Upgrade to 9' Diamond?

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

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I tried making a table play like a diamond in the past and it didn't work well for me, i ended up buying a diamond. I will say I used pocket facings to change the pocket size, not having new rails built.

Once you pay for the new rails and all the other stuff you want done you might be getting close to the price for the diamond.

I would live with that you have and keep saving your money until you can afford the diamond that you really want. You will be much happier in the long run doing that.

I don't know your area or exact situation, but getting $1000 for a used table that isn't a diamond might be counting on getting a bit too much money for it.

How often do you play on your home table, and for how long do you think you will continue to play? if you really enjoy playing and have done so for a period of time and it looks like your desire to do this will continue into the future then I would say go to the Diamond table.

I am speaking from experience; when I lived up North I suffered with an Olhausen for 20 years before I finally switched to a Gold Crown - it was so much more enjoyable! Do yourself a favor and go with the Diamond if that is what you really desire.

rykr01 said:

I'm hoping to get this Diamond for $2k and that it just needs new cloth. The rails on a 9 foot pro have 25 year warranty so with any luck they are still good. And you are right -- I may only get $500-$750 for my steepleton

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That is a really good price on a 9ft diamond pro. I would take that even without any rails

There are really two main styles of diamonds, the red label and blue label. The red label are the older style that most agree they bank short. The blue labels are the upgraded version of the red labels. At the price you are getting it doesn't matter which version it is, its still a good deal.

If it is in fact a red label you can easily upgrade to blue label in the future its pretty much a straight swap out (at least from what i read, i never seen it done personally)

Do you play in pool rooms often? If so what brand table do they have? I believe in practicing on what you play on.
Diamonds play great, we all know that. They have deep shelf pockets so they pocket differently than a Gold Crown. You can't make a GC play like a Diamond even if you put Diamond rails on,
Have fun with it, good luck.

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Buy the 9 ft Diamond and sell your current table. You will be happier.

Buy the Diamond. If you only play teams on a 7ft, think about a 7ft for at home.

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

For 3k it must be an old Red label. They just play weird. But if you get it cheap enough you can buy a Blue label top for it or just keep it as is, it’s still better than the Steepleton.

If you have the room for the 9ft then get it. Your game will improve in ways it cannot only playing on a smaller table

About 5 years ago I decided to either tighten the pockets on my Gold Crown or buy a Diamond. After a lot of thought and weighing the money value I decided to buy a Diamond. My reasoning was if I spent 1k on fixing the Gold Crown with tighter pockets that it basically wouldn’t increase the value of the table if I wanted to sell it.

So why not take that 1k it was going to cost for the rails plus what I could sell the table for and put the money toward a Diamond. Best decision I’ve made on pool related equipment. If you have the room get the 9’ Diamond you won’t regret it

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Only you can make that decision as to whether it is worth that $ investment for you. As most others here have validated, if you love pool as much as most of us here do you will absolutely not regret upgrading to the diamond, assuming the used diamond you are requiring is in good shape and the cushion rubbers are still good.

I ordered a 9Ft Diamond Pro Am in November of 2019 and it was delivered in Mar of 20. I love it and it was worth the investment to me as I play 2 to 3 hours a day. I had a 9 ft 1928 Brunswick Madison for 4 years that I tried selling for down to $400 in a metropolitan area and got no interest. I finally gave it away to someone who was willing to take it apart and move it. While the Antique Brunswick was prettier than the Diamond IMHO and I had new cushions and felt installed, it didn't play like the Diamond.

If a Diamond is what you like and you play alot, then get that. You will be happier in the long run and save all the money on modifications and still not be happy.

That is a great price you found on a used Diamond. I looked for used Diamonds in my area and couldn't find anything. The Diamond ball cleaner I got with the table is amazing as well if you have a few extra bucks.

lakeman77 said:

Do you play in pool rooms often? If so what brand table do they have? I believe in practicing on what you play on.
Diamonds play great, we all know that. They have deep shelf pockets so they pocket differently than a Gold Crown. You can't make a GC play like a Diamond even if you put Diamond rails on,
Have fun with it, good luck.

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I beg to differ with that comment. My GCI plays a lot like a Diamond after having the rails modified, pockets tightened, and cushions replaced. I have tested and compared it with a 9' Blue Label repeatedly, if there is something different in how they play I or others have not noticed, although those modifications come with a price tag. Next I want to go play on an unmodified Gold Crown again to see how big the difference is.

As far as the OP's question if you see having this table for years to come I think your best choice is to buy that Diamond. Its a commercial table, you should be able to get at least 50 years out of it and if you care for it well I dont see a situation where you lose money on it. Home tables just do not compare to commercial tables. I doubt if you did modify your current table that it would increase its value at all so you would kind of be beating a dead horse so to say by investing more in it.
As far as owning a 9' table and shooting league and tournaments on a 7' table the bar box will seem like a toy when you play on it. I am in the same situation, have a 9' and shoot on 7's, the only thing you have to get used to is the speed difference, that should come quick. Playing on a small table while owning and playing often on a big table should also give you added confidence.

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I worked for Steepleton years ago, and in my opinion, do not waste your money reworking it. I do not think you will be happy with the end result.

I have deliverd, worked on and own a 9’ Diamond and if you have the room go with that. You can still do a 3 piece slate.

fastone371 said:

I beg to differ with that comment. My GCI plays a lot like a Diamond after having the rails modified, pockets tightened, and cushions replaced. I have tested and compared it with a 9' Blue Label repeatedly, if there is something different in how they play I or others have not noticed, although those modifications come with a price tag. Next I want to go play on an unmodified Gold Crown again to see how big the difference is.

...

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Can you notice the shelf depth and cut difference?

Diamond

If you have the room buy the Diamond . It makes no difference how much or where you play the Diamond is your best move.

Just make sure the Diamond you buy is NOT an old red label table. I had little experience on a Diamond when I moved down here a few years ago to SW Florida. The only decent room down here hs Diamonds and when I WENT THERE I hated the tables - pocket rejections and short banks and generally strange.

I since discovered that those tables were old red labels completely different than the newer blue label Diamonds- so go with a blue label- I would not trust a table top conversion. Also would not trust most table mechanics to convert a Brunswick GC to play like a Diamond- maybe some mechanics but not most.

rykr01 said:

I have a "pro" 8 Steepleton. I want to tighten up the pockets to standard BCA sizes. I wanted to ask your guy thoughts on the following scenarios:

1. New rails cut to standard BCA tournament sizes, new Simonis cloth. This is on the "big" 8 foot Steepleton.

2. Buy used 9' Diamond and put new Simonis on it.

The Diamond I could probably do for about $3k and might get $1k back on my Steepleton.

Just don't know if the Diamond is worth the big jump in investment.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

9 foot table play is a much different game than smaller tables.

If you can get a Diamond nine footer and put in the work,it will make you a much stronger player. They are the standard used at most pro events.