Category Archives: News

This job is one that I have been going to for many years , unable to get A firm to come in and recover the tables , GCL billiards was contacted for quotes for a maintenance  contract , we called in to service the tables first and then give a report on the condition , that was two months ago , it was arranged with us to start the recovering in august and just have a recover and stretch agreement and they will call us if they require any service visits in between as an extra.
this agreement has saved the Club around £200 per table on their old quote , and they are highly delighted with the work .

The Bonus for this club is they have the same grade  of cloth fitted, Strachan 6811 tournament  , by the same fitter who has done the work for the past 30 odd years , but at  a much lower service quote .
GCL Billiards will work with you to find a more competitive quote using the best materials. just phone Geoff on 07753466064 or email c.large@btinternet.com

all that requires doing now is to replace those old fashioned Hartley engineering billiard lights for the 2 new High Frequency twin tube soft white light , lighting units .
I will be writing to the club to recommend doing this , as many club’s in Derby have gone down that route of replacing the old lighting for the new.

The start of the recover and the finished recover with players on the table .

the old and new , nets and leathers replaced , looks like the old leather still had cigarette smoke in from before the smoking ban

and the new net and leather

The middle pocket opening

the right hand table now finished

This week we also visited a table that we re-covered a year ago , we contacted our client  and reminded him that his table was due for a stretching of the cloth and new nets and leathers as we had recommended a year ago , The table had only a few games played on it since the re-cover  , but the cloth did stretch 1 inch from each end and 1/2 an inch on the sides , the old leathers where rock hard and the brass plate was showing , the table now plays faster with it’s re tightened cloth and the pockets look very smart with their new nets and leathers fitted right up to the woodwork .
I often hear of people say that snooker cloth should not be stretched , that is a myth spread by people too tight to pay for it , all cloth will slacken off with time , and it is custom in our industry to recommend a re-stretching of the cloth to not only speed the travel of the ball , but to also prevent rucking as the cue stabs the cloth , this rucking can sometimes cause a rip in the cloth by the cue ferrule cutting into the gathered cloth , and it normally is a large L shape rip , to help prevent this always have you’re table bed cloth stretched at least one time in it’s life span , we recommend after one year. We also clean the slate of chalk dust , especially around the ball position spots , people bang the balls on the spots , this vibrates chalk dust towards the impact and crushed it , this then builds up to a small mountain (Lump) under the cloth at the spot which we remove when the bed cloth come’s off.
The only cloth I do not recommend for re-stretching is Strachan No 10 and Hainsworth match , as these cloths are ultra thin , we fit them and just let them wear out and this will not take long as they are thin cloths already, it is not unusual for these type of cloths to only last 6 months in club use , and a year in private use.
Any other grade of cloth such as tournament or club or Smart  made by these two firms should have a re-stretch at some point in it’s lifespan , we also clean the slate of chalk dust and check and adjust level at the same time .

We removed the old Baulk line with Acetone , and remarked the new Baulk  about 1/2 inch further back so that it covered the old baulk which had moved back because of the re-stretching , this made the re-stretch that much neater , although the baulk is now 1/2 inch further back it is a trade off , neatness or accuracy of marking out to match spec. I always ask the client what he prefers , marking to spec or neatness of table , most choose the neatness .

Would you know the baulk was 1/2 inch out ? …………. I doubt it

The table after the re-stretching and new nets and leathers fitted

We are this week completing a job of 6 K steel american  nine foot pool table’s that we transported from Mansfield Rileys that had closed down to a town in Derbyshire , we set two tables up with part one of the work , but the room  bookings for the other part of the Room for other use prevented us from installing the other 4 tables , now those room booking’s have been completed we are free to get on with phase two , the install of 4 K steel tables .
When we arrived we found all the parts that we carefully stacked in order had been moved and all mixed up because of room decorating  , although these tables are universal and any part will fit any table , I have been trained to always keep a table together , that way it always goes back up with no problems .
so we set about sorting all the parts out on the floor to make sure we where putting the tables back together as they came apart

First photo is of all the frames set out for identification and ready to assemble

Second photo is of the 4 frames set-up and in position allowing for cue room and a few tables and chairs ,and  the first set of slates on the far corner table

the next photo is of the tables all level and the slates are on , the joints have been filled with soft sand Car Body filler for nice smooth slate joints , and are now ready for the next job of putting the new cloth on , we have made a start of stripping the cushions , our plan is to do two tables tomorrow and two the next day , we will not rush and get the tables done in less days , we like to get the tables right we spend a lot of time on the level of the table before we move onto the re-covering ,  we are not speed fitters .
we will add to this job description report tomorrow with more photo’s.

