A while back....

realkingcobra

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
A while back I posted these pictures of this 1917 Brunswick 5 x 10 billiards table. What I didn't post was what I did to it to make it play right....which trust me is a first in this industry...on the spot rebuild of the rails on location. Normally in all cases either the rails have to be taken back to a shop, or sent off to someone else that thinks they know what they're doing to rebuild the rails. Now...I'm not knocking anyone else's work out here, but trust me when I tell you Antique Brunswick billiard tables may be nice to look at, but they don't play anywhere near what the European billiards tables play like because of the T-rail system and K55 cushions they're designed to use. Everyone in the billiards world would agree that the European billiard cushions are the best, but American billiard tables are not designed to use them...especially a 1917 Antique Brunswick Billiards table.

So, having arrived at Mr. Cross's home to "Recover" his billiard table I discover that someone has worked on this table before Chris bought the table from a billiards club up in Michigan.

I later found out the story behind this table and how Chris became the owner of it at such a cheap price. In talking with the guy that delivered the table and set it up for Chris, come to find out someone had rebuilt the table for the club it was in, and attempted to install the European P37 Klematch step billiard cushions on the rails. In doing so they cut off the original sub-rails and re-installed sub-rails that were only 1 1/2" thick, then tried to change the bevel of the sub-rail in an attempt to get the nose height of the cushions up to where they needed to be to play right. Well, that went a little wrong because even though the cushions were actually higher up than the finish of the rails, the nose height was still only at 1 7/16th's of an inch....long ways from the 1 9/16th's that they needed to be at in order to play right.

So, here I am at the customers house, to just install the new cloth he bought and to fix the seams that had come apart and I take the cue ball for what ever reason and roll it around the table for a 3 rail bank shot...and the cue ball almost flies off the table as it jumps from rail to rail, and I'm thinking to myself...what the hell??????? This isn't suppose to happen!!!!!

So I tell Chris...buddy, I don't know what's wrong with your table, but I can't recover this table with it playing like this....because this just isn't right. He asked me what I could do to fix it...I tell him I don't know yet, but I do know I have to do something to fix it or I'm going to have to turn down the work because I can't just install the new cloth and walk away feeling right.

Chris asked me what it was going to cost to fix it right and I told him I don't know, I'm not concerned with that right now, I just need to know what's wrong with the table first, so I took a pair of scissors and cut one of the rail cloths through to the cushions so I could get a better look at what I was getting into....I thought Chris was going to have a heart attack...LOL

Once I got down to the cushion I realized that someone had tried installing the European billiards cushions on this table and told Chris that his table wasn't designed for that type of cushions because his table was designed for the K55 profile Brunswick billiard cushions, and that's why his table played so bad.

So, he asked me if I could fix it, to which I responded..."You worry to much buddy, I'll get started on it right now".....so, 3 days later I was done:grin:

Once I'd rebuilt the table, on my first attempt I banked the cue ball 10 rails, on my second attempt I banked it 11 rails....and trust me, you can't ask more than that of ANY billiards table today...and the slate heater wasn't even on at the time:D

The following are the first pictures I posted.

AZ.JPG

AZ (2).JPG

AZ (3).JPG

AZ (4).JPG
 
After cutting off the sub-rails, I built new P37 sub-rails on the spot, doweled and glued them in place, remounted the same cushions that were on the table, recovered the table with Simonis billiards cloth, put it back together and had one suprised as hell customer:D and went on about my way:D

Chris Cross.JPG

1917 Brunswick 5x10 billiards (5).JPG

Chris Cross (22).JPG

Chris Cross (26).JPG

Chris Cross (31).JPG
 
You are better than the fricken Energizer Bunny!!!!! You must sleep really well at night after all that hard work.

Keep up the good work.

Russ...
 
poolhustler said:
You are better than the fricken Energizer Bunny!!!!! You must sleep really well at night after all that hard work.

Keep up the good work.

Russ...
Click to expand...

