table | GCL Billiards

Posted in Sold

Very rare Gillows NOW Sold to a firm within the Billiards TRADE

1 March 2013

SOLD SOLD SOLD

The table has now been sold to a Trade Buyer

And I am looking forward to seeing the renovated table .

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Original advert

A very Rare gillows table , gillows was a cabinet maker in the very early 1800s .
the firm later algimated to become the well known furniture manufacturers Waring and Gillow .
This table is now up for sale , it is the most sought after antique billiard table that was made , gillows only made around 15 tables a year . it was not their main line of furniture making , John thurston was an aprentice for Gillows london branch in the very early 1800s.

please read this information about the table and gillows as a history that was posted by myself and Peter hainsworth in 2007 about this very table.
http://www.thesnookerforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php/25382-Very-Rare-table-find-in-Essex-circa-1800-to-1830s?highlight=gillow+table

It is very unusual to have gillows carved into the end frame work of the table , if their are gillows records about the referance number 1105 should reveal who was the first owner of the table , but i will point out that I did find a label on one of the cushions when I re-covered this table in 2007 . and here it is , on the lable it reads a womans name a Miss Gladstone and a village called Witham in which maybe in essex and is not too far away from where this table is now located , I think this is the original owner of the table or a sibling that the table was passed down to. the number 26-483 maybe a job referance number for work on the table or a removals tag , which would have been a horse and cart removal in those days .
but it could also be a lable from when Thurston did work to the cushions Rubber blocks in 1890s

the table would have had a three section wood bed and stuffed felt cushions when it was first manufactured it has now got a three section slate bed which is circa 1830s so the table itself would be at least that old as not long after three section slate 4 section was the norm by 1850s then 5 section by the 1870s , Thurston billiards has done some work on the cushions around 1898 by the ivory name plate on the other end from the carved Gillows end . maybe Thurston will have some record of doing this ?

Thurston badge which I have been told is circa 1890s /1900 , this badge was put on by Thurston when they changed the cushions to modern blocks for the new type of rubber being used in the cushions at that time period , the table is much older than this badge . maybe as much as 90 years older . but no less than 70 years older.

if you require any more information on this table please enter the link to the snooker forum as listed above at the top of this page , there is more information and more photo’s of this very rare Billiard table , if anyone would be interested in the Gillows table , then please feel free to contact me at the email below only , and I will refer youre enquiry to the owners of the table , but I will warn you , fully renovated pieces of gillows furniture fetch a considerable amount of money , this table fully renovated would be worth in the region of between £30.000 to £55.000 , in all honesty I expect this table to end up at Bonhams auction house , that was my recommendation to the Owners. it will prob end up in America , that was where the last one I knew about went to in the 1970s and that sold for £25000 back then .
All proceeds I have been informed are to go to charity .

please do not send enquiries for the table through the comments section of this advertisement , please send them to c.large@btinternet.com

Posted in News

Two more Rental Pool Tables installed in local sports bar

28 February 2013

We have been busy expanding our rental side of the business today by installing two brand new Winner Supreme pool tables in a local sports bar. We were contacted two weeks ago for a quote to supply two tables on contract for match play for the two league pool teams playing out of the establishment. They already had two Supreme Prince tables on rental from another firm, but these were now looking a bit sorry for themselves with trim falling off and scruffy dirty insides.

The owner of the sports bar has also got another pub with two Supreme Prince tables in but these are in better condition and he owns these tables himself. I have been maintaining those with good service calls and recovering work. Once I informed him of our policy to do 2 recovers a year for winter and summer league on our rental contract, he was impressed. I also informed him that the Winner Supreme in our opinion is a better table than the Prince, with more sturdy legs that support way towards the centre of the table reducing slate sag. Players know this too.

He wanted black pearl finished Winner tables with 6811 Strachan cloth fitted as endorsed by the UK pool Tour, World Eightball Federation and the IPA and played at most finals around the UK, including Great Yarmouth and Blackpool.

