we have had our fair share of Hazel Grove MHG super league’s this month already .
this table is at the estates club that also has a 9ft snooker table upstairs  .
the last person to recover it should have cleaned the inside of the table out , it was shocking !

The table above before I started to clean it out and re-cover it in 6811 Strachan pool cloth.

just look at the dirt and wax build up on the ball rails , I am sure the balls where sticking inside the table
If you allow a table to get in this state then the players will start picking the table up and slamming it back down to release a stuck ball , this will damage the feet and may even crack the slate.
This is why it is a must when re-covering to take slate out and clean the inside of the table out , wash down all ball runs and side eject tray .

It is easy to clean the rails , a bucket of warm soapy water and a washing up Brush is what I used on this table , but a wet cloth will also do the same job .

The side Eject tray will also collect dust and sweat wax and build up just like in this photo above .

the cleaned up ball eject tray , I also cleaned the swivel tray and side glass and the cue ball separator  device .
a clean ball tray and ball rails will result in NO BALLS sticking which makes for a much better game of pool without the frustration of a ball or balls sticking inside the table on the dirt wax build up.

I also noticed that the return spring had broken on the coin mech , i just snipped the brioken part off , prised a new loop on the existing spring and put it on the slide lug like below photo

A simple fix that took a couple of minutes

Finished table , cleaned out repairs done , and leveled ready for play and new ball skirt fitted.
I also noticed that the cloth before this recover had been spray glued on and was falling off the slate , he also got spray glue over the inside ball rails and centre ball run .
I asked who had done the last re-cover , and the owners said it was the slot machine people , they exchanged the cushions with a set that had already been done and re-covered the slate in 20 minutes with the spray on glue , GCL billiards took a full 2 and a half to  3 hours to complete the job properly , and that is the difference between a skilled billiards fitter and a speed fitter.
if you want a good job doing correct ,then get a cue sports table specialist who takes his time and carries out the work to a professional standard .

The superleagues have been making an appearance for me these last couple of weeks .
they where the top table to buy in the 1970s/80s , but with stiff competition from Supreme they have lost their top spot .
Superleague still make tables but they are much different to the old bench legged 1970s model , they are traditional style with turned legs and they also make a model with sloping plastic legs like the Supreme winner called the Magnum.
their other models being named Imperial and Winchester . these are the turned legged versions
So here we have the older superleague bench legged table , this one had a few problems in that the cushions where all mssing the centre fixings , lucky for our customer i had salvaged some second hand fixings from  the Derby job i did last Friday.

the table being glued for the bed cloth fixing.

the logo of the cloth we where using today , the standard Strachan 777 Pool cloth , this cloth requires a lot of Brushing and ironing to make fast .

the missing tumbler bolt , and replaced with some spare ones I salvaged from another second hand table in Derby .
These type of fixings are the fitters curse , they were never a good design , and were replaced with allen key bolts later on when the imperials where first introduced , but if you think these fixings are bad the mk1 one tables of the very early 70s had a cam fixing which used to unturn when balls hit the cushion , the tumbler has 4 prongs for a screw driver to slip into and turn to tighten , these snap off after a few re-covers..

the finished table in Royal Blue cloth , Our client also purchased from us a new set of spots and stripe balls .

Not for the first time have I been asked to re-cover a pool table that is sited outside , but under a fixed roof gazebo. in Derby.
The pool table being a 7×4 Hazel Grove super league , the client required new cushions and new allen key fixings for the cushions , and he also requested best 6811 Strachan pool cloth here  are a few photo’s of that work

.
The table stripped down , I removed the top surround and converted the old fixing slot to accept the new allen key bolt fittings , the old fixers went into my tool box for spares on these tables as I often find some missing or broken . which was the case on the very next table I did at Newark a few days later.

The new cushions bought direct from Eric at Superleague

The finished table , new cushions , new cloth , all my client needs to do now if finish the paving and make sure the frost and damp is kept away from the cushions and cloth

Today I have been over to a housing estate which has its own Estates club.  I used to work on this table many years ago, but had not visited this club for at least 12 years.

The club had used another firm to recover it last time and they used inferior grade cloth.  Here are a few photo’s of the table.

The table on strip down, the cloth had been on for about 5 to 6 years.

