Opinions/Info on AMF - Playmaster Tables

BasementDweller · Sep 5, 2013

I've searched the forums and I haven't seen any info about the commercial grade AMF Playmaster tables. There's a lot of infomation out there regarding the furniture Playmaster tables but I'm curious about the commercial grade ones. I recall several PBT events being played on these tables. They look a lot like a Gold Crown and they play like them too I think.

Do any of you Mechanics have an overall opinion about these tables? Or is there anything I should look out for when taking a look at one of them? I will have several of these tables to pick from so I want to check them out the best I can before getting the one that I want.

Any info would be appreciated.

rexus31 · Sep 5, 2013

BasementDweller said:
I've searched the forums and I haven't seen any info about the commercial grade AMF Playmaster tables. There's a lot of infomation out there regarding the furniture Playmaster tables but I'm curious about the commercial grade ones. I recall several PBT events being played on these tables. They look a lot like a Gold Crown and they play like them too I think.

Do any of you Mechanics have an overall opinion about these tables? Or is there anything I should look out for when taking a look at one of them? I will have several of these tables to pick from so I want to check them out the best I can before getting the one that I want.

Any info would be appreciated.

The AMF table you are referring to is the second generation Grand Prix. You can see pics and some input here:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=134510

I played on one of these once and it played every bit as goon as a Gold Crown. From what I was told, they are pretty much a straight rip off from Brunswick. I don't have any experience breaking one of these down so I'll leave that info up to the professionals.

BasementDweller · Sep 5, 2013

rexus31 said:
The AMF table you are referring to is the second generation Grand Prix. You can see pics and some input here:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=134510

I played on one of these once and it played every bit as goon as a Gold Crown. From what I was told, they are pretty much a straight rip off from Brunswick. I don't have any experience breaking one of these down so I'll leave that info up to the professionals.

Rexus31,

Thanks for the info. I didn't pull up that thread in my searches. That table isn't quite the same as the one I'm looking at. The one I'm looking at has the wood grain look. Just like a GC with the wood grain. I'm guessing everything else is the same though. I've heard the parts are interchangeable with a GC.

I'm curious about calling it a Grand Prix though. I currently have an old AMF Grand Prix and from what I've read this was back in the early days of AMF's pool table manufacturing. AMF later sold off their pool business later to be reformed after purchasing Playmaster. So I wouldn't think the table in question would be a Grand Prix model. Of course, I'm totally fuzzy on all the AMF company details so I could be completely wrong.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

trentfromtoledo · Sep 5, 2013

Amf

http://forums.azbilliards.com/album.php?albumid=1481&pictureid=9952

I had one shown in my album above and it was VERY close to a Gold Crown . Ken Hash actually has brand new sets of rails for them and they are right here on his site:

http://www.classicbilliards.net/html/AntiquePoolTablePartsProducts.cfm?img=amf_8os.jpg&item=AMF/8OS&price=$395&Shipping=$65.00&Desc=Limited%20availability%208%20foot%20oversize%20rail%20sets%20used%20on%20AMF%20copy%20of%20Gold%20Crown%203

If you have any questions about the table, he is a very good source of info, he was for me when I found the one I bought and sold.

Trent from Toledo.

P.s. I only paid $100 for that table! SCORE!

P.s.s. I thought the table played great as was definitely well built!! You cant go wrong with it for the right money and with the right mechanic working on it & setting it up.

BasementDweller · Sep 5, 2013

trentfromtoledo said:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/album.php?albumid=1481&pictureid=9952

I had one shown in my album above and it was VERY close to a Gold Crown . Ken Hash actually has brand new sets of rails for them and they are right here on his site:

http://www.classicbilliards.net/html/AntiquePoolTablePartsProducts.cfm?img=amf_8os.jpg&item=AMF/8OS&price=$395&Shipping=$65.00&Desc=Limited%20availability%208%20foot%20oversize%20rail%20sets%20used%20on%20AMF%20copy%20of%20Gold%20Crown%203

If you have any questions about the table, he is a very good source of info, he was for me when I found the one I bought and sold.

Trent from Toledo.

P.s. I only paid $100 for that table! SCORE!

P.s.s. I thought the table played great as was definitely well built!! You cant go wrong with it for the right money and with the right mechanic working on it & setting it up.

Now we are getting closer. You have a lot of nice pictures in your folder. It looks like you do some good work.

The table in your pic is still not exactly the one but it's pretty close. I will take some pics of the table on Friday when I go and see it.

Thanks for the info.

rexus31 · Sep 5, 2013

BasementDweller said:
Rexus31,

Thanks for the info. I didn't pull up that thread in my searches. That table isn't quite the same as the one I'm looking at. The one I'm looking at has the wood grain look. Just like a GC with the wood grain. I'm guessing everything else is the same though. I've heard the parts are interchangeable with a GC.