Winner Supreme tables have been upgraded over the years. They have now got real metal chrome heavy duty corners where before they where chrome plastic. The cushion trim has now gone back to alloy trim in place of the breakable plastic trim. The black finish is now a more matt finish where before it was a wood grain shiny effect that reflected the lights into the player’s eyes. The rubber on Supreme cushions has changed from red rubber to blue rubber now they have the better black rubber for longer lasting bounce. Over the years Supreme have improved the table by listening to the players. In our opinion the Winner Supreme is the player’s and operator’s choice.

By having GCL Billiards maintained tables, I always recover on site, making sure that the same cushion and slate goes back onto their original tables. I never come with spare recovered cushions from another table and change over. This practice is wrong, because you could end up with old dead cushions and even slate warped if changed over. Some hire firms have a man in the warehouse just recovering pool table slates and cushions, they even mix up cushions and I have seen a table with red, blue and black rubber all on the same table. That will never happen to tables we hire.

Your table will play well every time it is recovered. We use top class Strachan 6811 cloth on our hire table recovering. You will not play on better.

Before the install there were two Prince traditional look pool tables. Note that the legs are right in the corner of the cabinet and a long length of unsupported centre section which we find produces slate sag, thats where the slate sags down in the centre of the table.

After the install of the new Winner model tables, now note the slanting stream line modern sides and the legs are three pointed fixings that support the centre of the table more, reducing the chance of slate sag.

The top dimensions of both the Supreme Winner and the Supreme Prince are identical, only the style of the surrounding framework and cabinet and legs differ, cushions and slate size are identical.

We have named our rental side of the business Double Eight Pool Tables. If you require a table on a rental contract with two recovers a year then please get in touch with Geoff at GCL BILLIARDS.

Our rentals start at just £15 per week with two recovers, you have the keys on site and all that the table takes is yours to keep. We do not do 50/50 splits, we also do a deluxe rental agreement where we call and service the tables on a regular basis, brushing, ironing and remarking. We are genuine cue sports people who care about what people think of us. We offer the best deal on pool table rentals, we know of no other pool table rental firms who offer such a good or better service. We can do this because we are not side tracked by servicing fruit machine and gaming machines. We do not do these we are 100% Cue sports maintenance and time served billiard fitters. You really will not get anyone better to look after your pool table, either rented or privately owned.

We supply the pool team with a new set of Aramith top quality pool balls every year free of charge and also give a set of standard balls away per table with every yearly renewal of a pool table rental contract.

Our aim is to have just 40 local rental sites within a 20 mile radius of Long Eaton. We do not want to get too large on our rental size because our customers will get a better service from us by limiting ourselves to just 40 sites.

40 sites is very manageable on top of our recovering work on pool and snooker tables. We are not greedy and will not take on what we cannot maintain just to make an extra buck. We have a duty to offer good service not only to our pool table hire customers but also to the Snooker and Pool table recover and maintanence customers too. By finding the right balance we know we can achieve this.

Another of our Rental tables this one located near the centre of Nottingham. This one in light oak finish.

The range of finish from Supreme for Winners.

As with all our maintenance programmes it is important that the tables play level. We use both types of high class levels to check our tables, an engineer’s level which I also use for full size snooker tables (and most billiard fitters have got these), then for fine checking of thinner pool slates, I use the digital level and I can get the table to within the thickness of a £20 note which shows up as 0.1 on the digital level as in the photo. But I strive to try and get it 0.0. Take that £20 note away and the level will show o.o. Has your pool table hire firm gone to these lengths to please the customer? If not then contact Geoff at GCL BILLIARDS.

Geoff realy cares about his clients and goes beyond the average pool table gaming machine engineer to get the table playing good and that’s because he is a time served Billiards fitter.

Posted in News

Back to Lincoln for new pro snooker light installation in log cabin

27 February 2013

Today I have been back over to Lincoln to install the new pro lighting to the table I put in the Log cabin about two weeks ago. The owner phoned our contact/agent in lincoln for GCL Billiards to come over and install ASAP.

It was a very tricky install because of the low roof and those beams. The lights had to be fitted directly to the beams and a strengthening wood plank put up between the beams to support the lights and keep them together.

The Owner was delighted with the new lighting, there was no way a coffin type shade would have fitted to the roof without it being too low.

