Canada Billiard La Condo Stainless 9' Table

Bobkitty

I said: "Here kitty, kitty". Got this frown.
Gold Member
Silver Member
Not certain I understand, but I did this: From the corner pocket, I hit a few inches before the diamond that side of the opposite side. It went off that rail, back to my rail, to back to the far rail near the furthest diamond on that side (same side as first hit), then hit the end rail. It takes only a moderate stroke to get it all the way, not nearly what it took for 4.5 lengths of the table.

If I hit closer to the diamond on the first rail (near the side) it goes further down the second rail (my side) and hits the end rail without striking the opposite side a second time. +/- if I put any spin, I was trying for a center hit.

So I gather that's what you expect?
Yes, sounds like you can "Z" a ball. So many pool hall tables have the rails at the wrong height and off the 2nd rail, the ball will rebound straight across instead of keeping the z pattern. Now if you hit it hard with high english, after the 2 nd rail, it should drive toward the middle of the end rail.
 

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
On the off chance someone in the future is interested in these tables, a followup.

As I practice, and as I read more here, I continue to be quite impressed by the quality of the table itself. Balls roll really true throughout, the rails rebound as I expect when I try experiments based on videos (etc). We have yet to eat on it, but have set the dining top on a couple times, and it is beautiful, and pretty easy to put on and off. Lots of people have looked at it, and all expressed surprise how "dining" the dining table is.

I wish I had some real pool-expert friends to comment on how "pool" it is. But I'm happy.

There are two issues, both the pockets. I mentioned elsewhere the pockets are very shallow. That follows from being a very thin table to have your legs go under. I'm not sure there is a solution (that doesn't extend too low) short of some kind of elastic pockets.

The other that is becoming obvious though is the quality of the leather dye job is a bit fragile. On the good side it is not coming off on the balls. On the bad side, it is flaking off on top where the dining top touches it.

Here's a photo of it. The photo is taken so as to have high contrast and strongly show the texture of the finish, it is not quite so noticeably bad to the eye.

Pool%20table%20scratching%20of%20pockets%20-%20DD8_4603_88219-XL.jpg


-%20DD8_4602_88218-XL.jpg


We may be contributing to this by not centering the top (which has a cutout for the pockets) precisely while installing, however the need to fit guide pins in between sections requires a bit of sliding. I think that sliding is doing this.

I suspect I could get new pockets from the manufacturer but as they are a custom size I do not think I can get different types of pockets, and this is something of a design error - they are finished with some kind of hard surface "paint" (for want of a better word) that does not extend into the leather, so if it abrades slightly the light color shows through. New ones of the same type finish will do the same.

I am going to look at some kind of leather dye, or maybe just shoe polish - something that will soak in a bit.

What's a bit fascinating about this, is despite a lot of play over the last couple weeks (I'm enthusiastic!) the pocket area where the balls hit -- quite hard at times -- is not the least damaged. It's just this top edge. So strong pressure does not seem to hurt anything, just abrasion.

This is mostly just an FYI for anyone considering them; though if someone has a specific leather repair suggestion let me know. I'm going to post that question on a leather workers forum though once I can get an account.
 

kid

billiard mechanic
Silver Member
If you want something durable and don't mind the look too much, there is some shallow plastic pockets that fits
62921b7c719173bd6af2ea36b92d147a.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If you want something durable and don't mind the look too much, there is some shallow plastic pockets that fits[/url]
Looks are pretty important, we paid a lot to get a nice piece of furniture (as mentioned somewhere else this was required to get it into the house past my wife).
 

mchnhed

I Came, I Shot, I Choked
Silver Member
Yes, PAINT is what is sometimes used on Leather Pockets on a Home Style Pool Table.

The only real solution would be to remove the pockets and take them to a shoe repair shop and have them remove the paint then dye and seal the leather.

You could "Treat" the tops yourself but.......
Messy, Messy, Messy.
or
Just dye the scuffed areas as they happen.
Be sure to use leather dye like that is used on shoes. Ask the shoe repair guy.
or
Live with it.


The other that is becoming obvious though is the quality of the leather dye job is a bit fragile. On the good side it is not coming off on the balls. On the bad side, it is flaking off on top where the dining top touches it.

