table. Make sure it fits your idea of fine decor, as a good table will last for many years. Generally speaking for a good permanent table look for quality construction viz: a slate bed and responsive cushions. As usual you get what you pay for, so get the best you can afford.
The colour of the cloth, which is made of wool, is up to you, generally the cloth comes in red, green and blue. The only thing to worry about here is whether the balls show up against the colour. Green is the traditional and safest colour to choose. The cloth should be kept clean and you can get treatments to extend its life.
UK Pool tables come in various sizes; a full size table is generally thought of as a 7 ft table, whereas a full size snooker table is a 12 ft beast for which you need a considerable amount of room.
How big should my Pool / Snooker room be?
Click here to see how big a room you need for your Pool table or Snooker table.
Snooker Cues and Pool Cues
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| Did you know the word cue comes from the French queue meaning tail? Originally, billiards was played with a mace, and had a large head and smaller tail, the queue or que as it was abbreviated to. Eventually the que was used more often than the larger head of the mace to play the game; hence it became the que, which became cue in English. |
Most cues are mass-produced and come in sizes of 56 to 58 inches. It is said that the cue should come to your shoulder but in the end it is what you are comfortable with. To get a size other than the standard you can get handmade cues at hand made prices, but you will have a beautiful hand made snooker cue in the end. Our cue maker also does handmade pool cues as well; the hustler cue comes with an 8 mm shaft for normal play and an 11 mm shaft for break off, so you get the best of both worlds.
Tips come in various sizes from 8 to 14mm and as a general rule for a snooker cue a 9.5 -10 mm size is preferred, for English pool or 8 ball pool as played in most pubs a 8-8.5mm is the norm whereas for 9 ball American pool you need a 12-14 mm as the balls are larger and heavier and you need a bit of beef to cope with them. But at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference, go with what you are comfortable with.
Whilst on the topic of cues : Want to see the quickest 147 yet made? Click here to see Ronnie O'Sullivan's brilliant 147 break.
(You will need Real Player - Download
now) Now he is a master cue man!
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Snooker, billiards and pool table equipment
Snooker tables or Billiards tables, come in various sizes, from the foldaway or folding leg design to 12 foot snooker tables or slate bed snooker tables. We have a selection of foldaway snooker tables and the big 12-foot UK snooker tables. The 12 ft snooker slatebed tables are considered to be a full size table. The differences are that the smaller table top, foldaway snooker tables and foldaway pool tables, have an mdf or 18 mm composite playing surface and the larger tables have a slate playing surface, often referred to as a slatebed or is it a slate bed table?
Snooker and billiards tables have a playing area of 12 foot x 6 foot (3.66 m x 1.87 m ) The height is 2 ft 91/2 inches to 2 foot 10 1/2 inches ( 85-87.6 cm ) The slate is put on top of a large substantial wooden frame due to the weight of the slate, with the large tables having 8 legs to spread the load. A tightly stretched usually green woollen cloth covers the slate.
Snooker and billiards tables have a cloth covering the playing surface, which has a nap, a slightly raised surface, which has a direction; it is smoother or "with the grain" going from the baulk end (the D end) to the black spot end and coarser or "against the grain" the other way round. This is why when caring for the table; you must always brush from the D to the black spot, to keep the integrity of the nap. Note this is not the case with American pool tables, where high quality pool cloth is usually made of a nap less weave such as worsted wool, which gives a faster roll to the balls. The faster or slower a cloth is, affects the amounts of swerve and deflection of the balls. Snooker tablecloth traditionally has always had a directional nap, upon which the balls behave differently when rolling against the direction of the nap. Just to make it harder for the likes of Ronnie O Sullivan and co.
UK Pool tables come in 6 and 7-foot sizes, developed from the pub game, there are now national competitions for pool, with professional pool players and they have their own association, the EPA. English pool is slightly different from American Pool, in that in the United Kingdom, we have 6 or 7 foot tables, whereas in American pool, their tables are 8 or 9 foot, and they have bigger pockets and balls. ( balls for pool in the UK are 2 inches and American pool balls are 2 ¼ inches ) Snooker balls are 2 and 1/16 inches in size, and the balls in billiards are the same size as snooker balls.