Cost of the new lighting starts at just £240 for a full size plus miles travelled to fit. This lighting install with travelling costs was quoted at £310 fitted with two spare tubes. Two photos below before lights were fitted. Note that we covered the slate bed of the table with blankets as well as a heavy duty cover and we check for level and adjust after fitment of lighting. Our pricing for these lights is very competitive. You just have to check what they sell for on ebay to find out we are the best solution for pro snooker lighting.

We also give a discount for two lights fitted in the same club on the same day.

Posted in News

Well worn out cloth on this re-cover – just look at the photos , also info on 6811 strachan grade’s of cloth. there is more than one grade make sure you know what you have ordered.

25 February 2013

I have been over to Nottingham today to commence a two day re-cover of two full size snooker tables.

They got their last penny’s worth out of the old cloth on this table, just look at the wear in the photos below.

The table now has a nice new re-cover in 6811 tournament Strachan cloth, with 6 new nets, the old ones having been tied up. The last re-cover was 3 years ago. The room is very good for league snooker but no teams play out of this venue yet.

The tables are Thurston metric sized tables. These are 2 inches shorter on the length of a full size table and 1 inch shorter on the width. The metric sized tables never really took off as the other Billiard firms who were on the Snooker and Billiards Trade Association voted not to go ahead with the change over to metric tables. Thurston jumped the gun back then and produced a few. I have come across around five of these tables on my rounds.

Photos 2 and 3: The table with badly worn out cloth.

Another couple of photo,s from the 2nd recover I did at this location.
Note the very bad chalk dust build up , and at the point where the ball strikes the end cushion , you get compacted slate dust , when a ball strikes a cushion there is equal down force as impact , therefore crushing chalk dust and compacting into lumps , this can also make the ball jump off the cushion , now some of you players out there may have blamed the table being out of level , when a ball rolling down the lenth of this end cushion , the ball rolls off the compacted dust , well now you can see what the fitter reveals when taking a bed cloth off the slate bed . note that this tables bed cloth was last taken off 3 years ago , so there is 3 years of chalk dust here , and thats another reason why you should have youre bed cloths restretched at least once in their life time or yearly , unless you have the tables recovered every year .

the two Metric 12 foot tables after being Recovered in 6811 tournament 30z cloth .

Allways check that the 6811 that you have ordered is the top grade 6811 tournament , it has two blue lines embroidered into the side edge of the cloth plus gold embroidered writing , on the reverse it has a transfer and also a cloth roll number , also the words tournament should be on the embroidery and also in the roll black print number and the gold transfer it may also have the word gold tournament on the transfer too printed just under the large 6811.
Club 6811 has two red lines , when getting quotes make sure they do not fit club when you have ordered tournament , a well known trick that makes them an extra £20 per recover , at GCL billiards we only use the top grade and I show you the transfer stamp and roll number before fitting. 6811

Club grade 6811 is only a £20 saving over the top grade tournament , and this is only viable to use if you have say 15 tables to recover , then it becomes £300 saved , but on one or two tables in my opinion it pays to fit the top grade, and thats 6811 tournament. if you just ask a firm for Strachan 6811 and they say nothing about the two grades , then expect them to fit Club 6811 , as it makes them £20 per table extra . I prefer to be upfornt and honest about the grades and give the client the choice , I only use club if it is asked for. and then I give them the £20 reduced rate for that grade. You get what you pay for as they say.

Beware of undercutt priceing , when I quote for 6811 tournament , other firms may undercutt then use 6811 club or even worse 6811 substandard . when you order a recover in 6811 tournament look at the cloth transfer and side Embroidery before they fit it , and stay with them while they fit it to make sure they have not swopped it over as soon as you leave the room …it has been done .
It is ok to use club and substandard as along as the customer knows that it is being used and a lower price given because of this , I rarley get asked for club and never get asked for substandard , but I often get offered substandard cloth for stock but never buy it . substandard can be anything form white flecks to stop start lines in the cloth , there is nothing wrong with it , it just has faults within its weave . and the manufacturer stamps the transfer substandard right across it , if you see a cloth with the transfer looking as though someone has tried to rubb a diagonal print off the face of it , leave well alone , I often come across cloths that some fitters have done this . I have been around too long not to notice these things.

