Pool Table Advice

i have the opportunity to buy a gold crown 2 $1000
the table has been restored ( not playing surface or rails)
new cloth 1 year ago
dont know size of pockets yet but "double shimmed"
is that a fair price???
what should i look for to be sure im getting a good table??
thanks
larry

lll said:

i have the opportunity to buy a gold crown 2 $1000
the table has been restored ( not playing surface or rails)
new cloth 1 year ago
dont know size of pockets yet but "double shimmed"
is that a fair price???
what should i look for to be sure im getting a good table??
thanks
larry

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I don't know a lot about tables, but I do know that the Gold Crown two is a good table. I used to have one and loved it. Price is good for a restored table. Main thing is to check that the slate is in good condition. Good luck.

restored....

restored....

....can mean alot of things.As Frank says make sure the slate has no areas with alot of bondo .They use it to fill holes and such.Not good.Theres going to be some as they use it to smooth out the 2 seams.Make sure as much as you can that all bolts and parts are there.1 year old cloth means nothing.be ready to change it.A good mechanic will charge 400 for the cloth and labor.Simonis 860.Ask for a ball return.1K is the going rate now.Its an OK price IF everything is there.Let us know,good luck,B

usblues said:

....can mean alot of things.As Frank says make sure the slate has no areas with alot of bondo .They use it to fill holes and such.Not good.Theres going to be some as they use it to smooth out the 2 seams.Make sure as much as you can that all bolts and parts are there.1 year old cloth means nothing.be ready to change it.A good mechanic will charge 400 for the cloth and labor.Simonis 860.Ask for a ball return.1K is the going rate now.Its an OK price IF everything is there.Let us know,good luck,B

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Times might be different now or maybe there is some underlying condition of the table but this is half what I have paid in the past. Don't worry about the rails and shims so much. They are relatively inexpensive to change--mostly labor. A new set of rails (actually, just the cushions) is under $200 last I looked. I disagree with Bluesie about the ball return. Good only for straight pool. I much prefer drop pockets for one pocket or even 9 ball. The balls will stay cleaner if nothing else. No need to squat and bend--bad for old people. I would carefully choose replacement drop pockets. There are some cheap, harder ones available that will spit a ball. If you look closely at pockets, you'll see there's more to it than meets the eye. Good luck.

times....

times....

..... are diff now.5 years ago,most any GC would bring a minimum of 1500.2500 was asked for really nice,non-pool hall tables[GC].......good time to be a buyer of almost anything my friend[Petie]but you know that......ya,its funny,I really miss a ball return.If we were all the same it would be like lemmings going over a cliff I guess,cheers,B

Forget about...

Forget about...

...new cushions. Cushions, and the rubber on them do not go bad. They just need to be installed properly. Especially to be glued (rubber cement) on every area of the back of the rubber. I restored some old Arcades from the 20s that had been stored in an unheated basement for 20 years. Either K-55 or K-66, I forgot which. They still played great.

Beard

Oh yeah, there is no comparison to the rubber that was used pre WWII and what came after. The rubber quality itself fell off quite a bit.

thanks for the advice guys
hope to see and play on the table this week
any other advice is welcome
thanks
larry

rubber....

rubber....

....went to hell around WW11 I hear.Used to be 100%.Then they started using sawdust and other variables to mix with the rubber.Like Freddies tables,I had a 3-cushion Brunswick from 1900-1910 that was in an unheated garage for 6 years in Minnesota and when I set it up it played like new.In Nam the rubber and tea plantations were off limits to all American infantry ops I heard.I remember walking by them a couple times.We figured charlie used em for resting so we didnt worry much about snipers or ambushes when we went by.Which was about the only place he wasnt up to his usual tricks.Adieu,B

usblues said:

....went to hell around WW11 I hear.Used to be 100%.Then they started using sawdust and other variables to mix with the rubber.Like Freddies tables,I had a 3-cushion Brunswick from 1900-1910 that was in an unheated garage for 6 years in Minnesota and when I set it up it played like new.In Nam the rubber and tea plantations were off limits to all American infantry ops I heard.I remember walking by them a couple times.We figured charlie used em for resting so we didnt worry much about snipers or ambushes when we went by.Which was about the only place he wasnt up to his usual tricks.Adieu,B

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I never heard that about the rubber plantations but I suppose it could be true. Spent a lot of time in them myself but I was an adviser with the ruff puffs. Matter of fact our team HQ was the ruins of the old plantation shipping office (no longer there--it got leveled with me in it).

Petie you're right about some of those pockets spitting balls back. I have a GC III that's peculiar that way but it gives me an edge when my boys come to visit. I know of a source for leather pockets for GC's. Anyone have any experiece with them?

spittons and pockets

spittons and pockets

well sir,I also have a GC111 with hard rubberpockets that hasnt spit a ball out in a couple years.I had 2 others and very seldom would it spit a ball out unless you slammed it from 4-6 inches trying to get max draw or something like that.However perhaps some rubber pockets were sourced from diff vendors????Dont know.I have never seen leather pockets on a GC.Not that it couldnt be done I reckon.Advisor to the ARVN's?That must of been fun.Our 2 ex VC scouts,Hen and Ding Dong were a gas to work with.We all really liked them.One got killed and the other was still there when I got hit.The stories about the plantations were like the stories about LBJ's wife owning PG&E and black syphliss[sp] and what happened to the 5000 awol guys in Saigon after the war etc etc.Good times until they werent....adieu mon ami

usblues said:

well sir,I also have a GC111 with hard rubberpockets that hasnt spit a ball out in a couple years.I had 2 others and very seldom would it spit a ball out unless you slammed it from 4-6 inches trying to get max draw or something like that.However perhaps some rubber pockets were sourced from diff vendors????Dont know.I have never seen leather pockets on a GC.Not that it couldnt be done I reckon.Advisor to the ARVN's?That must of been fun.Our 2 ex VC scouts,Hen and Ding Dong were a gas to work with.We all really liked them.One got killed and the other was still there when I got hit.The stories about the plantations were like the stories about LBJ's wife owning PG&E and black syphliss[sp] and what happened to the 5000 awol guys in Saigon after the war etc etc.Good times until they werent....adieu mon ami

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There's hard rubber and then there's hard rubber. I'm relatively sure all hard rubber pockets aren't rubber. I think some are Polypropylene--different durometer specs and different characteristics. Also lip design and pocket depth are critical. Cheap copies don't necessarily get all this right.

amen

amen

amen to that.those darn cheap copies are ubiquitous