Tag Archives: recovers

Posted in News

GCL BILLIARDS for Pool table recovering in the Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, Newark & Leicester area

Two more Supreme Prince Pool tables get the full monty treatment of brand new cushion rubber in quality black rubber and new re-clothing with strachan best quality wool cloth.  We also vacuumed the tables out, de-greased around 3 years of muck from the ball rails and centre ramp, cleaned the side chute and flip out tray, checked battery power and that the electronic coin mechs were working fine.

One thing the Landlord expressed concern with was that the tables have never played level in all the years he has been there, so the slate was re-levelled by strip packing to take out the natural bow of the cabinet which over time had become worse.  We also removed many recovers of spray on glue from the top of the slate which was affecting the ball run down the side of the table.  The ball now runs true and the table was levelled by engineers level as well as digital levelled to an accuracy of 0.1 per square metre, that’s the thickness of a £20 note throughout the level of the table slate area.  Only a time served billiards fitter would go to these lengths of making sure a pub pool table was good for play and the good news is we do not charge more for this expertise.  So why choose a quick fit pool table recoverer over someone who takes their time and does the job right.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT SOME FIRMS COME WITH CUSHIONS ALREADY COVERED AND JUST CHANGE THEM OVER TAKING YOUR CUSHIONS AWAY.  This can be a big mistake if you allow this to happen as good cushions could be swapped over with bad hard rubber cushions and this is what had happened to the above two tables including slate swap over.  At GCL Billiards we will only change over worn out sets of cushions and never just one or two cushions always the whole set.  If one cushion has gone hard the others are not far behind in doing the same, so best to replace the whole set.  All other good sets of cushions are recovered on site and refitted to their original tables, ensuring that if you have got decent cushions they are put back on your table.

To round things off we fitted our smart new green www.88pooltables.com bubble badge to the cabinet side.  This displays who maintains the table and contact numbers etc.

We know we are second to none in the refurbishment of Pool tables, so if your local pub or club is ready for a revamp of its pool tables please recommend www.gclbilliards.com the professional cue sports people.

The Landlord was highly delighted with the work we have carried out and the attention to detail of the cleaning of the inside of the tables to stop ball jams etc. and how we got the tables level.  Not all firms do this, but GCL Billiards and Double Eight Pool Tables always do it.

Phone us today to book your table in on 07753466064 or 01159725355.  Leave a message if we are busy we always get back to you.

Posted in News

Shocking pool table recover, but it has now been sorted

 


Yesterday I was called out to re-level a Pool table that is based very local to me here in Long Eaton about 1 mile away, the table was a Supreme Prince with the round legs , when I got there I could not believe the state of the last recover , the bed cloth was almost off the slate , they had used inferior spray on glue and it had not stuck , I explained to the owner that in my opinion , the charge for leveling would be better put towards a full recover as the cloth was also inferior low grade.

They gave me the go ahead to recover the table , when I removed the cushions and cloth I was even more shocked to find that they had rerubbered the old cushions in old snooker rubber that had been removed from a full size table , not realy shocked at that because it can be done for a lower cost option than brand new cushions,but more so that the rubber was not in one piece , they had used two bits of rubber and the joint could be seen through the cloth, also the rubber was falling off the wood, and they had recovered over three sets of staple, this fitter was not hanging around he was in and out within a hour maybe less?, I always take every staple out of the cushions and tape the rubber just as I would a full size snooker table . this makes for better easier recover on the next visit. and I always do a job with the intention that I will be the one coming back to do it again, it is never a bodge it and scarper job like the last fitter.

I had with me another set of Supreme cushions with the modern blue Rubber on although they where a used set but not very old, they where 100% better than the set that I took off , I then proceeded to take the cloth off the slate , I moved the slate over to one side and the state of the inside of the table was a mess, they had spray glued the slate in situ , and the overspray had gone all over the ball pocket runs and inside the table , also the inside was full of muck and old bits of recover cloth from previous recovers.

I vacumed the table out , washed all the ball rails down , washed the alloy ball tray and inspected the coin mech, I then recovered the slate making sure that it was done with good contact adiesive which was not the sprayed on type, the cloth will now stay on,I then noticed that the legs where also loose, so retightened the nuts back up to stop the table wobble,I then turned my attention to the slate dip.