Naaa...it's not hard work, it just makes ya think a little, and takes quite a bit of time and patience is all:D
 
Not knocking anyone elses work out there?

That's what you do in most all of your threads. You puff your chest, how you are the industry first and then put in lines like
"sent off to someone else that thinks they know what they're doing to rebuild the rails"

I for the life of me don't understand why you constantly put up threads where you are the authority, you are the person to teach everyone else in the world, other people don't know what they are doing, you are the only one to repair others work.

Fortunately, I am not the only one who share this feeling. From PM's I've received people just say that is Glen, that's how he acts. And my only reply is maybe "HE" can try to not act like that and be humble.
 
Bah! Glen, you think you are such a great table mechanic .... YOU DIDN"T EVEN INSTALL THE POCKETS!!!! ;)
 
Sweet table! I need a bigger house!

realkingcobra said:
A while back I posted these pictures of this 1917 Brunswick 5 x 10 billiards table. What I didn't post was what I did to it to make it play right....which trust me is a first in this industry...on the spot rebuild of the rails on location. Normally in all cases either the rails have to be taken back to a shop, or sent off to someone else that thinks they know what they're doing to rebuild the rails. Now...I'm not knocking anyone else's work out here, but trust me when I tell you Antique Brunswick billiard tables may be nice to look at, but they don't play anywhere near what the European billiards tables play like because of the T-rail system and K55 cushions they're designed to use. Everyone in the billiards world would agree that the European billiard cushions are the best, but American billiard tables are not designed to use them...especially a 1917 Antique Brunswick Billiards table.

So, having arrived at Mr. Cross's home to "Recover" his billiard table I discover that someone has worked on this table before Chris bought the table from a billiards club up in Michigan.

I later found out the story behind this table and how Chris became the owner of it at such a cheap price. In talking with the guy that delivered the table and set it up for Chris, come to find out someone had rebuilt the table for the club it was in, and attempted to install the European P37 Klematch step billiard cushions on the rails. In doing so they cut off the original sub-rails and re-installed sub-rails that were only 1 1/2" thick, then tried to change the bevel of the sub-rail in an attempt to get the nose height of the cushions up to where they needed to be to play right. Well, that went a little wrong because even though the cushions were actually higher up than the finish of the rails, the nose height was still only at 1 7/16th's of an inch....long ways from the 1 9/16th's that they needed to be at in order to play right.

So, here I am at the customers house, to just install the new cloth he bought and to fix the seams that had come apart and I take the cue ball for what ever reason and roll it around the table for a 3 rail bank shot...and the cue ball almost flies off the table as it jumps from rail to rail, and I'm thinking to myself...what the hell??????? This isn't suppose to happen!!!!!

So I tell Chris...buddy, I don't know what's wrong with your table, but I can't recover this table with it playing like this....because this just isn't right. He asked me what I could do to fix it...I tell him I don't know yet, but I do know I have to do something to fix it or I'm going to have to turn down the work because I can't just install the new cloth and walk away feeling right.

Chris asked me what it was going to cost to fix it right and I told him I don't know, I'm not concerned with that right now, I just need to know what's wrong with the table first, so I took a pair of scissors and cut one of the rail cloths through to the cushions so I could get a better look at what I was getting into....I thought Chris was going to have a heart attack...LOL

Once I got down to the cushion I realized that someone had tried installing the European billiards cushions on this table and told Chris that his table wasn't designed for that type of cushions because his table was designed for the K55 profile Brunswick billiard cushions, and that's why his table played so bad.

So, he asked me if I could fix it, to which I responded..."You worry to much buddy, I'll get started on it right now".....so, 3 days later I was done:grin:

Once I'd rebuilt the table, on my first attempt I banked the cue ball 10 rails, on my second attempt I banked it 11 rails....and trust me, you can't ask more than that of ANY billiards table today...and the slate heater wasn't even on at the time:D

The following are the first pictures I posted.

