BILLIARD' TABLE COMPOSITION

A billiard table countains generaly :

• a lower frame with foots
• 3 slate plates covered by cloth
• an upper framework which countains cushions and marks

Source: supreme.fr

Fabrication:

This video shows the different steps to make a carom table:
 

Restoration:

This french video details the steps to restore an old billiard table :
 
For more details about old billiard tables, don't hesitate to consult the web-link 'aux billards anciens'.
 

Lighting of the table:

In my club, we have installed LED lighning for carom billiards.

The playing surface is perfectly lit.

Funny tables:

THE SLATE PLATES

Description:

Here are exemple of billiard' tables which will disassembled.
We can notice the 3 slate plates and the termic' rheostat under them.




 

Fabrication:

This video shows all the process to produce the slate plates for our billiard' tables:

• Extraction of the blocks in the mine
• Cutting the plates
• Carving and machining the slates
• ...

RUSSIAN BILLIARD

Dimensions and caracteristics :

This Russian billiard table has a dimension of 88 cm X 177 cm and proposes a playing surface of 72 cm * 164 cm.

The surface has 8 holes (6 black holes and 2 red holes).
When a ball falls into a hole, it is guided in a part of a rack located under the table.





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Rules of this game :

Here is a synthesis of the rules of the Russian billiard game:
 

Starting position

At the beginning of the game, we have:

• The ball of the player on the starting fly.
• The red ball on the 2nd fly behind the white ball.
• The skittle on the 3rd fly behind the red ball (if there are three skittles, we position them in triangle)

To begin the game, just start the minutor. PLAY The player takes a white ball in the rack to play.
If the rack is empty, it takes the white ball nearest to him on the table.

It places its white ball on the starting fly
It plays on a ball to send the balls in the holes without reversing a skittle.

It continues to play as long as one or many ball(s)  fall into the holes
If all the balls fell into the holes, it cumulates its points which are definitively acquired and starts again a new turn of play

Points

The points are added according to the value with the hole where the balls falled

During the game:

• The red ball falled in a hole counts the double of points;

In this case, the player must take it in the rack, put it on the starting point and play it like the ball of the player.

End of game:

When the minutor indicating the end of the game, the points are then counted like-follows:

• Each white ball counts double
• The red ball counts triple
• Played like bank shot, the last ball counts triple
• Played last, the red ball counts quadruple

Faults

The hand passes to the following player:

• The player pushes his ball directly in a hole without touching a ball,
• No hole is reached by a ball,
• A ball returns in the starting zone,
• No ball is touched on the table.

The hand passes and the series of points in progress is canceled when:

• The red ball falls into a hole but the player does not take it again in the rack
• A skittle is reversed

HISTORIC OF THE CUSHIONS

Very old cushions

The first cushions were made with cloth:



After, cushions with spring appears:


 

Actual cushions

Nowadays, they are made with with caoutchouc :
 

Carom - Triangular cushion

Carom - Quadrangular cushion

Russian billard

Cushion' production process

This video presents all the process to produce rubber cushion:

• Mixing of the row product
• Extrusion of the rubber
• Quality control
• ...

CUSHION CHANGING

The cushion have an optimum yield of about 10 / 15 years:


 

Video:

This video shows all the steps for changing the rubber cushion on a billiard table:

• Removing the cloth and its clips
• Removing the cushion and cleaning the wooden frame
• Gluing the caoutchouc and the frame
• Checking the alignment
• Putting on cloth

Diaporama:

Thanks to G. DUPLOMB for his collaboration
 

Double system of fixation (carom / US )

The rubber cushions are glued on a wooden ruler, which is itself attached to the billiard table with large metal staples.

I would like to thank the establishment Linders Billiards ( see HERE the site ) for their welcome:






 

Old systems

Here are old patents about cushions' fixation

CUSHIONS WITH TURNED-OVER CLOTH

There is no official text in France stipulating that table cloth upon cushions has to be put on one side or the other.
In fact official texts stipulate only that the same table cloth must cover the whole table. (surface and cushions)

Therefore it is possible to turn over the cloth to drape cushions.
The underside of the cloth being more fluffy than the upperside, there are advantages and disadvantages when doing that.


Advantages :

• the longevity of the cloth upon cushions is better. ( the cloth does&rsquo;nt wear out quickly )
• therefore the carom trajectories in the 3 cushions game are getting longer

Disadvantages :

• rebound against cushions is less powerfull ( balls are not rolling so fast )
• when playing string games the effect of spins is lessened

CHANGING THE CLOTH

Here is a photo report about changing the billiard table cloth
Thanks to JD Billard for his collaboration
 

FABRICATION OF THE CLOTH

This video - (c) RTBF belgique - presents the society Simonis, founded in 1680:

DRAWING LANDMARKS ON THE TABLE

For the execution of the 100 figures of artistic billiard the table must be prepared before the match.

Landmarks must be drawn on the table cloth to play every special shots.