used olhausen 1996 model
- Thread starter jettaball
- Start date
I would ask if it was assembled using Bondo. I understand that it is a good product for humid conditions but it sure makes disassembly tougher and it is a pain to clean up for reassembly.
I am not a Mechanic but I watched a pro disassemble my table and bondo made it tougher and it made reassembly tough for the pro that assembled it.
If the seller does not know try to negotiate a "bondo discount" prior to disassembly. When you see the slates after cloth removal you will know what medium was used for assembly
I am not a Mechanic but I watched a pro disassemble my table and bondo made it tougher and it made reassembly tough for the pro that assembled it.
If the seller does not know try to negotiate a "bondo discount" prior to disassembly. When you see the slates after cloth removal you will know what medium was used for assembly
table
Sounds like someone used way to much bondo, it should only be used to fill the small gap between the slates, unless you have slate warp at the seam issues would you need to use extra bondo....even then there is a way to get em apart with little effort
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Take care'
Rob.M
Sounds like someone used way to much bondo, it should only be used to fill the small gap between the slates, unless you have slate warp at the seam issues would you need to use extra bondo....even then there is a way to get em apart with little effort
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Take care'
Rob.M
The slates are NOT pinned on an Olhausen table. If it was a black laminate table, chances are it is either a Champ Pro, or a Grand Champion. Both are very good tables in my opinion. The Champ Pro has big wide legs and was used in many tournaments back around that time. Very masculine looking table:
The Grand Champion is similar, but had narrower legs and adjustable leg levellers. Here is one with the oak finish:
Both, can be very good playing tables if installed properly, but that goes for pretty much any table. The only real cmomplaint people have on these is the "Olhausen rattle". The rubber and facings on these tables are a little soft compared to other brands. That combined with their pocket geometry causes the tables to reject a lot of balls, especially if they are shot hard. This can be corrected by a knowledgeable mechanic using the right materials.
As far as the bondo problem, that could have been an isolated incident. If the slate screw holes were filled with bondo, it can be chiseled out with a flat head screwdriver without too much effort. Of course if the installer was any good, they would have covered the screw heads with a small piece of tape or paper to prevent bondo filling in the head of the screw. That would at least save replacing hardware. It's also possible they used wax in the holes, in which case you can just push a Phillips bit through the wax and remove the screw with a powered screwdriver.
If that is the table you're looking at, both are good playing, good quality tables in my opinion. Of course the playability of the table is only as good as the quality of the mechanic, so definitely keep that in mind when it comes time to get it installed.
Hope that info helps!
The Grand Champion is similar, but had narrower legs and adjustable leg levellers. Here is one with the oak finish:
Both, can be very good playing tables if installed properly, but that goes for pretty much any table. The only real cmomplaint people have on these is the "Olhausen rattle". The rubber and facings on these tables are a little soft compared to other brands. That combined with their pocket geometry causes the tables to reject a lot of balls, especially if they are shot hard. This can be corrected by a knowledgeable mechanic using the right materials.
As far as the bondo problem, that could have been an isolated incident. If the slate screw holes were filled with bondo, it can be chiseled out with a flat head screwdriver without too much effort. Of course if the installer was any good, they would have covered the screw heads with a small piece of tape or paper to prevent bondo filling in the head of the screw. That would at least save replacing hardware. It's also possible they used wax in the holes, in which case you can just push a Phillips bit through the wax and remove the screw with a powered screwdriver.
If that is the table you're looking at, both are good playing, good quality tables in my opinion. Of course the playability of the table is only as good as the quality of the mechanic, so definitely keep that in mind when it comes time to get it installed.
Hope that info helps!
Very masculine looking table:
Friend of mine in San Diego had one of these that he bought circa 1996; it was an excellent table. I bought mine (furniture model though supposedly the same structure underneath) a couple of years later and have never had a problem with it, barring an installation error.
That is one thing to watch for. It's possible to install the Olhausens (and possibly other tables) slightly out of square. As I posted quite a while back, that happened to me when I moved to Texas, and within the last couple of weeks somebody else reported what seems to be a similar problem.
sausage
Banned
whoever did that bondo job was a bonehead. just like with cars, bondo can be used or abused. i just bondoed my seams and it only took a wee bit.
Olhausen table
I like this model and it does play nice.I install tables and we use beeswax to smooth all the seams and slate screw head holes.Usually we run into that stupid bondo issue a few times a month.Mostly from hacks and homeowners installing there own table.Very frustrating.
Keith
I like this model and it does play nice.I install tables and we use beeswax to smooth all the seams and slate screw head holes.Usually we run into that stupid bondo issue a few times a month.Mostly from hacks and homeowners installing there own table.Very frustrating.
Keith
The nice thing about these models are they are very easy to install square. The frames are built, squared and leveled at the factory and are delivered assembled, so unless the frame has been taken apart to get into the room, it should be good and square. The way those particular rails go together makes it very easy to square them as well.
Yeah, they sure had no problem fixing mine once I noticed it. They were from the Billiard Factory in San Antonio; they've always been nice people to deal with. I felt kind of sorry for them - 100 mile round trip, kind of an embarrassing job, and I don't think they had a paying job out my way that day. And they'd already had to do the installation twice - when the table was shipped to them from San Diego, they accidentally sent the legs to Monterrey, Mexico, so they loaned me the legs that should have gone to Monterrey and then had to redo things when they finally got the right legs back.
It works good in a lot of climates. Around here, if there's a wood-burning fireplace in the same room though....not so good. There are situations where bondo is definitely preferred.