We are well known at GCL Billiards for our excellent to detail and craftsmanship of maintaining snooker and pool tables around the UK and beyond , what some do not know is that we also rent pool tables to the pub and club premises of Derby and Nottingham area’s.
We have around 20 pool tables located local around our base in Nottingham / Derby that we rent out which include full maintenance and re-covering of cloth on a regular basis .
we are aiming for around 40 tables local to use , we cannot manage anymore than this with our regular Snooker and pool table re-cover business running very busy at the moment , we try to blend the work of both venture’s together , this way we remain fully booked out most of the year , we just time our pool table rental re-covers to slot in on slack days or if busy on a Saturday .
you can have the option of one or two re-covers per year at £65 per month or £80 per month which works out at £15 per week or £18.50p per week over 52 weeks  . We do not charge Vat .
we only rent to good reliable properties mainly pubs and bars but also super market canteens and Hotels that sign up to an initial 12 month rental and in the case of two recovers then every 6 months after that .
This week we have had 5 of our tables come up for re-covering .
3 in Coventry that get re-covered every 6 months and the other two very local in Derby and Chilwell .

the three tables in Coventry being treated to a top class Strachan 6811 Re-cover .

the pool table that is located in a local pub in chilwell also being treated to a Strachan 6811 cloth re-cover , this site also gets a re-cover every 6 months .

we only use top quality cloth on all of our re-covering , branded Strachan cloths are the most popular and the most asked for is the 6811 grade .
players know this grade of cloth and it is the best selling cloth in thew world and is made from 100% pure new wool with a short medium length but fast pace of napped cloth at around 28oz. per Metre square.
we can also do the 30 oz tournament but we find this a little slower than the 28 oz .

almost finished , just got to mark out and iron and also clean the internal cabinet and rail runs plus ball eject system of all dust and grime .

another of our superb Supreme winner tables located in a sports bar in Derby , this room is in the basement for the pool team to have a quite area to play in
they have two pool teams playing out of this Bar in Derby and they are interested in having another table from us for the main bar area upstairs .

the sports bar in Derby always ask for Strachan super pro speed cloth
this is a napless cloth and woven from a mix of 70% wool and other man made fibers , it is very fast to play on
we do not get a lot of people ask us for speed cloth in fact in all of our 20 rental sites this is the only one .
But we aim to please so we get it in special just for this site.

the finished table in Strachan Super pro speed cloth , all cleaned out and leveled up as they do move it around when they have a function on
I also replaced a coin mech spring and supplied a new set of balls and cues plus chalk on this yearly re-cover .

I have been over to the Arches snooker Venue in Coventry where we have three of our own stock rental pool tables that we re-cover every 6 months
The management used to have their own tables in the pool table area but decided to sell these and rent and to have all maintenance included in that rental , and for tax reasons this works out much better for them .
GCL billiards installed three brand new 7ft coin op Supreme Winner in Black ash two years ago , and we have been re-covering them every 6 months since .
I also bought an extra three brand new sets of cushions to cut down on re-cover time just for this venue when re-covering the tables  . we just exchange the cushions over and strip down when back in the workshop re-cover then box back up for next time in 6 months m this saves us a round 3 hours on site .
this is the only tables where we swap over cushions , on single table rentals we re-cover on site totally , we do not recommend that you exchange cushions on any tables unless you have specific new sets only being used for that tables as is the case with these three tables .
we often strip down other fitters work on clients own tables where they have swapped over the original cushions for very old falling apart and rubber going hard cushions which is not good for the owner or client if renting .

the three tables with slate to one side ready to strip the old cloth off the slate beds

the slate beds now with the old cloth removed and cleaned ready for new cloth to be attached

we use the Strachan 6811 pool cloth for these pool tables , this cloth is 28 oz and faster than tournament yet is still 100% pure new wool the same as tournament cloth .