The next 2 photo’s are the tables with the cloth being put on , the slate beds have been recovered and we are laying out the cushions to attach the upper cushion shroud before  fixing to the top

the finished job looking from the bottom end

As you can see we got the tables perfectly in line to each other , nothing spoils a room more than tables not being in line with each other , let’s hope they fit the lighting in line too which is going up tomorrow.

Another view of the finished tables form the window end , at this end we had to move the tables again after we had recovered them , they wanted to put a TV lounge at one end of the room , by moving the tables for them we created enough space for our clients to do this ,We have special lifting jacks and heavy  duty trolleys for moving these tables in one go within a room, if you have this type of Sam k steel pool table DO NOT TRY and lift these tables you will do damage not only to yourself but also the slate bed which is tied down with bolts to the frame , a few photo’s of the American New York skyline a route 66 sign and maybe a Murial of the statue of liberty will give the room the american feel they are looking for , I  was at the Range superstore in Nottingham the other day and noticed they have plenty of american themed photo’s some 4 foot by 4 foot a  Murial of the New York skyline in day and night , so have advised they get down there and buy some , they where very keenly priced . a few TV screens are also being dotted around the room and a jukebox .

We have collected  a winner supreme pool table for renovation in Derby , the finish of the cabinet is called Brushed alloy , someone took a T cut and tried to make the top surround chrome ? they made a right mess of the top surround , we had a choice silver wrap fablon or silver spray paint , we tried the fablon but it did not look good , so we decided the spray paint was the best way to go.

A photo of the table before we cleaned it up

The cabinet was OK , but it did have a few scuff marks here and there which we could not do anything about , but we sprayed the top with a silver alloy finish paint , renewed the cushions and recovered the table in 777 Strachan cloth , we gave the entire table a thorough clean out , the feet where clogged with dog hairs , and the inside was like a rubbish bin had been tipped up inside it .
it is amazing what traffic film remover can do to spruce a table up , just by a good clean and degrease the table now looks presentable.
We where doing the table up for a sporting organisation in Derby , we like to do our bit for the local community and renovated this table at cost for them, after we inspected a table they all ready had on site which was falling to bit’s and new parts where not available as the table was made in the early 1980’s , we suggested a low cost option to replace at cost , which they agreed to do . and we are sure they will always contact GCL Billiards for any future re-covering work .

A photo of the winner supreme pool table after we renovated it in Strachan cloth and new cushions , plus coin mech and new door locks.

We  donated Free a set of rules a cover & new set of balls and cue’s plus triangle brush and 12 chalk

Two days work this Friday and Saturday to complete a re-rubber and re-cover of a full size snooker table in Loughborough, we have been really busy  and this job has been on hold until this week as we could just not fit it in , so we put a Saturday into the job to complete it .
The table is a Riley square leg that the owner bought with the property , the last recover was done in very poor unstamped no brand cloth , the slate joints where showing through the cloth , and the table was out of level , the pocket leathers where also worn and showing brass pocket plate that the balls where getting chipped as they where striking the pocket plate.