Here's a photo of it. The photo is taken so as to have high contrast and strongly show the texture of the finish, it is not quite so noticeably bad to the eye.

Pool%20table%20scratching%20of%20pockets%20-%20DD8_4603_88219-XL.jpg


-%20DD8_4602_88218-XL.jpg


We may be contributing to this by not centering the top (which has a cutout for the pockets) precisely while installing, however the need to fit guide pins in between sections requires a bit of sliding. I think that sliding is doing this.

I suspect I could get new pockets from the manufacturer but as they are a custom size I do not think I can get different types of pockets, and this is something of a design error - they are finished with some kind of hard surface "paint" (for want of a better word) that does not extend into the leather, so if it abrades slightly the light color shows through. New ones of the same type finish will do the same.

I am going to look at some kind of leather dye, or maybe just shoe polish - something that will soak in a bit.

What's a bit fascinating about this, is despite a lot of play over the last couple weeks (I'm enthusiastic!) the pocket area where the balls hit -- quite hard at times -- is not the least damaged. It's just this top edge. So strong pressure does not seem to hurt anything, just abrasion.

This is mostly just an FYI for anyone considering them; though if someone has a specific leather repair suggestion let me know. I'm going to post that question on a leather workers forum though once I can get an account.
 
Last edited:

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes, PAINT is what is sometimes used on Leather Pockets on a Home Style Pool Table.

The only real solution would be to remove the pockets and take them to a shoe repair shop and have them remove the paint then dye and seal the leather.

You could "Treat" the tops yourself but.......
Messy, Messy, Messy.
or
Just dye the scuffed areas as they happen.
Be sure to use leather dye like that is used on shoes. Ask the shoe repair guy.
or
Live with it.

Yeah, I was afraid I would hear something like that. Dying as it happens is probably what I may try, if I can do so without it coming off on your hands. Removing them - maybe, unlike something like the cloth, it does not look that hard to take off and re-attach myself, but it is not high on my list of things to try. Plus I worry whether someone could remove and re-dye just part of it without leaving a mess.

I asked for advice as well on a leather site.
 

restorick2378

Registered
Yeah, I was afraid I would hear something like that. Dying as it happens is probably what I may try, if I can do so without it coming off on your hands. Removing them - maybe, unlike something like the cloth, it does not look that hard to take off and re-attach myself, but it is not high on my list of things to try. Plus I worry whether someone could remove and re-dye just part of it without leaving a mess.

I asked for advice as well on a leather site.

What about trying a color matched Sharpie? I've used them on minor furniture touch ups (when the pup was in chew/gnaw stage) and it worked great. Not tried it on leather, tho, so if you try this I'd test an area that's not noticeable.

Great table, and great write-up. Thanks!
Rick
 

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What about trying a color matched Sharpie? I've used them on minor furniture touch ups (when the pup was in chew/gnaw stage) and it worked great. Not tried it on leather, tho, so if you try this I'd test an area that's not noticeable.

Great table, and great write-up. Thanks!
Rick

That may well work. I should have updated: the retailer touched base with Canada Billiards, but they are on summer break, and I will be on vacation shortly after they return, so I am hopeful they may have something to contribute to this issue.

On a related note, I also used the table for the first time for real, with a full dinner party. It worked wonderfully, but in setting it up I put some very thin painters poly across it just in case we spilled and something ran between the boards onto the cloth.

I ran the thin poly over the table and folded just at the edge, so it covered the pockets. This seems to have prevented any further damage from the top. Since any time we use it for dining I will do the same (it's silly to risk red wine stains or spaghetti sauce on the cloth), it may be that replacing the pockets and just taking this step when using the top is all it takes.

The retailer has also suggested replacing them with black -- the dye is done differently on the black according to her. I', not quite convinced I want black given the light wood and tan cloth, but... maybe.

Will update once there is resolution.

But back to the dinner -- several people who did not know it was a pool table were astounded to hear it was. While it looks VERY big for a dining table, it worked quick nicely. The chairs we had done were taller than normal, but the result was the top was about the right height for eating (maybe just a tad high still). And in all of 10 minutes after dinner, we were playing pool.