all the bed cloths have now been fitted and baulk line marked out in white tippex , at the arches they use the D too so we have added these to the baulk line .
you may notice that this room has Black walls and ceiling , this is because this room is also dual function use .
They have Rock bands and tribute bands perform at weekends and on some odd week nights too
in fact tonight there is a band on and the tables where being moved to one side and covered over and sectioned off to protect them while the bands perform

the large stage at one end of the room , at the other end we have a DJ desk and mixer sound control box
as soon as the band is finished the room cleaned those tables are back in use in double quick time around 10  minutes  a table to have back in position with lights above and level .
they have perfected this to a fine art , so if you are ever in Coventry and at a loose end , head off to the Arches Industrial Estate at Spon End , you cannot miss it , turn where the Nissan Garage is
you will find a yard to the right under the railway arches , at the far end is the Arches Venue for snooker Pool and Live Bands .
with bands such as Four fighters a tribute band for the Foo fighters and also Kirvana , Fred Zepplin , The Fab Beatles , Bon Giovi , and many more booked in this year .

Just been over to south Yorkshire which is around 40 mile away from my base
the work over two days was to re-rubber with Northern rubber and then re-cover .

this 1880’s Burroughs and watts had at sometime had replacement cushions fitted in the 1990’s
the older cushions having those pre 1885 top plate pockets on .

I had stripped all the cushions back to the wood blocks which are rebated for the new rubber to fit on
I apply a thin coat of contact adhesive to the blocks .

The new Northern rubber ( Best in the world ) backs also have a thin layer of Contact adhesive applied

the previous rubber was not of good quality , the Black rubber is the Northern High Quality rubber the white is imported sub standard rubber .
look at the right side of this photo to see the white rubber had some rough cut undercut to the corner pocket opening , this should be smooth as you will see in photo of the finished black rubber 3 photos below

Sub standard cloth was also fitted by the last fitter see small transfer I took off old cloth , so not a good job , as you can see I replaced it with Genuine Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz cloth
please note that when Strachan have any reject cloth they put a substandard transfer like the one above on the bed cloth and this is sold at a lower price to the fitter , always check your cloth as it is being fitted that is does not have sub standard written through it . GCL Billiards does not fit sub standard cloth .

The rubber has been attached to the cushion block and relief cut to allow me to trace around the corner template .

the corner after I have cut shaped and sanded plus hand rasped to form a good clean entry into the pocket
I pride myself as being one of the neatest fitters of rubber  and shaping of pocket openings in the UK .
I come across a lot of rough undercut work and some terrible efforts of other fitters work.
I have never had any complaints to any re-rubbering work that I have carried out .
and in fact have had many compliments and referrals of tables playing much better after a re-rubber was carried out by Geoff Large at GCL billiards

template is a nice tight fit into corner openings

I checked the level to find it required a slight adjustment to the black spot end of the table to be lifted upwards
I then refilled the joints and sanded flush . The wine is not mine Honest !

the finished table from the Baulk D end , I was asked to source a Burroughs and watts cushion name plate to fit to these modern cushions ,
the only one I could track down was an Edwardian copper silver plate Steel cushion type,
you can see this attached to the end cushions slide in panel .

The table is at last finished with brand new Aramith tournament Champion balls lined up ready for my Clients Grandson
The shape of leg to this Burroughs and watts is called a Tulip leg
I must say I enjoyed myself working for this client , he makes a good cup of Yorkshire Gold tea , and we had some good banter
some thing to note about the table , the 5 section slates where thin 1 inch thick , I would date this table to early 1880’s as Horse and carts where replaced with motorized transport around the 1890’s the slate got thicker to 1.5 inch then to 2 inch nominal by 1896  to 1910 .
If you have a table that requires new cushion rubber like this one get in touch with Geoff at GCL billiards for a quote , you will find our price structure very fair and we use top quality UK made cloth and rubber too no imported rubbish , the only materials of this job to come from abroad where the balls which are Aramith from Belgium , if it was not for BCE selling the rights to Aramith in the 90’s  for super crystalate balls and all the machinery that made them , then we would still have a UK made set of balls as an option .

