We are getting very busy with work already booked in for most of November and December has started to fill up
If you are planning on using GCL billiards before Christmas for work on your cue sports table , please book now we have only around three weeks of days left plus the odd day here and there.

WEIGHT LIMITS and PAYLOADS for 3500 van carrying snooker tables .

I had  a phone call the other day from another Billiards fitter I know very well on the south coast
he informed me he was stopped by the Police  in a long wheel base transit hire  van with a full size snooker table on board .
Not many people know this but Transits and sprinter Mercedes are not very good at carrying capacity or what is known as PAYLOAD , the long wheel base transit he was driving only had a Load weight of 1050 kg Payload.
some of those sprinters are below 1000 kg payload , they are not very good vans for Snooker tables removals and deliveries.
an average snooker table weighs in at 1150 kg and the thick welsh slate bed tables can be up to  1400kg .
He was fined for being 600kg overweight and had to unload three slates to carry on his journey then return and pick them back up again pl;us £40 for storage to a breakdown yard at a services on a Motorway
that was one very heavy table he had on the van

Moving tables can take upto two days if distance is an issue  , this bottom of the range Riley Regis weighs around 1100 kg

We specialise in the movement and assemble of tables this Sam american pool table weighs around 800 kg

the way you load a van can also be very tricky to work out , no more than 1000 kg on the back axle , these modern thinner italian slates are within that weight limit but if thicker welsh slate then this is loaded to the front of the van right up to the bulkhead separating panel  between load area and drivers cab
you have to cut down on tools to only taking what you require for the work as it all tallies up including the Driver the passenger and the Fuel in the tank is all regarded as Payload .
if you are border line then we only fill half a tank at a time .

I did a lot of research when I chose our works van , the Newer shape Vauxhall Movano or the Renault Master which is the same vehicle really  is the van to go for and class leading in payloads for 3500 vans  , the Transit cannot touch it .
with the very small version carrying the most Payload and as you increase length of van the payload decreases
for example the normal no high roof standard wheelbase  version of the Movano has  a payload of 1684 kg , that’s a whopping 634 kg more weight carrying capacity than the long wheel base Ford Transit that my Colleague from down south had .
he was 600 kg overweight , and with that smaller movano van he could have been around 50 kg within the legal payload if he had been driving the L1 Vauxhall movano .

My van is the L2 H2 the medium wheel base medium roof version , you can move the load around a bit more and get the weight forward of the back axle
it takes a full size table within the back compartment without removal of the bulk head panel which protects the driver and passenger and the payload for our van is 1610 kg
I have worked that out that most snooker tables with a full tank of fuel and two people and tools on board we have a tolerance of 100 kg from type of table to carry within the payloads to stay within the Law .
We can increase this if we take out the double passenger seat and replace it with a single one and also take out the Bulk head panel , thus making the van weigh less but increasing the payload capacity by say a further 50 kg .
and you can buy them with just two seats in rather than the normal three seater.
The longer the wheel base then the payload decreases as extra weight for panel work comes into force , this is all for the 3500 range , which means the total weight must not exceed 3500 kg of van and load .
the next step up is a twin wheel version of the Movano which can carry way  over two tons 2000 kg , but these are very long vehicles and not easy to park .

If we do have a very heavy table to move then it will of course be a bit more expensive to transport as we have to either use two vehicles or use jonhills removals who have a 7 ton removals van
I would say 95% of tables move can be done in our own Vauxhall Movano , but we do get the occasional thick heavy slate and heavy wood with steel cushioned table to move

this table for instance was especially heavy , we did move it 35 mile but found out we were actually overweight by around 300 kg
a mistake that we cannot ignore anymore , if you have a very heavy table then it will be more costly to move as we will use two vans or jonills removals to deliver your table .

this the normal way we stack a table inside the van , this one is within legal load weight and is positioned just right for back axle weight to front weight ratio to avoid light steering .
we carry just enough tools , to erect the table at the delivery address .

Very light Metric tables by Thurston are around 1150 kg we have two frames cushions  and the slates on here , we where transporting them to a council yard two mile down the road who had a weigh bridge
we weighed the van with two people on board and it came to a little over 1450 kg  with two tables and shades but one set of slates on .
with 1000 kg exactly on the back axle , and just below half a tank of fuel .

for comparison a Gallon of fuel weighs approx 3.5 kg , half a tank would be around 8 gallon , = 28 kg  , full tank around 60 kg .
Deduct that off the 1610 kg and it reduces the payload to 1550 kg,  less 200kg for driver and passenger = 1350kg
tools and a normal weight snooker table just come in on that weight limit on my van for 95% of tables .