Posted in News

Very busy month ahead for GCL Billiards, snooker and pool table work in Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln and even one job in London

22 February 2013

The next 4 weeks are really busy for us. We have 12 full size snooker tables for recovering work in 6 different locations, a 10ft snooker table to set up in London which we have fully renovated from full strip down to set back up with a re-polish and re-rubber, plus re-cover and nets leathers etc. plus a full range of accessories ordered. We also have a few pool tables to re-cover and also re-rubber.

From the rental side of our business which we call Double 8 Pool Tables, we have acquired another new site for two new winner supreme tables. We are building this side of our business up, on the pool table rental side we like to keep our tables pretty close to base. This makes servicing the tables very easy to fit in with our other cue sport maintenance work. We also do two recovers a year in our top contract, try finding that service from our competition. We are only cue sports people, we do not do fruit or video gaming machines and offer what we think is the best pool table rental deal in the business.

And we get the table level to within the thickness of a £20 note or even better, so your pool team will never moan about the table being out of true.

The new pro lighting has also brought some business into the firm, more and more clubs are now going over to the new lighting system, which will give a much better white light to the playing surface with more concentrated under shadow of the ball rather than side shadow of ball from the old shade system. It will give you that pro feel of playing at the crucible, the difference from the old coffin shade to this new lighting is that good.

We also have an enquiry to order and supply 10 new winner supreme pool tables and 5 full size Snooker table Re-covers for the end of march in Cambridgeshire, so the future is looking very busy for GCL Billiards. We are very pleased with the support of our customers and new clients, we always strive to please and offer free advice. We will not go ahead with a job for a quick buck if in the long run a better alternative is out there for you. Our aim is to keep our clients coming back to us for good maintenance work on your cue sports table, that is our main business and it is what we are trained for as a billiard fitter.

Posted in News

Steel block Burroughs and Watts Re-rubber and Re-cover in Leicester and Service contract information

19 February 2013

Due to me targeting Leicester last month, an order came in from a club for a Re-rubber and Re-cover of a full sized Burroughs and Watts oak steel block table. The rubber was past its best and the balls were bouncing upwards on impact with the cushion. I gave a quote for a full re-rubber in northern rubber by Hainsworth made in Retford Nottinghamshire (the best you can buy) and fit. You should really only trust this brand of rubber, it will outlast any imported rubber by up to 25 years of use, if kept at a good temperature and not allowed to harden.

If you buy imported rubber it may only last 4 or 5 years and that’s fact.

I allowed two days for this job, where some billiards firms will send two fitters or even one speed fitter and complete in one day, I prefer to allow the rubber to fully bond with the block and the contact adhesive to fully dry overnight before recovering. This prevents the rubber sliding down off the block rebate. 30 years ago we would be fitting loan cushions and bringing the cushions back to the workshop for a re-rubber but today we fit on site. Some speed fitting firms do it all in a day. At GCL Billiards we do it over two days.

Some firms use low grade Taiwan / Chinese rubber which may be canvas backed and allows to fit in one day as it grips better to the glue. Northern rubber has no canvas back so the glue should be allowed to fully dry.

I always show my customers the logo on the Northern rubber and the date stamp that is also on there.

A photo of the table showing the steel plate with slots for adjustment of pocket opening, this makes sure all pockets are the same size when fitting. They do take more time to recover than normal wood cushions and you have to take your time when fitting them back onto the table to make sure they all align up with correct measurements of centre pocket opening of this B&Watts at 3 3/8 inch gap between cushion ends, then corner pocket opening at 3 1/2 inch at the fall.

This set of steel block cushions has the makers name stencil painted on the reverse of the plate circa 1920/30. This maker Burroughs and Watts were the first firm to patent the steel cushions and it was this invention that really put Burroughs and Watts on the map as a billiard table maker. Thurston and George Wright, the two other leading manufacturers in London at that time, would have lost some valued customers to Burroughs and Watts over the years, including Queen Victoria who was mainly a Thurston customer and who had a slate framed and cushion capping (frieze) table which had Burroughs and Watts steel cushions on, installed at Osborne house on the Isle of White.

