Category Archives: News

We have just completed a 7×4 pool table re-cover that was for water damage , the actual table was in a basement that was flooded to about 2 inch only , but the damp air got into the cloth expanded the nap and was smelling a bit mouldy and with all the building work that has been ongoing to replace floors and skirting , the table was also covered in dust , our client got in touch with GCL billiards who are insurance approved renovators and like for like replacement if the damaged table is written off.
Our client was informed by a reputable insurance company in Michigan to get a quote from reliable cue sports companies to dismantle and move the table out of the flooded room to a safe area you can learn more about it here. after new flooring and skirting plus re-decorating , we returned to re-cover the table in a nice new Strachan Burgundy Red wool cloth , clean the cabinet out inside and out , spray furniture polish on and buff up as new .

GCL Billiards provided full invoice’s for the insurance company  for this two part job of dismantle and secure in safe area and also the return work of re-covering and put back in room polished and levelled  ready for play . If you have the misfortune of you’re table being damaged and wish to make a claim on you’re insurance , then please consider GCL Billiards and inform you’re insurance company that you have found an approved firm. In case one needs any legal help they can go on https://mslawllp.com/practice-areas/erisa-attorneys/
Our client was highly delighted and his feedback said , Delighted with the recover better than new!
we are not surprised at this because we actually fitted a better branded cloth than was originally fitted to the table from new!

Today we have been over to Kidderminster to dismantle and load a table that was bought new in January 1986 , it is believed that the table was played on by Rex Williams who’s daughter owned the house .
The snooker Room was in the back of the 3 car garage , so easy access to dismantle and load .
everything went OK , until I tried to remove the hidden knee panel inserts on each leg which hide the long frame bolt’s , these had expanded and where stuck solid, we had no choice but to inform our buying client of the problem and the way around this problem was to cut the panels by chisel to release the bond of the expanded panel  .
So the worse scenario is we have to make twelve inserts for the knee panels in mahogany when this table goes back together in it’s new home in Ashbourne Derbyshire.
The table was in fantastic condition  having no work done to it since the install New in 1986 and totally untouched  , only home use for 28 years and apart from the knee panel problem the table was a very good purchase .
An unusual leg design , this Wille holt table I think may be a 1 off , the serial number of the table being 159 / 1 , which I think means table number 159 design and number 1 in that design ?
I certainly have not seen another table either by photo or in the flesh with this table leg design .
If anyone can point me to another one then please inform us ?
here are a few photo’s of the dismantle load and store into a nice dry warm warehouse , where we think the table will be for around 5 to 6 months , this is because our buying client is just having his room built .
but he is safe in the knowledge that his table is stored correct in the right conditions , unlike some storage solutions which are damp and sometimes even wet with leaking roof’s and water running down the walls , GCL Billiards , will only use Dry storage from our storage partner Jonills Removals of Nottingham, who not only store the table but it is also covered by insurance while in their storage premises .
We do not charge any commission for Jonills storage you are charged by Jonills direct for the storage with proper invoicing monthly  , we would rather be safe in the knowledge that the clients goods are stored correctly and wrapped to the same code of practice as used by Home Removers and packers , and we have known Dave at jonills for over 30 years , and we know we are in safe hands .
we often recommend Jonills removals for house move’s and in return Dave use’s GCL Billiards as table fitters for any cuesports tables dismantle and assembly that he has to move within his normal business of house content moving.

Please click on the link below to take you to our feature for this table in our for sale section.

A rare size to find 10ft by 5ft ideal for those who have just not got enough room for a full size , this is the next one down as 11fts are even rarer to find.

Our client is desperate to sell the table as the house is now sold, so must go to a new owner very soon.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

We were contacted by a client who was in a bit of a panic, it was the usual problem, a house sale and the new owners did not want the table.  So it had to be out within two weeks.

I only had one person looking for a full size table and in fact I had earmarked another two tables for him, but when I saw the photo’s of this table and the predicament that the seller was in, we just had to see if it was possible for our wanted client to see the photo’s and help the lady out by agreeing to purchase the table and arrange for GCL Billiards to remove it quick.  The seller was in panic mode.  Selling a house is one of the most stressful experiences so they say.  Lucky for me I have moved twice and part exchanged each time so have not had this experience yet.

As you you can see in the photo that Sarah sent me, it is a very unusual leg design, a Burnley Billiards Willie Holt made table.  I think circa 1960’s, but it may be a little earlier.
After dismantle , How wrong could I have been , the actual date on the slate is January 1986 and has Italian slate on the table . I would have sworn it had 1950s style to the legs , must have been a retro design they thought of introducing . the legs are almost arts and crafts design which is much earlier .
I have been informed by Peter (100 upper ) on the snooker forum it was called the Master Billiard table and was advertised in October issue of Pot black 1989 magazine on page 19.

