Category Archives: News

Today I have been over to a mate’s club local to me in Stapleford Nottingham , to install two Winner supreme Pool Tables .
I picked one of these tables up for them last night from Lincoln that they bought off Ebay , and what a cracker they got almost as new , but I had to change the cloth over to Green on both Tables  , the other one was in Red and was very dirty , but this table was only 2 years old and had the newer Die-cast Chrome corner pockets and the newer Black Pearl finish which replaced the Black Ash Finish  around 2 years ago.
the club is going to host some tournament’s now they have 4 Winner supreme Pool tables .
By taking out some seating area to make the pool area larger they still have plenty of cue room around all 4 tables , in fact quite a bit of room !
when stripping down the tables I found that one had excessive spray on glue residue , especially  around the pocket area , if this is left in place then a ball rolling towards the pocket can suddenly slow down on the cloth as it approaches this residue .
GCL Billiards do not use spray on glue when attaching their cloth to the slate , we use hand comb spread contact adhesive , this makes a good bond and the cloth cannot peal off , this happens very often with the spray on glue , cloth will start to come away from the slate normally around the pocket fall areas .
We use acetone or a solvent to take the old glue off the slate , you can see what a difference this makes to the slate , a good clean level slate will perform much better , and because top class tournaments are being played here , we had to get the tables spot on , but we always take this care and attention for any table we do .
If you want you’re table recovering correct get GCL billiards in , we take our time to make sure the work is done right and the customer is happy .
take a look at the following photo’s to see how we went about doing this work in sequence
cushions covered and fitted / removing old glue with acetone / Slate cleaned and lightly sanded to remove dust and fluff . / preparing for New cloth to be glued old cloth is used to protect upper surface as we glue /  New cloth fitted 6811 gold grade Strachan /  tables being levelled  / level is now spot on , slates are perfect now they have been cleaned before fitting of cloth .

the two tables that where both bought off ebay at very good prices , one came from London which the club owner collected, and the other from near Lincoln , the London table is less than 2 years old , it has a different finish to the other three black tables on site , that finish is called Black Pearl and will be the main match table  , this table also has the upgraded chrome corner plates which are metal , unlike the older models which have chrome plastic corner plates and Black wood-grain ash finish , it is easy to spot these newer tables look for raised lettering on the corner plate on the metal type and no wood-grain in the black finish and imprinted lettering of the plastic plates .

Today I have repeat business to our client in Derby last year I re-rubbered the metric Thurston table  and stretched this table’s bed cloth , over two days I will be re-rubbering and re-covering a full size George Wright table , and stretching a bed cloth on a Thurston metric sized table , today’s work was to do the re-rubber and the stretch , which we have now completed , tomorrow we will be re-covering the George Wright full size with Strachan 6811 tournament cloth .
here are a few photo’s of the re-rubber work .

Above photo’s show the cream coloured Lint cloth that was fitted on a renovation of the table in 2006 it was also re-rubbered at the same time and a full re-polish of the table , this work was carried out by a fitter that I know , that works to the old methods of covering cushions where a Lint underlay was also fitted , Modern ways of re-rubbering is to fit 2 inch gaffa sticky tape to the top of the rubber after shaping .
The old method is a throw back to what some call Cushion stuffing , this was when no rubber was used on Billiard tables in the early 1800’s , the old method of cushion stuffing was to lay layers of felt in what is now rubber and cover it with a lint then cover with billiard cloth , and the person who did this was called a Cushion stuffer , My fitter Friend who did the last refurb in 2006 , still refers to fitting rubber as stuffing cushions  , I respect his views on this as he like’s to stay loyal to the old ways , and he also still use’s 3/8th tacks to fasten the cloth to the cushion where in nearly all of Billiard fitters for the past 30 to 40 years use staple gun’s when recovering cushions .

here via the link are photo’s of stuffed cushion section and various rubber designs used in the day , and what was to be the first type of cushion rubber used called strip or laminated rubber , you can visit the Norman Clare’s website  to read about the history of table fitting and equipment used .  here is the link to Norman Clare’s web site .   http://www.normanclare.co.uk/normans-lectures/billiard-table-cushions/

I like the fact that there are a few of the old teachings still being practised , and I can show in these photo’s and the Clare link the difference of modern covering of cushions against the old way .
My personal theory on Lint under covering is that the rubber is not being fully used as the double cloth covering absorbs some of the rebound value .Hence why the owners of the table asked for re-rubbering after just 7 years of the last rubber that was fitted .

