The past three days I have been staying over in Coventry in a B&B , close by I was working on two full sized Thurston Snooker tables .
The tables have had some rough recovering work done to them in the past with split cushion capping’s from the oversized pocket plate bolts being the main reason.
We used the best materials as always to do our recovering and re-rubber work , Northern Rubber is the best in the World and made just up the road from us in Retford Nottingham .
after taking off the old rubber and making a template for the new pocket openings , we set about glueing the cushion blocks and the new rubber ready to put on the cushions
We recover our tables in Strachan West of England 6811 Tournament cloth 30 oz weight , this cloth is the one most recommended by billiards firms , it wears good , plays well , much better than the Club cloth that was fitted by the previous fitter.
the tables had one disturbing fault that was the result of bad workmanship in the past , the pocket plate bolts where too long , and the fitter had wound them up tight and as they passed through the pocket plate lug , they protruded too far and split the polished wood work capping on the top surround , these will require replacing but we have added extra washers to make sure they do not protrude as a stop gap repair .
We have added two photo’s of the bad workmanship from the previous firm below . note where one fitter has tried to nail it back down only to hit the brass lug of the pocket plate that is hidden under the wood ?
We noted that on one table the end slate was warped or dished as we like to say , this resulted in the ball rolling away from the cushion at the D end , this was also the same on the other side so we know it is in the slate and cannot be levelled out , if they had adjustable slate supports we could have started to get the dished slate level by raising the centre of the slate up on the adjustable muntins ( slate support).
I have aligned the 4 balls in the next photo to give you an idea of what to watch out for , if this happens from both sides where ball rolls into the table it is dished slate , if it rolls towards the cushion on the other side it could be levelled out by use of jack and shims .
We have recommended that they change the lighting to the modern Strip high frequency white light units. , this is one of the worst shades I have seen with bad nicotine staining , there is no reflection of light , it must be like playing snooker in a coal mine with just a light bulb above the table , playing under these lighting conditions.
The next photo the condition of the Shade !
for comparison we have added another photo of another Client’s table who did have the new lighting installed .
We offer the best advice and always offer value for money , sometimes Clients may take offence with some of the ways we describe faults with their tables , but we only have their best interests at heart , we like to guide our clients to a better way of keeping their table playing well and in better conditions of play , and keep costs down in the long run .
We never force our way onto our clients we just suggest a better way using proper materials that play well and last long , and this speaking from over 38 years of personal service as a Billiards fitter.
we do not take our advice and reprint it from a book on our web pages like some firms do , it is from personal experience that we offer our own learnings and pass this information onto the client.
we also know by feedback of our site by showing some faults on job’s that we have come across , this will show other new clients what our values and goals are , to do a good job using the best materials and improve their table conditions for a better playing experience.
If you want you’re table maintenance carried out by a Professional Time served Billiard table fitter who care’s , then phone Geoff Large on 07753466064 or email Carol Large on ( c.large@btinternet.com )
As goodwill gesture I would like to recommend the B&B that I stayed in , Lodge Farm B&B and my host Heather who made my stay most welcome , I would recommend this B&B if staying around the Coventry area and post this link to it
http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/hotels/lodgefarmhouse.html
At just £35 per night for a single room and £55 for twin double it offers really clean accommodation with a great full English breakfast . and good secure off road parking , with good choice of pubs and restaurants close by . tel 0247 646 6786 ask for Heather.
I have stayed in some rough B&B and hotels in my time travelling around the UK fitting tables at twice the cost of this establishment , and when you find a gem like this you keep it logged in a book for future use . 5 star accommodation at 3 star price.
