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How to Install a Felt Pool Table Side Rail

The side and end rails on a pool table are typically made from wood, with a rubber or thick foam padding covered by a smooth layer of felt to match the felt on the tabletop. When changing the felt on the tabletop, it is also a good idea to replace the felt on the side rails. To install a side rail on a felt pool table, you need only some basic hand tools plus a little time and patience.

Things You'll Need

Six 6-inch-wide by 4-foot-long strips of pool table felt
Socket set or wrenches
Staple gun
Flat-head screwdriver
Sharp utility knife

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the nuts from the bolts that hold the rails to the underside of the pool table. Lift off each of the six rails and place them on the table in front of their installed location.
- 2
  Take one rail to a work table. Remove the staples from the underside of the rail with a small flat-head screwdriver.
- 3
  Pull out the metal strip that holds the felt to the top of the rail. Discard the old piece of felt.
- 4
  Lay out one of the new strips of felt so that one of the long, straight edges is in the groove along the top of the rail. Insert the metal strip to secure the felt to the top of the rail. Be sure that no felt is protruding from the back side of the strip.
- 5
  Pull the fabric over the rail in the center and tack it to the bottom with a single staple. Work outwards from the center, pulling and placing a staple every two inches along the bottom of the rail. Be sure to work out any wrinkles in the fabric as you pull and staple.
- 6
  Fold and tack the ends of the felt to the bottom of the rail, making sure that there are no wrinkles in the fabric.
- 7
  Repeat steps 2 through 6 with the other rails.
- 8
  Reinstall the six rails into their original locations. Tighten the nuts to the bolts underneath the table to secure the rails.

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