A few years ago Snooker clubs  started using High Frequency strip lights for snooker tables
I think this craze started in the Leeds area and soon spread around the UK ,
out went the old Coffin  canopy shades and in came the modern lighting in tube and now LED daylight or soft white lighting .
I have recently dismantled a Match Riley Aristocrat table for a client  , this table was uncovered most of it’s life with the balls just set up on their spots and in the triangle area .
I was amazed at how the light had bleached the cloth and in fact the balls also where bleached , yet the dark mahogany wood cushion surround and leathers had remained unaffected .

Now I know this is a one off situation where the table lighting is controlled by an auto switch on PC system and that the lighting was on almost 24 hours a day in this part of the house
due to no windows , but it does show what is happening slowly but surely with these modern White light tubes , I cannot comment if this is happening on LED lighting , but just look at the photo .

Saturday and working again when will I ever get a full weekend off ?
Got a phone call Friday afternoon informing me of this L shape tear on a club table in Derby .
with a few bills coming in the club wanted me to sew the tear up and then around September maybe re-cover the table ,
but for now they just wanted to get the table back in use for a nominal costing .
this is what I found when I got there this morning .

a 4 inch by 4 inch tear , obviously someone knew they had done this , not saying deliberate but it took some downward cueing stabbing power and  a sharp ferrule or very hard tip to rip this cloth to this extent . Especially as this cloth has had two stretches in the past and is on very tight not slack at all .

to sew this large tear the cloth had to be sewn from the reverse which meant two cushions coming off and taking tacks out of two sides .

Right I can now get at the tear and get the cloth to close up a bit rather than trying to pull it together sewing from above , which was impossible due to tension of cloth .
so not a quick repair like some are , this tear was too large to do that . with traveling of around 10 mile each way , this repair took almost three hours of the day up .

Lock stitching the tear together from the reverse side.

when finished I always rub a little candle wax over the threads to strengthen them

the repair of tear fully sewn up and tapped level with hammer and wood block , then cloth is ironed as flat as I could get it .
there is some slight ball deviation when a ball rolls over it but this will get better as the table is brushed and ironed more .
but at least this repair will last them until September , unless someone rips it more or decides to have a go at the repair .
I have suggested  CTV in the room from now on .

not many firms would do a call out job like this , preferring to turn it into a full re-cover

but GCL Billiards do work with clubs to look for a more affordable solution to keeping the table in play until they can afford a re-cover
like most clubs , they have expensive rates and bills to pay at certain times of the year , and the budget for the next re-cover for this table is in September 2017 .

Just been over to Hunters Bar this week to re-cover 7 Supreme winner 7×4 pool tables .
6 in Strachan 6811 tournament and one in Strachan super pro speed .

with 7 supreme winners and 4 Sam K steel 9ft pool tables int his club , it gets very busy at times

a photo showing  the Sam k steel 9ft American pool 9ft Tables in the back ground .

gluing of the bed cloths to the slate bed

We strip every staple out of the cushions , cowboy speed fitters cover over old staples and it is not unusual to have 3 to 4 sets of staples left in when stripping down
at GCL billiards we like to take every staple out every time we do a re-cover .

close up of a finished table  re-clothed in Strachan 6811 tournament cloth .
the day before I went to Grantham I also re-covered 4 Supreme winners in sleaford at the Reel Club in the new Simonis speed sky blue cloth .

we have a Silver pool table at £350 Cash on collection . this is a PRIVATE SALE . and not part of GCL billiards stock .
a supreme Winner 7×4 coin operated with super six coin mech adjustable from 10p to 50p
The table has a hardly worn Strachan 777  Blue cloth fitted to it .
this pool table has come back off site and is now for sale as it stands buyer collects from long Eaton near Junction 25 of M1.
in my opinion all it requires is a respray by silver Halfords can of paint to top surround to look good again .
it is a second hand Pool table and has the usual knocks and scrapes associated with on site use in a pub site .

the top surround is suffering from coin flipping to the silver surround and has marks above where the coin mech is as seen in above photo .
this table will look good again with around £20 worth of spray paint and masking tape , that is all it requires to make it look really good like this photo below when it originally went out on site 18 months ago

the table has been used since this re-cover but no much , and the cloth is in very good condition .

This photo is the current condition of the table as it was picked up off site and as it is for sale .
this price is for pick up only from Long Eaton near junction 25 of M1.

as you can see if the top was resprayed like this photo the table would look a lot better for it .

The table side door has new locks fitted 4 silver legs to match the cabinet and two sets of balls , a set of blue and yellows and a set of spots and stripes
it has a triangle brush and two cues .
the coin mech can be set for FREE play if required .
there is also a ply wood hard top cover to the table as seen in this above photo .
the table is also up for sale on another site so please inquire to see if still available .
In my opinion the cloth has plenty of life left in it , a re-cover in Strachan 6811 is an extra £185 if required , but as said it does not require this .
these COIN OPERATED supreme winners are around £1200 to £1250 delivered and set up depending where you purchase from  , grab yourself a second hand one at below 1/4 of the price of new.

here is one example of silver 7×4 Supreme winner table with blue cloth and coin operated at £1253.00p

Supreme Winner 6 ft, 7 ft, 8 ft English Pool Table