The clients also invested in a new dust cover. They where that impressed with GCL Billiards’ work that they have given the go ahead for a 6 monthly service visit and the other table at the side of this table is also having work done in the near future. New accessories have also been ordered and maybe new lighting. GCL Billiards would like to get as many local clubs enrolled into these 3 or 6 monthly maintenance visits. We do not look at the visits to tie the firm and club together, it is more of a partnership in maintaining the tables to an acceptable standard. We to know we have regular work coming in not only with the small service visits brushing ironing and tipping cues etc. but the main recover / rerubber or stretch bed cloths and levelling too. The customer is safe in the knowledge that the work is going to be carried out to a good standard. The club will get to know us from our regular visits and a mutual trust between client and GCL Billiards which can only be maintained by good workmanship and we will strive to keep to that standard.

Did you know that if a table meter takes £10 per day and you were to put £1 of that £10 away to one side for a year, you could have a new cloth re-cover every 12 months? £365 is the average price for a recover using Strachan 6811 Tournament cloth. But on average a table only requires a recover every 18 month to 2 years, with a stretch bed cloth at 9 or 12 months and two 6 month service visits. Pick up the phone and give Geoff at GCL Billiards a call today, we will be happy to go over the figures for a 2 year service contract for your club or even privately owned table.

Posted in News

What to avoid when buying a table like this

15 February 2013

Today I have recovered a 9ft table in the Midlands. I do not want to name the clients as it would be unfair, but I would hope they would like to let other people know the pitfalls of buying a table like this one. To be fair this table was passed down from within the Family. The right way of buying a table is to ask a qualified time served billiard fitter for their views of a good, well made table. Advice is always free at GCL BILLIARDS.

This table was made in the North East in the 1970s/80s. A lump of wood passed through a moulding machine to make a one piece cushion is not the correct way of making a bespoke billiard table. I am going to show a few photos of the table in question and explain what is wrong.

The above photo shows that the blocks had to be taken off to get at the cloth, which was stapled to the cushion body. There are no wood slips to take out of the block and the rubber had to come off the blocks to reveal the screws that where situated on the rebate for the rubber. With a normal cushion you would not have to remove the rubber or the blocks to have the table recovered. Just easing out a thin slip of wood is the correct way to do it.

The cushions were also just screwed to the under slate lining wood, whereas a proper table would have bolts and nuts inserted into the slate for a good tight fitting cushion, giving 100% rebound of the ball. Wood screwed on cushions are what you find on an Argos table, not a 9ft slate bed billiard table.

The slate also had a crack where someone had overtightened the wood slate liner to the underside of the slate. This wood is for tacking the bed cloth on.

As a cushion should be made. Three sections with slip rebate on top of block and slide in bolt hide panel.

above The finished Table

above a completed cushion after glueing the rubber back on and recovered.

Above a Thin slate of this 9ft table, no bolt holes in slate, wood screwed cushions on to lower wood.
and below a side shot of end of cushion showing the one piece moulded cushion.

Posted in Sold

For sale: 7 X 4 ft Jaques pool table in light oak (or beech) in Lincoln NOW SOLD

15 February 2013

Just look at this great condition 7×4 pool table by Jaques. The table is NOW SOLD NOW SOLD NOW SOLD

If you require transport for the table to be moved then GCL BILLIARDS can quote you for this. If you require another recover, say in a different colour, we can also do this for you. Again please ask for a quote.

The client says it is light oak, but it may be beech looking at the photos.

Below is a link to Jaques web site showing the price our client paid for the table which was £1,699.99.

Jaques Website

If interested then please contact Geoff by email and we will pass on the information.

Tag Archives: table

Very rare Gillows NOW Sold to a firm within the Billiards TRADE

Two more Rental Pool Tables installed in local sports bar

Back to Lincoln for new pro snooker light installation in log cabin

Well worn out cloth on this re-cover – just look at the photos , also info on 6811 strachan grade’s of cloth. there is more than one grade make sure you know what you have ordered.

Very busy month ahead for GCL Billiards, snooker and pool table work in Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln and even one job in London

Steel block Burroughs and Watts Re-rubber and Re-cover in Leicester and Service contract information

What to avoid when buying a table like this

For sale: 7 X 4 ft Jaques pool table in light oak (or beech) in Lincoln NOW SOLD

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