The law is that the Police may give you leeway of a up to 5% discrepancy , warned and  tell you to take more notice of your load weight .

after the 5% it is a sliding scale of fines of around £100 per 200k kg overweight , if you go over 30% overweight then it is a court case and you will have to appear in court .
we cannot go above the load capacity using just  one van , we just cannot afford to do this . so if you have an extremely heavy table such as a Burroughs and watts solid oak or Mahogany  steel cushioned table then be prepared it will cost more to transport .

Read this and see the gulf between a Transit and a Movano for payloads.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/vans/news-and-advice/2015/march/top-10-vans-for-payloads-at-35t/

 

 

I have been over to a farm in Ashbourne for a couple of days work
this involved taking an already dismantled 9ft snooker table from the Barn and installing it into a new build room that is attached to the main Farm house.

The 9ft frame erected , slates on and leveled , cushions being stripped down on a blanket on the end of the table
notice the blankets protecting my clients brand new wood floor

the cushion showing that the rubber as well as the cloth has been completely removed and every tack or staple has been removed

the blocks on the cushions and the back of the rubber has been coated with contact adhesive and these have to semi dry for around 20 to 30 minutes before positioning together to bond
if you bond too soon the glue never drys and the rubber slides down the wood block on re-covering , too long and it will fall off , timing is has to be just right .
always glue in warm room conditions , a very cold room and the glue does not dry .

all cushions have gone through the process of having the rubber attached and shaped to pocket falls

the rubber has been shaped to the pocket openings and then taped to help keep rubber on the block from people sitting on cushions
the white arrow is cloth nap direction and the number is for cushion location on table , a table has 6 cushions and the Baulk end cushion is No 1 , gong in a clockwise direction no2 is to left of Baulk then 3/4/5/6
nap direction is to the left on 1/2/3/4 and to the right on 5/6 , this is to keep side cushion nap going in the same direction as the bed cloth nap direction from baulk D end to black ball spot end .

the finished table , this table had new slates fitted to it by Padmores of Birmingham at some time in it’s life
and they where a modern 5 section slate  circa 1980/90s , the original set would have been a three section slate bed .
We noticed that the previous fitter had left all the cushion bolts washers missing , this is very bad practice and cushion bounce would have been affected , we replaced all missing washers and now the cushions are nice and tight with good rebound

Our van outside the new build snooker room of the Farm in ashbourne Derbyshire .

 

I have been over to Melton mowbray to re-cover a pool table I supplied to this client last year

the table is finished in light oak cabinet and has the red and cream badge this table is around 5 years old now dating it from that badge .

Every staple is taken out of the cushions , the other week on another job , I had to remove three sets of staples from a cushion set that a fitter had left them in for two re-covers , this makes it very tedious putting right what other cowboy speed fitters have done ,
it was like stripping three sets of cushions down instead of one . and he had done 15 tables like this ! that was like stripping 45 sets of cushions down . I was fuming !
always make sure that a fitter takes all the staples out every cushion on every re-cover and never let them change over cushions from a set they bring with them already covered , you could end up with the old red rubber set and your new black rubber set disappears with the fitter as he takes these Home with him to sell to other clients !

Just as an example here is an old red rubber set off another job that I was working on , old red rubber has a tendency to go rock hard or Spongy with very little bounce so do not let a fitter exchange cushions keep your cushion on your table
and not his old past there sell by date rubber , this is a common practice but one that GCL billiards will not do .

The table is now finished , brand new 6811 strachan cloth , new ball racking cloth fitted , and the client was complaining of the coin mech giving free plays , by gently pulling back the 50p before it drops , this was an anti cheat ratchet spring that had broken inside the coin mech , a simple strip down and replacement of the spring and the coin mech cannot now be free played by the players , the spring keeps a ratchet against v anti return grooves on one side of coin mech . So the coin has to complete it’s full travel forward and drop before the coin slide returns ready for the next coin .
If you cannot hear a gentle click click as you slide the coin mech in , then the anti cheat ratchet spring is broken .
This pool table has limited play over the year and takes around £650 per year , with the broken coin mech I would have said the takings would have been closer to £850 per year  or may be more ? , so it shows to keep the maintenance up on the coin mech as well as the cloth .
A replacement coin mech is around £75 delivered and fitted or £45 off ebay to fit yourself , a spring is £1 plus postage .
Lost revenue always exceeds the cost of a spare coin mech so it pays to keep a spare coin mech just incase it fails like this and when the fitter comes to re-cover it can be repaired and put inside the table as a spare which can be used if the replacement has a anti cheat spring malfunction .
there is only 6 screws to unscrew and screw back on to replace the coin mech so it is a DIY job to replace one and saves you around £35 .

