Category Archives: News

We can also offer an alternative type of cloth to re-cover pool tables.
Our normal cloth for pool tables is a choice between Strachan 777 and Strachan 6811
We are now offering by special order , a speed cloth
The speed cloth of our choice is also Strachan branded and is called a worsted wool man made fibre mix and branded as Strachan super pro speed cloth.

Strachan super pro , professional cue sports cloth

this table is located in a Garden cabin , we recommended this speed cloth due to the fact that the previous cloth absorbed too much condensation and played slow
with speed cloth it is a much faster thinner cloth with less damp retention , and ideal for situations like log cabins or Garden sheds and Garage locations .

The completed table , the owner is delighted with how the table is now playing and text me a couple of days later saying, it is vastly different to play on since  we fitted the speed cloth !
We only recommend speed cloth for UK type pool tables if you are playing in conditions that can turn cold and hot , Garden buildings and Garage type locations are well known for this and produce dampness int he cloth .
By using speed cloth we keep the damp content much lower and the table plays much faster .
We would like to draw your attention to the make of cloth we use Strachan is a quality UK made cloth
Please be aware of lower all man made speed cloth from Europe and the far east , this type of cloth marks badly with friction burns and would look very bad after a few hours of play , the Strachan super pro is in our opinion the better cloth to use , that good that we can even supply it with designs printed into the cloth , like the one’s we do for Butlins with Budweiser design imprinted into the cloth

You can have a design imprinted into the super Pro Strachan speed cloth , but this is expensive to do , please ask for a quote ,
if using a football club logo or trade mark logo with protection rights you will require permission from the trade mark owners to reproduce it ,
you must get this in writing and sent through to Strachan  before any order can be processed for that design .

We have been to Butlins to finish off a large order .
Our last emergency visit resulted in us fitting 4 new bed cloths , on that visit it was noted that a further 6 tables required urgent work.
so we have just visited Skegness for a week to re-cover 6 full size snooker tables plus other maintenance work .

Two of the tables we have just completed the re-covering with new Strachan 6811 all wool cloth

another of the tables we had just re-covered .

Some of the tables where in very bad shape , having big L shape rips in and unplayable.

Looking down the room from the bar area , all of the tables now look Green rather than old faded torn cloths .
Butlins in Skegness is the only Butlins to offer Free snooker as part of the all inclusive entertainment package .
If you wanted to play snooker at Minehead or Bognor Regis Butlins Holiday Camp you would be charged for it .
This makes Skegness Butlins so unique to cue sport enthusiasts .
We wish to thank Rob and Albert for their continued support in using GCL billiards as the main contractor for the maintenance of cue sports tables at Skegness .

We have a some very nice snooker tables ranging from Free to just a few hundred pounds
All these sales are by direct sale from the Seller to the Buyer with no fees to the buyer.
And we only charge £25 to the seller if we manage to link you up to a successful sale , and £25 is not much to ask for our service once sold ,  it is only to cover out time and effort on the PC to list all the photo’s and a few emails and the odd telephone call to help move a table on.
And we hope that any Buyer would use GCL billiards to dismantle and erect any table that is Advertised although sometimes it does not work out for us , we do get our fair share of moving these table so please use us, we are fair with our price for any work on your snooker table once bought , from just transporting and setting up to a full re-cover or re-rubber.

Take a look at the tables we have listed in our for sale section

From this table which is Free

or this Burroughs and watts Steel cushioned table asking for offers

to our most expensive table the latest Star steel cushioned table as used at the Academy in Sheffield close to the Crucible normally £8500 , but listed on GCL billiards web site at £5000 fitted
So if you are looking for a full sized snooker table then Buy direct from the seller and then contact Geoff at GCL billiards to dismantle transport and erect the table back up in your home or business

We have just re-stretched and serviced two full size snooker table’s in Derby
This is a follow up procedure approx 12 months after the Re-cover to make sure the tables are playing fast the cloth is taken off and re-stretched back onto the table , the Baulk line is faded back and new Baulk line and spots are replaced
we then check the level and adjust if necessary .