The only downside of the setup is getting the poly under and setting up and getting the chairs out... that we did ahead of people's arrival, so you cannot really play pool before dinner without a 30 minute break or so to get things ready.
 

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I wanted to follow up on this. It took a while, mostly due to a couple of chairs that needed to be remade due to shipping damage, and a hurricane in the middle also, but Canada Billiards (via Robertson Billiards) sent me new pockets and installed them. These are black, and unlike the brown shown above that appeared to have paint-like glaze on them, these appear dyed more deeply. There's no shiny gloss coat, it feels more like real leather, and does not scratch anything like as easily as their brown.

All good.

Table is still doing very well, no other issues. Haven't played as much as I want, and not nearly as good as I should be by now, but no faulting the table.

And we have had several dinner parties with the table. Besides being huge (as a table), it works great. I put a couple layers of painters poly under the top just in case of spills down onto the cloth (a 400' role will last a LONG time, and costs maybe $0.75 per use). Maybe guests are being kind of no one has had issues with height or leg room, and at least a couple did not realize it was a pool table until told.

Conversion to dining takes a bit with the poly, maybe 15-20 minutes or so to get things nicely straight so the poly does not show. Conversion to pool table is really fast (just toss the poly), like 5-8 minutes.

All in all very pleased.
 

rlevin47

New member
Thanks. Just knocking balls around so far, was hoping to have some people over tonight but my wife insists we are going to someone else's house. Seems a bit of a crime to have it just sitting there and leaving though.

Spent most of the day redoing how that bench opens, so it works nicely now. Just a bad design they had for how to control the top. The whole idea is kind of neat, but not sure how practical in the longer run - you push the bench under the table to play, so getting additional stuff out or putting in is a bit of a pain. But wife didn't want a separate rack or cabinet for pool storage in the room, so this works. Compromise is.

Hi
We are thinking of buying one of these tables for the new house we are building. It will go into an area that is supposed to have a dining table(which we rarely use in our current home) which is part of a much larger area encompassing kitchen, gathering area and dining.
Are you still happy with the table?
Did you install can lights in the ceiling above the table? If so how many? What location above the table? Etc.?
Any other thoughts, comments or suggestions would be welcomed.
Thanks
Robert
 

Linwood

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi
We are thinking of buying one of these tables for the new house we are building. It will go into an area that is supposed to have a dining table(which we rarely use in our current home) which is part of a much larger area encompassing kitchen, gathering area and dining.
Are you still happy with the table?
Did you install can lights in the ceiling above the table? If so how many? What location above the table? Etc.?
Any other thoughts, comments or suggestions would be welcomed.
Thanks
Robert

Yes, quite pleased, and when I have traveled and stopped in other places and looked at alternatives, I have seen nothing comparable.

Due to a divorce, I moved. I got the table. Robertson arranged the move, so I got to see it disassembled and moved and reassembled again, and remained impressed how well built it is (should be for the price). This also let me re-assess some aspects of it, so some thoughts...

Lighting is tough. Pool table light ideally needs to be from above, and extend nearly to the end of the table. Dining light fixtures never extend that far (I would say you need light at least 7-8' long if it is a single fixture). I looked and looked for one I would like that long without success. Oh, there are a LOT of them, but they all look like pool hall lights, which was not the goal when dining. I think what I might have done (and might have worked) is picked a modern, artistic light "bar" types (e.g. in geometric designs) and then used 2 or 3 of them to give me the length.

Then I realized I really wanted a ceiling fan above it (and you can't hang that kind of light from a ceiling fan, plus there was not vertical space). So I tried again with spots over the table as well as a ceiling fan, and I screwed up a bit. I moved the spots more outside to reduce strobing from the fan, and that caused sharp shadows. I needed to switch them to floods (softer light). I would think hard about even putting a ceiling fan above your table, and instead use only lights. At the first house I had eyeballs in can just outside the perimeter of the table and spotlights in them (i.e. floods are usually about 40 degrees, these were 15 degrees on the ends and 25 degrees on the sides), and that worked very well mostly because of high ceilings (12'). New house was too short for that so moved them out, and shadows were awful.

