Category Archives: News

We have a client in france who is looking to sell their very nice tulip carved leg Buckingham model Karnehm and Hillman snooker table
In France tables will fetch an higher premium because demand outstrips supply of tables in france that are for sale
this one is advertised at 2000 Euro’s ( now 1500 euros) as it is before collection and transporting and installing again , but there  maybe a little negotiation leeway on price if discussed with owner . ( reduced to 1500 euros after GCL billiards advised it’s worth )  1500 euros = £1150.97 at time of advert , and it would cost more than this to transport one from the UK .
Ideally someone in the normandy area an Ex pat Brit is the ideal people to sell to , they may have an outside barn or large house they can fit this into .
a UK based Billiards fitter would find it easy to travel to using the St Malo port as entry which is not too far from this tables location

This is the Actual table that is for sale in France , anyone in France Who is looking to buy a table but is put off because of transporting and freight costs from the UK then look at this table .

this is a photo of the leg shape but not the actual table for sale ,
taken from a library photo on my web site just to show a close up of the carved leg that you will be getting on this table

a 10ft version another library photo to show the leg design

another library photo showing what the table will look like when fully assembled
if you are interest in this table in the top photo then contact by email and just inform them you spotted the table for sale on GCL Billiards web site

ask for Laurence Dealtry     http://www.la-rouillardais.co.uk/ web site for the owners B&B

ldealtry@club-internet.fr        email

tel France + 33 (0) 243023516     phone number

I have just completed a re-rubber and re-cover of a full size snooker table above  Lincoln on the wragby road
I installed this table a couple of years ago and came across a problem of slates not being the correct ones for the table which we solved by plugging and redrilling of cushions to fit
this table was already at our clients house and GCL billiards only fitted the table we did not supply it
Having said that the slates are of very good quality being from a burroughs and watts table while the rest of the table frame and cushions where from an Orme & Sons table
having had the problems of finding the wrong slates I was bracing myself as to the condition and workmanship of the rubber under the cloth which I did not see 2 years ago as the cushions had been re-covered by the firm who delivered it , and this is what I found !

very rough cut and shoddy work on the forming of the angles to the pocket openings.
My client wanted tighter pockets as these where cut like buckets and all odd angles


I did not take a photo of the rubber when I had finished but believe me they where like these photo’s when I had re-rubbered the clients cushions
smooth cutting and rasping and sanding of the undercut
flat nose of rubber direct from front edge to rear of pocket

my client had a bit of rough deal from the firm who supplied the table to him
not only did they send the wrong slates , but they also did not rectify the bad cut rubber
and they fitted sub standard cloth to the cushions as you can see above the transfer has substandard through it
this is how the cloth manufacturer sells it’s seconds .

this is what first grade Strachan 6811 tournament looks like
no Substandard going at a right angle through the transfer and the weight shows 30 oz

my clients table is now ready for some serious match play
having had a full re-rubber and reshaping of some of the block undercut
The pockets are now set at template size to B&SCC templates
Brand new first grade Strachan 6811 tournament cloth has been fitted and the level checked
my Client is a keen snooker player , He and his Partner have a very charming cottage and from the front of the house no one would even suspect they have a full size snooker table
The room is very large , an extension that along with others  I have worked have had their fare share of planning objections
Lucky for snooker enthusiasts a way can be found to build and get plans passed.
I am sure my client will enjoy his snooker so much better now the problems have been solved with the pocket openings and cushion bounce .
I have just corrected another table just like this from a bad re-rubber have a look at my other postings on my Web Blog to see that report .
Re-rubber is one of my special interests , I strive to be a perfectionist in forming a smooth cut to the pocket openings as can be seen in my demonstration photo’s and work reports on tables I have completed a re-rubber on .
I often advise on tables and workmanship on the Snooker forum and on that forum ,my pricing was questioned , not by a past client but just by a person who like to question prices
My price structure for work is fixed on what other top Firms and fitters are charging , on a re-cover for example I am around £30 lower priced than the top firms , but £30 higher priced than a speed fitter who may do work like on the rubber I took off above .

