Category Archives: News

Sorry to say we are unavailable to contact tomorrow Monday 16th of august due to a Family funeral .
then working in south London in Croydon  for the next two days .
phone time will be very limited due to hands on work .

Regards

Geoff

Latest pub to get their table back up and working is the Railway Inn at Sawley
having been pushed to one side since April 2020 to allow more seating and tables in then full lock down meaning closed doors .
now is the time to get the tables refurbished ready for normality and the leagues starting back up .

GCL Billiards supplied this ex tournament table to the Railway Inn around 3 years ago .
I have recently used Hainsworth match cloth as an upgrade , but gave my client an option of the even faster Hainsworth Precision .

Hainsworth precision is the faster smoothest napped cloth on the market .
it may not last as long as other cloths but our client has a re-cloth every 6 months anyway .
The Railway Inn will  now have , probably the fastest napped cloth pool table in the local Long Eaton pool  league .
but it may come a shock to his regulars that now is the time to also put the table up to £1 per play .
many pubs and clubs have only just survived the lock down , and  landlord’s  still having to pay rent during a lock down and also all the perishables having to be thrown away .
out of date crisps and other bar snacks  and drinks , and also note this table or tables in the past that this table replaced   have been on 50p per play now for the past 20 years .
more and more pub’s are now charging £1 per game now .
yes they will moan about it , but I can remember back in the 1970s when it was 10p per game then 20p per game , then 50p .
we have seen materials increase in price , Cloth , balls and cues  , and chalk and tips , also replacement cushions and ball rails and pocket liners .
and labour rates to both table fitters and bar staff .
So now is the time I’m afraid for the latest price increase and £1 seems to be the norm now .
my client is not scrimping either it is not a money making exercise but rather a go with the times increase to SURVIVE , he has had the best cloth available to justify the increase too .
and do not forget he has two re-cloths a year , not one a year .
he also gives free table time nights in the week too . and subsidizes the match nights as free games , and he has a proper billiards iron to keep in pristine playing conditions .

Superb cloth , Hainsworth Precision ,

Anyone local to Long Eaton or Sawley , fancy to try this table out , one of the best kept tables on my rounds .

visit …..THE RAILWAY INN…… in …..SAWLEY….. on Wilne Road .

Tell them Geoff sent you .

Today I have been over to a village just south of Leicester to re-cloth in a coordinating colour of silver Grey
the house has this grey white theme running throughout the house in most rooms .
A big thankyou to James , who supplied me with a sausage and tomato sandwich and plenty of tea and cold drinks
it was a warm day today and James also supplied me with a standing fan to keep me cool .

A sports theme bar room with full size snooker table .

Hainsworth describe this as silver , but it is definitely a grey cloth ,

Colour chart for Hainsworth smart , showing the vast range of colours available to coordinate most rooms décor .

Another angle of the table showing the light flooding in from the window , this gives a better shade to what the cloth colour really is .
although Hainsworth say Silver , I would describe it more slate grey .

our client had hand painted the table in a white matt finish  , prior to our re-cloth .
new nets and leathers complete the renovation .
the next photos are all tables Geoff at GCL billiards has re-clothed in Hainsworth Smart cloth in a variety of colours chosen by our clients .

Hainsworth smart is available in a vast range of colours , this one is Paprika

Hainsworth Smart in Purple

Hainsworth smart in Royal blue

Hainsworth smart in Sage

Hainsworth smart in Powder Blue .

Hainsworth smart in Taupe

not a colour  I would recommend as it gets dirty very quick but here is Hainsworth smart in Gold
or Golden Yellow as I would describe it .

And last but not least Hainsworth smart in Green ,
as you can see you have a wide choice in Hainsworth smart cloth for colours , I would say the most choice  in this grade and make of cloth than any other on the market .
and that is why I recommend it to people wishing to look for a colour that suits their décor and style .
Hainsworth smart is a hard wearing thicker cloth that is long lasting .
The trick is to brush and iron it on a regular basis to keep it’s speed up otherwise it will slow down , as would any napped cloth of any thickness , if you allow it to roughen and scuff up .
So every 10 hours of use , brush and nap block and iron the cloth and you will find it plays very well .

