You can also just use a piece of paper. A dollar bill was used in pool halls around America for years as a break cloth.
100 year old Brunswick Old Mission B restoration
- Thread starter pupdog1243
- Start date
You can also just use a piece of paper. A dollar bill was used in pool halls around America for years as a break cloth.
I got a better idea....no games allowed where you have to power break.
The old Grand Touring rooms had tables reserved for straight pool and
one-pocket...NO 9-ball or 8-ball allowed.
Your table is from that era...honor it.
I would love to play on that table....I always wanted to be a man on a Mission.
I got a better idea....no games allowed where you have to power break.
The old Grand Touring rooms had tables reserved for straight pool and
one-pocket...NO 9-ball or 8-ball allowed.
Your table is from that era...honor it.
I would love to play on that table....I always wanted to be a man on a Mission.
Yeah I hear you. I've been a man on a mission for several weeks now!! Part of the fun of restoring something is making it not only pretty, but functional!! After all, it's only cloth!! But at the same time, I want it to last for a while before having to work on it again!!
I just use a 4" squared patch of spare simonis 860 cloth. You need to singe the edges lightly with a lighter or something so that it doesn't unravel over time. Some people that come over are a bit surprised by that rule... but they don't own tables and don't know that the cloth alone on a 9' GCIV is around $300 plus install. It only takes about 2 weeks for the 450 degrees from a hard break shot to start putting a permanent burn on the cloth in the break area.
And of course you know that high end phenolic balls (Super Pros and Centennials) will cause less burn than the cheaper or older balls.
After a while it becomes reflex to pull the cloth up after a break before any of them can roll back over it... but like a magic rack you can always just leave it until the break dust settles and then pull it up. You won't notice any difference breaking with it than you would without it.
Yea... I let people do soft masse shots if they need to play down on the ball to pull a little curve (on a lengthy shot)... that's just part of playing pool... but absolutely no hard masse's and we all know what those are.
PS... trick shots can also cause excessive wear if repeated enough times because you keep hitting into the same balls at the exact same places. Kind of the same reason why we use spots on the cloth for the head ball. That driving impact in the same spot wears quickly. Also the repetitive trick shots could start to deaden a rail if you bang the same spot over and over again. And every pool table owner should invest in a Starrett 98-12 machinist level and know how to level and shim their own table. I even used single and double pieces of paper in some places to get the absolutely truest role possible. I have a feeling that you'll rationalize all of the above as you seem as OCD as I am about keeping your table right.
Enjoy your table... it's a beauty.
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Thanks!! Yes I agree you should be able to level ur own table but do understand why ppl pay for it too. I bought a starrett 98-8 to level it so already made that investment. Yeah, when u do something of this order u of tend to be a LITTLE OCD!!!
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Oh and balls. Bought a set of aramith premiers for it.
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This table BEGS for a set of Centennials!
I have to concur completely here. I have a set of Aramith Super Pros that never get used except when I take them to the pool hall. I am currently using a set of Centennial TV Tours and also have another set of Standard Centennials. I couldn't imagine this Classic Brunswick Old Mission without the Centennials. If you shop around you can usually pick up a new set for around $200... but you have to look hard at that price. That's why I got the TV Tours because I was able to get them for exactly $200 new and my other Centennials were showing slight signs of age.
But you may not have the funds for that at this time. I'd consider it for a future investment. They'll also play better than the Premiers.
Awesome job on the whole thing. That is a table to be proud of and is a real conversation piece.
Little tip from a lo-tech guy...
...you use a level so the balls will roll true....right?
So rolling the balls will tell you everything a level will.
...works for me
I couldn't agree more!! I have been shopping for them and am waiting on a deal (kind of how I operate usually). If anybody has a used set at a decent price, hit me up, I may just bite!!
I ultimately agree, but it is faster for me to use a level. You get instant feedback with the level. It is difficult to use the ball method when you start from scratch trying to get the slates all in the same plane. If you are just making adjustments to the table as a whole, the ball method works. I tried it several ways and for me not having a reference point, I.E. a rail on the table, it was tricky with the ball method. The proof is in the pudding, a straight ball roll.
I take it back....forgot you were setting up a table.
For leveling the frame and then the slates...a good level, by all means.
I guess I meant re-leveling....often it's not the table, sometimes the floor.
Hitting the ball across the table and back will not show you the exact point of where the table needs to be properly shimmed to correct the problem. You will have to just assume the general point. As well you will have to repeat hit the ball over and over to insure what your table is actually doing because only a slow role will show the balance of the table... and the likelihood of hitting the ball perfectly center and at the exact point that you need (with the exact speed) is probably not going to happen in a single stroke... more like 5-10 to be sure.
But the bubble on a machinist level will tell you exactly where your table is off and placing small cut pieces of paper under the level (on one side or the other) to center the bubble will tell you exactly how much it is off. My table is about as perfectly tuned as a table gets... but I could never have gotten it this way with either rolling a ball or the old ball on glass trick. I tried all of that at first and soon went with the machinist level when I kept noticing at times that there were spots that just weren't rolling perfect when the ball was coming to a stop.
It takes little time to do this with the level and if it ever acts like it's rolling off anywhere, a quick placement of the level will tell me if it's the table or just that I'm putting a slight spin on the ball when I don't mean to (which so far has always been the case).
A standard level won't help all that much. It needs to be a machinist level (Starrett 98-12 is recommended). You can usually find a used one in really good condition on eBay for less than $100 and it's worth every penny if you want a perfect rolling table.
I have places on mine that only have single slips of paper or two or three acting as shims. It's been rolling true for me now ever since I switched to the Starrett nearly two years ago and everyone who plays on it OOWs and AHHs over how level it shoots.
What D said!! My starrett 98-8 was less than 65 delivered. You just can't beat them, but you do have to level your level!!
So can anyone give me some idea of a restored value of this table? I know that it is only worth what someone will pay, if I were to sell it, where would be a reasonable starting price? And no, she's not for sale!!
I bet you'd have a hard time getting a grand out of it. Used Gold Crowns go for less than 1000 all the time.
The T-rails are less desirable for 'serious players'
Edit: I'm talking real economy. You may get more if you list it and wait a while. But the market is so bad for everything pool right now.
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Yeah, I hear you an the marketplace. It seems that everyone is having a hard time selling tables. Personally I've never liked the look of the GC for a home table. They just don't have personality to me, but that is why there is chocolate and vanilla!!
I'd third (fourth, fifth) the Meucci.