My mentor Mick Rob  ( now Deceased but formerly of Belvoir billiards )  a Craftsman in the art of Billiards fitting  had a carved oak  sign in his workshop for his clients to read .

NOW GONE !

Now given away free and collected
What a table to get for Free , our client wanted the table out of the house quick as it was holding a house sale up .
GCL Billiards organised a person looking for a free table to collect and it has now been taken down and away from the property .

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ORIGINAL ADVERT .

We have a client who wishes to sell their Fathers full size snooker table
this table is a Karnehm and Hillman Buckingham with carved tulip design leg and scrolls
made from Solid Mahogany with Italian slate bed .
The cloth is a little faded so I would advise a re-cover which will be around £400 for top quality Strachan 6811 tournament cloth .
with the table is all the accessories including an Iron and table lighting cues and long tackle and balls .
I can recommend this make of table as I have worked on many of this firms tables and they are no nonsense tables that go together very well , and are also very well made .
I would recommend the addition while it is being taken down and put back up of adding adjustable slater bearers to stop slate sagging .
this would be an easy task for any billiards firm you employ to take on the task of removal transport and set up .

The karnehm and Hillman Buckingham has very attractive carved legs and scrolls at each side of each leg
buttons on every cushion bolt hole , many billiard firms make their tables with slide in panel to cover cushion bolts
K & Hillman made their tables to replicate that older Victorian look of buttons over each bolt hole and I think that is a very nice touch and sets these tables apart from the normal type .

a close up of that very nice Tulip carved leg

the table comes complete with all accessories including an iron
Scoreboard / lighting canopy /  long rests and cue / half but rest and cue / spider and cross rests and table hooks
everything you require really this table is complete
the only thing I would recommend is a re-cover in 6811 Strachan tournament cloth . and maybe the fitting of adjustable slate bearing brackets
this table was manufactured around the 1980s/90s .

this is the type of bracket that could be added at extra cost , this enables the centre wood beam to be screwed right up to the slate bed preventing slate sag .

GCL billiards could give any buyer a quote to dismantle the table and transport it plus unload and set back up again , plus any improvement work you require doing to the table .
Just give Geoff a phone   07753466064   or email     c.large@btinternet.com
I really recommend this type and make of table as a good modern snooker table , it has the looks of an older table but the modern design of cushion and pocket plate for the modern game .

Due to Illness , I have took Yesterday and Today off to catch up on office work and making sure I am organised for taking in work from February onwards
placing a 2016 year planner on wall and filling January and almost all of February up with work .
But the phone does not stop ringing , I even had a couple knock on the door today to enquire about a pool table purchase.
Please phone before calling if It was not for this illness I would have been out working on tables .
we do not keep Tables for sale at my home address so it is important so you do not waste a journey to phone and not just turn up .
We have had many table move enquiries in the last week over 20 in fact .
I will not be able to accommodate all of them due to work already booked in for February but have explained they could be done in March and April .
sadly most require them moving and transporting within a week and we just cannot let other people who have booked work in down to accommodate them .
This week we have managed to sell from our tables for sale section for a private seller a full size snooker table

This Burroughs and watts table with rigidus frame and steel cushions sold for just £500
it really is a buyers market at the moment with so many tables coming up for sale
People who are desperate to sell have to realise this and let go , this is one reason that GCL billiards prefer to not enter the buying and selling of snooker tables
we prefer to just advertise and hope we get the work of dismantling and transporting of the table then erecting it at the new owners property which we quote for .
I have a an enquiry for a table to go to Israel , I am working with the buyer to locate the right table for him  .
If you have a steel cushioned Burroughs and watts that is attractive in flamed mahogany and large turned legs then get in touch with GCL Billiards .
My buying client may be interested in other tables , but he is looking for one in pristine condition for shipping over to Tel Aviv .
We are very active in our maintenance of snooker and pool tables recently taking on re-rubber and re-covering of full size snooker tables .

We also make very vast improvements on bad work that was done in the past on your table .