One of the largest Pool tournaments is coming to the Towers Snooker and Pool Venue , on Botany Avenue Mansfield from Monday the 28th to Friday the 30th of October
And it is FREE to watch , Geoff Large of GCL billiards was especially contacted to carry out the refurbishment of the playing surface of 9 of the 15 pool tables located at the Towers Venue
and I thank Jules goodyear for recommending me and for passing on my Details to Harvey Elmhirst one of the the tournament organisers , and Chris Walker Towers Director .

The first four tables being treated to a new playing surface , the cloth of choice and recommended by Geoff and Jules Goodyear ( Current Nations cup senior pool singles champion and also England Team A champion )  is the New lightweight 29 oz Strachan all wool6811 TOURNAMENT cloth , we have been getting rave reviews on the lighter weight 6811 tournament for both snooker and pool tables.

The slates have been cleaned of all dirt and dust and  any loose glue removed around the edge and the slate edge and under edge of cloth is glued with contact adhesive
The dry time before stretching the cloth on is around 20 minutes per table bed .
The cushions have already been stripped of all staples taken out , reclothed in the same 6811 tournament 29 oz cloth and refastened back to the frames .

the slate beds have now been re-covered .

at GCL billiards we do not do half a job , we also clean the inside of the tables , we vacuum all dust from the main body and wash down and degrease the rails of wax residue which is a combination of sweat off hands
and chalk and wool residue shedding from cloth as can be seen further down this ball rail  , if you let years of the build up you are asking for balls to stick , resulting in player picking the table up and dropping it to free the balls .
the bad thing about this is you can get broken feet , or worse a cracked slate bed .
Cleaning the inside of the table is part of a re-cover . and is part of GCL billiards code of practice to do this .

all nice and clean and ready to accept balls rolling down without the risk of getting stuck,  and also nice clean rails will not deposit the muck back onto the nice new cloth you have just had fitted .

Packing sagging slates !
Many pool table fitters pack under the slate bed to get the dip out , my theory of this is it leaves a gap unsupported along the slate between these beer mat packers
I have been fully trained as a Billiards fitter and work on full size snooker tables , I put some of the theory of that training into how to support the length of the slate bed in a pool table if shimming to get level
I use the centre ball rail return gully uprights which is the main support for the slate bed if anyone sits on a table overtime the carcase will begin to sag down between the legs  , the centre uprights also distort and sag.
my way of packing or shimming  is to run a length of thin snooker cloth down the top edge staple in position , then run a further shorter length on top in the middle  , what I am doing is building a gradual pyramid to lift the bow or sag out of the slate , on bad tables this can take three strips each one smaller in length than the previous strip  , but normally it takes just two strips , like in the above photo.
My own personal theory into using beermats is don’t , they cause too many problems , if you pack too much you can distort the top lid bend the clamps or distort them and also make the hinge side rattle
I have checked the tables I have re-covered and used the strip cloth method of leveling the sagging slate , and removed all the beer mats that where previously put there by someone else ,  I staple my strips of cloth in place so it will not move or fall into the main gully like loose beer mats can .

three more tables going through the process of playing surface refurbishment at the Towers

It is important when re-covering cushions to take every old staple from the previous re-cover out , this makes for a neater re-cover plus a build up of staples can lift the cushion above where it should be , ball Rebound can be effected
too high and the cushion is dead , too low and the balls jump , you do not get the full bounce out of cushions if they are too high .

the final part of any pool table re-covering and refurbishment is the Leveling of the tables
I use an old Mercedes car side jack that I have converted to move around the table with ease to lift and drop the tables down for access to the table leg feet
I move in 1/4 turns each foot , I then try a few balls around the table
Good cloth which is looked after will Run very fast and true , cloth that is neglected will fluff up shed and you may get what we describe as cardigan arms ball fluffs appearing or clumping of cloth .
a simple rule of thumb is every 10 hours of use Brush then Blocker and Iron , and even if the club has ironed the tables early that day  if it’s match night Iron them again .
the Iron setting of a Dowsing Iron with thermostat for this type of Strachan 6811 Tournament cloth is the hottest setting N0 9
if you are using Hainsworth Match cloth then setting number 8
keep the iron off the cushion rubber by about 1/8th ” ,  heat will make the rubber go off and you will end up replacing cushions due to dead bounce from early rubber deterioration

