Pool Table Felt and the Economy

Do you have sticker shock when shopping for pool table felt? Two major brands (Simonis and Championship) recently had retail price increases in the 10% range. We would expect other brands will follow in the short term.

As with other products, supply and demand comes into play with material costs for producing a product. Apparently there is a high demand and increased cost for wool which is the primary material used in pool table felt. In addition the value of the dollar in international markets also has a bearing on determining retail pricing to the end user. Manufacturers also consider the colors they offer and some non-performing colors may be discontinued due to low sales.

If there is any good news it is that pool table felt prices usually adjust annually - after the first of the new year. If you intend to recover your table at some point it's probably a good idea to buy your cloth before yearend and leave it in the packaging until ready to use it.

Artemis Pool Table Cushions

Due to increasing request The Pool Table Felt Pro's now stock Artemis Cushion Rubber. Pool #66 Artemis Cushion Sets (K66 Profile) are made in Hannover, Germany.

Artemis is a professional full gum rubber cushion asked for by name and used on top of the line tables like Gabriels and Diamond.

Artemis is a premium grade rail cushion that provides the highest accuracy and speed. A set of 6 cushions includes 12 cushion end facings (3.2mm). One size fits 7, 8 or 9 foot pool tables.

Custom Printed Pool Table Felt

More and more pool table owners are going for that unique look with custom printed pool table felt. We offer many stock custom printed pool table felt designs as well as giving the customer the flexibility to submit their own custom design.

Our 2 most popular stock designs are the Bud Flame and Harley Davidson Custom Printed Pool Table Felt designs -

On custom designs the customer is only limited by imagination as we can print almost any design or color combo - all for the same price. Here's one we did for a fraternity that gives a sample idea of what you can do with a design -

All our custom design pool table felt is completely printed from one end to the other. This gives a completely level playing surface with no affect on ball roll. Other companies use screen printing or a dye-unset process that both result in an uneven playing surface which affects the roll of the balls.

We have recently added NCAA Licensed Collegiate Designs to our custom pool table felt menu which will be available on our custom pool table felt website very soon.

To see more of our stock designs in custom printed pool table felt or to find out more about printing your own custom design visit us at The Pool Table Felt Pro's or give us a call at the number listed on our web page.

Difference between Simonis 860 and 760

Simonis is the premier worsted billiard cloth on the market today and is used in most major professional billiard tournaments. Simonis offers 3 styles of cloth here in the U.S. - Simonis 860, Simonis 760 and Simonis 300. We will discuss Simonis 300 another time. Simonis offers other styles which pertain mostly to use in Europe and are available here in the states by special order.

Simonis 760 is the original style of billiard cloth by this manufacturer and has a blend of 70% wool and 30% nylon where Simonis 860 is 90% wool and 10% nylon. The higher percentage of nylon in the 760 style allows for more ball speed so in descriptive terms we can say that the 760 style is slightly faster then 860. In terms of durability, one should get longer life from the 860 style due to the higher percentage of wool in the cloth blend.

On the professional level the sport of billiards now centers around the game of 9 Ball which requires more control of the cue ball on each shot while still allowing the extra speed when needed to move the cue ball around the table for position. This is one of the reasons that Simonis developed the 860 blend and shows that Simonis works with the billiards industry to produce products that satisfy user needs.
A highlight of this aspect was the recent introduction of the new 860 color - Tournament Blue - which was developed by Simonis with much input from today's professional players.

You can learn more about Simonis by visiting the Simonis Website or to make a purchase of any Simonis product with free shipping and fast service visit The Pool Table Felt Pro's

How To Measure Your Pool Table

Many of our customers are not sure of the size of their pool table when ordering new pool table felt. A pool table size is measured by the dimensions of the "playing area". This is the area between the cushions. A lot of our customers tell us they have a "regulation" table. The true definition of a "regulation table" is when the length of the play area is 2X the width. So if the width is 44" then the length should be 88" for it to be a regulation 8' table. If it was 50" wide the length should be 100" to make it a regulation 9' table. When sizing for pool table felt we generally ask for only the width measurement since almost all tables are "regulation". Refer to the chart below.

WHAT SIZE FELT TO ORDER?
Measure from side rail to side rail where the ball hits the nose of the rail.
Tolerance is up to 1" +/-
If measurement is:
39" - order 7' pool table felt
44" - order 8' pool table felt
46" - order 8' Oversize pool table felt
50" - order 9' pool table felt
56" - order 10' pool table felt
12' Snooker tables - order 12' Simonis pool table felt

**NOTE**
If your table is disassembled and you are not sure of the size measure the (L x W) of the slate and call us at 888-563-2787 to determine the correct size of your pool table.

About The Pool Table Felt Pro's

We initiated this blog on May 27, 2006. As an online retailer of billiard products our purpose is to post information about new and existing billiard supplies and accessories. We aim to include "how to" topics such as how to recover a pool table, how to replace a tip on your pool cue, how to choose pool table felt and other items of interest for those that enjoy the sport of billiards. You can browse our product selection at The Pool Table Felt Pro's website.