We also have a stock of tables for pool table contract hire , if you have a pub or club that requires an high end professional pool table for league Pool then try GCL billiards
we prefer to use our two re-covers a year contract , this enables a new cloth to be fitted at the start of each pool season of Winter and summer leagues .
we are very competitive and we are 100% cue sports maintenance fitters , we are not sidelined by Fruit machines and video game machines
If you require a pool table on Contract hire then talk to the Experts in this field and not a coin slot operator who deals in multi coin op machines and maintains table very poorly
We always clean out our machines when re-covering and adjust for level

a clean ball side tray , balls will not stick or jam if maintained correct

If you have a snooker table that requires professional transporting or even bubble wrapping for storage while building work is being carried out
then contact GCL Billiards , we pride ourselves in doing the job right .

together with our Storage solution partner Jonills Removals of Nottingham we can also arrange for your table to be dry stored providing we have enough room
sometimes it gets very busy and the warehouse can get full sometimes . Storage charges by jonills for a full size snooker table is just £12 per week .
but we can store tables on customers own property if they require this .

We have just completed a re-rubber and re-cover of a full size snooker table in Bagworth near coalville Leicestershire
our client contacted us stating they had bought a table off a well known Snooker firm in Leeds
now playing surface renovation and fully renovated do mean different things and anyone buying a renovated table should always ask , has the rubber been replaced ?
it was obvious this table that something was wrong with the rubber , bad bounce inconsistent from cushion  to cushion , badly cut angles all different from pocket to pocket
and pocket openings that where different sizes to each other .
on strip down this is what we found

This mess is what we found under the cloth on the cushions , very bad undercut nailed and stapled on rubber that could be hit with a ball
and part of the undercut was missing !

so we stripped all the rubber off the cushions and set about making good a bad job .

the new Rubber we use is allways Northern Rubber we use no other brand ,
made in the UK now owned by Hainsworth , Northern rubber is located in Retford Nottinghamshire .
every set shows the date of manufacture , this set July 2015
the set that came off was dated May 1983 which makes it 33 years old , and it had started to harden up so was ready for a re-rubber.

as you can see this is how to cut angles on a Full size snooker table , proper undercut
clean sanded and rasped to erase any knife cut marks , and just to show I have added two examples of what I took off just underneath this finished cushion
I have just fired one retaining staple into the lower undercut to anchor the rubber into place when tucking cloth behind the angle rubber  , the ball cannot touch this one staple
the face is also flat the same depth as the front of the rubber all the way into the back of the pocket opening .
Click on any photo to enlarge .

I raked out the soft plaster of paris in the slate joints and filled with a good quality soft sand car body filler ,
this is more resistant to coming out during ball bounce on cushions vibrating the slate
a common occurrence with plaster of paris

The pocket openings are set to B&SCC template size with these falls they are 3.5/8ths at the fall

the corner template in position a nice tight fit

the Centre pocket template in position also a nice tight fit , our client complained of having very large openings on the centre pockets
and when I checked them before I started they had a gap of 3/8ths on my template so way oversized and also very odd cut angles .
but as you can see they are now set correct .

The finished table which had a Riley square legged frame and BCE cushions with match pocket plates of the 1980s circa .

Another view of the finished table re-covered in Strachan 6811 30 oz Tournament cloth

the cloth I recommend and most used and sought after by Thousands of snooker players and Pubs and clubs around the UK
there are thinner finer faster cloths but this one has all round Qualities such as life span of around 2 years , short medium length nap made from 100% pure new Merino wool
The most used grade of cloth in the World .
The same Brand as used in most World snooker Tournaments by World Snooker .
The cloth that was fitted by the leeds  firm was Hainsworth smart , not a bad cloth but the Strachan 6811 is a better choice and only around £30 in price upgrade over the Smart , make sure you have a choice of cloth when you buy a table and take advice from an independent source like Geoff at GCL billiards about cloth qualities speed and life span , make sure the cloth you choose suits your play and your pocket and expect good life span from it , sadly there is not a thin cloth that lasts , speed is to sacrifice life span , too thick a cloth and you are annoyed with the slowness of the table , this 6811 Tournament grade  is well known for it’s balance of both speed and a reasonable life span depending on how much it is used of course .
Our client is very delighted and watched as his table was slowly being refurbished to a first class playing one .
I am sure He and his Son , will have many happy hours in the Snooker shed at the bottom of his Garden .