As can be seen from the next photo , all that lint pulling off has released fibres into the air , and the camera flash is rebounding back off them showing up as spots on this photo.
You can see on the table my Glueing board with the new set of Northern rubber ready for glueing , also the cushions are ready for the blocks to be glued also.

Once Rubber has been glued the shaping of the pocket openings to template can be cut , then rasped and sanded smooth.

The above photo’s show the Quality of rubber used , as always we use the best Northern rubber made in Retford Nottinghamshire,
and the other photo shows the cushion tape applied to the top of the rubber and the block , this tape is also bent over into the cloth retaining slip slot , to anchor the tape at the rear, and with the 2 inch tape also bonded to the top of the block and the rubber , when players sit on the cushion it helps keep the rubber fastened to the block , not that you should allow anyone to sit on cushions .

This photo shows the metric Thurston table , this was down for a re-stretch , the Metric table is around 1.5 inch smaller than a full size table , this was because they where going to use metric slates , but other firms voted against it , Thurston had around 100 sets of slate on order so had to make a few metric sized tables.
tomorrow I will be adding a few more photo’s of the re-cover on the George Wright Table .
and here they are , a cushion starting to be recovered , the marking out of the bed cloth and the finished table

c

Today we have given an old Orme and sons table located in the centre of Leicester a new lease of life
This top of the range in it’s day circa 1910 with walnut veneers over oak and ebony  trim deserves to be looked after .
Around 3 or 4  years ago I worked on an identical table that was fully renovated and sold for £10.000 including installation .
this table would require around £3000 spent on it to be valued at that price . the good news for them is the table that was renovated was in worse condition than this one with half a leg missing !
Our instructions was not to spend a lot of money on the table ,but just to make it playable , so we sourced a second hand bed cloth recovered the cushions with new cloth and replaced the nets and leathers with new one’s.

The table before we fitted a Second hand bed cloth and new cushion cloth plus nets and leathers.

The Second hand bed was in really good condition and we rated it a 8/10 for having only 20% use from new and only had one small cue stab nick in it which we sewn up .

The nets and leathers replaced with ones that at least cover the whole pocket plate , just compare the photo’s from above of the old leathers with gaps between cushion and pocket plate .

The attractive carved , multi fluted oak legs , makes this table a top of the range table in it’s day , the black wood you see is solid ebony trim , this table was produced around 1910 with thick 2 inch welsh slate which is in very good condition with no chips out of the slate joints , I get tables that we have to scrap most weeks , if this table ever came our way we would never scrap it , the workmanship by Orme on this table is top notch and deserves to be looked after , maybe a complete renovation .
The players who use the table have access for free and no revenue is collected , this is the main reason there was no fund’s for the table to be looked after in the past , I have a had a word with the guy’s and they are keen to look after this table now it is in a playable condition , they hope to raise the funds in two years time collecting a couple of £s per day to raise enough cash  to re-rubber the cushions and re cloth again this time in new cloth , they have promised to at least clean and beeswax the table woodwork in the meantime .

I have lost my photo of the carved oak table the same as this that was renovated around 2010 but have managed to find one for sale at Hamiltons exactley the same and the next photo shows the end frame work of that table . Hamiltons only give POA , the table above once had the same colouration as the table below . You can clearly see it is an identical designed table .

The past three days I have been staying over in Coventry in  a B&B , close by I was working on two full sized Thurston Snooker tables .
The tables have had some rough recovering work done to them in the past with split cushion capping’s from the oversized pocket plate bolts being the main reason.