I did forget to take my Camera to the Derby Club , but here is a photo of a table bed cloth I re-stretched in Lincoln

the faded back Baulk line , we use acetone to try and make the line fade even more , but sometimes if the owner has marked out in felt tip rather than pencil it cannot be taken out completely

we always check the table for level on any major work , such as a re-cover or a re-stretch of bed cloth
Please note we can only get level 100% if the slate bed is ground and hand floated level and is well supported by the under frame muntins , if you have a table that has a fault in the slate such as a dip or uneven hand floating then this cannot be got out unless you have a very expensive re-float of the slate beds which mean the slate’s will have to be sent off to have this done , or re-place the slate’s , we also can do a modification to the under frame supports and add adjustable Brackets to support the slate , this we have done on a few clients tables .

We often get people phone us to help with a sale of a full size snooker table , sometimes we can find them a buyer and other times we cannot , but if a house sale is imminent and the table has to be out then sometimes it is best just to donate a table for free .
as it is not worth a House sale falling through just because a snooker table has been left in the House which I have witnessed in the past .
Sometimes people are well organised and have decided what to do with their table well before any house sale becomes final , and here is one such story.

I took a phone call about three weeks ago from a Lady who’s husband had passed away , and she wanted to downsize from the house she was living, and it had now been sold but the Buyer’s did not want the full size snooker table.
She informed me she would like to give the full size snooker table to her late husbands other interest a local Rugby Club .
She wanted to not only give them the table but also pay for the dismantle and assemble of the table in one of the Clubs buildings.
I have today completed the task of this work setting out from my Home near Nottingham at 6 .30 am this morning , we arrived around 9.30 am after we stopped for one coffee break on the way to waken us up.
We arrived to find a very nice Large Home with a round 7.5 acres of woodland attached to it .

a library photo of the woodland Home that we removed the full size table from , the buyer of this property did not require the snooker table and wished to use the room for other purpose.

We arrived to find a nice Riley Aristocrat table circa 1990

we quickly set about stripping the table down re-moving the cushions and bed cloth to slate level.

We then re-moved the slate and loaded these straight onto the van , we then dismantled the frame and wrapped the parts in Blankets for safe transportation.

The room is almost empty just the shade to load , from the first screw to the shade being loaded took us just over an hour.
We supplied a van and three men for this particular job.
We then followed the daughter of our client to a local Rugby club the other side of Oxford

The table assembled back together and ready for play in it’s new Home at Oxford Rugby club
If you are selling your home and the sale is dependent on the full size snooker table to be removed as part of the deal , then contact GCL billiards
We can advise on how best to remove the table at the most cost effective way , why risk the house sale falling through if you cannot come to an agreement about the table,
the buyer may lose interest in your home and may move on to another House to Buy , meaning you have lost your house sale .

if you have a problem on how to solve this issue !

Then Contact Geoff by Email ….c.large@btinternet.com

or mobile 07753466064

or Home 0115 972355  ( not always manned )

A photo of our Van we use to transport full size snooker tables around the UK .

We have a returning client who have now used GCL Billiards for the past 4 re-cover visits .
GCL billiards are proud to be associated with this club as we think it is one of the best run club’s that we work in.
Hunters Bar is one of those club;’s that you can walk in and feel relaxed and well looked after , very polite staff and the food and Drink is top notch.
The tables are re-covered on a regular basis so you can be assured of top quality playing tables that are kept clean and ironed .

Hunters bar have 4 American 9ft Sam K steel pool tables , and 7 Supreme 7ft winner pool tables , upstairs they have 6 full size snooker tables
If you are close to Grantham this is the Club to play Snooker / billiards / 8 ball pool / or even American 9 ball pool

We have a local club who now only use GCL billiards to do any work to their Pool table .
After another local company carried out a very bad cushions repair and re-cover and overcharged them .
We have now re-covered the table 4 times since that rogue firm and the customer is delighted with our work , so much that they would not have any other firm touch it.
We re-cover this table twice a year for Summer and winter pool league start .

