Table question

[Sw10balltour]

I just bought a house with a 30x30 shop building in the back. Of course that where the table is going. So do I go with a diamond pro/am table or a gold crown thee with triple shimmed pockets?
Just want opinions. I'm just an average player that wants to get better if it's not to late to learn.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Tables

I just bought a house with a 30x30 shop building in the back. Of course that where the table is going. So do I go with a diamond pro/am table or a gold crown thee with triple shimmed pockets?
Just want opinions. I'm just an average player that wants to get better if it's not to late to learn.

I would choose according to what you may be playing seriously on. Tourney player? The trend is to Diamonds for tourneys. Does the Diamond have the new improved rails or the old short banking rails. GC's have stood the test of time! And you can have them Diamondized if you want. I love Diamonds but need about five hours to acclimate to them for tourneys. I own a gc but it is really just been regulated to a practice table as I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry over to play. Some day you will need to get the shimmed pockets done right. Extended rails! The GC should be less expensive. A properly set up GC will play great! I like Chevys, you like Fords. Both great trucks.

 

[Neil]

.............

 

[plfrg]

I agree with Neil, tight pockets are not going to make an average player better. There are other issues to consider when buying a table.

I purchased a new Diamond 7ft pro-am about a year ago. I really like the Diamond tables and before this primarily played on GC's. I decided on the pro-am for a few reasons. I knew I was limited to a bar box because of size and I felt the pro-am was far better than other tables of the same size. It's also used for many of the tournaments now so I get a lot of practice on them that I can't get in local pool halls. Diamonds definitely play different, and mine, like most others I've played on, bank short.

Although I do like the look and playability of Diamonds I must say I was less than totally pleased with my table and if you buy one new from Diamond you should be very careful about who sets up your table. I had problems with it being totally level and when you buy a table at that price you expect it to be perfect. It wasn't. After a year it appears to have settled even more and I'm going to resurface the table and get it releveled by a local table mechanic. I'm sure it's going to cost me a few more hundred $$. Probably 3...

One other thing with the Diamonds is the black marks on the balls from the ink in the pocket leather. It will drive you nuts after awhile. I have Arimith Tournament balls and they're not cheap so seeing them pick up black marks that are very hard to clean off is a real pain. Virtually every ball will get blacks marks on it after a few weeks of playing.

I finally got so sick of it I spent over two hours scrubbing every pocket first with hand cleaner, then with alcohol to get the ink off the leather. I'm not exaggerating on the time it took. After I thought it was good enough (the ink was still coming off) and my arms were tiring out, I put some very good leather conditioner on the pockets (Dansko beeswax for shoes). The pockets don't look brand new anymore but most people that come over can't tell and it just looks like the table was used a bit more. It has solved the problem almost completely. I think in the several months since I did this I've seen one black mark and I use the table daily.

Having said all that I still like the diamond tables - just a bit disappointed in some obvious things that should be a no brainer for a table manufacturer of that caliber. If I had room for a 9ft'r my choice would have been more difficult (between pro-am and GC). If you get a diamond make sure you know who is setting it up and make it crystal clear you want it to be completely level... and then get some rags, hand cleaner, alcohol, and leather conditioner to prevent the pocket ink from driving you nuts. The alcohol should be one part pure for cleaning and two parts in beer to keep you hydrated

 

[Poolhalljunkie]

Shimmed

I just bought a house with a 30x30 shop building in the back. Of course that where the table is going. So do I go with a diamond pro/am table or a gold crown thee with triple shimmed pockets?
Just want opinions. I'm just an average player that wants to get better if it's not to late to learn.

I wouldn't want to play or practice on a triple shimmed anything! I would how ever pay to have my table set up correctly. There is a section of this forum that can provide all the info needed to help you get your table to play it's best. My GCII with 4 1/2" pockets and they weren't shimmed.

 

[Shaky1]

Tight pockets are NOT going to make you a better player, unless you already are a good player. If you are an average player as you stated, you now have trouble making very many balls in row. Making the pockets tighter only means that you will now make less balls in a row.

Tight pockets, and that really means what you mean by tight, ( are they just smaller in width, or are the pockets cut in such a way to make them spit out any balls that aren't hit perfectly?) are for helping people that don't have trouble pocketing balls on a regular table. The tighter pocket reduces what you can do for position by forcing you to control your speed to make the ball stay in the hole, and limit how much you can cheat the pocket for position.

If you have trouble making them in normal pockets, you sure aren't at the point of playing to specific parts of the pocket for position possibilities. When you have two good players, tight pockets will bring out the better position player and give him the advantage. For mere mortals, they will only make you frustrated. First learn to play real good, THEN tighten the pockets up if you want to.

^^^^^^^^^I agree!!!