We used the best materials as always to do our recovering and re-rubber work , Northern Rubber is the best in the World and made just up the road from us in Retford Nottingham .

after taking off the old rubber and making a template for the new pocket openings , we set about glueing the cushion blocks and the new rubber ready to put on the cushions

We recover our tables in Strachan West of England 6811 Tournament cloth 30 oz weight , this cloth is the one most recommended by billiards firms , it wears good , plays well , much better than the Club cloth that was fitted by the previous fitter.

the tables had one disturbing fault that was the result of bad workmanship in the past , the pocket plate bolts where too long , and the fitter had wound them up tight and as they passed through the pocket plate lug , they protruded too far and split the polished wood work capping on the top surround , these will require replacing but we have added extra washers to make sure they do not protrude as a stop gap repair .
We have added  two photo’s of the bad workmanship from the previous firm below . note where one fitter has tried to nail it back down only to hit the brass lug of the pocket plate that is hidden under the wood ?


We noted that on one table the end slate was warped or dished as we like to say , this resulted in the ball rolling away from the cushion at the D end , this was also the same on the other side so we know it is in the slate and cannot be levelled out , if they had adjustable slate supports we could have started to get the dished slate level by raising the centre of the slate up on the adjustable muntins ( slate support).
I have aligned the 4 balls in the next photo to give you an idea of what to watch out for , if this happens from both sides where ball rolls into the table it is dished slate , if it rolls towards the cushion on the other side it could be levelled out by use of jack and shims .

We have recommended that they change the lighting to the modern Strip high frequency white light units. , this is one of the worst shades I have seen with bad nicotine staining , there is no reflection of light , it must be like playing snooker in a coal mine with just a light bulb above the table , playing under these lighting conditions.
The next photo the condition of the Shade !
for comparison we have added another photo of another Client’s table who did have the new lighting installed .


We offer the best advice and always offer value for money , sometimes Clients may take offence with some of the ways we describe faults with their tables , but we only have their best interests at heart , we like to guide our clients to a better way of keeping their table playing well and in better conditions of play , and keep costs down in the long run .
We never force our way onto our clients we just suggest a better way using proper materials that play well and last long  , and this speaking from over 38 years of personal service as a Billiards fitter.
we do not take our advice and reprint it from a book on our web pages like some firms do  , it is from personal experience that we offer our own learnings and pass this information onto the client.
we also know by feedback of our site  by showing some faults on job’s that we have come across , this will show other new clients what our values and goals are , to do a good job using the best materials and improve their table conditions for a better playing experience.
If you want you’re table maintenance carried out by a Professional  Time served Billiard table fitter who care’s , then phone Geoff Large on 07753466064 or email Carol Large on   ( c.large@btinternet.com )

As goodwill gesture I would like to recommend the B&B that I stayed in , Lodge Farm B&B and my host Heather who made my stay most welcome , I would recommend this B&B if staying around the Coventry area and post this link to it

http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/lodgefarmhouse.html
At just £35 per night for a single room and £55 for twin double  it offers really clean accommodation with a great full English breakfast . and good secure off road parking , with good choice of pubs and restaurants close by . tel 0247 646 6786 ask for Heather.
I have stayed in some rough B&B and hotels in my time travelling around the UK fitting tables at twice the cost of this establishment , and when you find a gem like this you keep it logged in a book for future use . 5 star accommodation at 3 star price.

We have just refurbished a 7×4 Supreme Winner pool table in Hucknall , this table had a loose top and gaps under the cushions , the back hinge side was making a rattle sound as a ball rebounded against the cushion , and the rubber was unresponsive , on strip down we found the hinge was loose , the slate cross supports where coming apart from the side of the table , the rubber was the old original red rubber which was dry and hard .

photo showing strips of cloth added for slate uplift .

We set about repairing the cross members by re-glueing and screwing the block supports back to the side of the table, this we did by using a ratchet strap to pull the sides of the table together , while the glue was drying we set about the recover in 6811 Strachan cloth , as we stripped the cushions down we found that the old red rubber was going hard , this was the reason there was no bounce in the cushion , we replaced the cushions with a new set of Supreme cushions with Black rubber , these will now give a good rebound to the cushions and play just like a brand new table .

photo below of new Supreme black rubber  cushions with one of the old cushions showing the old red rubber

we then attached strips of cloth to the under slate supports to raise the slate that 1/16th so that the gap between the cushion and the slate was gone .this will also make the table play much better . the hinges where screwed back up tight and the top surround is now much better .
This table went from a Wreck to one that can now be used in league Pool , the team are highly delighted with the table now it is playing well .