I have been over to St Johns snooker club in Bloxwich to re-stretch the bed cloths on two full size snooker tables .
at the same time fit new nets and leathers to the two tables .

I re-covered both the outside tables in the new 29 oz Strachan 6811 tournament cloth bed and cushions around one year ago so they where ready for their 12 month re-stretch of bed cloths
the term re-stretch really means tighten up of the cloth as it gives a bit , just like a drum skin when first put on slackens off after use ,a snooker table will do exactly the same .
if you do not re-stretch you run the risk of two things happening , one the slack cloth can tear easy if left , and two the ball track marks around the pocket openings are moved down the fall
and are replaced with some more thicker unworn cloth that is stretched into place to replace it .
the benefits of a tight re-stretched bed cloth is truer level of tables and faster tables .

The bed cloth has been untacked and re-stretched back on , the line was to try and keep the old spots in the center of the table
and to give equally pull all the way around the cloth , this also helps when remarking the baulk line .
The measurement from the end of the slate to Baulk line is 31 inch , so we erase the old line that I marked out in soft pencil 12 months ago with Acetone
this fades the line back so that you do not get horrible two line syndrome when playing .
To be Honest Keith the person who looks after the tables had let the old lines really fade back so they where well faded anyway , but the Acetone faded them a bit better .
we always recommend Black pencil rather than white tippex , white tippex cannot be faded back .
the reason they use white on TV is for the camera’s to pick it out , otherwise they would use black , and the spots are on to protect the cloth , the TV tables being replaced every three days do not require spots , but club tables lasting 24 months do !

the finished table , re-stretched , re-marked out and re-spotted , with new nets and leathers replaced also .
ready for the run in of the last 12 months of wear .
in 12 months time these tables will be recovered again , I have suggested 29 oz on the bed and 30 oz on the cushions just to guarantee more  wear of the cushions cloth that extra 1 oz will give .

New Center and corner pocket nets and leathers really finish the table off , I have put slits in the face of the leathers to prevent bounce back

corner leather fitted with more overhang to close the gap between wood and leather
note the slate fall , those lines used to be on top of the bed , they have been stretched down around 1.5 inch
providing a fresh thickness of cloth where the balls hit the cushion and form tram lines .
this is very normal for wear on a table when approaching the pocket fall .
while I was there Keith took me over to another club across the road to look at 4 tables that require work and to give a quote
the tables have had some very bad work carried out on them , but if they do have GCL Billiards they can expect the same quality of workmanship that I do for all my clients .
nothing rushed and a job done the proper way , which is the only way to do it !
if I get that work I will do another report with photo’s showing what I have rectified and made good .
and big thank you to Keith who has remained faithful to GCL Billiards and has recommend us to the other club .
We are not the lowest costing although not too far off what other low cost firms charge , we do not charge VAT though which may be a bonus for some , but we do a thorough job and improve the table where possible taking much more time than some speed fitting firm .
we are recommended by the NBSA and we have some fantastic write ups for work we have carried out by our clients , and many who write on the snooker forum in the tables section .
so if you have a table that requires a professional approach to fitting then contact Geoff Large at GCL billiards , with 40 years experience as a Billiards fitter .

I have just completed a very local job .
a table I have worked on in the past and due to the unfortunate closing of Plessey Social club  ( New Venture club ) in Beeston
all four tables where put up for sale at very low money .
and I am happy to report that one local Chilwell Manor Golf club  have given the match table a new home , this Golf club is only a mile away from the Plessey Club
so very happy it is staying local , I have very fond memories of Plessey Social club having spent many a weekend night in there in the 1970s ’80s and 90s .
I met my future wife in there in 1978 and can even remember doing a john Travolta Dance lesson one Sunday night in the 1970’s , you did embarrassing things like that when you had sunk a few

Below is the Old Snooker room of Plessey club , the match table being the far right in the photo .

