Pool Tables Chicago IL

Here are some simple steps you can take - and common, boneheaded moves to avoid - to keep your table in tip-top shape for decades.

By Mason King

YOU JUST screwed up your courage, called the bank and then made a big investment in a pool table - perhaps at the expense of your child's third year in dental school. Or, if the purchase was more modest, perhaps you put off that minor knee surgery.

Before you get too carried away with your new showpiece, you should learn how to keep it in one piece and playing in great shape in perpetuity - or, at least, well past the point where that knee gives out.

It's simple, really. Just study this short list of potentially destructive implements, interlopers and elements and keep them away from the table:

Chalk. Cue tips. Balls. Dogs. Cats. Jewelry. Coins. Heat. Moisture. Your bottom. Frisky neighbors and family members. The sun.

That's right. Sometimes, a pool table's greatest enemies are the game itself and its owners, especially if they forget to treat the table like the piece of fine furniture it is.

Of course, no one wants to keep a pool table locked in a temperature-controlled vault or really large mayonnaise jar. So let's assume that you're reasonably responsible and want to actually play on your new table.

BD asked some of the billiard industry's leading manufacturers, distributors and service providers to spill some maintenance tips you can follow - and a few common-sense warnings you can observe - that will allow you to both enjoy your table and pass it on to future generations.

"Every table will play great at the beginning," says Paul Roberts, a sales rep for Evansville, Ind.-based Escalade Sports. "Ask yourself how long you want it to play like that."

Beware chalk - the silent, insidious killer

There may be nothing that looks cooler than the absent-minded way an ace chalks up between each shot, but the lingering dust is playing a deadly game with your table felt.

"The chalk is abrasive; it gets into the cloth and destroys the cloth," says Dwight Porter, table designer and manager of the high-end Renaissance line for AMF Billiards & Games, based in Bland, Mo.

Brushing the table frequently - even after every session - is a good start, but realize that 50 percent of the chalk dust actually gets brushed into the cloth, Porter warned.

To brush, or not to brush. That's a tricky question, and there are several differing opinions across the industry on how to deal with chalk dust.

Joe Marra of Excel Billiards insists that suction with a small vacuum is the only way to go. Otherwise, you could end up with a layer of dust 1/16th of an inch thick under your felt. Imagine what kind of quirky roll that could give your winning shot on the 8 ball.

But too powerful a vacuum could lift and stretch your fabric. Felice Enright of Gurnee, Ill.-based clothmaker Iwan Simonis Inc. suggests using a brush with soft bristles for daily use. Instead of brushing in circles, be care...