Category Archives: News

Back Friday evening , got a few big job’s coming relocating snooker tables and re-clothing
February is full no days left , also most of March full and I have got to fit two funerals in , so some disruption to dates is also going to happen .
sorry for that I have no control of funerals dates .
and will attend as close family and a close friend back in the day of my youth .
you can rearrange a lost days work , but not a missed funeral .

Now and again my back will give way and last Saturday this did happen , this may be due to a bad lift or over working the lifting part of my job .
this time it was small 7ft pool table not a large full size that did the damage , and yes i was wearing a spinal back support with adjustable straps which supports my back

So to some job’s that require lifting heavy slates i am going to turn some work bookings away
I have a few days rest or work that involves no lifting so I can rest my back while still working .
Hopefully the two big jobs of full size tables relocations coming up in the next two weeks are not affected .

I have been informed today when trying to order some more cloth stock in,  of a shortage of staff problem due to Covid .
my main Strachan cloth supplier for snooker 6811 tournament are suffering from a large loss of employees due to covid sickness and protocol , to process and package cloth out .
this may cause some problems this month of taking orders in for say snooker table re-covering in Strachan 6811
I do have some stock as a back up but these are now spoken for .
although cloth deliveries will still filter through but not at normal speed of delivery .
Until normal staffing levels are back to normal this will effect most firms in the industry if you require Strachan manufactured cloth .
I am working close with our cloth supplier to rectify this and have placed an order by email for some more stock of cloth from them
this will take time to filter through their email system with only one or two people answering emails if at all .
this firm is the main supplier to the trade of Strachan cloth in the country and it only takes a few to be struck down to almost bring the posting out of cloth to a standstill .

I still have another source to get this cloth from another London based supplier  , but prefer to order Strachan snooker cloth through my main supplier .
Pool 6811 cloth is unaffected as I get that from the other Strachan stockist .
I can also order Hainsworth cloths as an alternative too .
which is another cloth that is popular with my clients .
anyone asking for Hainsworth smart / Match or Super pro speed will be unaffected .
as I ordered some special cloth colours today for clients from Hainsworth and they are not affected .

We hope everyone has had a good break over the Christmas period .
we are back open for business and table re-cloth bookings from January 5th onwards
we have a good stock of cloth in green for both snooker and pool tables , so we are taking bookings for January and February for re-clothing work .
also a stock of rubber in both Northern English manufactured  and also the most used import type for pool tables is also in stock  .

please note our cloth suppliers and parts suppliers are also closed and re-open the same day so any parts or special none stock cloth grades and colours ,
will have to be ordered after that date from the 5th of January 2022 , this may cause a bit of a problem if our stockists do not have that specific colour or grade in stock from the off of re-start in the New year .
please remember that during covid times production and wool supplies have also hit problems .
it may be that you choose another grade of cloth or make , or colour as a back up if you want to get your table booked in .
common rule is there is always plenty of green cloth in stock .
but not all different colours or grades in those colour apart from Green are available .

also the supplies of replacement pool cushions may be a problem in specific sizes , especially 6ft size .
due to demand of new pool tables on back order , the suppliers may be reluctant to part with re-placement cushions stocks and keep these for new pool table orders to be completed .
So the other alternative  will be a re-rubber of you existing cushions if that is the case .
this may cause a bit of problem in time if we have to pick the cushions up , re-rubber then return , and also more costly if that was the case than simply buying replacement cushions
but we can re-rubber on site , a bit messy but it can be done .

But on re-rubbering you can upgrade to UK made Northern Rubber rather than the normal Import canvas backed rubber everyone uses
even Supreme and DPT and other manufacturers use import rubber from new .
obviously Northern rubber is a premium rubber and this will incur a higher price than a simple import rubber -replacement .
and we normally look for two clients or two tables to do at the same time if using Northern rubber as one set of full size northern rubber will do two 6ft or 7ft tables .

we are now using the latest yellow dot Northern rubber for these upgrade of rubber work .
so you can see that you are getting the best manufactured up to date re-rubber .  MADE IN ENGLAND in Retford Nottingham
at the Northern rubber company , now owned by Hainsworth

We are getting a lot of bookings coming in for 2022 already so best email me at

c.large@btinternet.com

to book work in which will be quicker if done that way than phone as I am hands on work during the day , I may not be able to answer a phone during that time or maybe Driving .
Please note , I always look at emails first thing on my return Home in the evenings to book work in to days that are remaining on our calendar  .
but you are free to phone if you wish , but please leave a text or answerphone message , I go through these phone calls and messages  after emails have been replied to .
a common occurrence is the very old red or pink rubber that often goes rock hard , please check your cushions if you wish to have your table re-clothed

as you can see one cushion may be hard the rest soft , but we only change them in full sets we do not just mix and match cushion rubber with second hand part sets .
if one has gone hard the others are not far behind it , so it is false economy to have a part cushions replacement and any firm offering that choice are wrong to do it .
and should be avoided , if they cut corners on that part of the work what else is wrong with their standards and workmanship ?
Now and again we may have a decent FULL MATCHED SET of cushions that we let go for a lower price than new , but we do inspect them and note how good they are  , but we never mix and match a set .

