How to Install Billiard Table Felt

Billiards is an umbrella term for games involving a cue stick and billiard balls played on a cloth-covered, rubber-edged table. Three main cue sports are carom billiards, pool and snooker. No matter what type of billiard you play, if you want a custom table felt, the procedure for installing it is the same.

Instructions

1

Remove the edges of your billiard table by removing the screws with a Phillips head screwdriver and the bolts from the rails with a socket. Place the screws and the bolts aside carefully, since you will need them for re-installing the table. Rmove the frame of your billiard table.

2

Lift the slate using a 2-by-4 and the help of a friend. Position it so it is suitable to work on. You will need to remove the old felt and to access the bottom edge of the slate. Either turn the slate by 90 degrees or place it on a completely different work table.

3

Remove the old felt from the surface of the slate. If you are making a brand new billiard table, skip this step. Use a sharp knife and a pry tool to remove staples from the bottom of the slate. When all staples are gone, carefully and slowly peel off the old felt from the surface. If you are having troubles peeling it off, use a spatula-like tool such as a palette knife. Be careful not to damage the slate, since it needs to be perfectly smooth and even. Check the surface of the slate and if needed, treat it very lightly with fine grit sandpaper to achieve a perfectly clean and smooth base for the new felt.

4

Center the new felt cloth on the slate, making sure all the overlaps are the same. Smooth the cloth over the slate with your hands, removing any wrinkles or air pockets. Make sure you place the felt with the top side facing up, especially if you have a logo or a picture printed that needs to be in the center of the table. Spraying the bottom surface of the felt with spray glue prior to the installation is optional. In this case, firmly press the felt onto the surface.

5

Secure the felt in its place by using a staple gun in one corner, on the bottom side of the slate. Then stretch the felt as much as you can and do the same for the opposite corner. Repeat until the cloth is firmly stretched over the slate. After every staple, you need to stretch the material again. This is the only way to achieve a smooth, wrinkle and air pocket-free surface.

6

Continue stretching and stapling the felt until every side of the slate has staples approximately every 3 inches. Leave out the corners for now.

7

Cut the felt with a sharp utility knife to form three to five slits on the corner. First cut off a triangle of material completely. Then make the slits, carefully and precisely, not to reach more than 1 to 2 inches from the top surface of the slate.

8

Secure the corners in their place by stretching the cut parts and stapling them to the bottom of the slate with a slate gun. Look at the top surface while stretching and positioning the cuts. The felt surface of a billiard table has to be as perfect around the corners as it is everywhere else.

9

Trim off any excess felt cloth from under the slate with a utility knife. Still, be careful not to damage the wooden slate.

10

Reinstall the slate onto your billiard table and reattach the frame. Put back all the screws and bolts to the rails and the edges. Tighten them firmly.