Looking at purchasing a 9' Diamond Professional or Pro-Am

Jeff G. Martin

Jeff G. Martin

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been looking for a 9' Diamond in central Wisconsin for some time. There are NOT a lot to choose from, as most of the deals are states away. I've found a couple that seem like good prices but I have a few questions.

The first is a 9' Diamond Pro-Am smart table with pro-cuts, Diamond light and rack, and Aramith Super Pro's for $3,750. Felt is 860 and looks to be in decent condition, but would probably replace it.

Second is a 9' Diamond Professional. Dymondwood rails, looks to be cherry or mahogany stain. No light, pockets aren't pro-cut, comes with Diamond rack, and he isn't sure if the balls are Super Pro's or not. I have a brand new set of Super Pro TV balls so it isn't a big deal if they're not. Felt needs to be replaced. Table is around 10 years old and is in "great condition". (I haven't seen it yet, going to look at it on Sunday.) Price is $2,500.

I'm almost positive I'm going to buy the Diamond Professional. It seems like where I'm located, this deal will not come around very often so I'd like to take advantage of it. Here are my questions....

I would prefer the pro-cut pockets. If I were to have my installer install shims on the rails, would it play like a pro-cut, or would I be happier leaving the pockets as-is?

Does a 10-year old Pro have the built-in leveling system?

Is there anything I should look for when I go to look at it on Sunday that will hint that it's a good buy or a bad buy?

Thanks guys!
 
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Jeff G. Martin said:
I've been looking for a 9' Diamond in central Wisconsin for some time. There are NOT a lot to choose from, as most of the deals are states away. I've found a couple that seem like good prices but I have a few questions.

The first is a 9' Diamond Pro-Am smart table with pro-cuts, Diamond light and rack, and Aramith Super Pro's for $3,750. Felt is 860 and looks to be in decent condition, but would probably replace it.

Second is a 9' Diamond Professional. Dymondwood rails, looks to be cherry or mahogany stain. No light, pockets aren't pro-cut, comes with Diamond rack, and he isn't sure if the balls are Super Pro's or not. I have a brand new set of Super Pro TV balls so it isn't a big deal if they're not. Felt needs to be replaced. Table is around 10 years old and is in "great condition". (I haven't seen it yet, going to look at it on Sunday.) Price is $2,500.

I'm almost positive I'm going to buy the Diamond Professional. It seems like where I'm located, this deal will not come around very often so I'd like to take advantage of it. Here are my questions....

I would prefer the pro-cut pockets. If I were to have my installer install shims on the rails, would it play like a pro-cut, or would I be happier leaving the pockets as-is?

Does a 10-year old Pro have the built-in leveling system?

Is there anything I should look for when I go to look at it on Sunday that will hint that it's a good buy or a bad buy?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

No, the Professional don't have the Diamond leveling system, lets get that out of the way first:grin: Adding shims to the pockets to tighten them up is always the cheap way out, and never quite plays right, so no that won't get the table playing like a newer Diamond either. Both tables are going to have the older sub-rail design, so neither one is going to play like the newer Diamond's do, but either table can have the rails upgraded to play like a new Diamond, only problem is finding someone that can do that kind of work, on that note...there's no one in your area that can to that upgrade...sorry. But the ProAm is still the better choice between the two tables, that package new would run you about $5,600 today, plus deliver & setup.

Glen
 
realkingcobra said:
No, the Professional don't have the Diamond leveling system, lets get that out of the way first:grin: Adding shims to the pockets to tighten them up is always the cheap way out, and never quite plays right, so no that won't get the table playing like a newer Diamond either. Both tables are going to have the older sub-rail design, so neither one is going to play like the newer Diamond's do, but either table can have the rails upgraded to play like a new Diamond, only problem is finding someone that can do that kind of work, on that note...there's no one in your area that can to that upgrade...sorry. But the ProAm is still the better choice between the two tables, that package new would run you about $5,600 today, plus deliver & setup.

Glen
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Thanks for responding, Glen. I was hoping you would.

What exactly does it mean to "play like a new Diamond"? Do the older Diamond's not play very well? It's very rare I have an opportunity to shoot on a Diamond table. The nearest pool hall is just over an hour away and has one 9' ProAm. The next one is just over two hours away and has four or five. With that said, do I need to be concerned that my Diamond doesn't play like a new one? To be honest, all of my league-play and 99% of my tournament play is on 7' Valleys with Championship cloth. Maybe a Diamond isn't for me, but I just really want a quality table that plays fantastic that's going to last me a lifetime even after a move or two.
 
Jeff G. Martin said:
Thanks for responding, Glen. I was hoping you would.

What exactly does it mean to "play like a new Diamond"? Do the older Diamond's not play very well? It's very rare I have an opportunity to shoot on a Diamond table. The nearest pool hall is just over an hour away and has one 9' ProAm. The next one is just over two hours away and has four or five. With that said, do I need to be concerned that my Diamond doesn't play like a new one? To be honest, all of my league-play and 99% of my tournament play is on 7' Valleys with Championship cloth. Maybe a Diamond isn't for me, but I just really want a quality table that plays fantastic that's going to last me a lifetime even after a move or two.
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Don't miss-understand me...LOL there's nothing wrong with either Diamond, but banking short and playing springy off the cushions have been kind of a tradition for the Diamond tables. What I did was redesign the sub-rails to change how the tables play from now on out. The changes I made with Diamond can be done as an upgrade to any Diamond table on the market, but unless you want to ship the rails off to be modified by someone, I'm about the only chance you've got to get the rails modified, as I do come through your state fairly often, so either table is going to last you a lifetime, I just like the ProAm's more that's all.

Glen
 
The proam is going to be very hard to move. Unless you have a diamond cart and can wheel it into ypur house. The professional would be easier to move. I would inspect both to see if the rails are stapled out. Although Glen could repair that... I believe the professional came from q sharks.. if I recall the rails are not artemis. They were replaced after the origionals went hard. The proam I believe is from a poolhall also. That would be my pick if I did not already have a 3 piece proam :thumbup:

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The Pro was from a pool hall in Minnesota that has closed, so it could be from Q Sharks. How do I know if the rails are Artemis or not? Can I pull one off and look? If they're not Artemis, how much does this depreciate the its value?


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The only way to tell would be to remove the cloth from a rail. Not sure how it would afffect the price.

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ososlow said:
Did you get to look at the table Sunday?

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I did, and I bought it. :D Unfortunately I won't be able to pick it up for almost a month as I'm busy every weekend and typically can't get away during the week.

It's in really good shape and plays awesome. I might consider ordering new pockets. The ones in there are in pretty good shape, but if I were to replace them the table will look brand new once it's set up and recovered.

The pockets are pretty big. I'm debating on if I should have the it shimmed a 1/4" when it's recovered. I understand that could change the playability. The nearest pool hall has one 9' Diamond Pro-Am that plays tough. I'm almost positive I can feel shims at the end of the cushions. I'm assuming these can be applied well enough so that the table still plays as it should?

I still don't know what kind of cushions are on it as the original owner did not either. Unfortunately I haven't shot on Diamonds nearly enough to tell how one with Artemis should shoot compared to one without. If the cushions are not Artemis and I do decide to replace them, for an 8-10 year old Professional I will need the Intercontinental K66, right?

The wait will kill me. But on the other hand, I still have a 8' Valley barbox I need to get rid of so I have a spot for this one.
 
Congrats! Glen should be able to tell you what you need.

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