As photo  from one end of the room

one of the Black pearl cabinet finish Supreme winner pool tables , fitted with the new 29oz Strachan lightweight Tournament cloth

and  a table in the white Pearl finish , notice all the tables have racking cloths fitted , if you are a Pool Player there are a few rules to think about and get used to doing or not doing here are the 6 most important .
Rule one =  always use the racking cloth
Rule two =  never sit on the table the slate will distort and sag
Rule three = clean hands never eat greasy crisps or nuts when playing pool
Rule four = keep drinks well away from the table
Rule 5 = Respect the table keep tips and ferrules in good order and never dig into the cloth with your cue and keep tip well chalked .Green chalk for Green cloth , do not use BLUE chalk .
rule 6 = cue cases opening on the table some have sharp hinges or catches that can damage the cloth open the cue case on a side drinks table never on a pool tables playing surface .

If you like the way I go about my business in maintaining pool and snooker tables and you have a venue or a table of your own then please contact Geoff Large at GCL billiards
contact details are ….c.large@btinternet.com or phone 07753466064 or home 01159725355

Interested in going over to check this event out then please contact the towers Snooker club or just turn up , its FREE for spectators .

Upstairs room at the towers has another 6 Supreme winner pool tables

I have just been over to a warehouse in Leicestershire , I was asked by a firm of Importers and shippers of Chinese Goods , mainly hot tubs and leisure goods to the UK .
to have a look at two types of pool tables they had ordered and to show the wharehousemen how to re-cover the slate beds so that they could part assemble them before loading and delivery .
the cushions came already covered , but the slates did not .
They had a bit of a problem in that these slate beds are designed to be screwed onto  the frame directly through countersunk holes that had to be filled over with filler then re-covered on site .

the frame comes flat packed and has to be assembled like this , it looks like they are using the same design of legs normally found on twist bar football tables .
there are 4 chrome twist feet to be placed on the end of the legs for leveling , I decided to dry fit without these on as we where just demonstrating today not actually fitting it to be played on

I placed the slate on then assembled the flat packed cushions and surround skirt on top of a Blanket so we did not scratch the top
Those chinese flat pack instructions take some reading , I went by the photo’s in the end .

The slate had holes where countersunk screws where to fasten the slate directly to the frame , I worked out that these holes could be filled with car body filler this made part assembly and covering of the slate bed before delivery possible
My Client who had ordered 40 of these type of tables did not realise that he would have flat packed tables delivered and was shocked to find out he had to assemble them fully and also fit the bed cloths !
He contacted GCL billiards to find a solution to part assemble them as drop off time per item is normally done in 30 minutes , they also deliver Hot tubs and would have a part load of pool tables and hot tubs to do multi drops around the country
He did not want any delays in flat pack assembly of the pool tables .

the ball return was a simple piece of hardboard down each side incorporating both a slot in the frame and a slot in the skirt surround of the cushion skirt , one end has to be left off to get these in then put the end on which has the ball acess hole in .
I see many of these types of tables for sale on Ebay , my own personal feeling is they are not the type of table I like to work on .
there are many designs of tables some easy to errect and re-cover , some hard to re-cover .
to re-cover this table for example it is a two man job and therefore twice the expense of labour .
the second table we erected was a little different in design but almost the same format and it had a table top and table tennis cover for it .
My advice to my client was to sell the 40 tables and when he requires more to ask a table fitter for advice on the type of table to supply and deliver with ease .
When  I get enquiries for pool table re-covers I try and ask the Client for a photo of the table before I take the work on .

The two tables above are low cost tables that I would recommend my client to look at next time he thinks of stocking tables that are easy to assemble ,
they come in just a few parts
Main body with cushions surround , two or four legged versions , and slate bed , Two men could assemble these in 15 minutes on site easy
A much better solution than the imported chinese table . and they come already covered slate bed and cushions .

I have been over to Derby to adjust the pocket openings on a riley Aristocrat
The old openings where 3.3/8ths at the fall which is too tight
My clients friends where reluctant to come round and play on his table .