The finished table , a Supreme Prince
We always vacuum and clean the interior of the pool table , We do not do half a job , cleaning the inside of the table is just as important as the re-cover as this stops sticking balls and damage from customers banging the table down to free them .

After we have finished the re-cover and cleaned the inside of the table , we then check and adjust the level with a top quality Engineering level
If you have a pool table that you would like re-covering or maybe new cushions , and would like peace of mind that the work is carried out in the correct manner ,

then contact Geoff at GCL billiards

Email …. c.large@btinternet.com

or phone mobile 07753466064     9am to 7pm

or home office 0115 9725355          9am to 6pm  ( not always manned )

if we are busy working please leave a message  , it maybe that we are tied up for a few hours with a clients table install , remember we also do full size snooker tables and dismantling transporting and assembling these can take most of a Day , so please leave a message if we are unable to take your call .

Yesterday we visited Stapleford Cue Club ,this is a long running establishment of what I describe as a small comfortable club that has survived the downside of clubs up and down the country that are three times the size of this club and yet they closed , this shows that if you have a club with 6 full size snooker tables and 4 supreme winner pool tables you can survive as running costs are much lower .
Big is not always better as some will say

Over the years I have seen the club change hands 5 times since the 1980s , today we have Jed and Steve running the club , and I must say Jed keeps the tables playing in very good order , regular brushing and ironing and if there is a problem he only has to call GCL billiards in to sort it out .
Many skilled players play snooker and pool from Stapleford Cue club , but they never discourage the intermediate and entry level players from joining , in fact they encourage it , all they ask is that you respect the tables and the staff .
Above photo of table two was treated to a full re-cover in Strachan 6811 tournament gold 30 oz cloth , new extra extra broad bow leathers and a new set of high quality ring nets , this table has Steel block cushions , one of two tables out of the six full size tables at the club to have them . Steel cushions are professional tournament standard .
The Ambience of the club is just right for the modern player , OK there is TV and background music , but it is not too overpowering and I always enjoy working in this club , you get the bit of banter of which is sometimes pointed in my direction , but you have to have a sense of humor in most club’s .

the match table for pool is the very latest supreme winner , this table has one of the most accurate slates that I have worked on , some times these tables can sag down in the center , mainly due to people sitting on the tables and bending the body carcass  .
A good 90% of pool tables are slightly dished or sagging in the center , but this one is 100% perfect.
And with the same high quality Strachan 6811 gold tournament cloth fitted with good brushing and ironing , I would say it is one of the best pool tables in the area to play on .

all the latest Supreme winner tables have the new all metal chromed corner plates with raised lettering and also alloy cushion trim , some earlier models have black plastic trim and plastic chrome corners with sunken lettering , also the finish of the new tables is called black pearl , the old ones are black ash which is wood grained finish , as you can see this is the later Black pearl edition.

It was Jed who asked GCL billiards to supply the Racking cloth stickers , such was his care and attention to educate the players to always use these to stop excessive wear on the racking end of the table .
so if you are local to Stapleford or the surrounding area’s and wish to play on tables that are looked after , give Stapleford cue club a phone come on down and try the tables out as a guest , you may like it and decide to join .
with Beeston snooker hall closing and three clubs in long Eaton closed plus the odd social club closing , Stapleford Cue club is the place to play .
I have also heard rumours of other local clubs either reducing tables or closing too . one thing you can be certain of is that Stapleford cue club is well attended and so it is a survivor in the cue sports industry that has a roller coaster of a ride over the years .

Stapleford Cue club is situated behind Pizza hut
148 Derby road Stapleford Nottingham NG9 7AY ,
small car park at side of club .
Tell 0115 9394504  open from 12am most days .