How To Purchase Your First Pool Table
If you are a fan of billiards, at some point you may want to consider purchasing a table of your own
. Since this a very large, expensive purchase, it requires a good deal of thought and comparison.
Some questions to ask yourself before you buy would be, "is this going to be in a prominent place in our home? What is our budget?
"What size of a piece are we looking for?" "What is the size of the room we want to put it in?"
Deciding these question before buying is very important, and will help to make your shopping experience go much more smoothly. If you need help answering these questions, here are some things you may want to consider before you shop.
There are a large variety of different sets, depending on the game you are looking to play. There is standard billiards, Snooker, Eight Ball, etc.
For the sake of time, we will say you are looking for a standard billiards table, which is the most common type of recreational table. As these tables are quite large and can be seen as a piece of furniture, you will want to pick a design that best fits with the decor of your home.
When it comes to quality construction, you tend to get exactly what you pay for. The greatest range in design tends to come in the styling of the billiard legs.
They tend to be carved very differently, ranging from simple to ornate. Be sure to inspect different kinds of leg styling to decide which would best match your particular taste.
Another thing to consider is the strength of the wood. Selecting a hardwood which is bonded grain against grain will help the durability and longevity of your billiard legs.
There are many different kinds of pool surfaces unseen to the player's eye. What lies beneath the green felt of your table can be extremely important.
In the past, most surfaces were made of wood. While this seemed like a good idea at the time, wood soon tended to warp, which destroys the level surface that is key to the playing of your game.
Now, good surfaces tend to be made of a solid sheet of slate. The thickness ranges from about 3/4 of an inch to a full inch of metal.
If you come across an uncommonly inexpensive pool table, there is a chance that the supporting surface is made of particle board. This will be very easily destroyed and will not last the test of time.
The slate tops will tend to be quite heavy, making your table weigh generally between five hundred to a thousand pounds. Once you have found a desirable top, you will want to consider what kind of wood is going to outline the edges.
The wood used to run along the edges of your piece is generally covered by a veneer, for aesthetic purposes. The grain is painted in, and looks quite real.
However, it is important to know what kind of wood lies underneath the veneer, because this will dictate the strength of your edges. As in the legs, look for harder, more dense woods to increase durability.
When it come to selecting the felt for your table, the higher thread count the better. The felt combination is most commonly 75% wool, and a 25% cotton blend.
The higher the thread count, the more smoothly the ball will roll. The more durable the felt is, the less likely you will need to replace it, which can be very expensive.
Table sizes tend to differ, depending on the purposes of your purchase. Billiards that you may find in your local bar tend to be about seven feet in length.
The standard length of a recreational table for your home is about eight feet. A tournament size pool table is nine feet in length.
Since there is no set length that you must buy, consider the amount of room you have. You want to leave several feet surrounding each side of your piece to allow the proper space for your stick to shoot.
In is recommended that you leave approximately one hundred and twenty inches in width and length on each side to ensure proper spacing. With these factors and tips in mind, you are ready to get out there and buy a lasting piece of family entertainment.
by: Jack Landry
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