I'm curious about calling it a Grand Prix though. I currently have an old AMF Grand Prix and from what I've read this was back in the early days of AMF's pool table manufacturing. AMF later sold off their pool business later to be reformed after purchasing Playmaster. So I wouldn't think the table in question would be a Grand Prix model. Of course, I'm totally fuzzy on all the AMF company details so I could be completely wrong.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

Your table from the Sixties was the Grand Prix. AMF brought the name back for the table you are inquiring about in the Nineties. They were actually used on some of the Camel Pro Tour Events.

BasementDweller · Sep 6, 2013

Rexus31 - You know your stuff.

The exact table I am referring to can be seen in the epic Efren Reyes vs. Jim Rempe match at the PBT's Legends of Nine-Ball event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4maz6bcF3WQ

I'm going to check out the table today after work.

trentfromtoledo · Sep 6, 2013

Gold Crown 3 Knock off

Gold Crown 3 Knock off!!! The rails that Ken Hash should fit that table is it an 8, 8 pro or 9 ? The rails Ken has are for 8 pro! Good luck!

Trent

Mr. Bond · Sep 6, 2013

Fyi...if you're looking for AMF parts, contact Schmidt in StLouis, they have a warehouse full of them.

ROB.M · Sep 7, 2013

Post

BasementDweller said:
Rexus31 - You know your stuff.

The exact table I am referring to can be seen in the epic Efren Reyes vs. Jim Rempe match at the PBT's Legends of Nine-Ball event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4maz6bcF3WQ

I'm going to check out the table today after work.

-
What the hell! I've heard or mentioned Jimmy rempe more times in the last week than his name has probably been posted on AZ.
I just give away a pool table cover sample that he endorsed that I had buried for years.
Very odd that I haven't heard that name for years and I dig this old sample out with his name on it and I start to hear his name more&more'
It's the pool gods I know it is!!!

Rob.M
Enjoy buddy, I hope you have it framed or something.

trentfromtoledo · Sep 7, 2013

I just been hearing about that guy a bunch lately to!

A restorer friend of mine from penn. harry was telling me about this Jimm Rempke player recently tooo! I surely believe in the pool gods!!! The Pool Gods spoke to me this morning: 9 Foot Anniversary for such a low price I cannot advertise! I love the pool gods! Have great day everyone!

Trent from Toledo

JC · Sep 9, 2013

BasementDweller said:
I've searched the forums and I haven't seen any info about the commercial grade AMF Playmaster tables. There's a lot of infomation out there regarding the furniture Playmaster tables but I'm curious about the commercial grade ones. I recall several PBT events being played on these tables. They look a lot like a Gold Crown and they play like them too I think.

Do any of you Mechanics have an overall opinion about these tables? Or is there anything I should look out for when taking a look at one of them? I will have several of these tables to pick from so I want to check them out the best I can before getting the one that I want.

Any info would be appreciated.

My son bought one of these this spring and it was about as pristine as you could ask for. One set of staple marks on the rails only. I recovered it and helped him set it up and this was the first one of these I had inspected. My impression is that although it's a GC knock off, everything about it is just a little bit chintzier. The rails themselves although almost exactly the same dimensions weighed considerably less than a GC3 rail. Like the wood was dehydrated and soft. I epoxyed all the casting bolt inserts back into them because half of them were loose. It just seemed like they used the absolute cheapest wood available. The slate liners were also made from this same type of wood and I had to reglue several where they had fallen off the slate. The table uses k66 rubber also unlike the GC. Overall this table is just a bit under the Brunswick in almost every way. Just my impression.

JC

rexus31 · Sep 9, 2013

JC said:
My son bought one of these this spring and it was about as pristine as you could ask for. One set of staple marks on the rails only. I recovered it and helped him set it up and this was the first one of these I had inspected. My impression is that although it's a GC knock off, everything about it is just a little bit chintzier. The rails themselves although almost exactly the same dimensioned weighed considerably less than a GC3 rail. Like the wood was dehydrated and soft. I epoxyed all the casting bolt inserts back into them because half of them were loose. It just seemed like they used the absolute cheapest wood available. The slate liners were also made from this same type of wood and I had to reglue several where they had fallen off the slate. The table uses k66 rubber also unlike the GC. Overall this table is just a bit under the Brunswick in almost every way. Just my impression.
View attachment 293419
JC

How does it play? What was the cost compared to a similar condition GC?

JC · Sep 9, 2013

rexus31 said:
How does it play? What was the cost compared to a similar condition GC?

He paid $700 for it. It plays ok. Better than a lot of Gold Crowns and not as good as others. I put 1/4" neophrene facings on it based on the recommendations of some here that they will be ok if the right hardness and they are a little jinky. The original facings were so thin as to be non existent and the pockets were just under five inches. It had the original AMFast rubber and was in good shape so I didn't want to replace it. Here are a couple of pics of the work in progress. In the future if I want the pockets tighter than 3/16 facings will allow I will extend the wood and replace the rubber.