Sarah the current owner  says the table was once owned by Rex Williams Daughter , the snooker and billiards professional who was a  regular player on the table when first installed.

Our Buying client Pierre liked the table so we put buyer and seller together they thrashed out a price, and we are to collect next week for Pierre.

I would like to thank Sarah and Pierre for using the GCL Billiards free to use buyer and seller windows on our web site and for trusting us to act for both, free of charge, in helping to find a buyer for this table.  We have been rewarded with the work of collecting from Kidderminster and storing in our dry furniture warehouse in Nottingham.  Then re-rubber / re-cloth and deliver and set up in its new room in Ashbourne.

It goes to show that using our FREE to list table seller or wanted table sections can result in things working out.  If it’s not in the shop window or we do not know you want a table then we cannot do much for you, but if you use our FREE service then things can happen as has been proved many times in this service from 3/4 sized tables to full size we have helped move a few on this past year.

GCL Billiards is quickly becoming the place to advertise your snooker or pool tables.  We offer a better FREE service than Ebay or Gumtree, NO CHARGES and it is a cue sports site getting many hits from cue sports enthusiasts.  Our for sale section is often viewed by people scrolling through our web site content.  Make sure your advert for sale or wanted is in there next time they drop by for a look.

We are getting phone calls and emails every day with enquiries for us to buy full size snooker tables.
If you would like to advertise you’re table PLEASE USE Photo’s taken by a digital camera , sending photo’s to us taken with a mobile phone even iPhone’s means extra work for us and we just do not have the time to spend at a PC separating and posting  photo’s from a scrolling photo display sent from a mobile phone .
We have a couple of people looking for tables at the moment one looking for a nice 9ft Table and another for a full size table.

We get inundated with people offering tables for sale but there are less people looking for one .
We match up the seller to the buyer and let them thrash out a price themselves , please take into consideration any work that may require doing to the table when fixing a price ,a table in pristine condition will sell more easy than one requiring work if they are priced the same .
For an example only , We have people asking for £1000 for a table that requires over £1000 spending on it in removal set up re-rubber and re-cover fees , and other sellers asking £1000 for a pristine condition table , which one do you think the buyer would choose to buy ?

We also get on a regular basis a seller who has to move a table on within say a week or two because of a house sale or club close down  , these tables will only go for low money no matter what the condition , the only other choice for these sellers is to try and give the table away free or pay a Firm like GCL Billiards to dispose of it.
GCL billiards do not buy tables themselves , the market has slowed down that much that only a hand full of full sized tables are sold every year , the costs of buying tables in and paying rent and rates on warehouse far out way the profit margin of selling tables therefore many billiard companies do not store or buy tables any more,

Even Thurston the top billiard company in the UK refuses tables every week because they have enough in stock to last a few years yet so why take in any-more.
We do have a Dry storage for tables which there is a charge for if anyone requires a table storing , we use a large dry warehouse for this with no DAMP and the table is insured, if you require a table picking up and storing then phone Geoff at GCL Billiards for a quote.
If you have a 9ft or 10ft  3/4 sized table these are a little easier to sell and often fetch more money than a full sized table. We also move American and UK pool tables.

Don’t forget it is FREE to advertise you’re table on GCL Billiards web site we have thousands of hits from all over including abroad.
Just take around 5 photo’s with a Digital Camera of the table from different angles ,  one of the complete table with all accessories included on the table , one of the leg , one of the scoreboard , one of the light , one of a ball in the corner pocket taken from above the pocket opening .

Please remember to use a proper digital camera and send each photo as an attachment , not as a moving slide show . No Mobile Phone photo’s please .
we also like to have a post code of where the table is and also a price you are asking , if you are not sure of the price we can advise on what is selling what is not and at what price.
other must have info is , the table location  upstairs in a cellar or basement , parking good bad ,  access for large van to back up with no overhanging low trees or obstructions etc .
A table involving stairs is much harder to sell then one that is on a ground floor with easy access and parking for a large van.

we do not get too involved with the buying and selling as we leave that to the Buyer and Seller Direct , but we ask both parties to try and use GCL Billiards as the Firm to move and set up the table.

one last thing although we do not charge for our advertisement , we would like as goodwill gesture a £25 admin fee when the table is sold using a GCL billiards contacted buyer.
this is to cover Mobile Phone and time spent emailing at night time back and forth to prospective buyers.
we are sometimes up past  Midnight attending emails in the for sale enquiring section.

Email c.large@btinternet.com with any photo’s and information you have if you require a free advert placement on our website.
the more tables we have on the site the more enquiries we get about the tables , people do not like looking in empty shop windows , if you have a table for sale place a FREE add you have nothing to lose , and all to gain if  one of the many who look in our for sale section likes you’re table , if it’s not in the shop window to start with it cannot be sold .
What do the buyers get from it , a Table direct from the seller with no middlemen fee,s and direct contact with a reputable time served fitter who can arrange the transport and set up plus any work the table may require .