 

[ShootingArts]

depends where you are going with your game

For recreation you can't go wrong with either table or a ten foot diamond or snooker table. Unless you are very sure that you will not be competing on diamonds I'd get the diamond. More and more events are being played on diamond tables and they are the table going into new halls. Although we are losing pool halls there are new ones opening too. Basically means the industry is converting to diamonds. If there is a chance you may be selling it in the future the diamond holds it's value better too I believe. May not be true ten or twenty years from now but who knows?

Hu

 

[TheBook]

.



I would get a Diamond. The problem with shimming pockets is the depth of the ledge is changed and that affect the difficulty. The one piece slate is the main reason for getting a Diamond.

I was planning on changing the rails on my Brunswick to make my table " tighter" but after playing in a tournament I changed my mind. The tournament was played on tables that had bushel baskets for pockets. Everyone was making comments how big the pockets were and the tables would be easy. The problem was not that players were missing the pockets but it came down to speed control, position play, safeties and etc. Pockets were still missed but it was because of the other things involved. There is much more to the game than making balls. I think for the most part pocket tightness is way over rated for the most players. For the pros it is probably needed because they are able to play at a higher level.
A
.

 

[Island Drive]

I just bought a house with a 30x30 shop building in the back. Of course that where the table is going. So do I go with a diamond pro/am table or a gold crown thee with triple shimmed pockets?
Just want opinions. I'm just an average player that wants to get better if it's not to late to learn.

I'd go with the best price + the table mechanic is of prime concern. I'd also prefer playing with lighting that's not hard on your eyes, flourscents can become very wearing, incadescents work great, and those fixtures usually don't weight much.

 

[ArizonaPete]

I'd go with the best price + the table mechanic is of prime concern. I'd also prefer playing with lighting that's not hard on your eyes, flourscents can become very wearing, incadescents work great, and those fixtures usually don't weight much.

Quite right on both counts. A lot depends on your budget. A used Gold Crown can be picked up in the $1000 to $1500 range generally. Be very careful buying a used table because one in bad shape (which is not always easy to spot) can be very costly. If you can afford a Diamond (and there aren't many used ones out there for sale) I would go with the Diamond Pro. In either case, getting a good mechanic is key in getting the table to play at it's best. You may want to post this thread in the "Talk to a Mechanic" section of the forum. Ask for recommendations for a mechanic in your area. If you find a table you like, you may want the mechanic to look it over before you buy it. Good luck in your quest.

 

[realkingcobra]

I just bought a house with a 30x30 shop building in the back. Of course that where the table is going. So do I go with a diamond pro/am table or a gold crown thee with triple shimmed pockets?
Just want opinions. I'm just an average player that wants to get better if it's not to late to learn.

hmmmm....lets say you find a GC3 for $1,500 somewhere around you, pay someone $500 to move and set it up in your shop. A few months later you decide you don't like the way the table plays, so you hire some table mechanic to come and make it "play better" which he cuts you a deal that sound to good to pass up, so you spend another $1,000 on what this guys says and you pull the trigger to have the job done. A year later your buddy's that use to come over to play pool with you, no longer want to play on your table because...well, it just don't play all that good...not really. So, then in your quest to not give up on playing pool period, you make that call to me...RKC...to fix your table up right...if I ever get in your area. Well, 6 months down the road...I call you up and ask you if you're still interested in having me work on your table...you yell...hell yes. So, I come by and tear your table down to the frame, fix everything that was wrong...and worked on wrong, rebuild and recalibrate your rails, put your table all back together again...and charge you $1,500 for what I did.

Add it all up, $1,500 + $500 + $1,000 + $1,500 = $4,500 when it's all done and over, for a GC3 that even if you sell it after I rebuild it, is only worth about $2,500....and that's only if you assure the new buyer the table plays perfect because RKC did the work.

In the long run, you'd have been better off just buying a used Diamond 9ft ProAm for $5,000...delivered. At least then if you sold it after the fact, you'd only be down about $500 from what you paid, instead of about $2,000 on a GC3.

Glen

 

[JDB]

I would choose according to what you may be playing seriously on. Tourney player? The trend is to Diamonds for tourneys. Does the Diamond have the new improved rails or the old short banking rails. GC's have stood the test of time! And you can have them Diamondized if you want. I love Diamonds but need about five hours to acclimate to them for tourneys. I own a gc but it is really just been regulated to a practice table as I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry over to play. Some day you will need to get the shimmed pockets done right. Extended rails! The GC should be less expensive. A properly set up GC will play great! I like Chevys, you like Fords. Both great trucks.

What year were the rails changed on Diamonds to eliminate the banking short issue?

Thanks.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

What year were the rails changed on Diamonds to eliminate the banking short issue?

Thanks.

About a year ago or so. You can tell by the color of the logo if they are the new ones. Do a search on here and you will find it.