Looks like my 38 years in the trade is now reaping rewards as they have found out I am now self employed and are coming over to the fitter that has always done their work .
Another club in Nottinghamshire that I have visited many times to work on their tables , this time the Secretary of the club contacted me to give a quote as the outgoing firm did not offer a new contract .
She was most surprised to find out that I had set GCL Billiards up 14 months ago and the firm was doing very well , even in the summer months when cue sports work is supposed to be thin on the ground .
I have just three more social type club’s in this area to come on board to make this Nottinghamshire town a total GCL work zone for snooker table maintenance .
we are slowly but surely building a reputation for quality work , and if youre club is due any work on their Cue sports tables , be it Snooker , pool or even Bar Billiards , then give us a shout by phone 07753466064 or email c.large@btinternet.com ask for Geoff Large.
This photo show’s the centre pocket opening ,the wood block work on this steel block table was crumbling around the undercut of the rubber as it bent around into the pocket , and unsightly gaps where there , just as a temporary measure we filled the gap with filler and shaped it to give a nice tight fitting block to the slate bed , we still have another table to do at this club next week , and to show the gap just look at the photo after this , we are recommending new blocks and re-rubber in two years time which will solve the crumbling wood block for good , which was caused by use of large 3/8th and 5/8th tacks in the 1960s , as fitters in those days did not use staple guns , large tacks just destroy the woodwork under the cushion.
the last photo is the finished table , a burroughs and watts steel block cushioned table circa 1920s , they have two identical matching tables at this club .
notice all those metal and plastic cue cases hanging on the far wall , all club’s used to be like this when I first started 38 years ago , when club’s closed down , cue’s are often left by members who have passed away , the club’s either gave the cues away with the table or has a blind auction , a pot luck auction so to speak , you may end up with a £5 pool cue in one of those cases or an £800 antique hand spliced record break peal cue .
continuation of Blog post ……
The second visit to the club today to re-cover the other Burroughs and Watts steel cushioned table , this one was in much worse condition with the cushion block crumbling , we are looking to re-block and re-rubber this table in two years time , so we did a quick repair job for the client , we would have liked to do the proper job of re-blocking this time round , but funds from the club prevented us doing this , so we are staggering the tables so that this table gets new blocks next time and the other table will get new blocks the re-cover after , of course new rubber will also have to be fitted at the same time .
the crumbling cushion block , this was caused in the 1960s when they used tacks to fasten the cloth to the table , it should have been replaced on the last re-rubber ( Before my time ) but was overlooked , the blocks have been filled in to make the shape back up just to get them through the next two years , and the table is due a re-rubber now anyway , so in two years time it will be sorted .
The finished table , both levelled , and the cushions when covered do not show any signs of crumbling cushion blocks, The client is very happy with the work that GCL Billiards have done.
Note the odd looking table shade lights , these where a custom made light for the club when it re-located premises to make way for a new Tesco, the lights are covered with a Brown velvet type cloth , They are not my cup of tea , the architect / project manager who designed the room also put Air conditioning units directly above these shades you can see on the far table the flush vent in the ceiling above the shade , this one leaked within the first 3 months and caused water damage to the shade and table cloth , if only they had asked me about such things , putting air con above a table is asking for trouble they always leak condensation and to put it above an electrical item is just not on , although the lighting looks the business and blends in with the décor , there are much better options out there that are made for the job , but I must not complain too much , they did make the right choice and take the Burroughs and watts match play tables with them rather than replace them with modern rubbish. and they have kept faith with me as a billiards fitter who will always strive to improve their tables condition.