If you skip the fan, ceiling lights, even pointing straight down, are fine if there are enough of them. You are probably going to want at least 50% more or maybe even double what you would use if it was a normal living room, and definitely want a dimmer for when not playing pool.

If you need a fan, good luck. It's really tough to get something that works well for both.

Other than lighting, it's great. It lived about 18 months at the first house, and stayed level and flat, not a hint of any change over time (all those lovely steel beams I think, plus steel in the joints of the frame). The stainless requires a bit of buffing occasionally to take out fingerprints, but looks great and is thick and tough, no dings from normal use visible.

The wood on the top and rails was well finished and held up well.

I mentioned somewhere else - avoid the brown pockets, the leather finish is awful (unless they changed) and scratch easily. They replaced with black and while it is not the best looking leather I have ever seen, it is very durable, not a mark shown now after a year or more. One day I might get inspired and find some higher quality leather pockets, or have some made (note they need to be shorter than standard so they do not hang down in people's laps, especially the side pocket).

If you are looking at a 9' table, it is a VERY large table for dining. We have sat at most 9 people and it still feels pretty empty. If you plan for the 10-12 that it could easily seat one problem is what to do with all the chairs for storage. The table top takes up little room and has a rolling cart, but all those chairs take a lot of space. My wife bought a bench for one side -- it can slide back under the table when not in use, but to me it looks strange on a dining table (but to be fair I then, cued to notice, saw a LOT of benches on dining tables at furniture stores, so it is not uncommon). So think about chairs vs. bench(s).

In that vein think about height. The stainless table only came in two heights, I think 30 and 32. 30 seems low but fits chairs better, 32 with a normal chair leaves people sitting too low relative to the tabletop. We had a lot of trouble finding chairs tall enough for 32 not from Canada Billiards. So we ordered from them (they will make them any height you want). The super nice thing about this table is they make it thin, so people fit under it nicely to eat -- the bad thing is the nature of a pool table generally, it is naturally just higher than a dining table. You either need to settle for it being lower for pool (e.g. the 30") or find taller chairs and get the taller table and feel more natural for pool. Taller chairs are tough to find. It's not that it is uncomfortable to sit 2" higher, it is just that they do not MAKE them that high.

We actually compromised a bit - 30" plus a 1" block of granite cut square under each leg. They actually look pretty good, add a bit of decoration. We did this because my wife thought 2" higher chairs would be uncomfortable. She was wrong, you would not really notice -- but, you cannot find them readily, everything is about the same height for a 30" table. So decide early - lower pool table, or work hard finding chairs tall enough, or buy theirs.

Note the table did not come with any kind of protective cover to go between the table top and pool top (to protect the cloth from spills). We have eaten on it a dozen times at least now, and never once had a spill, but it will happen. I bought a box of painters poly (the really thin stuff), and cut a couple runs of it and cover the table, then fold it back an inch or so from the edge, and set the top right on top. A spill will only hit the poly not the cloth. Takes about $0.75 worth of poly each time, and I throw it away afterwards. 10 minutes to cover, 1 minute to remove. Actually better than something durable as it is really thin and does not get in the way of the top. A box lasts almost forever.

If you get one try to buy from someone who has put them together before, they are different than their normal tables. A good installer is key (that's probably true for every table). Also, be very sure to try the top on in its entirety before they leave. Pocket placement is crucial to the top fitting (there are cut-outs they fit in).

I've been through a lot of houses and a lot of furniture over time, and to me it really makes a beautiful piece of furniture in either mode. It's the best looking dining table I ever had, which is saying something considering it is a pool table. FAR better than its competition in that regard. But expect to spend some time finding the right chairs and lighting to go with it, manufacturers of accessories really did not plan for something quite like it.

But yes, well made, holding up well, still love the table. Let me know how it goes.

Linwood

PS. I also had a pro teacher (Scott Lee) come give me a lesson; hopefully he was not just being polite, but he was impressed with it as a pool table as well. There doesn't appear to be any real compromise in that regard. He hangs out around here at times, you might PM him and ask if you want an independent opinion from someone who has been on a LOT of tables.
 
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