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the only reference to loading of rubber is in the book A Trade History a 1980s paper back A4 Book .
it says the fitter slightly stretches the rubber as he applies it to the block to make contact with the glue , this is my thinking that the rubber is being loaded with energy . I think all fitters experiment , some pre-stretch others do not , I prefer not to and I have tried both ways , the guys I was apprenticed to never did ,and I only came across it in that Trade History book so I experimented .
Well I tried that and I cannot say it is better than just laying the rubber on unstretched , in fact I would say it is worse for bounce if stretched . please note It says slightly stretched .
When I apply the rubber onto the pre-glued rubber and wood rebate shelf on the block , I being right handed use my left hand , I know this sounds odd but it feels right for me , I start from my right without putting the rubber on the angle part just on the flat surface first , using my thumb to guide the rubber on and my forefinger to apply pressure , the rubber is feeding through my open hand and applied with a gliding motion down the block to my left , I attend to the angles last , I do not want to go into detailed information because there are fitters out there like myself who have to earn a living doing it , and have had many years learning the trade on low wages .
it is possible to staple the cloth on too tight when re-covering the cushion , and this can bend the rubber down a bit , but all cloth after a few hours will slacken off a bit . even on the cushions . the knack is to try and get the same tension all the way down the cushion and the same staple spacing's on all cushions .
From what has been discussed , the Big Bounce to me is from nose of cushion being lower at that point of impact giving a greater bounce than normally achieved elsewhere on the cushions . or the extra spin factor being applied through cue striking action ,a delayed forward or side spin , we have all seen a ball suddenly have a delayed accelerations on the table after impact of the target ball .
But you can also not disregard a small bubble of air being trapped inside the rubber profile on manufacture . or the spec of dust that a ball has just hit to lift just before impact .
I would also like to point out , a set of new rubber increases in it's performance when fully bruised in , it takes a few weeks of use in a club to achieve this , if all those cushions used on TV have brand new rubber from the start of the competition , then it is possible for the cushions to still be bedding in , you may get variations of bounce from parts that have had more rebounds .
On a normal set of cushions ( not steel block ) a ball thrown down the table at speed will travel approx. 4 and a 1/2 lengths on 6811 tournament cloth , after bruising in of the rubber this can increase to 4 and 3/4 lengths to 5 lengths , but it will not happen overnight and the rubber in the transition period may differ in parts until fully bedded in .
a set of rubber from the manufacturer are from the same batch and all have a date of manufacture on .
Temperature can also play a part in Cushion performance .
and last but not least , knots in the wood block that the rubber sits on , Some fitters make their own blocks , this is due to the pre made blocks coming in a set of six with knots in places in the wood , as we know when we saw through a knot it is firmer and harder than the surrounding woodwork , a ball bouncing against a block at the same point as this knot is going to flirt off quicker due to the firmness of the wood at that point , and to prove that point , steel blocks themselves are firmer than wood cushions and they do rebound much further .
I have not seen a set of blocks supplied by the Billiards trade Retailers to come without knots in , I used to mix and match them to get a good 2 sets out of say 18 blocks , and try and leave the others to cut down for 9ft tables taking out the bad parts . or send the bad ones back to the trade retailer .
it says the fitter slightly stretches the rubber as he applies it to the block to make contact with the glue , this is my thinking that the rubber is being loaded with energy . I think all fitters experiment , some pre-stretch others do not , I prefer not to and I have tried both ways , the guys I was apprenticed to never did ,and I only came across it in that Trade History book so I experimented .
Well I tried that and I cannot say it is better than just laying the rubber on unstretched , in fact I would say it is worse for bounce if stretched . please note It says slightly stretched .
When I apply the rubber onto the pre-glued rubber and wood rebate shelf on the block , I being right handed use my left hand , I know this sounds odd but it feels right for me , I start from my right without putting the rubber on the angle part just on the flat surface first , using my thumb to guide the rubber on and my forefinger to apply pressure , the rubber is feeding through my open hand and applied with a gliding motion down the block to my left , I attend to the angles last , I do not want to go into detailed information because there are fitters out there like myself who have to earn a living doing it , and have had many years learning the trade on low wages .
it is possible to staple the cloth on too tight when re-covering the cushion , and this can bend the rubber down a bit , but all cloth after a few hours will slacken off a bit . even on the cushions . the knack is to try and get the same tension all the way down the cushion and the same staple spacing's on all cushions .
From what has been discussed , the Big Bounce to me is from nose of cushion being lower at that point of impact giving a greater bounce than normally achieved elsewhere on the cushions . or the extra spin factor being applied through cue striking action ,a delayed forward or side spin , we have all seen a ball suddenly have a delayed accelerations on the table after impact of the target ball .
But you can also not disregard a small bubble of air being trapped inside the rubber profile on manufacture . or the spec of dust that a ball has just hit to lift just before impact .
I would also like to point out , a set of new rubber increases in it's performance when fully bruised in , it takes a few weeks of use in a club to achieve this , if all those cushions used on TV have brand new rubber from the start of the competition , then it is possible for the cushions to still be bedding in , you may get variations of bounce from parts that have had more rebounds .
On a normal set of cushions ( not steel block ) a ball thrown down the table at speed will travel approx. 4 and a 1/2 lengths on 6811 tournament cloth , after bruising in of the rubber this can increase to 4 and 3/4 lengths to 5 lengths , but it will not happen overnight and the rubber in the transition period may differ in parts until fully bedded in .
a set of rubber from the manufacturer are from the same batch and all have a date of manufacture on .
Temperature can also play a part in Cushion performance .
and last but not least , knots in the wood block that the rubber sits on , Some fitters make their own blocks , this is due to the pre made blocks coming in a set of six with knots in places in the wood , as we know when we saw through a knot it is firmer and harder than the surrounding woodwork , a ball bouncing against a block at the same point as this knot is going to flirt off quicker due to the firmness of the wood at that point , and to prove that point , steel blocks themselves are firmer than wood cushions and they do rebound much further .
I have not seen a set of blocks supplied by the Billiards trade Retailers to come without knots in , I used to mix and match them to get a good 2 sets out of say 18 blocks , and try and leave the others to cut down for 9ft tables taking out the bad parts . or send the bad ones back to the trade retailer .
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