A Brief History of Billiards and the Tools of the Trade
1830
In 1830, Thurston's introduced a 2" billiard ball which began to replace the smaller 1 7/8" balls then in use.
By this time, cues, which had previously been made from a single piece of wood (usually Ash) began to appear spliced with a decorative wood at the butt. The style rapidly became fashionable amongst the members of London clubs. These were generally heavier woods, although Thurston record the manufacture of an Ash cue with a bamboo butt in 1832. Around the same time, superior cue cases made from polished mahogany, designed to hold two or more cues, were also being made to order.
In 1833 we find the first record of the use of lead in the butt of a cue to increase the weight. Even so, most cues would be between 14 - 16 oz. Very light by today's standards.
In 1835 Thurston's managed to sell their first slate-bed table, having begun experimenting with the material some eight years earlier. The slate was between 7/8" to 1" thick, which was based on the thickness of the wooden beds at that time. Thurston's were not the first to have tried a slate bed table. They had originally been introduced in Dublin, but they "soon fell into disrepute" and the venture failed.
Thurston's were the first English billiard table manufacturer to introduce rubber cushions. Their first sale being to the officer's mess of the 42nd Royal Hussars in Corfu on 16th May 1835. These were fitted as a modification to an existing table. However, like slate beds, rubber cushions were not new concept. There is reference to them having been tried in Belgium, but were considered unsuccessful due to them hardening in cold weather. That particular problem stems from the use of pure natural rubber. It's advantage was that it provided great speed under ideal conditions, a ball which had previously travelled four lengths of the table when fully struck, would now travel six or seven lengths. The ball also rebounded at a truer angle. Natural rubber however, had one significant drawback - it would go hard as he temperature dropped and had to be heated before play was possible. By 1838 Thurston's had addressed this problem by developing specially shaped warming pans which could be filled with hot water. The first such set was supplied with a table erected in Windsor Castle for Queen Victoria on 16th October 1838. Prior to this the remedy had been the careful use of a hot iron, or to remove the cushions from the table and stand them by the fire to warm up.
Early rubber cushions were made of laminated strips in an inverted "L" shape. This overhang ensured that the impact on the ball was above the centre and threw it down onto the table, so that it did not bounce off the bed, even when played with force.
In 1839 the problem with rubber hardening in cold temperatures was solved by an American inventor, Charles Goodyear, who produced rubber which was heat-treated with sulphur in a process which he called "Vulcanising".
Even by 1839, leather cue tips were still not commercially available in England. The "Champion" of the day, Edwin Kentfield, advocated that the best tips should be cut from an "old harness or strap" with "soft sole leather or saddle flaps" also being an excellent source.