I have been over to a private house near Ashby del a zouch to re-cloth a large 9ft raise and fall snooker dining table .
Ben was looking for something more bespoke to match the décor of his room and chose the powder blue in Hainsworth smart .
Hainsworth smart comes in a verity of colours , probably the most colour selection of any decent make of cloth on the market .
this  snooker diner is in the rare size of 9ft , not many 9ft snooker diners about , most manufacturers stop at 8ft because of the span , and dipping of slate in the centre .
This table has adjustable anti bow bars on the underside to take most of the dip out .
And surprising to find it was a three section slate bed and not a one piece bed .most raise and fall diners , have one piece slate bed because of the raise and fall device ,
you have to be very careful not to knock or shock the joints out of alignment when gently lowering and raising the dual action brackets .
I refilled the joints with body filler and sanded the whole bed in before fitting the cloth .

the 9ft diner during strip down of the green cloth .

close up of the Hainsworth powder blue cloth , a close enough match to the paneling on the lower wall .

the finished table  , you can just make out the five section wood table top stacked underneath .
this table will only be used as a dining table once a year at Christmas .

the adjustable anti bow bar device built to the underside of the table slate bed .
to adjust up slacken off back nut and tighten outside nut , reverse to let down the bow if too much .
you may also see the raise and fall brass brackets here too , click clack action to raise to play , and to gently lift again to drop to dine off on the lower height
the pin follows the zig zag to lower  , lift again to  the rest pin in cup ,  and again to drop down one side of the bracket through the zig zag to stop it falling too quick .
a simple device which seems to be the most used on all diners .

We visited a club in Grantham this week to re-cloth 7 supreme winner 7ft tables , six in Hainsworth green match and one in Hainsworth Elite pro green .
in the past our client had gone with the normal competitors standard cloth , grade just above club cloth .
and I suggested a treat for her customers to upgrade to the match cloth made by Hainsworth , a more smoother short nap and therefore faster tables .
the one difference to have one table covered in the speed cloth with no nap of Hainsworth elite pro .

as you can see the tables look pristine ready for the England  v Germany match tonight .
I will be calling back at the end of the year to re-cloth the 9ft American Sam K steels in Hainsworth Elite pro

Fast becoming the go to cloth for pool players and some snooker players too
If you are in the market for a re-cloth and are looking for a special colour match then have a look at our Hainsworth range of cloths and colours .
here are a few recent tables re-clothed in Hainsworth cloth , in the grades of Match , Smart and Elite pro .

This client has a Hainsworth Match cloth in Green fitted in his Garden pool room at the bottom of his Garden around every 6 months
Air conditioned too .
Very fine napped match cloth , available in green , also available in Special order in  Blackball Powder Blue or Funky chalk Silver Grey as an higher priced option .

Looks inviting this Hainsworth match in Paprika near Derby , looks orange but more like Burnt rust in the flesh
the lighting on this table makes it appear to look two tone but it is not .

an outdoor table near Leicester , this clients knows what he wants and ordered the Hainsworth Elite Pro speed cloth
no nap and thin and ideal for outdoor tables as it is a 70% wool /30% man made fibre cloth .
less likely to absorb damp air if you use this type of cloth , and keeps the ball moving quicker .
A very fast cloth .

Hainsworth smart in Purple used on the 9ft Billiard table in Norfolk .

and also Purple Hainsworth smart for this pool table in Worksop .
Hainsworth smart has the most colour options to choose from , a Interior designers dream to use the colour chart .


Hainsworth smart in Sage Green , a slight lighter shade difference to the walls in this home near Nottingham
but blended in well .

Special Edition  order Hainsworth match in Powder blue , for my good mate Jules near Newark .
another who has his table re-clothed after every  6 months or so .

A Full size snooker table re-clothed in Hainsworth smart close to  Ashbourne

Hainsworth Elite pro speed in Blue . near Wolverhampton , for a top end player .

Hainsworth Match cloth,  to full size match play Riley aristocrat in Chilwell Nottingham .

Did you  know that Hainsworth now also own the Northern rubber company in Retford Nottinghamshire .
Manufacturers of the finest match play Cushion rubber in fact no 1 choice for L shape rubber .

Hainsworth smart in black with Jack Daniel’s logo in Leicester .
it is very expensive to have logos on cloth .

Hainsworth Elite pro in Red . and colour chart below .

Hainsworth smart in Gold on a pub table in Nottingham .
Not one of my personal colour choices as it gets  dirty very quick .

Some of the most popular colour choices shown above .

Special order packs of Powder blue or Blackball blue if you prefer .

Black Super pro speed at derby county training ground .

Black super pro speed on this nice two toned Sam K Steel 9ft American pool table in Edwalton Nottingham .
The client also had me re-rubber and the result was very pleasing for our client who left me some very good feedback .

a few Feedback left by clients .

