How to Measure a Pool Table for Simonis Pool Table Felt: A Buyer's Checklist

Let me start with the thing I tell every customer who calls about Simonis pool table felt: don't start with the brand. Start with the table.

I'm the procurement manager at a mid-size billiard service company. I've managed our cloth and parts budget—about $60,000 a year—for the last six years, and I've been part of over 300 cloth orders. I've also made my share of mistakes. The annoying part? Most of those mistakes were avoidable. That's why I put together this checklist. It's for pool table dealers, repair shops, and anyone who orders Simonis cloth for someone else's table. It's also for the small buyer who might only order one piece of felt. That's fine. Small orders need measuring too.

One caveat before the steps: my experience is based on mid-range home tables and commercial bars, mostly 7-foot and 8-foot tables. If you're outfitting a room of identical 9-foot tournament tables, your workflow can be serial. My checklist is built for the random, one-off orders that are harder to get right.

The 6-Step Simonis Felt Ordering Checklist

Here's the thing: you can use this checklist for Simonis 860 Tournament Blue, Simonis 760, or a replacement order with Simonis X1 cleaner. The measurement step is the same.

Step 1: How to Measure a Pool Table: Measure the Playing Surface, Not the Rails

Get a metal tape measure, not the sewing-kind. Measure from cushion nose to cushion nose—the rubber points where the ball makes contact. That means measuring the playing surface, not the wooden outer rails. Some tables look 8 feet on the outside, but the playing area is closer to 6.5 feet. It doesn't matter what the seller called it. It matters what the tape says.

Measure the width first, then the length. Write it down in inches. I like to use fractions, like 43 1/2" x 85". Then do it one more time. If the two sets of numbers don't match, measure the slate itself.

Step 2: Measure the Drop Around the Rails

Next, measure the drop. This is the distance from the top of the rail down to the underside where the cloth will be pulled and stapled. If you're not the installer, ask for the drop amount before ordering. I've seen installers require as little as 1 inch and as much as 3 inches. That difference is huge when it comes to ordering the cloth size.

Take the playing surface dimensions, add the drop on all four sides, and then add a little extra for pulling tension. That's the actual cloth size. If you order just the playing surface size, you will be short.

Step 3: Decide Whether You Need Simonis 860 or Simonis 760

Now choose the Simonis cloth grade. The most common one I order is Simonis 860 Tournament Blue. It's the cloth that shows up on tournament tables and in rooms where players take the game seriously. Another option is Simonis 760, which is a solid all-around cloth. I'll be honest: I let the customer choose between those two. I don't push one unless the table is a coin-op bar table or a home table that sees heavy use. Then I lean 760 because it's an easier, more forgiving install. But that's my preference, not a rule.

If you're quoting a full job, add Simonis X1 cleaner to the list. It's a cleaner made for cloth, not a general-purpose spray. It's a small add-on, but it makes the felt last longer. I add it as an optional line item. Most customers take it when they realize it costs less than a re-felt.

Step 4: Compare Your Measurements to the Simonis Size Chart

Here's where the ordering mistake happens. You have a table with a 44" x 88" playing surface, so you order an 8-foot cloth. But the Simonis size chart might call that a 7.5-foot cut, or it might require extra length for the drop. Always compare your measured cloth size with the manufacturer's chart. Do not order from memory. I did once, and we ended up with a piece too small to grip. The customer got a call: we need to order another one. Not my best month.

Also, while you're at it, don't guess the box weight. A piece of Simonis 860 is dense, but it's not a dumbbell weight set. Lifting it once won't tell you the shipping cost. Carriers use dimensional weight, so the folded size, the tube, and the box all matter. Use a scale and a tape measure.

Step 5: Add Waste for the Cut and the Rails

This step is the one most first-time buyers ignore. The felt needs extra material around the outside to wrap over the rail and under the frame. That extra is called drop, and I already said to measure it. But I'll say it again because it's the step that gets skipped: do not order a cloth cut to the exact playing surface dimensions.

If the playing surface is 44" x 88" and the rail drop is 2", you need at least 48" x 92" before trimming. Some installers want even more. Ask the person who will install it. That's not a meaningless question. It's the difference between a clean install and a loose one.

I'll tell you how I learned this. We didn't have a formal measurement form at the beginning. The third time we ordered the wrong size for a table, I finally made a checklist. Should have done it after the first time. Now every order has to pass through the same steps: playing surface, drop, chart, waste, shipping. It costs me five extra minutes per order and saves a lot of hours of troubleshooting.

Step 6: Quote the Total, Not Just the Cloth

Finally, price the total job, not just the cloth. I think of it in terms of total cost of ownership. The felt might be the main line item, but the cushions, the staples, the labor, the cleaner, and the freight are all part of the real price. When I quote a small customer, I give them one number that includes everything. That is the number they compare.

Shipping is the sneaky part. According to USPS pricing effective January 2025, a First-Class Mail large envelope starts at $1.50 for 1 oz (usps.com/stamps). A Simonis cloth order will not fit that envelope. It goes by ground, and ground carriers almost always use dimensional weight. So I don't quote freight until I know the package's dimensions. And I always ask for the actual delivery address before quoting. I once quoted a delivery to a game room near Slide Rock Sedona and assumed normal access. The road was not normal. The extra delivery charge almost wiped out the margin on that order.

Common Mistakes I Still Hear

After all these orders, I've collected a short list of avoidable mistakes. Treat these as warnings, not theory.

• Measuring the wood rails instead of the cushion noses. You'll be a couple inches too big, and then the cloth size calculation is wrong.
• Forgetting the drop. The playing surface is not the cloth size. The drop is the material that wraps around the rail.
• Ordering by the table label. "8-foot table" is not a standard. The tape measure is the only truth.
• Guessing shipping weight. A roll of Simonis cloth is not a dumbbell weight set. It is light enough to carry, but dimensional weight can cost more than the physical weight would suggest.
• Not checking access for remote deliveries. Slide Rock Sedona is a beautiful area, but remote locations can come with access fees. Ask about the driveway before the order ships.

My Last Piece of Advice

Look, I'm not saying this is hard. It's just detailed. Measure the playing surface, measure the drop, compare to the size chart, add waste, and include freight in the quoted total. Do that, and a Simonis pool table felt order becomes a six-step process instead of a headache.

And if you're the small customer with one table, this matters even more. I've been that customer. The vendors who took my small order seriously are the ones I still use now. That's the standard I try to hold: small order or big order, the table gets measured the same way.

My experience is based on about 300 mid-range orders. If you're running high-volume tournament installations, your process might need more formality. But for a dealer, a repair shop, or a home owner buying one set of Simonis 860 Tournament Blue, this checklist is the difference between ordering felt once and ordering it twice.