Category Archives: News

This is a new client for us , a club in a very neat and tidy village setting near Burton on trent that have two snooker tables in separate rooms ,
one being a Riley which have had some top plates fitted at some point in it’s life ,the cushion wood at the end of these cushion is crumbling bad , hence why they had changed to top plates which are bolted to the cushion .
Most players do not like top plate tables as they have to cue over each finger of brass if a ball is close to the cushion at that point .

Table one getting to work on the cushion re-covering , you can just see the 2nd table through the doorway located in another room

It is hard to staple the cloth to fresh air !

Top quality strachan 6811 tournament gold 30 oz used on these tables

the cushions may be falling apart on this old riley , but the slates are perfect for joint and level , in the future this table will require a new set of cushions or a decent second hand set sourcing , it will then be a very good table once those top plates have gone .

Finished table , note the lighting , the club has had this lighting now for a couple of years , it is very good and much better than any coffin shade.

Another photo of the finished table , the cloth hides all the end rot of the cushions , and it turned out better than I thought it would , I could probably re-cover this table another 6 times , but sooner or later it will require new cushions.
Tomorrow I will re-cover the 2nd table a burroughes and watts steel block cushioned table with large tulip legs.

and here we have the photo’s of the Burroughes and Watts tulip leg steel block cushioned table at the club also having a re-cover in 6811 T cloth

Table being striped down and cushione re-covered.

From above photo’s we like to show all our Clients that we use the Best Branded and best grade for their use , in this case West of England Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz grade cloth .
this is the best cloth to use for serious use in club’s , you can get lower quality like what was used before in a wool man made fibre mix , but the 6811 tournament is fully 100% PURE NEW WOOL

Table finished and ready for play , cover also purchased to keep in good condition and to stop dust and colour fading , the new Peradon dust cover are lightweight and the best type to buy .
they do not fall apart like the old silver plastic one’s .
The club is highly delighted with the work that GCL billiards carried out

Another repeat work order from a local nottingham club . we booked this date in on my last visit 6 months ago , and have made arrangements to also call again to re-stretch one of the other full size tables they have in the billiard room , they three full size and a 7×4 pool table .

The Table before the re-stretch of Bed cloth

When I stripped the table down for the re-stretch , I noted that the last fitter had left too much cloth on the underside of the cushions , this would have packed the cushions out by the thickness of the cloth and also affected full bounce , so I trimmed this off as in the photo , the fitter who did this re-cover should have trimmed it off , but I guess he was in too much of a hurry and a few seconds here and there meant he was out the door and on his way , something that GCL billiards would not do is speed fit.

When I had restretched the cloth the old baulk line has moved back around 1/2 an inch , i erased this back with Acetone so as to make it not so much noticeable
The new Baulk line is marked out at 31 inch from end of slate .

The finished table , bed cloth restretched and marked out cushions refitted without the excess of cloth that the previous fspeed fitter had left , checked and adjusted for level and ready for play , we serviced the other two tables in the club tightening hooks and replacing missing rail nuts and marking out and Brushing and ironing .
We then moved onto the Pool table

the pool table was an old Super league , we have had a run on these tables just recently , the cushions on this table had rubber falling off the block from people sitting on the table .
I re-glued all the loose rubber and taped the cushions to prevent this happening in the future .

Mainly snooker played at this club , the pool table takes very little so they opted for the budget cloth , it is strill Strachan branded but is the thicker 777 quality.

Finished pool table , vacuumed out and cleaned ball rails , ready for use

On the way back from Butlins in Skegness we were asked to call in at Doddington Hall
The Owners wished to have a snooker table reinstated back into the main hall  .
this table was donated for use by the owners Grandmother  to the workman’s club which was located on  the Estate.
the club wanted to use the snooker room for other purpose so the table had been in store for around 2 to 3 years

A very early thurston slate bed table circa 1870

Frame roughly leveled and first three slates on

All slates on and wood tack linings fitted , table is fully level and ready to have bed cloth re-fitted , Note how thin the slates are this dated the table to 1870
1 inch slate on these threepenny bit style legs , i have worked on two or three of these type of tables , you may note from first photo of frame that it has nine slate supports ( inner muntins) , modern tables have 3 or 6 . and the latest have just 3 adjustable muntins supports.

Bed cloth re-fitted and marked out and ironed, and now refitting the cushions

on this table there are number discs on all of the upper polished parts of the cushions , these are for a skittle game , where you place skittles around the edge of the table one ball width plus clearance from the nose of the cushion at these disc locations , i have not played the game ,but can recall on my apprentice days nearly 40 years ago some people playing this at a club and the fitter I was working with looking at some instructions on marking the spots on the cloth for the skittles.

