exactly 2 months & 23 days later my full table restoration is complete.

[tjlmbklr]

Great journey to have your table done. You have skills and table looks great.
How thick are the pocket facings?

One month ago I changed facings on my table (put new 5mm, instead of old 3mm), now my table plays very good, no more rattled balls.

Thanks. The facings are 3/8" but the hardness is what matters, they are 50A where normal facings are 60-75A. If you go that thick you need softer. And they play great. Unlike my old Olhausen I had the sub rails extended and the guy who did it put the wrong facings on and never changed the angle. The pockets spit more balls than they accepted.

Here's a link to the facings on Classic Billiards or do what I did (I fibbed in my pictures) buy a roll of it on amazon and cut them yourself. Only minor issue, they had a natural curl to them that I had to bake them in the oven sandwiched between two cookie sheets and 45lbs of weight to get them flat. Next time I'll just buy them from Classic.

 

[tjlmbklr]

Congrats looks tight, how does it play?

Pockets play phenomenal, 4" is very tight but they take the balls like they should. Currently the rails are playing a little long which is discouraging so I hope that gets better as the cloth wears in.

 

[Dead Money]

You did an awesome job. Great result.

I agree. Looks real nice. The room does too!

 

[tjlmbklr]

Nicely done!

Nice shop setup too. That helps!

It does. That was part of my delay. We moved across the country to the Southwest and I lost my big basement and had no shop. We rented for 8 months and I told my wife we need a 3 car garage so I can have a shop again. Only issue, it is VERY HOT in there. I need to work out a cooling solution, it's literally like a sauna.

 

[tjlmbklr]

Did you make any changes to pocket sizes? What brand is this table? Curious as to why you chose black. I like the natural wood grain look. It shows more with a brown stain. I opted for Championship tournament edition cloth. Not as fast as Somonis but close and some say more durable.

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

I wanted the traditional black table blue cloth look like Mosconi Cup and World Cup tables for some time. THIS was the design I was shooting for. I think I pulled it off. And to be honest, not a fan of Oak, so staining it black with a matte lacquer finish to me made it look great.

Yes, the pockets were changed by me. The corners were already 141° but 7-8° down. I made them 12° down and the sides were like 105-106° also 7-8° down. So I cut them to 102° an 12° down using THIS method (3 part video). I am very happy with the way the pockets play. Honestly tighter than I planned but they play great. The table has no markings other than a few pencil scribbles from the builder. I am fairly certin it was a kit or a homemade table. I thought about Championship cloth too but I don't recall if they had Tour. Blue. I was originally going to do Steel Grey and only a few manufactures had that color. Then I convinced my wife Blue on a all black table was what I really wanted. At that point I was already determined and had the budget for ProForm. Not nearly as fast as Simonis but it plays nice.

 

[Dead Money]

Went thru all the pictures. ...you have a great setup in the garage and skills to go with it. The table clearly wasn't your first wood working project was it?

 

[tjlmbklr]

I agree. Looks real nice. The room does too!

Thanks. It has a been a dream of mine since I before I can remember that I wanted a pool table in the main living area of our house. And to have a Pro 8' table with full stick room for my long 64" cue is unheard of. I had tables in the past but as you get older and have less friends over they have a tendency to forgot about when they are in a rec room outta site. This table gets walked but 20 times a day. I can't walk by it without touching it. Only downside, we have cats so I have to keep it covered just in case. Sucks having to pull cover off just to knock a few balls around.

 

[tjlmbklr]

Went thru all the pictures. ...you have a great setup in the garage and skills to go with it. The table clearly wasn't your first wood working project was it?

Thanks for noticing. I need more tools!

 

[tjlmbklr]

Very good job! love the idea of the diamond replacement. You did good!

Thanks. I am happy the diamond idea worked. It was tedious squirting the epoxy in the holes. I made a few messes but figure it out as I went.

 

[Scott Lee]

TJ...Nice job on your table! I hope you enjoy playing by yourself, because none of your friends will be able to make a ball in those tiny pockets! LOL :thumbup:

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

 

[overlord]

Really enjoyed looking at the photos that mapped the progress.

 

[Dead Money]

You know on that garage what I did at my old house was install a window unit air conditioner in my garage, No added insulation or anything. It went form a miserable Texas garage to pretty nice when in there when I ran it. Depending on how your house is built if you have no widow you could open up the correct sized hole in the wall and install It that way. I was lucky in that I had a small window on the side of my garage

 

[Logandgriff]

Beautiful job. Thanks for sharing your journey. I am very envious of people with woodworking and other shop skills like yours as I have never developed any. Have fun with your table.

 

[tjlmbklr]

TJ...Nice job on your table! I hope you enjoy playing by yourself, because none of your friends will be able to make a ball in those tiny pockets! LOL :thumbup:

Scott Lee
2019 PBIA Instructor of the Year
Director, SPF National Pool School Tour

That's assuming I can make balls in those pockets LOL. They are tight but play very nice. My game is so outta stroke now that I will place blame on all my misses because of that, not the pockets.

 

[tjlmbklr]

You know on that garage what I did at my old house was install a window unit air conditioner in my garage, No added insulation or anything. It went form a miserable Texas garage to pretty nice when in there when I ran it. Depending on how your house is built if you have no widow you could open up the correct sized hole in the wall and install It that way. I was lucky in that I had a small window on the side of my garage

A window unit would be adeal but I'd have to cut a hole for it that and the pesky HOA's here would probable make a stink about it. I was thinking of looking into blowing insulation in all my walls too from the inside since my exterior is all stucco and it would be easier to patch the drywall. This and I need to revisit my garage door. I tried 1/2" foam with a radiant reflector pointing towards the door and Reflectix on the door with an air gap. If it made a difference, it made it hotter. I feel the Reflectix is now trapping in the heat. I only did the big door, I lost motivation to do the signal door after it didn't seem to help. This and I might spray foam my rafters in the crawl space above my garage. A mini split would e ideal but pricey to especially if someone else installs it.

 

[tjlmbklr]

Beautiful job. Thanks for sharing your journey. I am very envious of people with woodworking and other shop skills like yours as I have never developed any. Have fun with your table.

The best way to develop the skills, just do it. Watch a shit ton of YouTube like me and be very weary, the table saw is not your friend. Like 10,000 injuries a year happen from table saws.

 

[tjlmbklr]

Really enjoyed looking at the photos that mapped the progress.

Thanks. I enjoyed sharing them. I am happy they are being viewed.

 

[jtompilot]

Pockets play phenomenal, 4" is very tight but they take the balls like they should. Currently the rails are playing a little long which is discouraging so I hope that gets better as the cloth wears in.

You must like 1P and a tough practice table. You did a great job. I’ll send you a PM next year when I get to Phoenix if you want to play some.

 

[tjlmbklr]

You must like 1P and a tough practice table. You did a great job. I’ll send you a PM next year when I get to Phoenix if you want to play some.

One pocket is definitely not my game, have only played it a few times in last couple years. As a matter of fact I haven't played much pool at all in last few years. I'm hoping this table changes all that. But yes, look me up when in Phoenix.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

[Bic D]

Great job, awesome work