Pool tables do not usually have a nap; they usually have 'speed ball cloth' with no nap, thus no deviation of the pool balls.
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Snooker dining tables and pool dining tables
If you only have one room in the house, and you want a games room as well as a dining room, why not have a
snooker dining
table, or even a pool diner
table. The height of normal dining tables is slightly less than a pool or snooker table, so you either get slightly taller chairs, or a table with a rise and fall mechanism. These tables have magnificent tabletops so they are an exquisite piece of furniture, with the added bonus of being able to play pool or snooker after dinner. |
Outdoor Pool tables and Outdoor Snooker tables
How about an outdoor pool table or snooker table? These tables are pressure treated wood for weatherproofing, or fibreglass frames with specially treated waterproof cloth. The wooden tables are coloured to match your decking, either green or brown, and all outdoor pool tables come with a cover for the winter, so you could leave it outdoors in the winter. The wooden outdoor tables can be marked out for Snooker or Pool, and we have tables in various sizes from 6 foot to 8 ft. Just imagine, having a barbecue and pool tournament outside on your decking in the summer, sounds great to me. |
Snooker Billiard and Pool Tables, Care Instructions
Snooker Billiards and Pool Tables if they are to be kept in good condition, need a simple bit of maintenance now and again.
Firstly get a table brush; an essential piece of snooker and pool table equipment. Always brush with the nap of the table on Snooker tables, which run from the baulk or D end to the black spot end. ( Not so important on pool tables as they do not have a nap ) So start with your brush at the D end and walk up the table to the black spot end of your snooker or billiards table.
Brush in straight lines, then all the debris will collect at the top cushion, which can then be brushed towards one of the top pockets and away from the table.
As for the wood, clean with a damp cloth, the wood varnish is usually so hard, that is all that is required. If you insist on using a spray polish, spray the duster first then apply to the wood, so as not to get spray on the cloth.
If you have to clean the cloth occasionally vacuum the table, make sure to use a mild suction with a fine brush attachment. Vacuum the table from the D to the black spot as in brushing.
For stains on the cloth, use a felt cleaner, a foaming product, spray onto table and brush off with a cloth, again in same direction as for brushing.
And finally for Snooker and billiards tables, to get that pristine look, iron the table with special
irons made for the purpose. The table iron is an essential piece of snooker table equipment. There are two types of snooker table irons one which is not thermostatically controlled, which is switched on for 10 minutes then used on the table, and yes you guessed it smooth from the D to the black spot. Also be careful of the rubber cushions.
When the colours are put back on the table, roll the ball back onto the spot. Have a look at the referee at the snooker tournaments and see how they put the colours on the table, they always do this. This prevents the ball putting a dent in the cloth. Also always cover the table when you are not using the table, to prevent the cloth from fading and getting dusty.
We have a book on all aspects of the game of snooker; from the rules of the game to how to play shots and care for your snooker equipment,
Know the
Game Snooker |
Snooker and pool table accessories
We have a comprehensive range of snooker accessories and UK pool table accessories, including rests for snooker, rests for pool and pool triangles and snooker triangles for setting up the balls in pool and snooker.
We also have various sizes of balls for Snooker and Pool, from the small 1 ¾ to 2 1/4 inch balls. We also have ball trays both 16 and 22 ball trays for parking them after use. The cue ball always comes in for a bit of stick, so we have replacement cue balls as well. Need a pool table cover? No problem, we also have snooker table covers.
We have pool table lights and snooker table lights from the brass traditional look to the all new Italian made table lighting, with a special shade that gives good quality lighting to the whole of the table, and are lighter than the traditional canopy style. |
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 | Testimonials
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Just to let you know the soccer table is all put together and hiding in the
garage. My husband (who is ultra fussy about these things) said how impressed he
was with the instructions and the way all the components were not only there but
also so well labelled! Many thanks.
More testimonials ....
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