BasementDweller · Sep 11, 2013

JC said:
He paid $700 for it. It plays ok. Better than a lot of Gold Crowns and not as good as others. I put 1/4" neophrene facings on it based on the recommendations of some here that they will be ok if the right hardness and they are a little jinky. The original facings were so thin as to be non existent and the pockets were just under five inches. It had the original AMFast rubber and was in good shape so I didn't want to replace it. Here are a couple of pics of the work in progress. In the future if I want the pockets tighter than 3/16 facings will allow I will extend the wood and replace the rubber.

View attachment 293438

View attachment 293439

View attachment 293440

View attachment 293441

View attachment 293437

Thanks for the post JC. That's the table for sure.

I'm paying a bit more than $700 for mine but I still feel it's a pretty good deal. It seems like everybody is always saying you can pick up a used Gold Crown for a reasonable price and I've been looking for quite some time and I haven't found one. There was one listed locally that I just missed. But other than that, I haven't seen one. I suppose I should have extended my search area.

I think I'll be happy with the AMF.

JC · Sep 11, 2013

BasementDweller said:
Thanks for the post JC. That's the table for sure.

I'm paying a bit more than $700 for mine but I still feel it's a pretty good deal. It seems like everybody is always saying you can pick up a used Gold Crown for a reasonable price and I've been looking for quite some time and I haven't found one. There was one listed locally that I just missed. But other than that, I haven't seen one. I suppose I should have extended my search area.

I think I'll be happy with the AMF.

Wish you lived a little bit closer, I'm selling my GC3 with artemis rubber and rail mods done by SD Donny for $1500 including a full sized diamond light. This GC is considerably nicer than that AMF.

JC

BasementDweller · Sep 28, 2013

Well I Got It

I purchased the table in question a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine and I went to Playtime Billiards in Kalamazoo and picked it up. I got it home and it took me a long time to get it set up. For the record, I am NOT a table mechanic. This was only even the second time I've done a table before (third time if I get credit for doing my existing table twice). :thumbup:

Anyway, I'm very pleased with how the table plays overall. I do understand what JC was saying about this table being a little bit chintzier than the GC's. I will probably have to buy all new pockets for it. Just about all those recessed thingamajigs broke off. I tried to glue several of them back on and I've had mixed results. But overall, I think this table is a very solid, well built table. Of course, I don't have a whole lot to base that on.

It's not real fast but it's been pretty humid in my basement and I haven't had the dehumidifier going. I was able to get 5 rails when I hit it up and down at break speed. If it dries out a bit I think I will be happy with it. I haven't upgraded the cloth yet. So I might put something on later that's a bit faster than the 860. Maybe 860 HR???

I really wanted to tighten up the pockets but I didn't want to have to replace the cloth right now. I was pretty excited that I managed to pull back just a portion of the rail cloth, just enough to replace the facings. It was pretty tight in a couple of spots and I'm not sure how well the cloth is going to hold up in the side pockets. Only time will tell.

Anyways, I just wanted to thank all you mechanics for sharing your knowledge, even if it is done in a cryptic fashion at times. I sort of like that you have to hunt for some information. The way I figure it, only those that are REALLY interested in learning stuff from this forum will be able to. Those that do the drive byes probably have a hard time figuring stuff out.

Also, keep in mind that giving up information to us DIY'ers might lose you a bit of business up front, but I'm fairly certain in the long run it works out in your favor because I know my limitations and I have gained a whole new level of respect for what some of you guys do. A level of respect that is only gained after trying to install table on your own.

I wasn't sure what to do with the old table. It was an old AMF - Grand Prix (I know what are the odds?). I chose to just junk it. The center slate was broken to pieces and several of the rails had been nearly beaten to death by someone that didn't know how to put feather stripping back in. I just said a silent prayer and sent it on its way. I did save the end caps and I did find a place for one of the end rails.

***Just a note***
I mentioned previously that this was the same table that the Rempe vs. Efren match was played on. I meant to say that it was the same model. Now having viewed that match and seen my table I don't even think they are exactly the same. I believe they have different stains. Just setting the record straight.

Thanks again guys.

Opinions/Info on AMF - Playmaster Tables

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

rexus31

AzB Silver Member

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

trentfromtoledo

8onthebreaktoledo

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

rexus31

AzB Silver Member

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

trentfromtoledo

8onthebreaktoledo

Mr. Bond

Orbis Non Sufficit

ROB.M

:)

trentfromtoledo

8onthebreaktoledo

JC

Coos Cues

rexus31

AzB Silver Member

JC

Coos Cues

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

JC

Coos Cues

BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member

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