The last two days we have been dismantling a full size Karnehm and Hillman snooker table  from a large Victorian type house in the Park Nottingham to a small village called Widmerpool some 10 mile away .
unfortunately  my camera battery had ran out for the first part of the move , we had to dismantle the table and take the 5 heavy slates down the first part of the stairs , this was a dog legged steep stair case with very little room for 4 men and the slate .
the second set of stairs was accessed through another part of the building through a rented out flat , this stair case was much wider but had 4 turns in it , this proved just as hard an operation as the not so wide staircase , in fact in terms of difficulty , in 38 years of fitting this one will score in the top 5 worst jobs for getting a table out of a house.
it took us over two hours just to get the slate’s down stairs and onto the van .
we then  wrapped all the wood work up in blankets loaded these on and then transported it the short distance to the new location in Widmerpool which was an old Barn conversion .
We then reassembled the frame and levelled it , the slates where then placed on top , and fine level adjustments made , the joints where sealed with car body filler and slates slightly sanded in so it became one faultless bed of slate with slate linings attached ready for the next stage the following day .
the following day it was decided they would go with the original faded cloth , and maybe have a re-cover after Christmas .
The one surprise was that the table cost the new owner Nothing apart from our fees for moving transporting and erecting  , the previous owner tried to sell the table , but because of it’s double upstairs location finding a new owner proved impossible .
GCL Billiards where not afraid to quote for such a hard removal , we are specialists having the right equipment such as  a slate slide and piano trolleys to make life so much easier when dealing with such heavy objects. the customer did provide two good men though to reduce costs .

This is the Karnehm and Hillman Buckingham model with tulip shaped legs in mahogany and scrolls in the frame work , the thing that stands out with all K&H tables is they have buttons on the cushions and frame where most modern tables have a slide , they are a very well respected table .
the above photo’s are of the table in it’s new location , all the furniture and plants have yet to be moved , the owner is putting 4 large chandeliers above and between those roof A frames .

This week we where contacted by Derby county Academy and training Ground Admin.
The job was a Re-cover of 7×4 Slimline Supreme Prince pool table in the players Canteen area .
on strip down we found that the Cushion rubber had gone rock hard which results in no bounce in the cushion.

here in the first photo, you can see that the top cushion is starting to crack and the rubber is very hard to the touch , 4 cushions where like this with the other two going the same way .

We re-covered the main slate bed in Strachan pure new wool cloth , and took the cushions back to our workshop for new rubber to be fitted and shaped , the next day we had a re-cover of pool table in Mansfield then we returned to Derby county Academy to fit the new rubber cushions back onto the table .

I must say the set up at Derby County is very good , the academy training ground  has very good facilities , I did not let on that I had been a Nottingham forest fan for all my life as where my Sister and Brother’s , but they can at least let me off that as our Father was a Ardent Derby county fan , living on the Nottingham / Derby border you had to choose one team or the other,We chose Forest but my Dad always listened to Derby on the Radio , he was Blinded in a car crash when he was 26 and lived until he was nearly 83 , I do not watch live football any more but do follow all local teams including Mansfield and Nott’s County and Kimberly Town who I used to play for over 20 years ago.
I now watch Live Ice Hockey , and have been a season ticket holder at the Nottingham Panthers since the 1980’s .

We where given the go ahead to start the maintenance of three Full size snooker table’s near Derby last week .
Starting off with one Re-cover in 6811 tournament Strachan cloth , and two re-stretch bed cloths at a later date to be arranged .
the Establishment is a very old Institute , and the inside is like going back in time with it’s Victorian looks .
the table we where working on last week was a Riley in oak , it has had some very shoddy work carried out on it in the past and the cushions are split along the grain of the oak capping’s near the corner pocket plates , on closer inspection we found that large screws had been inserted from the end of the cushion to hold the pocket plate flat lug plate in position , this we think has split the capping surround even more .
We recommend some second hand cushion sourcing at a later date to rectify this problem , in the meantime just a re-cover was required with two replacement nets .

as you can see it was ready for a re-cover as the end cushion was starting to split it’s cloth covering.

this the finished table ,as you can see it was rather dusty from the old chalk dust coming off the old cloth , this floats around and reflects the flash and shows up as spots on the photo as it reflects the flash of each dust particle.

This is an old Burroughs and Watts 8ft Billiards table , this institute was established around 1900 , it would have been a very busy club in it’s day from 1900 to around the 1960s
To find a smaller table like this still in it’s original placement from that time is like finding it in a time warp , you can see they have enough room for three full size but could not get another one in so decided to have a 8ft sized one .
Note all those old cue cases on the wall , this is how it used to be back in the day each member keeping his own cue at the venue in a tin plate cue case hung from a hook on the wall , I have known some very nice collectable cue’s found in cue case’s like these  from such club’s as this one , I have known all 4 walls be covered with such cue cases .