I am also removing the table to the left for another client on Tuesday and delivering it Thursday near Alton Towers near Stoke on Trent , this table is also being re-covered with new cloth .
The other two tables look like they will be ending up as scrap and recycled slate into Window lintels in Cornwall . or slate flooring .
The woodwork though will sadly be burned this winter in a log burner . the legs may get turned into fruit bowls though . Unless someone is quick to remove the other two tables by next Tuesday ?

But today was good new’s The local golf club in Chilwell had decided to have one of the tables and they had  the ideal room for it .
in this photo the frame has been positioned and rough leveled for the slate ready to go on .
This table is an old Orme table circa 1920’s so getting on for 100 years old .

The 5 section thick welsh slate is positioned on the table and the final leveling is done , then to fill slate joints  with Car body soft sand filler .
the bed is then sanded lightly to remove any grit and slate chalk dust .

the bed cloth is then re-stretched back onto the table and remarked out and new spots , brushed and ironed.
we then check again for level to make sure the table has not sank down .
you may notice the cushions going back on  , these are match cushions made from solid steel plate and give good response from cushion rebound with very quiet cushions .
Steel cushions where invented in 1895 and patented by Burroughs and watts , this set was made around 1980s/90s and used by Snooker Professional David Rowe of Derby as his Practice match table cushions .
Plessey Social club  bought the cushions from the Club in Derby in the 1990’s and they where then fitted to the match table .

the finished table Ready for play apart from lighting to be put up .
I would like to thank  Plessey Club manager Ancel Batchford , and Andy Hoult  for putting GCL billiards name forward in the quest to carry out this removal and assembly of the table into the Chilwell Manner Golf club , going forward I would like to think they will carry on using GCL billiards for any improvement work on the table .

I have been over to Burton on Trent for the hottest two days of the year where the temperatures hit 33 deg
The work was re-rubber set of steel cushions and re-cover and also replace the nets and leathers .

quality is one area GCL billiards will not let standards fall , rather than fit lower cost Chinese rubber we always use UK Retford Nottinghamshire based Northern rubber
which is regarded as the best Billiard table rubber in the world .

two angles a middle angle and a corner angle , these where exact copy of pocket openings of the original table , having manufactured on site a cardboard template to reproduce the same opening as before but maybe with a slight opening up of the rear .
You may notice the smooth rounded rasped and sanded finish to the rubber , no rough cut sharp angles but a nice smooth entry to the undercut of the rubber .
Steel cushions are not easy to do , they weigh so much more than a standard wooden cushion , and are not easy to handle .

The cushion in the process of being re-clothed ,  this is also a fine art to forming the cloth around the corner and middle angles without wrinkles and creases .

the 5 section 2 inch thick Welsh slate bed , this has to be cleaned of all old chalk dust and compacted spot dust .
also the area around the bottom cushion has a tendency to accumulate a lot of dust as brushing directs it down to that end , this also compounds and solidifies forming a ramp of compact dust
hence why some balls can come off the bottom cushion and jump upwards and banging back down around 6 inch from the bottom cushion .
this is one reason along with others that you may experience ball lift up at rebound .

Bed cloth fitted Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz grade , the line is to mark the spot locations out upwards from end of slate.

the transfer on the underside of the cloth

aligning the cushions back on , the pocket openings have to be spot on for steel cushions to align the rear woodwork , if they are out of alignment the wood will not bolt back on .
you have to align the bolt holes in cushion woodwork and end pocket alignment which is a rather tricky job .
Click on any photo for a close up .

almost finished , Frank inspecting the table .
our clients where delighted with the work and the way we went about it .
this two table club I have visited many times in the past 40 years . they know me very well and can trust me to carry out work to high standard .
after working in 33 deg temperatures I was very hot by the time I got Home lucky for me that I used to keep Koi Carp a few years ago but for the last 8 years it has become a salt water plunge pool

Nice day today just one re-cover to do at Stapleford Nottingham  then work on some cushions at Home int he afternoon .
it was nice that Jed had the air condition units  serviced yesterday . out side was 27 deg and inside around 18 / 20 deg
The cold air was a welcome addition to yesterdays sweltering  job  .