This was the problem , these templates would not fit into the openings at 3.3/8ths at the fall

after carefully unstapling the cloth on the corner pockets I put the cushions back onto the table in the correct place , using a centre template to centre the side cushions up .

by carefully taking the staples out I peeled the cloth back to reveal the rubber openings
I then placed the corner template over this and traced around it , then cut the slivers of excess rubber away  , around 1/16th each side .

the middle pockets where ok and fitted my centre templates perfectly

After trimming and rasping and sanding the angles , I carefully turned over and re stapled the cloth back on
this photo is of the under cut template showing a perfect fit to align perfectly with the slate fall

The corner template is now a perfect fit in all 4 corner pockets and a shade over 3.5 inch , the balls are much more inclined to fall now and the jaw  rattle is reduced ,
a ball is a little forgiving when resting in the jaw and is inclined to fall in but only just , before they where almost impossible to fall in if slightly rattled on entry to fall , I have not made these openings massive like some club tables you play on , they are what I call just above pro size pockets by about 1/32nd of an inch .
the worst thing you can do is expect normal players to play on very tight pocket openings they will just walk away from that type of table as the game is no fun for them , by slightly opening the pockets up they will start to build more confidence and make higher breaks .
I have been adjusting a few tables recently to have slightly larger pocket openings . some require pockets openings at 3.3/4 wide but most go for 3.5/8ths , this one is between 3.5 and 3.5/8th .

The table finished and ready for play , the room that this table is locate at is above some industrial units in Derby , my client rents the room out to include all electricity , he has a toilet and fridge and tea making facilities.
It is one way of having a few mates round for snooker without having to wait or booking of a table as in a snooker club location .
so if you do not have room for a full size snooker table at home then consider renting a room like this unused office space above a normal running garage business which would only store rubbish in it .
It is a win win situation for both Garage owner and Snooker fanatic .
the work is fiddly and very time consuming as you have to take it steady and carefully cut and check before rasping and sanding , this is not a DIY job and you should refer to a qualified Billiard Fitter for this very experienced hands on work

We have been over to Coopers Snooker and Pool club in Wellingborough
The work we have just completed
“full size snooker tables recovered in Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz cloth

and three 7×4 Supreme winner pool tables also recovered in Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz cloth

the UK pool area now has 10 supreme Winner pool tables and is now used as the main Northampton county pool team venue
an impressive room , an  ex cinema with very high ceiling which made hanging new electric match lighting a risky job , so best left to Electricians who can work at Heights off scaffolding .

In august we help recover and relocate some of the Supreme winner tables for coopers from their sister club in Northampton
they had nine tables back then so had room for one more which they sourced from another firm .
They then had the electricians move all the lighting and the tables had to be relocated , a job they did themselves , then they asked the fitter from the other firm who installed that 10th table to look at the other tables and level them .
the above photo shows what he did , packed under the slate with beer mats , this is taboo , and can cause cracked slates or even warped corrugated slate where the slate sags on the gap between the packing .
on the three tables I recovered I put right what this fitter had done , and made much better way of rectifying dropped slates or sagging slate as some call this , normally caused by people sitting on the next table they are playing on .

one of the other tables he leveled by placing beer matts under the slate in different places , you may notice where he is placing these beer matts on the two centre ball return  tunnel supports , which run the entire length of the slate from end to end

and my way of packing is to support the slate gradually by stapling thin strips of cloth then a shorter piece of thin cloth over that , if a third is required then attach that , the slate is then gradually supported it’s entire length
There is no air gaps under the slate between the support and the slate so no risk of a cracked slate and no risk of corrugation of slate
I have given much thought into getting the slate bow out of the carcase on these tables and , I believe my way to be the best solution
I put this down to my Time served Billiards fitter experience of 40 years , the other fitter I think is just  a pool table engineer and not a proper Time served Billiard sfitter trained in the art of working on all cue sports tables
If you can understand how the slates on a full size snooker table must be supported it is no difference in pool tables there must be support on it’s entire length and no gaps between slate and frame , and not wedged with beer mats like the above pool table engineer did , a common thing I find when on my rounds .
The solution to keep tables level is to stop people sitting on the tables , the average male is 12 to 14  stone put this in the centre of the table and it will sag down and deform the carcass of the pool table which in turn the slate will also follow the shape of the now sagging carcass  , so if you see people sitting on pool tables tell them off and point them to this report .
Also , if a pool table engineer places too many beer mats under the slate the top surround cushion clamps will be sprained and cause rattling clips and hinges .