View attachment 147336

View attachment 147337

View attachment 147338

View attachment 147339
Click to expand...
 
u12armresl said:
Not knocking anyone elses work out there?

That's what you do in most all of your threads. You puff your chest, how you are the industry first and then put in lines like
"sent off to someone else that thinks they know what they're doing to rebuild the rails"

I for the life of me don't understand why you constantly put up threads where you are the authority, you are the person to teach everyone else in the world, other people don't know what they are doing, you are the only one to repair others work.

Fortunately, I am not the only one who share this feeling. From PM's I've received people just say that is Glen, that's how he acts. And my only reply is maybe "HE" can try to not act like that and be humble.
Click to expand...

When I was rebuilding this customers billiard table...where were you? Waiting to play keyboard hero? Your avitar and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person you are, so get a life....I have one, helping people! Don't like what I post...don't read what I post, if you only had a brain...you'd figure that out;)
 
Glen, you should have went ahead and hung sheetrock in the guy's room while you were at it. ;)

You are the man, no matter what others say. I, for one, really appreciate your posts. They are entertaining and educational. Please keep posting.
 
No Glen, I am not a keyboard hero.

"Your avitar and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person you are, so get a life"

My avitar? sp?? and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person I am?

Your screen name is a snake...

My avatar is actually a picture of me. What is it that these two things have to do with your attitude?

The people who are the best at something rarely have to tell everyone they are the best and most certainly don't come out and tell others how inferior that they feel they are.

As far as ignore the posts, well this is a public forum and I could say to you how about refrain from posting the I am the greatest and I have to fix everyone else in the world threads which you seem to put up about as much as CC puts up posts in the NPR section.

If you are so good, let others start threads and speak to your work, why the need to constantly start threads and degrade others. Like others have said it's just Glen being Glen huh.
 
Nice work buddy!

My Pop had a Brunswick very similar to this one. I can vaguely remember some details, a guy owed him money, he ended up with the Brunswick in trade. The only downside was that WE had to move the behemoth. I also remember that the guy who owned it had manufactured a homemade ball return system, I remember Pop fussin' at the guy for degrading the original intent of the table by attaching that awful looking pvc contraption to a Brunswick!

Sadly, I never actually got to see it in use. We moved it home, packed it away in his shop and I never saw it again until it was being moved onto it's next owner....Oh, how now I wish it could have been me!

Steve H
 
u12armresl said:
No Glen, I am not a keyboard hero.

"Your avitar and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person you are, so get a life"

My avitar? sp?? and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person I am?

Your screen name is a snake...

My avatar is actually a picture of me. What is it that these two things have to do with your attitude?

The people who are the best at something rarely have to tell everyone they are the best and most certainly don't come out and tell others how inferior that they feel they are.

As far as ignore the posts, well this is a public forum and I could say to you how about refrain from posting the I am the greatest and I have to fix everyone else in the world threads which you seem to put up about as much as CC puts up posts in the NPR section.

If you are so good, let others start threads and speak to your work, why the need to constantly start threads and degrade others. Like others have said it's just Glen being Glen huh.
Click to expand...

If you wasn't so full of yourself, then you're realize this is a thread started by ME...not you, so therefore I didn't get into your space...you came into mine to express your dislike to my posting pictures of the work I do....that's YOUR bad, not mine.

I AM one of the top mechanics if not the TOP mechanic...if you have a problem with that...then stay off my threads....as I don't care what you have to say. If people want to say it's a "Glen" thing...then that's OK as well.

Bottom line here is...not one MECHANIC has one negitive thing to say about my work....so how come YOU do? Do you represent all those that feel left out when someone else does something better than you can?

If people don't see what's better, then they have no idea that what they're paying for is worth the money they just spent.

Pictures don't lie...they ARE the facts. IF you don't like the facts I post, then either post up your own facts to prove me otherwise...or like I already told you...you're not welcome in my threads...stay out, now is there something in that statement that you DON'T understand?

