This week we have been very busy starting off in Worksop Nottingham with a pool table re-cover , then over to Castle Donington to install a pool table we sold.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we where up in Clitheroe in Lancashire installing a full size snooker table then we re-covered it in best Strachan 6811 west of England cloth
on the way back I called in at Blackburn to inspect a badly fitted table with pocket problems and bad packing under the slate .
There is some major issues with this table that could have been sorted by the seller at the warehouse or workshop before they took it out and fitted it , I was asked for a report on the table which I gave and I think I shall be hearing from the owner to put the problems right .
On Thursday I travelled over to Forest town just the other side of Mansfield to re-cover a nice home play pool table , and in the afternoon over to Bingham to level an American pool table that some removal firm had installed and very nearly broke the table doing so .
This American 8ft table had a three section slate bed and the cushions bolted through holes in the side , they took the legs off at the home they where moving it form and then put the legs back on when they installed the table in the new home ,
the piano trolley they used had bent the side cushions in and I not only had to sort that out but also put extra screws in the legs which where in danger of falling off , now this client had young children who could be crawling under the table and if the legs came adrift the table would come crashing down on the toddler , a truly shocking job , that table should have been fully dismantled and moved in sections then re-set back up, the owners where very lucky no one got injured , do not let Removal men touch a sectional bed cue sports table , call in a professional billiards fitter for this work , it may cost more but the implications of what can go wrong is worrying .
On Friday just one local job about 3 mile from where I live , this was a first edition winner supreme pool table with rock hard rubber in the cushions and in need of a re-cover , I had been recommended tot his client by 2 or 3 people so the word gets around the local pool leagues on who to get in to re-cover their tables.
Recommendation is the best compliment any firm can get , it shows you did a good job on the clients tables and impressed that much that they are spreading the word around their friends who then also pass on the recommendation of using Geoff at GCL billiards to do any maintenance on their cue sports table.
here are a few photo’s of two local pool tables re-covered this week , one had a brand new set of cushions fitted .
The oak colour wood home play table in forest town Mansfield . during strip down, all the staples in the cushions where removed , we do not do speed work and staple over staples .
and The forest town oak colour home play table after a re-cover in Strachan 6811 all wool cloth , Green is the most restful colour to the eye and that is why it is the most used colour in our part of the world anyway
the Sandiacre mk1 Supreme winner , just unscrewed the cushions and trying the new cushions for size , the new cushions where around 1/8th longer , but our client was pleased with that as tighter pockets will improve his game
The reason we replaced the cushions , as you can see this old red rubber is starting to turn over . it is also rock hard , even harder then the soft wood that it is attached to , the balls where hitting the cushions and just dead no rebound at all it was like hitting an iron bar , the rubbers having solidified that much .
note the woolly unbranded cloth used , I often get people saying a firm is quoting £20 less than you to recover my table , well here is what you will get for £20 less rubbish none branded thick woolly cloth .
I use Strachan branded cloth all wool construction in two grades for pool tables 777 and the much desired 6811 as used and played on by county players as well as on Match tables in clubs and pubs up and down the country .
There are other brands offering good quality but the Strachan 6811 is good for wear the other thinner cloths may be very fast but do not expect good life out of the cloth .
The finished supreme winner mk 1 pool table , note the alloy trim around the outside edge and the alloy body corner sections , as well as the flat chrome corner plates , the actual body and legs of the table has changed very little on later models of the winner , this table is now playing very good , it is good for level and the cushions are superb the balls fly around with very good rebound value of over 7 cushions when a ball is thrown around the table in a clockwise direction .
these rubbers will get even more rebound value once bruised in .
The client is that keen he bought a proper billiard iron , a new set of balls , and the very best pure pig split end bristle brush you can find .
Below is the latest type of winner supreme , you can see the changes mostly in the top surround
the difference is , corner moulded chrome pocket plates , curved over top surround with no alloy trims , the corners of the main body is black and not alloy finish , and the internal runners have a groove in them to stop balls jumping up out of the pocket .
and the black finish is not wood grained but matt finish called Black pearl , the supreme winner is the most popular pool table in the UK , and they seem to hold their second hand value because they are very sought after in the second hand market , some times it is best to buy new because you will get the satisfaction of new balls / new cushion rubber / and new cloth , I have seen second hand winners sold for around £400 which require new cushions / new cloth / and new balls add these to the price of the £400 and you are around the £650 price range , now look on Ebay and see what some are selling a brand new home play supreme winner in Black pearl for , you will be surprised that the price is a round the £650 to £700 price , so was it worth buying second hand ? and you get all the
latest design improvements like the new metal moulded corner plates and anti bounce out ball rails , and an unmarked as new Black pearl finish and you can specify 6811 Strachan cloth .
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A table I re-covered a few month’s ago . this one is the latest design.
the latest corner plate with supreme moulded raised lettering .
A close up of the corner plate on the latest winner , note the black pearl anti glare finish ,and improvement over the shiny black ash which reflected the light into your eyes when playing .
An improvement in the ball rails was made because the flat curved shiny type the balls bounce upwards and back onto the table , the newer slotted type with allen key fixing is the best type to have , we can supply and fit the new type as a replacement to the curved shiny bounce out type at the same time you have a re-cover , just ask for these to be put on the van if you book us for a recover for a Supreme winner or Prince model they both take the same size and type runners.