Absolutely delighted with the work done by GCL on my Sam K American Pool Table. Recovered, new rubbers and levelled, it’s never played better. A friendly professional service that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Had a recover, new rubbers, netting etc. on our 12 ft Snooker table. Geoff did it within 2 days and it’s like a brand new table. The slates are no longer off balance and the balls now go straight. Geoff was very friendly and certainly knows his craft. Will be coming back to Geoff if it needs any more work doing in the future.

Totally professional man who absolutely keeps his word. Full of free and very valuable advice. Came all the way to the South of France to set up my full sized Riley Aristocrat table which was out of his very busy schedule. He was also very helpful in sourcing my table and dismantling it professionally. Very fair charges as per quotes. Excellent communication. Aways answers phone or calls back quickly. Very highly recommended.

fantastic workmanship of the highest quality. Geoff is reliable, professional and value for money.

Geoff is an expert in his field, who shows very good attention to detail – really pleased with the job he did relocating and setting up my snooker table

So if you are looking to have any work done on your cue sports tables , please contact Geoff Large at GCL Billiards
vast colour range in Hainsworth cloths and come highly recommended not only by Geoff himself but the people who matter , the owners and players of the tables .

GCL Billiards is also a Hainsworth FIT LIST listed fitter .
one of a select few Billiard Fitters that Hainsworth recommend themselves .

The FIT List

It is very important that any feedback we get that we publish so that any one looking to have work done by GCL Billiards can see we are an experienced and professional outfit
when it comes to the care and maintenance of our clients cue sports tables .
This year I will have been a billiard tables fitter for over 45 years , I started in 1976 as an apprentice fitter .
Today I got a message from Henri in France about the table we dismantled for him from Barry Stark’s ( well known Snooker Coach )  Brother based near Collingham Newark Nottinghamshire  and transport to our  Lincoln shipping agents , Watson European .
who would then take it to Paris in France for Henri .
I had recommended a fitter from Bournemouth Martin Rabbets for the set up of the table as I now do not travel abroad to work as I have more than enough to keep me going back here in the UK .
I have been there and done it in the past , and enjoyed working in places like France Spain & Portugal and Switzerland .
But as you get older the excitement of working abroad with all that travelling and driving wanes a bit .
The table was a very nice Riley Aristocrat and at a very attractive price for Henri , due to a house move for Barry’s Brother .

Henri today sent me an email thanking me for my approach to dismantling and palatizing the table for him  , unfortunately he could not use Martin because of the delays caused by Covid and traveling .

the table fully dismantled , all parts bubble wrapped apart from slates , and then ratchet strapped and cling filmed to a pallet
the long sides wrapped separate so in this photo is the full size table in parts palatized in two packages nice and neat and fully secured so it arrives as packed .
there was also a lighting shade which had to be wrapped too as an extra .
Photo shows us  at the shipping agents yard in Lincoln , the table is now ready for them to load onto a container or removals lorry .

and this is not our first rodeo when packing tables in this manner , here we have another table wrapped and dropped off at Watson European our shipping agent based in Lincoln .
for France and Spain .

once we have dropped the table off at Lincoln , Watson European will deliver to France and unload .
ready for a fitter to come and set the table up .
Best to arrange a Tele handler fork lift  at the unloading stage to make things run smooth .
and this is what our clients in France normally do , especially if they have to go upstairs .
but also if just to unload with ease to ground floor storage to await a fitter to come along .

one I did years ago near Cognac France , The local farmer just down the road was arranged to lift slates to this opening .
but handy just to lift off and put to one side  when Watsons arrive even if going on ground floor .

here is our important feedback from Henri for our service that I would like to share with you .

Hi Geoff,

I wanted to update you regarding the table which I have managed to get set up.

I did not go with Martin since international travel restrictions made the trip impossible for him, and it seemed it was not going to happen for at least another 3-4months+. I have found someone locally to do it, although this took a while since most of them do not do snooker table fittings.

You did a fantastic job on the packaging and shipping, as nothing was damaged nor was a single screw missing. The slates were intact. The fitter was very impressed by your work and said that he wished that UK table manufacturers would have the same standards as you when shipping.

The fitter managed to reuse the old cloth, and as expected, some of the markings are a bit off according to the official standard measurements, but it is still perfectly fine for me.  There are some slight folds in the cloth due to prolonged wrapped condition, the fitter suggested trying ironing them out or to wait and see if they even out with time. I wanted to have your advice on this if you had a specific technique in mind.

I will be sure to let anyone around me and at the snooker club in Paris know about you and your services if they are interested in following the same route as I did.

Let me know if you need any other info. Thanks again for making this possible, attached is a picture of the table, the light fixtures still need to get set up.

Best regards,

Henri