Tag Archives: busy

Posted in Sold

Back to Work after 10 day break in Tenerife , plus smart Phone for sale ( Don’t Laugh )

Well back to the grind of work , and we have had a few job’s come in while I have been away and a few enquiries for work going forward .
I must say the last year has been very busy and we hope the next year will be just as good , I was ready for the holiday and have recharged my batteries .
The next week kicks off with 5 stretch bed cloths and two pool table re-covers, then a full size table dismantle to bring downstairs , so enough to keep me busy nearly all week there , plus the following week we have Re-rubber + Re-cover of full size , more pool tables to re-cover , and a re-cover in Northampton for a new client with multiple tables and multi venue’s so that one may turn out to be a good for GCL Billiards , adding a new Client with that many tables is a Bonus , but take note we apply the same standards for clients with multi tables to one who has just one , we will never rush a job .
The van has been sign written and wrapped  while I was away on holiday and I must say it realy looks good , with it’s Large Pool ball livery on each side and a snooker theme on the back doors .
Many thanks to Adam Maltby at Blueprint for designing the wrap , I can highly recommend this firm  http://www.blueprintnottingham.co.uk/the-team/ who also sponser my local sports team the nottingham panthers ice Hockey Club of which I have been a long time supporter since they reformed in 1980 .
van sign writing back and passenger side
Van sign writing back door
van sign writing drivers side

Call me old fashioned , but read the following . ( if it ain’t broke don’t fix it )
if it ain't broke don't fix it

Don’t Laugh , but I renewed my Phone contract just before I went away on holiday for a new fangled smart type touch screen phone a shiny new Sony Experia , well that did not last long , the sim was taken out and put back into my Trusty Nokia 6320i which is over 9 years old and still going strong after many drops from the van and even one underwater experience of a down stairs loo and then dried out in a bag of rice  , how people put up with those touch screen phone’s with multi tasks is beyond me , it always annoys me when I see young people and Adults playing games on them or are glued to the internet on a tiny screen  , young un’s should be playing Football and Cricket or playing cuesports , useing their eye’s for skills rather than these multi game computers put on a tiny screen . This is why so many Snooker club’s are closeing , young people hang around on street corners messageing the girl or guy 6 feet away or stay in bedrooms playing on X box’s or their smart and i phone’s on facebook , and why use the internet on them , when they can do that on a full sized screen on a lap top or PC. and not ruin their eyesight ? No wonder so  many young people wear glasses straining their eye’s at such a small screen  ! Doctors even have a name for the condition it’s called iPhoneitus and is the cause of many migraines and headache’s , but the phone industry is booming at the moment and I guess they have to keep bringing out phone’s with all these gimmicks on to keep it that way , todays invention is tommorows antique as they say .
all I want a phone for is to make and recieve calls and text plus Bluetooth hands free conection for the van , the 10 year old Nokia will do it to perfection .
I had to laugh though at the young salesman’s face  in the phone shop when I asked him for a sim card converter to put the tiny sim back  in the Nokia after just 3 days use .
So if anyone wants a Brand New BOXED ( only 3 day very light use ) Sony Experia latest model only been out Five weeks I have one for sale @ £150  . salesman says it will go for £150 easy and it is on O2 but has no sim  and in White. but it has a added data card 8GB which cost me extra .
here is a link to one on youtube phone Geoff on 07753466064 if you want it , cash on collection.
check this out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZFABCH26Lw and for toughness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE79SD9xtRo
sony experia C5303nokia 6320imy choice , If it ain’t broke don’t fix it !

Posted in News

No job too Small, from a garage 6ft pool table to a full size snooker table, GCL Billiards the firm of choice because you are dealing direct with the fitter

We are very busy at the moment and are fully booked up for the month of May.  We are not complaining as it shows people want GCL Billiards to do the work on their cue sports table.

Last week I had a phone call from a local private house who required a recover of an old pool table they had picked up off ebay.  I was fully booked up but did this on Saturday as I do not like turning work away.  The table was an old Hazel grove super league copy, probably made by Lymegrove.  This was the type of table you would find in most pubs by the 1970s/80s.

There are still plenty of these tables around and some people even put them outside on patios for a couple of years before the weather gets to them.

This one had a very loose cloth on it and was badly fitted, plus the cloth was not very good, as can be seen from the photo below.
garage old pool old cloth

I replaced the cloth with Strachan 777 grade pool cloth at a competitive price.  The cushions where not good but the client will get a couple of years out of the table before selling it on for what he paid for it, just £100.

I am sure he will get plenty of practice on the table now it has been re-covered and we also fitted a set of new pocket liners.
garage old pool recovered
Even these old Lymegrove tables scrub up well after a re-cover.

And no job is too small, from a 6ft pool table to a full size snooker table for match play, GCL billiards will not turn you away if the table is good, the distance is not too far and the work profitable.

There are however some tables we do not recover.  These are mainly the type sold by Argos and they are just nailed together.  But you will also be surpised to know that some full size tables are made in exactly the same way, nailed on block cushions with no slips and glued together.  They are a nightmare to re-cover as they were not designed to be.

We always ask if possible to send a photo of the table.  This helps us identify the make and we can be double sure that we can take the job on.  Only the other day I had a job of moving an 8ft snooker dining table and the underside wood that the lifters where on was just glued to the slate.  Unlike the Riley diners which are fully slate screwed to subframed anti bow beamed and solid.  When the table was lifted to playing height the wood board was pulled off the slate.  The maker (which I will not name but has an impressive sales web site) is still making these diners the same way and they are not cheap at £2,500.

I have persuaded the owner of the snooker diner to have the table converted to a fixed height table with a thick beamed subframe sprayed black, the same colour as the frame and cushions.  Because he has not bought any chairs yet, he can get chairs with extra leg height for this.  The slate was 8ft long and sagged down in the middle so it could not be played without balls rolling towards the middle anyway.

When I make the new subframe it will have 4 adjustable cross bearing muntings.  This will make the slate very level and a simple job of taking a spanner under the table to adjust 8 bolts for leveling.  I also put extra screws in the cushions for a better bounce.  The table was made without much thought.  I will at the same time take the very slow thick wool cloth off and re-cover it in 6811 tournament Strachan cloth.  It is a good job for me, but it should have been made this way to start with.

Raise and fall diners with the Riley type lifters are ok to 6ft and 7ft but after this size they bow in the middle, especially the 8ft and 9ft tables.  The old E J Riley ones are better as they have anti bow beams running the entire length of the table.  I will post photos of the table when I get around to doing it in June.

Posted in News

More Snooker Pool table work for GCL Billiards in Nottingham Derby and Lincolnshire for April and May

Having just completed the large Snooker Club installations in the centre of Nottingham, we move onto a run of pool table re-covering in Derby and Nottingham.  Then we re-rubber, re-cover, nets and leathers on a full size snooker table  in Nottingham.  We then move onto Lincolnshire for another re-rubber and re-cover, this time on a 10ft, before ending back in Basford, Nottingham to work on another pool table.

The phone is busy and work is still coming in, but we still have some days spare in May to fill.

We are still hoping to get more work in from Leicestershire and the West Midlands, so if you are thinking of having work done to your cue sports table, we are just an email or phone call away.
Hidden spot match table 2

A recent re-cover in 6811 Tournament Strachan cloth, with new extra extra broad bow leathers and nets.  The pocket size on this table is 3 inches and 5/8ths at the drop, whereas a standard match table is closer to 3 and a half inches at the drop.