this visit was to re-cloth a supreme winner in Strachan 6811 cloth
this photo before I started shows that some wear is still left in the cloth but there was an hole in one cushion and some sewn up work previously done .

cloth stripped off the slate bed and cleaned , then glue under cloth edge and edge of slate with contact adhesive .

every staple is removed , unlike other firms who leave them in and re-cover over the top we remove EVERY staple

The re-cloth completed , I also cleaned out the cabinet and ball rails and then checked level
there are 4 Supreme winner tables at this end of the Club , and 6 full size snooker tables taking up the rest of the room , plus the Bar area .

We have completed a very painful installation in Croydon South London of which  two visit’s was required to complete the work !
This table used to belong to an old client of mine Mr smith who had passed away and his Widow had sold it to my new client Adrian in Croydon .
This table is a very special table in that it was the Robsteve model billiard table of 1911 which was a facsimile ( exact copy ) of the Billiard table as used in the Roberts Steven’s billiards final of 1905 at Caxton Hall .
Burroughs and watts went on to make very few of these tables and they are very scarce , and you do not come across them often , they have unusual 2.5 inch thick slates when the norm would be 2 inch slates , Roberts insisted on this spec of extra thick slate .

this is a photo before I dismantled it for my new client Adrian , who purchased it from my old client Mrs Smith  and was removed from a property in the grounds of Litchfield cathedral .
as you can see it was in very good condition apart from it requiring new rubber and and a re-cover in Strachan 6811 tournament cloth .
I found it very hard to load this table with just two of us and we had to bring it down some steps to the van , I was overloaded for the short trip back to Nottingham , and becuase of this i had to get Adrian to come up with another van to collect the table .
Part two of the deal was to go down to Croydon to install in Adrian’s Bungalow .
Now this is where it got tricky , Adrian had underpinned his bungalow and dug out for an entire basement to be built under the foundations of the old Bungalow , this was the whole floor which comprised of two new Bedrooms and the new Snooker room , with an upstairs loft conversion I was told it was the only three story Bungalow in South London !

Unloading some of the woodwork from my van , Adrian had already picked up the slates and part of the woodwork
this table was one that my van would be overloaded so best do things legally , and use two vans to transport it .

the slates where going to be man handled down a slope of boards , but after accessing the dangers of this I called it off and asked Adrian to get a Crane in , a builders lorry was used with HI HAB crane on it , they used straps and gently lifted each slate in the air and lowered it onto the boards and slid them down useing hydraulics , this light pit is 8ft deep , if we could not hold the weight back then the two people at the bottom would be in Hospital or a morgue  .
The risk was just not worth it , and Adrian had waited two years for this table so another week or so was not going to be a problem and we managed to pull the work back in when I was down that way two weeks later.
In fact that weekend I dismantled a table and set it up in one day in Essex , then onto Adrian’s who had got the slate on the frame to finish this table off by 9.30 pm , then slept over at Adrians , and on way back called into Windsor to pick up a full size Karnehm and hilman table to bring back to Nottingham .

I had set the table frame up and leveled it ready for the slate to go on , and left Adrian a piano trolley to get the slates onto the table .

the slate positioned and level and filled in on the slate joints ready for sanding smooth as one bed .

as you can see this is extremely thick slate bed .

Myself fitting the wood cushion frieze over the steel cushions .

an imposing table made from the finest Cuban mahogany with thick chunky legs and steel cushions , this was the Rolls Royce of tables in 1911 .
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the finished table , all that Adrian has to do now is fit some decent lighting .
as the spot lights do not work very well , I have instructed him to get the twin tube office lighting
High frequency and twin whit light tubes , two units 1.5 metres long end to end will come out at 10 foot lighting
like these examples .


We got there in the end Adrian was very pleased that he finally got the table he bought two years ago set up in his dream Snooker room .
We do not often have to walk away from an installation , but the risk of injury could not be ignored .