First job was to strip down the table and inspect for any faults , there where two that stood out , no6 cushion has a loose cushion rubber block and the slip was nailed in making the block come away from the cushion body , a loose rubber block will cause a dead spot on the cushion and the slate joints where bad  , we removed the rubber and screwed the block back onto the cushion body , then we re-rubbered the table using Genuine Northern rubber made in Retford Nottinghamshire .

as you can see the two photo’s above , the block has  a gap at the rear of the cloth retaining slip rebate slot , after the gap is now closed up as we screwed the block back on to the cushion body using 2 inch screws every 8 inch .


the above two photo’s of the re-rubber in process , the blocks have been stripped of all rubber and the new rubber is being attached using good quality contact adhesive , the next process was to cut the new angle at the middle and corners from a template for 3.5/8th wide at the fall , and to undercut but leave a flat face on the rubber into the pocket opening , we take great care in getting the rubber to be smooth and flawless on the pocket openings . the single staple is just a precaution to stop the rubber coming off the block in the back of the pocket opening as we part remove the rubber to tuck cloth behind it , we then use a 2 inch cloth tape to stick to the top of the rubber and the block , this will help keep the rubber inplace when players sit on the cushion , which they should not do but it happens.

The new angles have been cut and the cushions re-covered , a ball in the corner opening shows the distance of the space between the jaws which is 3.5/8ths at the fall , the new pocket leathers will now protect any new set of balls that our client wishes to use.


the slate joints on strip down had a large step from one slate to the next , after levelling this was reduced , but was still a problem on one half of the joint , so we feathered the joint with car body filler , when sanded down this gave a perfect slate joint , and now no slate joints will be visible in the cloth , it was that bad before that  ball would roll down the joint rather than over it . the table is now playing very well and the level is very good , as is the speed of the Strachan 6811 tournament grade cloth .


The finished table , our client spent a good amount having the table renovated to this standard , He used to go down the snooker club to play , but now will save a few £s playing at home , the average spend  per visit to a snooker club is £30 per person for a nights session of snooker and drinks @ £6 per hour , say twice a week in winter once in summer , so around £45 per week x 52 = £2340  , a pack of 20 beers from a supermarket is £15 x 52 = £780. looks like our client is going to save himself a few bob.

Just one job on today plus a visit to a local club for estimate of contract work
The Recover today was on an 8ft Riley Pool table , these have a large span so they have 6 legs to prevent sagging in the middle of the table .
They where made with clip off cushions , and you can see in the photo’s below one of the three clasp’s per cushion that are simply unclipped to release the cushion from the top frame surround .
The club has suffered a water leak from the roof on this table and they contacted GCL Billiards to quickly come out to re-cloth the table in the best grade pool cloth which is Strachan 6811 pool .
The table stripped down ready for cleaning of the slate , the old cloth was falling off the slate as they had used low quality spray on glue , GCL billiards always use hand spread contact adhesive which is high strength bonding.

The table has had the slate cleaned of any residue and chalk dust , and has now been recovered in 6811 Strachan all wool cloth

The Pool table now finished and ready for play , the level has been checked and is very good

We where instructed to mark the pool table out for snooker as well as pool , that is why you can see a D and the three spots at the baulk end

The clasp on these tables for the cushions , as far as We know Riley do not make these tables any more , so there will be a problem going forward in finding replacement cushions , I would think custom making of the cushions would be the only way to rectify any problems with crumbling cushion wood , but these cushions are in great condition , so many years of use still left in them

The brand mark on the cloth to ,prove we are using the best grade cloth , we show this to our clients for peace of mind , there are many instances where i have stripped tables down that our clients say is 6811 only to find it is Club or even lower grade was used last time , GCL Billiards like to be honest and up front to our customers and we take great care to make sure the client knows they are getting what was ordered fitted to their tables , we target repeat work and we would not get this if we used inferior grade cloth .
We aim to be the first people this club contacts to do another re-cover say in 1 years time , you may notice a second table in the back ground , as a good will gesture we also brushed and marked out and re-spotted the table then ironed this table  Free of charge. A thank you for using GCL Billiards .

