Diamond Arkansas Home Table Review

Hello,
Long time lurker so I decided it’s time I contribute something to the forum. I recently decided to purchase a new pool table and ended up going with a Diamond home table, specifically the Arkansas. I scoured the internet for information on Diamond home tables and could not find anything sans this post: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=237777

I was hell bent on going with a Diamond and since my wife would not let me get a commercial model I ended up selecting the Arkansas with maple wood/cherry stain and a one piece slate – 8ft.

Here is some background and my review of the table:

I have a walkout ranch with a dedicated room for the pool table. When we first built I purchased an 8ft Olhausen Reno table from a local dealer. Olhausen was really the only table I could get in my area and since I really didn’t do research on other tables and had heard good things about Olhausen I purchased it. The Olhausen (Accu-Fast cushions and Accu-Guard cloth) served me well for many years but I just could not get over the amount of balls that would rattle out of the pockets, it was literally driving me nuts (I play on average 1 ½ to 2 hours a day). A buddy of mine has an Olhausen and his table plays the exact same way as mine. We like to joke about all the balls that go in on the Gold Crowns at the local pool hall that in no way would have gone in on our tables. Finally about 4 months ago and after many threats to my wife about taking a sledge hammer to the pool table she and I agreed that it was time to sell it and get something else.

I called Diamond to inquire about their home tables and was told they will play every bit as good as their commercial models. After speaking to Diamond and considering I could get a one piece slate, the table has the Diamond exclusive leveling system along with the in leg levelers, etc. it made my decision easy. Diamond recommended I call one of their dealers (on the other side of the state from me) which I did and ordered the table on the spot. I ended up selling my Olhausen that weekend so I was without a table for almost 15 weeks which was difficult to say the least.

Well the day finally came and the table was installed. I immediately noticed the build quality of the Diamond was much better than the Olhausen. The frame is bulky and the quality of the finish is incredible, it truly looks like a custom made piece of fine furniture. I went with Simonis 860 which was a good decision, the amount of spin I am generating compared to the Accu-Guard is night and day although some of it could be attributed to new vs old cloth I guess. The table plays great, every bit as good as the Gold Crowns at the pool hall and in my opinion as good as the few Diamond commercial models I have played on in the past. The big thing for me is there is absolutely no pocket rattle and the pockets themselves are tighter than the ones on my Olhausen. I am able to fire shots down the rails and sink them which almost never happened on the Olhausen. I measured the points of the pockets to be just a hair over 4.5”. The rail width is also wider at approximately 5 ¾”. One think that I noticed was I have the red Diamond badge, not the blue one so I am not sure if the home tables use the new blue Diamond subrails or not. Either way the rails are noticeably less springy than the Olhausen Accu-Fast’s and play very well in my opinion. They bank a touch shorter but not much. Hopefully once the cloth and rails get broke in things will even out. I would not hesitate to recommend a Diamond home table and only wish I would have purchased one a long time ago.

I apologize guys, I have not been checking this thread for quite some time. Yes the slate is indeed 1 piece, 8ft table. They gave me a hard time when ordering but I assured them it was to be setup in a walkout basement and that I and a friend would help. I just checked and yes it has levelers in the center. Most people will tell you that if you can go with a 1 piece slate vs. 3 that's the route to take. There is less room for error when considering sealing and leveling a 3 piece slate table. I can tell you from experience the Olhausen table I replaced had 3 piece slate and the seems were not perfect. However if installed correctly you should not notice a difference, it all comes down to your setup/configuration situation. I will also mention that from day one the table has rolled perfect, I have not had to adjust anything in terms of leveling. If you have any other questions let me know.

The build quality is very good. It has a single beam running the length of the table (2”X4”) and two beams running the width (2”X5” – in comparison my Olhausen did not have a beam running the length). The inside corners are fastened with a metal bracket to keep the apron in place. My table is an 8 footer, single piece slate. One thing to note which I verified with Diamond directly after my table was installed was the furniture style tables do indeed use the old red label subrails, not the redesigned blue label subrails that their commercial models do. They do bank a bit short but it didn’t take long to adjust and my friends have never commented on nor noticed it. I have other friends who have furniture style tables, specifically - Olhausen, Connelly, and Brunswick, and they all prefer mine. They are honest guys so I don’t think they are just saying that to make me feel better. All in all I am very happy with my decision to go with the Diamond Arkansas. If you have other questions don’t hesitate to contact Diamond directly, they were always very responsive to any questions I had when going through the decision making process prior to purchasing.