On this photo you can clearly see all the number discs on the cushion cappings.

the finished table , if you are visiting any where near Lincoln then Doddington hall is worth a visit , they have a farm shop and I think an hotel too .

http://www.doddingtonhall.com/

Last week I spent a few days at skegness Butlins . I was called in because they had three torn bed cloths on various tables plus some straps and nets where also worn out and three ball rails broken.

The first table is a Burroughs and watts Steel block cushioned table one of two of these tables that are located in the green baize Skegness.
This one had a L shape rip and was badly worn so required a re-cover .

this table although still had around 6 month wear left in the cloth the L shape rip was too large , so again we decided to re-cover this table too.

The badly torn cloth has been replaced and this table is now looking much better.
a complete re-cover , bed and cushions in Best Strachan 6811 Tournament gold cloth .

the burroughes and watts after a complete re-cover in 6811 Tournament gold .
again also bed and cushions replaced

This old riley imperial had a torn bed cloth so we decided as it was one of the side table to just fit a good condition second hand bed cloth , this will be due a re-cover in around 12 months time .
I would like to Thank Albert and Rob for giving GCL Billiards the repeat work , I apreciate it is hard to stay with one Billiards firm when they get many emails and phone calls from other firms asking to be considered for the work .
by staying loyal to GCL billiards they know That we will make sure we do not falter in the workmanship and pricing of the work completed.
We value Butlins custom and we would like to think we will be considered first for any cue sports work at Skegness Butlins , we know this is not guaranteed so we will stay competitive and keep our standards high as we would with any of our clients to maintain repeat work.

Have you ever experienced dead rock hard or spongy cushion’s on a pool table .
your game is spoilt by not being able to get the ball to bounce off and travel .

take a look at this set of rubber that I took off a table recently in Derby

it was that bad that it was stuck to the cloth that I was taking off the cushion , these perished rubbers are sticky to the touch and give off a foul smelling odour when you take the cloth off .

The set of cushions with no rubber on being glued and back edge of new rubber is also being glued with contact adhesive .
The table was an old lyme grove made around 1980 . and these looked like the original cushion rubber .
The table was purchased off Ebay 2 years ago , so beware of old tables on ebay and some not so old one’s that have rubber that is turning to soft gunge like this , or going rock hard.
it can be costly from £70 to £140 plus postage  for a new set of cushion rubber or replacement set of cushions .
this table was also recovered in strachan 777 Pool cloth in Burgundy Red.

I could have done without this messy job today but could not resist the challenge of getting it put right for our client  we are really busy at the moment the phone is none stop .
the next three days I am in Skegness at Butlins , they have had some vandals rip some of the cloths in the green baize Club so have called me in to repair them at short notice so had to juggle a few job’s around to fit them in .
but they are good clients and like anyone who has had work done for them by GCL billiards we do appreciate return custom , it also lets us know we are doing the work right as Butlins soon drop any Tradesmen who do not come up to to spec on work done.
other work in are 2 full size recovers in staffordshire , stretch and pool recover in Nottingham , two recover pool tables in Derbyshire, another recover in Nottingham for full size , recover pool table for Cricket board in loughborough , 2 set up full size snooker tables , 7 full size snooker recovers in Northamptonshire and two pool tables and one american pool , insurance job for dismantle and bring into store full size snooker , and around 4 stretch bed cloths plus our own rental pool tables maintenance and recovers etc .

I am away on holiday first week of July and it looks like we are going to fill most days in before I go away

I have been working in an old Mill the last couple of days , the work involved stripping off the old white low quality standard rubber and replacing it with best quality Northern rubber Uk made and as used by the world governing body and World Snooker on TV tournament tables.
I forgot to take my Camera with me the first day so sorry no photo’s of the actual re-rubber .
So here are a few Photo’s of the table just as I was finishing off .

the old Rubber that I took off , age is around 1980 and these still had some life left in them , but my client was having this table renovated for her Husbands Birthday .
and wanted it to be spot on for her Husband who was away for the week when I was told to come over and she actually booked me 6 weeks ago , he will get a nice surprise when he returns this Saturday .
The New cushion Rubber will last around 30 years in Home use , maybe more .
The cloth used was Best quality Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz , a good speed and medium thickness makes this cloth long lasting and fast if Brushed and ironed regular.
a nice close shorn nap , makes this cloth ideal for someone who requires accuracy in their snooker play .