We must have  made an impression with our first full size snooker table recover on the match table at this very nice snooker club in Northampton , in fact within two days of the first recover they booked us  to go back and do the table next to the match table .
This one was not as bad as the first table , the bed cloth that came off was good as it was  fixed with tacks as it should be  , unlike the match table which was stapled on with big V shape tear in the centre pocket fall .
But there was a fault with the old cloth coming off this table as can be seen from the first photo, there is a dark shaded 2.5 inch  line across the table in front of the D , some may think this is the slate joint , but it is too wide , the cloth I think has  a stop start line from production , that is where the machine was stopped and then restarted , this would put a wide line in the cloth as in this old bed  cloth , so the cloth was a second or as the manufacturer would say a Sub standard cloth .
also we found the cushion cloth retaining slips where nailed and stapled in , We will work together with the owners and players to improve this table , we hope to locate a set of steel blocks for it ,the slates are really good , and in fact this table would make a much better Match table for the club .

The finished table recovered in Strachan west of England 6811 tournament  cloth first quality no seconds , we are very happy with the outcome of this work , it shows the owner and the players trust GCL billiards to do an Excellent job and try to improve the table , not only in better workmanship ,but looking ahead and advising what is the best route to take,  such as looking for a good set of second hand Steel cushions to turn this table into the No 1 match table for the club.
if you’re club is looking to have work done on their tables please recommend GCL Billiards to them .

Yesterday we completed a job that has been ongoing for a few weeks , a client of ours contacted us to look for a suitable table for his Barn conversion , and with past experience of fitting tables into barns we recommended he look for a Riley Imperial square leg or the larger arched Riley Viceroy , Viceroys are pretty thin on the ground so we sourced a good conditioned Riley Imperial just outside Skegness , We put our client in touch with the seller and they came to a reasonable price between themselves  , GCL Billiards prefer to do this rather than carry a stock themselves , we are therefore 100% maintenance only , we transport and do any repairs or improvements that our client requires .
As you can see from this first photo the oak in the building and the table are very complimenting to each other and blend in very well , the client is a very useful woodworker and he took the frame and slates and we took the cushions away for re-rubbering , we corresponded with each other as we where both refinishing the woodwork several miles apart and things like stain and type of polish had to be spot on .
as you can see we got the a perfect match , the cushions however had more finish coats to protect against things like belt buckle and zips damage scratching .
We arrived to find all the slates where already in the room   so a quick assemble of the frame then the first rough level and we soon had the frame ready for the slates

Our client being a the perfectionist that  he is as can be seen from the fittings of the barn like the floor windows and doors which he made all on site in his fully equipped woodwork workshop  , He also made brand new slate cloth tack linings to be fitted which where perfect

After filling in the slate joints and making sure the table is level , the bed cloth is then ready to go on

and the Bed cloth fitted
GCL billiards and our client worked together to make sure this table was the correct table for the property and the renovation was done to blend in with the large amount of oak already fitted within the building , I think this is one of the most satisfying jobs we have worked on , our client was delighted with the table , we fitted the table with top quality Northern Rubber , top quality Strachan 6811 tournament cloth , top quality Nets and leathers , and the finish of the polishing by our client on the frame and ourselves on the cushions is also top quality , the table was a dream to level with no problems at all , which is what you expect from this quality made table of solid oak and 2 inch thick welsh slate .
To round it all up , our client also had the new High Frequency lighting with white light florescent tubing , high frequency lighting is the none flicker type , do not fit standard starter florescent lighting above any cue sports table as it will effect you’re eye’s.
Below a scan photo of Walter Lindrum’s Riley Viceroy taken from an old Brochure of Riley’s dated 1937-38 the only difference between this viceroy and the imperial is the large deep archways , and below that a colour template from the Riley Sales catalogue dated 1937-38 , I think the only difference in this colour photo is the deep archways and the slide in panel hiding the cushion bolts was much thicker on the viceroy and slanted .
The third scanned photo is the various Riley patent scoreboards of that period when these tables where produced , I am sure my client will find these interesting especially the one bottom left which is the normal one supplied to Gentlemen’s clubs with two bevelled mirrors and some had a clothes brush in the centre with a hook to hang it on , although on this one it has a paper clip in the centre , CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE for a better close up view . I have added a fourth photo of cue’s that Riley sold around that time , just look at the prices in 1937 for Hand spliced cue’s .

And our Very Happy client has added a few words to add to our Blog.