Glen
 
Glen, I happen to like these threads where you take us step by step through the repair or rebuilding of a table. Amazing how much I still don't know about table construction after all these years. I KNOW I'm an amateur!

I have found you to be complimentary of people's work who know what they're doing. It's not your fault that there aren't that many good table mechanics around. Like you I've seen my share of bad ones. When you boast about the quality of your work, I am reminded of what Muhammed Ali used to say, "It ain't bragging if you can do it!" And you certainly can.

I don't think being humble is part of your make-up, but I kind of like your confident manner. Last time you were here, you were almost ready to take me on at some 9-Ball. Or maybe it was One Pocket you fancied. Something made you come to your senses and you decided not to get to froggy. Well, you always have a game with me when you're in town. Remember it was the mongoose that got the cobra in the end. Jay "mongoose" Helfert
 
jay helfert said:
Glen, I happen to like these threads where you take us step by step through the repair or rebuilding of a table. Amazing how much I still don't know about table construction after all these years. I KNOW I'm an amateur!

I have found you to be complimentary of people's work who know what they're doing. It's not your fault that there aren't that many good table mechanics around. Like you I've seen my share of bad ones. When you boast about the quality of your work, I am reminded of what Muhammed Ali used to say, "It ain't bragging if you can do it!" And you certainly can.

I don't think being humble is part of your make-up, but I kind of like your confident manner. Last time you were here, you were almost ready to take me on at some 9-Ball. Or maybe it was One Pocket you fancied.
Something made you come to your senses and you decided not to get to froggy.
Click to expand...
Well, you always have a game with me when you're in town. Remember it was the mongoose that got the cobra in the end. Jay "mongoose" Helfert
Click to expand...

That's cuz you hadn't paid me yet for the delivery & setup...so I didn't want to double dip ya and risk getting paid what you already owed me, last thing I wanted to see happen, was getting paid with my OWN money:rotflmao1:

Glen:p:p:grin-square:
 
realkingcobra said:
That's cuz you hadn't paid me yet for the delivery & setup...so I didn't want to double dip ya and risk getting paid what you already owed me, last thing I wanted to see happen, was getting paid with my OWN money:rotflmao1:

Glen:p:p:grin-square:
Click to expand...

We could have played AFTER I paid you! But I think you needed to attend to that old broken down truck you were using back then. I don't think you could shut it off, because it wouldn't start again. That's okay though. I still have my Diamond right where you left it, and it's open for play whenever you're in town. You can even pick your poison...oops, I mean game. :thumbup:
 
jay helfert said:
Glen, I happen to like these threads where you take us step by step through the repair or rebuilding of a table. Amazing how much I still don't know about table construction after all these years. I KNOW I'm an amateur!

I have found you to be complimentary of people's work who know what they're doing. It's not your fault that there aren't that many good table mechanics around. Like you I've seen my share of bad ones. When you boast about the quality of your work, I am reminded of what Muhammed Ali used to say, "It ain't bragging if you can do it!" And you certainly can.

I don't think being humble is part of your make-up, but I kind of like your confident manner. Last time you were here, you were almost ready to take me on at some 9-Ball. Or maybe it was One Pocket you fancied. Something made you come to your senses and you decided not to get to froggy. Well, you always have a game with me when you're in town. Remember it was the mongoose that got the cobra in the end. Jay "mongoose" Helfert
Click to expand...

Jay....You should to write a book:wink:, the way you get your point across is how I would do it if I could. I also love seeing these types of threads, They are informational and take a lot of work as do the tables that Glen works on. I am very careful of the table that Glen set up for me because I know that if I wear it out due to lack of care or screw it up some way that I might not get another chance to have Glen set it up again. Keep on trucking Cobra.:cool: I will be spending a couple of days in the Los Angles area and would like nothing better then to see your set up Jay but I don't think the family would like sitting in the car for a couple of hours while we played a few.:rotflmao1:
 
u12armresl said:
No Glen, I am not a keyboard hero.