With the best quality 6811 Strachan cloth , the new Supreme cushions , and level , NO gaps between slate and cushions , and tight hinges ,  the finished table below.

Today I have been to a local private house to complete a re-cover in 6811 pool cloth , the pool table was an Excel  make in a nice beech colour.
the table was 6 years old but after the re-cover it looked like it was as new.
the table is situated in a very large south facing conservatory and the cloth had bleached to a very faded  sea foam green colour . in this photo I have laid a section over the new cloth for comparison as the owner removes lost chalk from the inside of the table.

We have been inundated with enquiries now the Winter is approaching it is going to be very busy period on the approach to Christmas , one phone call today was for me to go over to Nottingham City Centre  to have a look at a full size snooker table that had some water damage from a bathroom pipe leaking above the room , this table also was due a re-rubber  the quote has gone in for a re-rubber / re-cover plus new nets and leathers and level of table .

We have confirmed work for two re-rubber / recovers next week in the Coventry area , one 9ft billiard table move from near Retford in Notts, to just outside Great Yarmouth.
also in as confirmed work is another  re-rubber / recover on table 1 and stretch bed cloth on 2nd table  in Derby , and in burton on trent  an unusual Carom table moveand possible re-cover  , that’s a table with no pockets , they call them Continental billiard tables and play a game called three cushion billiards on them ,  We have many pool table’s to re-cover  now that the winter league has started , our pool table rental business is also taking off again with two tables going in this month and one next month , we also have service work booked out and some work in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire  should be coming in soon . we have 5 full size snooker tables to put back into order for a large snooker club locally having suffered from a break in that resulted in many thousands of pounds worth of damage , they took the brass pockets off 10 full size snooker tables along with every brass hook for scrap value , but it was the way they did it , by taking a sledge hammer to the cushions they smashed all the woodwork up  . plus took all the copper pipe from the ceiling resulting in water coming down onto the table’s.
All that damage to the snooker tables in what must have made them around £30 in brass scrap value for ten sets of pocket plates and some hooks .
the new cushion estimate is around £6,000 to £8,000 for the 10 tables and with decent second hand cushions around £1500 , we think we can get him second hand cushions at a decent price.

We are aiming for our core business to be in the East Midlands area , but we will venture outside this area , having recently completed work in the counties of Yorkshire , Northamptonshire, Staffordshire , Shropshire , and Worcestershire .
we like to get about

We have just completed another dismantle and set up of a full sized snooker table.  This one was from one room to the room next door so an easy job for us.  The table was manufactured by the late Mick Robb of Belvoir Billiards.

Mick Robb used to subcontract to my uncle’s firm many years ago in the late 1970s.  It was at this time that I had took an interest  in the art of becoming a Billiards fitter.  Mick took me under his guidance for nearly 6 years and he then advised me to join a well established Billiards firm to perfect my skills even more.

The table below was made by Mick in his two Army huts that he had installed on some land at the rear of his house in Aslockton, near Bingham in Nottinghamshire.  He used the finest mahogany and always made the cushions very sturdy and used BCE match play pocket plates on every one of his tables.  As soon as I set eyes on this table I informed the owner who had made the table.  That was without even seeing the name plate on the end cushion.  Our client was impressed that I knew who had made his table.

Mick lived very close to Belvoir castle, so named his firm Belvoir Billiards.  He affixed the name plate ‘The Belvoir’ on many of his tables.

The photo below shows the table in the new room that the owner asked us to put it in.  We think it was put  in this room to start with, then moved to a new large extension.  It has now been moved back by the current owners, who inherited the table with the property two years ago.  There is much better daylight in the extension whereas the centre room is rather dark, so they wanted to make the living room into the snooker room and vice versa.

We arrived at 10 am and were finished by 3 pm.  All set up, brushed, ironed, re-marked out, levelled and ready for play, apart from a new light which they are having fitted at a later date.

If you require your table moved, have it done by an expert and call GCL Billiards in to do the work for you.  Email c.large@btinternet.com or phone 07753 466064 for a quote.