We have two full size snooker tables for sale , I set these tables up and re-covered them only a few months ago for a select Private members club venture
Sadly due to lack of interest and USE !
They are up for sale , offers to Geoff at GCL Billiards please

The first table is a Riley Regis turned leg
The second table is Riley square leg type , both table’s have new nets and leathers fitted also new Strachan 6811 tournament cloth last year and hardly used .

The tables where lovingly looked after so you will be getting well cared for tables
they come complete with balls scoreboard and all tackle .
modern lighting is also available but at extra cost .
Offers to c.large@btinternet.com  , you can view and try out these tables , they are coming down after the third week of March .

this was only last year when we put the table’s in

we have a JCB type  telehandler available on site  to get the tables downstairs and loaded onto any van
Both table are owned by a Friend of mine so any offers I will put forward to him , it would be nice and convenient to have them delivered on the same day of take down if possible .
or loaded onto your own transport ?
GCL billiards can quote for this , the table sale does not include dismantle delivery or setup , you can talk to the owner about costs for dismantle .
I will put any interested people directly in touch with the seller .

I have Just been over to Wales for two days to install a Very nice condition Riley Viceroy circa 1920/30
Emyr contacted me some months ago looking for a table , he was not ready as the room was not built so advised to look for one nearer room completion
Emyr had been reading my Blog input on this web site and after reading many descriptions on different tables and build quality he had settled on finding a Riley Viceroy.
Emyr got back to me , and said he had found a very nice Riley Viceroy in Wolverhampton and he had collected it with a Friend in a luton Van and stored it at home as the room was nearing completion.
Well the time had come to arrange to install the table .

Emyr is 6ft 2inch the same as myself and suffers from a back problem , so he had a friend make some square slate stone pads  .
he had these to lift the table around 1.5 inch , thus giving him a better posture for his back when leaning over the table.
above in the photo you can see these slate pads under each leg .

First slate on and it got wet from wheeling it from the garage to the room

aligning the slate , we have to get the middle slate on dead centre with even overhang and dowel pin the next slates either side into the middle slate
you can if you look close in the gaps see the Brass dowel that locate into a brass rebated hole in the adjoining slate
once three have been pinned together we check again that the slate is parallel with even over hang each side before fixing the end slates into position
We wax the top of the frame with candle wax , this is so that the slate sections slide onto  and along the frame with ease  .

the next stage we check the level , adjusting by jacking up the frame and sliding slate packings under the legs to adjust the level ,
these packers are called toe pieces and come in varying thicknesses .

the toe pieces , different thickness to adjust level

We adjust until the level shows 100% all around the table side to side  and end to end .
we use a 12 inch Rabone & Chesterman vintage Engineers level , people often ask why such a small level ?
Because it is more accurate to finding low spots between each slate joint , where a long level would span any faulty levels  .
These engineering levels have been used in the Billiard table industry for many years for accurate leveling of Billiard / snooker tables

years ago the Billiards fitter would have used Plaster of Paris to blend in any slate joints .
today we use soft sand car body filler , above you can see we apply with 2 inch scraper , I am filling a large chip out of the slate which is on the edge of the slate
and we also skim along the entire length of every slate joint then lightly sand in for a perfect slate bed ready for bed cloth fitting  .

A light sanding all over and along the joints to make sure of no grit or lumps on the slate bed
if you do not do this you may find when you iron a table that the iron jumps on impact with a lump under the cloth
we lightly sand all over the slate and then wipe and vac the dust and grit off the slate bed .

The bed cloth laid on and tacks sprinkled around ready for Stretching on of the bed cloth
this table had recently been re-rubbered and re-covered with new nets and leathers also being revamped
my client paid a good medium price for the table and if we take into account what had been renovated on the table shortly before he got it .
then he paid very little for it indeed . in fact you could say the table owes him nothing .
Even the scoreboard on the wall which antique dealers go nuts for is worth around £400 to £500 on the retail market .
where many Antique Dealers will not touch a full sizes snooker table because of all the hassle of lifting and transporting  ,
but they do go after the old accessories such as old scoreboards and rotating cue racks .

because the table bed cloth had been fitted before and was not brand new .
I positioned string in centre and also 31 inch from end of baulk end to guide me in getting the old Baulk line almost straight
Above Fitting the bed cloth

Some billiard fitters use a magnetic tack hammer , I prefer to use a Stanley 8 oz pin hammer
I have used this hammer for 40 years and it is very hard for me to try anything else .
you get used to the tool you use most often , and I doubt that I will ever use a magnetic one
I did try one once but gave up after about the 5th tack , the balance and feel was not there so why change !