"Your avitar and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person you are, so get a life"

My avitar? sp?? and screen name pretty much explains what kind of person I am?

Your screen name is a snake...

My avatar is actually a picture of me. What is it that these two things have to do with your attitude?

The people who are the best at something rarely have to tell everyone they are the best and most certainly don't come out and tell others how inferior that they feel they are.

As far as ignore the posts, well this is a public forum and I could say to you how about refrain from posting the I am the greatest and I have to fix everyone else in the world threads which you seem to put up about as much as CC puts up posts in the NPR section.

If you are so good, let others start threads and speak to your work, why the need to constantly start threads and degrade others. Like others have said it's just Glen being Glen huh.
Click to expand...

Professionalism, that's my problem with this industry! When someone says they're a "Professional" in MY trade, then uses that wording to sell someone a bunch of BS...that's when it becomes MY job to step in and set things right....because I am a "Professional Billiards Technician"...and expect no less than that of others that would refer to themselves in the same manner. YES, I do sometimes call out the others on their BS, but not without good cause, otherwise I chalk it up as they just didn't know what they were doing because they didn't have the right training or whatever.

Read the post of one of my customers that I've never met fact to face, then you can decide if I'm good or bad for this industry yourself. I have a following of top mechanics that don't need to post their work...just to please people like you....but if you insist, I can ask them to post up just for you;) I HAVE their respect....I don't need yours!;) nor do I need your help in my changing of this industry, see what you don't know about me, is that I'm smart enough to know I can't change this industry by myself...which is why I'm pulling together the top table mechanics in this country to create an organization to help lead this industry into more Professionalism from our trade, yet at the same-time offering to help as much as we can to straighten out the BS from the other end of this business....all the other businesses involved, table manufactures, cloth manufactures, slate manufactures...ect...

Dear realkingcobra,

Bambu has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Gold Crown 3 Problem - in the Talk To A Mechanic forum of AzBilliards Forums.

This thread is located at:
http://forums.azbilliards.com//showthread.php?t=124634&goto=newpost

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Dave Manasseri here, BCA instructor from Queens. I am now bowing down to all of you, kneeling even! With the help of Glen and this site, I was able to get Blatt Billiards to repair my table after 10 years of trying.

10 years ago I bought a reconditioned gold crown 3 from Blatt. Played nice, but slow. I complained, but they said it was ok. I spent the next 8 years looking for a mechanic to explain why, and verify that my table played slow. I must have had 5 or 6 guys come look at it, and all of them said I was nuts. "Nothing wrong with the table man, it plays fine." I roll my eyes, and press on in search of somebody who knows how a gold crown 3 should play.

Then I asked a well known poster, Cornerman Fred about it....and he sent me here. Finally, I found voices of reason. Glen and Dartman knew what my problem was, without even looking at the table. Wrong rubber, end of story. Whoever put that rubber on should be smacked around like the 3 stooges.

I took this enlightening info directly to Brunswick, who verified that a gold crown 3 gets k-55(not k-66 which is what they gave me). After a lo-o-o-ong struggle with Blatt, they took back my rails and mounted some new k-55's on them. Finally, the table played the way it should have in the first place(so I thought).

After playing on it awhile I noticed ball hop. So I ordered myself a rail gauge, and sure enough, the rubber were not straight. The nose height was all over the place, a disaster. I complained, so they tried to shove some walnut shims in the low spots. I didnt think that would work, and I was right.

After that it took me another year and change to battle Blatt again, and eventually win, again. This time they gave me a replacement set of used rails, and mounted diamond rubber on it. I didnt ask for Diamond rubber, they just gave it to me. I asked for k-55 the last time they did the job, don't know what made them do that. I played with crooked rubber for over a year, but I can't complain because they didnt charge me. The table plays very well now with the diamond rubber.

Through it all, Glen helped me out over the phone as much as humanly possible. And, he did all that for me without knowing me from a hole in the wall. Thanks again Glen, I owe you a big fat steak when you come to NY!
 
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