The old cloth which was supposed to be Strachan 6811, but we found no makers mark on this cloth, all Strachan cloth has weaved letters on on edge but this had none.  We think it was some sort of seconds cloth. It may have been Strachan seconds but because it was rejected it never had the Strachan branding put on the cloth, unlike the new cloth going on which has the branding.

The new cloth with its stand out gold lettering stating proudly that it is BEST QUALITY STRACHAN TOURNAMENT CLOTH .

The West of England transfer stating the 6811 and 30 oz, and also the serial number of the roll printed in Black ink.  At GCL Billiards we always show our client what cloth we are fitting, there are no seconds fitted when we do the work.

The finished table ready for play.  Note the screw to back of cushion bolt buttons.  These gave me the identity of the table as a Cox and Yeman.  Click on any photo to enlarge.

We return tomorrow to re-cover the pool table, another Hazel Grove Super League.

You may remember me posting about a  Riley viceroy Full size snooker table in oak being sold on our Web site for sale section direct from the Seller to the buyer
well here is a report on the second part of the work .
We arrived at the buyers house to remove a full size Victorian table from the basement Games Room .
we then Started to erect the replacement table , an oak riley viceroy that we had recommended to our Buyer as his fittings in the basement where all light oak , the old Victorian Mahogany snooker table with  turned leg looked out of place .

the first photo of the frame assembled and in position , we roughly level the table for the slates to then be slid on one at a time , we use the long level as a straight edge only , we put our old Engineers level on top of this to get a much more accurate level . We never rely on the 6ft builders level vial .

the first two slates are slid on from one end off the piano trolley wheels , we rub candle wax the top of the frame to make sure the slate slides on to the other end with ease

all slates are now on , and they require centreing up from the centre slate and pinning the brass dowels into each slate to make one long bed of slate .

After fixing all the slate together fine leveling up  and putting the wood tack linings around the outside edge , we filled the joints with soft sand car body filler , then lightly sanded them in to form one continuous bed of slate , we cleaned off all dust and fitted the bed cloth , this was the original bed cloth from the sellers house , the table cloth was in very good condition , although I did notice it was silver 6811 Strachan and not the Gold 6811 Tournament which is what I recommend , but I did advise my buying client to get his moneys worth out of the silver cloth first , before he spent on another  re-cover .

the finished table from the black spot end .

the finished table from the D end

the finished table from another angle  giving the true colour of the light oak , you may notice this table has the Billiard riley Brass single ball pocket ball catchers , these are very rare to find and worth around £200 the set . I am not sure what our client is doing when the table is ready for it’s next re-cover he may have the modern ball rails fitted .

Our client is very happy with the work and also that we recommended we look for a light oak table for him , this saved him spending money doing the other mahogany table up that he had . it just goes to show that you can trust Geoff at GCL Billiards to give the best option going forward , our client could have wasted a few Hundred pounds , and for a little more than what he would have spent on the old table , he has a piece that truly blends in with his rooms furnishings .

If any one is interested in a Quality light to medium oak refurbished table then check out our for sale section we have a client with a very nice Orme And sons table at an all inclusive fitted price.
https://gclbilliards.com/surprised-no-body-has-snapped-this-beauty-up-full-size-oak-orme-snooker-table-for-sale-all-in-price-including-fitting/

TABLE HAS NOW BEEN RESERVED

This table has now been reserved for installation in a Pub in Derby this week on our excellent rental terms  , thank you to Della .
If you would like an identical table if we have not got one in stock we have to order from Supreme , this can take upto 3 weeks if they have no tables ready for collection or delivery.
I will be ordering two more this month to have in stock ready to install .

We have one Supreme winner in Black pearl ready to install , the new latest edition with genuine metal chrome corners .
We can install this table in a pub in the nottingham and Derby Area from £15 per week contract .
the table is coin operated and can be set on 50p or £1 to suit you .
Private landlords or Owners or managers not under fruit machine contracts are our normal clients .
we differ from the Fruit machine contract in that we only deal in Cue sports tables , so 100% of our time is spent maintaining pool and snooker tables , we do not get side tracked with gaming machines  .
and offer full professional service for the hire of your pool table .

is your pool team always moaning about the pool table , then get GCL billiards to rent you a Pool Table .
Our contracts are £15 per week one recover year
or £18.50p per week Two recovers per year .
A separate set of Match balls are provided for the pool team .




If you want the best Local Hire company for Pool tables then , contact Geoff at GCL Billiards on 07753466064

or email c.large@btinternet.com