White line height, friction, bounce, anti-skid

Pete Cooke Asked 10 years ago

Alois,

My question has to do with the white lines on the surface of a table. I play on both a Joola sc3000 and a high quality Butterfly table (I forget the make).

If you close your eyes and run your fingers along the table top, you can feel where the white lines are on the table. Both surfaces are anti-skid but I don't think the white lines are anti-skid.

My questions are the following:

Are the white lines anti-skid?

Is the friction less(more slippery) when the ball hits the white line? If this were the case, I assume the ball would bounce lower after hitting the white line.

What is the height of the white line? .1mm? Since I can feel it, it must have a different height than the rest of the table.

I was told by a Joola employee, that the difference between the $2,000 tables vs the $4,000 tables, is that you can't feel the white line when you close your eyes. Is that's true?

One of the reasons I'm asking these question is because, when I'm counter-looping, the ball seems likes is not bouncing as high when it hits the white line.

Thanks for providing this website and all the work you do for the table tennis community.

Pete

Top Hat Table Tennis Club

Baltimore, Maryland USA

Alois Rosario Answered 10 years ago

Hi Pete,

Interesting question.  I don’t think the bounce of the white line is noticeably different.  It may be that because the ball is bouncing so deep on the table it is more difficult to return as well.

Regarding the difference with the better tables I think the more important differences are the actual thickness of the table surface and the portability and quality of old used.  THe white lines are a very small part of the difference.

I am glad that you are enjoying the site and benefiting from it.