Pool tables are not made in the same way as a Snooker table , they have a 7 foot lenth span and the body of the table tends to dip in the middle this will also make the slate dip in the middle, some people pack the slate with beer mats, this is not a good idea because you are then leaving parts of the slate unsupported and the risk of slate breakage is always there, I use thin strips of cloth staple placed on the main long middle supports I build them up gradual to form a pyramid , this way the slate is supported along its total lenth and the dip is rectified making level of the table much better.

It is a bit of trial and error getting the dish out of the slate , the slate may have to come out two or three times before you can get it level, but once done it is much better to play on, the customer’s asked me to recover the table in the same cloth and in the same way as the local snooker clubs pool tables which are also in this pubs league,of which I also maintain with regular recovers for summer and winter league, this snooker club is regarded as having the best pool table in the league by most players, I would also now put this table as one of the best to play on in the league provided that they brush and iron it every day like the snooker club , that realy is the secret of a good table , the  brushing and ironing. if you leave a cloth without maintenance it will form balls of fluff and ridges in the cloth , the brushing will remove dirt and the iron will keep the cloth flat and fast to play on,

Now thats not the end of the story when I had finnished, the landlady told me who had done the last recover, I was shocked to find out I knew the Guy , I know they can produce better workmanship than this ! she aslo informed me that they had paid for brand new cushions on the reciept, not bodged two piece old snooker rubber, needless to say she is pursuing the matter.

Posted in News

Repeat Bookings for Recovers

Today I had a repeat booking from a client.  They were delighted with the standard of work and quality of materials used and also the way I went about doing the recovers,  taking my time and refilling the slate joints, checking and adjusting table level, replacing the odd net here and there etc.

The client has a multi tabled club in the midlands and in July I recovered two snooker tables and he has just rebooked me to recover another 2 snooker tables in September, with the possibility of doing 2 recovers of snooker tables every 2 months . I got this repeat work not only for the standard of workmanship but also for the price structure I have put in place for multi tabled clubs.

Another repeat booking also coming in for August for a customer in a private house.  Add to this two pool table rental agreements of 2 years for two separate clubs.  These pool table rentals will of course be backed up by a good service schedule of having the slate out, vacum inside cabinet, wash down internal ball rails and wood work including ball tray, clean outside cabinet and ball window, remark or recover (which ever is in the contract), check coin mech + springs and lubricate mech, last of all recheck level of table.  This makes for a trouble free table. A yearly or 6 monthly recover option is also available.

Geoff

Posted in News

Special rates for Snooker and Pool table recovering in August

My first half a month trading as GCL Billiards , and I have been pretty busy , 8 Full size Recovers , 1 table dismantle and store , 2 stretch bed cloths , 1 open pockets up and recover cushions , + 2 more recovers just been booked in ,

Now is the time to get a special rate for a Recover from GCL BILLIARDS rather than waiting for the Winter Season to Start , so Why not email or Phone Me to get your quote now .
August is always a slow month for Billiard fitting it is the last month of the summer before the Season realy kicks off for Pool and Snooker .
I expect September and October to be realy busy with clubs all requiring Recovers or cloth Restretching at the same time , avoid disappointment , Have
your Table Refurbished in August , the Players will be better prepared for the Winter by getting used to the New cloth a few weeks before .

After a recover , New cloth will be slow with plenty of nap on from new , unlike the worn out cloth that is now approaching the end of its lifespan , the old cloth must play like glass and be very fast , players like fast cloths but on a worn out cloth it is very difficult to control the cue ball for back spin and side swerve , this is down to the cloth having no grip unlike a new cloth with good nap direction , a new cloth has to be played on and the players will adjust their game based on a few weeks of play , they will be better prepared for any snooker or Pool league .
I always check and adjust the level if required when Recovering , the slate is also cleaned off from all chalk dust ,and the joints are checked for gaps and filled .
this is something that speed fitters are renowned for not doing , one thing you can be sure of the time and effort will be put in on each table by GCL BILLIARDS .

Volume or speed work is not a word I like to hear , you never rush a game of Snooker and Billiard Fitting is the same , I also treat all my customers on an Equal footing , I do not go by their house post code or what Car they Drive to assess the price to be charged , my rates are all the same for everyone . but of course multi tabled snooker clubs may get a better rate for repeat work .

Geoff