A link to Strachan cloth grades
w.wsptextiles.com/strachan-snooker-cloths-product-range

We have just visited a regular client of ours who has a re-cover of their pool table every six months
we strip all staples out of cushions and re cloth in 6811 Strachan pool cloth .

The table a Supreme Prince 7×4 ready to be stripped of cloth

in just 6 months use the ball tray has signs of wax dirt build up from sweat off hands and cloth shedding
a very dirty side ball tray

The same ball tray after washing down in hot water with a little detergent , now the balls will not stick on any muck
the same clean out for the ball runs is also carried out

The finished table , our client was complaining of coin not being dropped into cash box yet balls are being dispensed resulting in free games
this is a very well known trick that people know about , if the side spring breaks on a coin mech then the anti draw back system will not work , once  anew spring was inserted the coin mech was anti cheat once again ….much to the disappointment of the players who knew this trick .
if you have this problem it is a simple fix contact Geoff at GCL Billiards for recovering and repairing of your supreme pool tables .

We have just completed the relocation of two full size snooker tables for Warwick University
The tables where in a building on another part of the campus and these where annex type buildings that are due for demolition
the tables are now resited within the main Campus in an upstairs location just above the Students Unions Bar
A much better room that is warmer and with the Bar being close by more practical , the tables should now see much more use

the old room , an annex on a smaller side part of the main campus . too far away from the main Student population

the new building where the tables are now located on the top floor above the Bar .

Floor plan of the New Students Union building , this is very Central to the University and makes an excellent choice for the location of the two Full size snooker tables
the tables have also been re-covered in New Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz  cloth  .
We completed the work over two days just two men as we had use of a lift at the rear of the building to get the heavy slates up 3 floors .
The work went very smoothly and the Students union are delighted with the way GCL billiards went about organising the table’s dismantle and relocation .

We are the best option for pool table contract hire .
we have no competition of Pool table hire firms local , that can maintain a Pool table like we do .
we are 100% cue sports with no interest in gaming or juke box or prize machines , which means your pool table gets our 100% attention to detail .
this makes renting a table from GCL Billiards the best options we know how to maintain these tables to a higher degree and recover in the best materials .
where normal fruit machine engineers just swop over cushions and slates or use nasty spray on glue that does not properly bond the cloth to the slate
we always make sure your cushions are rebounding correct and your slate is true and the cloth fitted correctly.
we have 40 years experience in maintaining and re-covering pool and snooker tables
We re-cover for some of the best Clubs for the best Pool players in the counties of Derby and Nottingham and Northampton Lincoln and Leicester , we also have tables in the Coventry area .

Even when we do not hire clubs tables , We have a large cliental of snooker and pool table clubs that use us to maintain their tables like  Hunters Bar Grantham .

and some of these clubs have county pool teams playing in them  this one is The Cueball club Derby

another one of our regular clients Newark cue club a well known attended club that has recently upgraded and increased their pool Tables to 8.
this club also has a reputation to having first class fast and true playing surfaces , that is well ironed and cleaned on a regular daily basis by the owner.
Big money pot matches can be viewed on line at this club Live.

A recent refurbishment of 9 tables for Towers snooker club Mansfield a well know county pool tournament venue for Nottinghamshire Black ball .

another venue where we maintain the pool tables is Stapleford cue club with 4 pool tables and 6 snooker tables .
 
Installing three of our Hire tables to Arches snooker Venue in Coventry

our latest pool table hire site for December 2015 was a local football club in Collingham near Newark

another venue that we maintain the pool table’s for is Coopers Snooker club in Northampton with 6 pool tables

and another county venue is the sister club of Coopers in Wellingborough that have 10 tables !

the first table we hired on a contract was to North Notts arena in Worksop and that was nearly four years ago and it is still going strong with two re-covers a year maintenance contract .
we have a come a long way since we started GCL Billiards , we have built our rental pool table hire business along side our already well known Maintenance and re-cover business of Snooker and pool tables .
With over 40 years personal service as a time served Billiards fitter , Geoff large is second to none in maintaining your pool table .
We have three pool tables in stock ready to hire , please get in touch with Geoff for more details on 07753466064 or email c.large@btinternet.com