Hard rubber held out like a stick , no re-bound value at all , just like hitting rock
and new rubber hanging down , soft and plenty of bounce .

Due to work commitments and a small break .

I will not be contactable until Friday afternoon 10th December  to read any emails or answer telephone calls
please ring me or email me on Friday the 10th . if you have any work enquiries .
as you can see and expect Christmas is a very busy time in all trades but especially the Home leisure and pub trade .

please note WE CANNOT TAKE ON ANY MORE WORK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

simply not enough hours in a day to fit anymore work in .
it has been a difficult year what with coming in and out of Covid restrictions and now more restrictions and protocol are probably on their way .

After Christmas break and new year .

I am taking booking for the new year , and already January is filling up with work I have on my notice board
to fit in ., these people have been very understanding to wait until a slot in the new year and some made inquiries in early November to try and get work done for Christmas .
it was just not possible to take it on .
So these people are priority for January and beginning of March , there may be the odd day slotted here and there between these bookings so it is possible to fit you in January
we are returning to work on January the 10th .
I am also having some Building work done which hopefully will be done and dusted and completed in the next few weeks .
a few snagging problems to sort out , but hopefully we can start the decorating first week of January when the plaster has fully dried out
hence why I say January the 10th when I will return to work .

Have a nice Christmas break to all our clients and future clients

I do a lot of Re-rubber work on full size tables down to pool tables
and the best rubber to have fitted is Northern Rubber by Hainsworth
now comes with yellow dot and a unique date code the rubber was manufactured in
and if you want the rubber fitted correctly then Geoff Large @ GCL billiards has over 46 years of experience fitting rubber and shaping pocket openings and undercut

If you want the best FIT THE BEST !

Due to large influx of work from pubs and clubs reopening , and Private house work .
we are full booked out including most Saturdays before Christmas , I just cannot take anymore work on now until the new Year and after the 11th of January 2022 .
Please stick with GCL Billiards for Quality workmanship and a firm you can trust .
With over 45 years in the cue sports Business as a Time served billiards fitter , you can appreciate we know what we are doing .


from Re-rubber and re-cloth of snooker /Billiard tables .


American 8ft and 9ft Pool tables with three section slate beds . this example in Cadet Blue ,  in Hainsworth Elite pro speed cloth
Re-cloth and re-rubber plus house logistics move of pool tables to full size is also our speciality .

Loaded van of snooker slate , cushions frame work and light shades .
into storage for client , at clients own storage unit .

one full size table complete loaded .

Cloth colours , some grades carry a vast range of cloth colours others maybe only a few  ,
it all depends on what grade you want as to what colour you could choose .

For Example Paprika in Hainsworth smart cloth .

We also replace nets and leathers with Good quality UK sourced materials .
in fact we try and not use far east products , our cloth and rubber is UK manufactured too .

now and again we source antique scoreboards like this special example
at affordable prices when you compare them to the large billiard house prices .

A riley twin bevelled mirror scoreboard in oak .
we currently have two for sale  at affordable as they come price .

we also get a a few rotating cue racks in , but they fly out the door as fast as they come in .

We also get the odd second hand iron plus brush and balls and cues in now and again , not often just now and again .
the same with rests and heads .

last but not least we are now rebuilding our Pool table rental sites back up , if you fancy a brand new supreme winner table in Black pearl cabinet
fully maintained and re-clothed twice a year in Hainsworth  Match cloth , then contact Geoff at GCL Billiards we have three new ones in stock waiting for new sites .

Two tables we installed a couple of years ago as Rental tables .
although this pub is no longer here  , demolished to make way for a Iceland Shop in Stapleford Nottingham .
We stayed in contact with the owner and the landlord of this pub and we installed new tables back in to two separate pubs  in the next town of Beeston Nottingham
and they are still happy clients of ours .
Covid hit us hard on our rental sites with many pubs having the table out for extra seating , or just because they where locked down ,
but they are slowly coming back to us , one pub at a time and having their tables back or rather Brand new ones back as I sold most S/H ones that came in to make way for new stock .
there is a waiting list for new Supreme winner tables of 6 months , we have three in stock ready to go out for Rentals with another 6 on order to come is as replacements in March 2022
Rentals is not our main business but it runs smoothly at the side of our re-cloth and cue sports table maintenance business .
We prefer our rentals to be close to Nottingham and Derby .

Whatever you are looking for in the Cue sports table business Geoff at GCL Billiards come’s highly recommended .