There are a few grades of cloth in 6811 strachan this one being the top one and 6811 club being next quality down  , and there is is only £20 difference in price between these two grades of cloth .
A reputable firm will always fit and recommend the 6811 Tournament over the silver which is very slow and long napped , and not so reputable firms always fit substandard or lower quality cloth , and even chinese copy cloths so buyer beware get it in writing that they are using 6811 tournament 30 oz cloth and inspect the cloth before fitting as it is branded down one side edge .

The finished table , I must say I like the minstrel’s gallery around the upper floor , in fact I like the old mill as a building , just through the doors is a Brook with ducks and open fields
The Mill still has it’s large chimney and looks to have been a steam engine house outside too .
the owner was delighted with the work that was carried out , and i explained every step i took in the refurbishment of the table , explaining about the modern cut to the pocket opening , which where left exactly as before 4 inch to the fall , these are rather large pockets , but they like that size and would have struggled with their play on smaller pocket openings .
If you look closely just above the shade you may see a magnum of champagne , it is on a shelf just below the steel safety rail , this is for the first person to score 50 break or over , and it’s been there for 14 years unopened . Click on the photo to enlarge .

The owner also took my advise and had a new Peradon fitted dust cover and a high quality Peradon Pure Bristle brush to keep the cloth in good order , they are also going to buy a Dowsing Iron , having owned the table for 14 years they have never had a Table iron .
A new set of balls and 6 new cue’s have also been purchased .

we have had our fair share of Hazel Grove MHG super league’s this month already .
this table is at the estates club that also has a 9ft snooker table upstairs  .
the last person to recover it should have cleaned the inside of the table out , it was shocking !

The table above before I started to clean it out and re-cover it in 6811 Strachan pool cloth.

just look at the dirt and wax build up on the ball rails , I am sure the balls where sticking inside the table
If you allow a table to get in this state then the players will start picking the table up and slamming it back down to release a stuck ball , this will damage the feet and may even crack the slate.
This is why it is a must when re-covering to take slate out and clean the inside of the table out , wash down all ball runs and side eject tray .

It is easy to clean the rails , a bucket of warm soapy water and a washing up Brush is what I used on this table , but a wet cloth will also do the same job .

The side Eject tray will also collect dust and sweat wax and build up just like in this photo above .

the cleaned up ball eject tray , I also cleaned the swivel tray and side glass and the cue ball separator  device .
a clean ball tray and ball rails will result in NO BALLS sticking which makes for a much better game of pool without the frustration of a ball or balls sticking inside the table on the dirt wax build up.

I also noticed that the return spring had broken on the coin mech , i just snipped the brioken part off , prised a new loop on the existing spring and put it on the slide lug like below photo

A simple fix that took a couple of minutes

Finished table , cleaned out repairs done , and leveled ready for play and new ball skirt fitted.
I also noticed that the cloth before this recover had been spray glued on and was falling off the slate , he also got spray glue over the inside ball rails and centre ball run .
I asked who had done the last re-cover , and the owners said it was the slot machine people , they exchanged the cushions with a set that had already been done and re-covered the slate in 20 minutes with the spray on glue , GCL billiards took a full 2 and a half to  3 hours to complete the job properly , and that is the difference between a skilled billiards fitter and a speed fitter.
if you want a good job doing correct ,then get a cue sports table specialist who takes his time and carries out the work to a professional standard .

The superleagues have been making an appearance for me these last couple of weeks .
they where the top table to buy in the 1970s/80s , but with stiff competition from Supreme they have lost their top spot .
Superleague still make tables but they are much different to the old bench legged 1970s model , they are traditional style with turned legs and they also make a model with sloping plastic legs like the Supreme winner called the Magnum.
their other models being named Imperial and Winchester . these are the turned legged versions
So here we have the older superleague bench legged table , this one had a few problems in that the cushions where all mssing the centre fixings , lucky for our customer i had salvaged some second hand fixings from  the Derby job i did last Friday.

the table being glued for the bed cloth fixing.

the logo of the cloth we where using today , the standard Strachan 777 Pool cloth , this cloth requires a lot of Brushing and ironing to make fast .

the missing tumbler bolt , and replaced with some spare ones I salvaged from another second hand table in Derby .
These type of fixings are the fitters curse , they were never a good design , and were replaced with allen key bolts later on when the imperials where first introduced , but if you think these fixings are bad the mk1 one tables of the very early 70s had a cam fixing which used to unturn when balls hit the cushion , the tumbler has 4 prongs for a screw driver to slip into and turn to tighten , these snap off after a few re-covers..

the finished table in Royal Blue cloth , Our client also purchased from us a new set of spots and stripe balls .