Emyr got me to pose for this last Photo , many of my clients are shocked to find that I do not play the game of snooker or Pool
I just do not have any interest in playing the game , I am more interested in the history of tables and old furniture in general.
don’t get me wrong though I do know how to put side and  back screw and forward roll onto a ball and also  get to know the speed of table within the first few shots
I get many players complaining of slow tables and fast tables some like slow some like fast  , a good player can adjust his or her game to play on any speed of cloth .
as for new rubber if fitted and pockets cut correct they will accept balls at speed , and do not forget brand new rubber requires bruising in for a month or so of regular play before they start to rebound faster .
Emyr is going to take a few more photo’s of the table when the room is a bit more tidy all the photo’s you see where taken by Emyr who is a Photographer and has something to do with the very rare Ospreys that are breeding in Wales  , He has even Written a book about the Osprey in Wales .

 

 

We have a client in france who is looking to sell their very nice tulip carved leg Buckingham model Karnehm and Hillman snooker table
In France tables will fetch an higher premium because demand outstrips supply of tables in france that are for sale
this one is advertised at 2000 Euro’s ( now 1500 euros) as it is before collection and transporting and installing again , but there  maybe a little negotiation leeway on price if discussed with owner . ( reduced to 1500 euros after GCL billiards advised it’s worth )  1500 euros = £1150.97 at time of advert , and it would cost more than this to transport one from the UK .
Ideally someone in the normandy area an Ex pat Brit is the ideal people to sell to , they may have an outside barn or large house they can fit this into .
a UK based Billiards fitter would find it easy to travel to using the St Malo port as entry which is not too far from this tables location

this is a photo of the leg shape but not the actual table for sale ,
taken from a library photo on my web site just to show a close up of the carved leg that you will be getting on this table

a 10ft version another library photo to show the leg design

another library photo showing what the table will look like when fully assembled
if you are interest in this table in the top photo then contact by email and just inform them you spotted the table for sale on GCL Billiards web site

ask for Laurence Dealtry     http://www.la-rouillardais.co.uk/ web site for the owners B&B

ldealtry@club-internet.fr        email

tel France + 33 (0) 243023516     phone number

 

 

I have just completed a re-rubber and re-cover of a full size snooker table above  Lincoln on the wragby road
I installed this table a couple of years ago and came across a problem of slates not being the correct ones for the table which we solved by plugging and redrilling of cushions to fit
this table was already at our clients house and GCL billiards only fitted the table we did not supply it
Having said that the slates are of very good quality being from a burroughs and watts table while the rest of the table frame and cushions where from an Orme & Sons table
having had the problems of finding the wrong slates I was bracing myself as to the condition and workmanship of the rubber under the cloth which I did not see 2 years ago as the cushions had been re-covered by the firm who delivered it , and this is what I found !

very rough cut and shoddy work on the forming of the angles to the pocket openings.
My client wanted tighter pockets as these where cut like buckets and all odd angles


I did not take a photo of the rubber when I had finished but believe me they where like these photo’s when I had re-rubbered the clients cushions
smooth cutting and rasping and sanding of the undercut
flat nose of rubber direct from front edge to rear of pocket

my client had a bit of rough deal from the firm who supplied the table to him
not only did they send the wrong slates , but they also did not rectify the bad cut rubber
and they fitted sub standard cloth to the cushions as you can see above the transfer has substandard through it
this is how the cloth manufacturer sells it’s seconds .

this is what first grade Strachan 6811 tournament looks like
no Substandard going at a right angle through the transfer and the weight shows 30 oz

my clients table is now ready for some serious match play
having had a full re-rubber and reshaping of some of the block undercut
The pockets are now set at template size to B&SCC templates
Brand new first grade Strachan 6811 tournament cloth has been fitted and the level checked
my Client is a keen snooker player , He and his Partner have a very charming cottage and from the front of the house no one would even suspect they have a full size snooker table
The room is very large , an extension that along with others  I have worked have had their fare share of planning objections
Lucky for snooker enthusiasts a way can be found to build and get plans passed.
I am sure my client will enjoy his snooker so much better now the problems have been solved with the pocket openings and cushion bounce .
I have just corrected another table just like this from a bad re-rubber have a look at my other postings on my Web Blog to see that report .
Re-rubber is one of my special interests , I strive to be a perfectionist in forming a smooth cut to the pocket openings as can be seen in my demonstration photo’s and work reports on tables I have completed a re-rubber on .
I often advise on tables and workmanship on the Snooker forum and on that forum ,my pricing was questioned , not by a past client but just by a person who like to question prices
My price structure for work is fixed on what other top Firms and fitters are charging , on a re-cover for example I am around £30 lower priced than the top firms , but £30 higher priced than a speed fitter who may do work like on the rubber I took off above .

My mentor Mick Rob  ( now Deceased but formerly of Belvoir billiards )  a Craftsman in the art of Billiards fitting  had a carved oak  sign in his workshop for his clients to read .