Vintage Commercial Valley Bumper-Pool Table

S

SlateMate

Banned
ok, i sold the pos Gold Crown -that was pissing me off big-time- and got the old Valley bumper-pool out of moth balls. i did a little bit of work on it today. i installed the legs and got it upright but only after several takes. the adjustable feet were frozen so i had to tip it back over then one of the feet turned but the adjustment bolt inside the leg was turning so i had to tip it back over and fix that. the design is marginal but i put a lockwasher in-back of the adjustment nut which pushed it hard against the cheap-azz locking bracket -which is SUPPOSED to keep that nut from turning-. the lockwasher worked very well..... so now i have it solidly on it's feet and need to change that cloth. unlike my GCIII pos, the rails on this table are still very lively. most of the work will be cosmetic on the top rails and sides which will be black. i don't know if the commercial ball return works though, that will be for later.

does anyone know what year/model is this table? SERIAL NO: 30810

THANKS!
 

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S

SlateMate

Banned
but i am. ;)

this thing has the original RM, s-38 cushions and they are still lively. wow.... if these were SuperSpeed they'd be harder than Calculus. what is the cross-reference cushion? i might just leave these on though because they have plenty of bounce left unless i can find some cheap but there's no guarantee that they'll be better than what is on.

i took it apart and changed the cloth on the slate. i still need to reinstall the bumpers and put cloth on the rails. so far so good. i'm learning about bumper pool tables. :thumbup:
 

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S

SlateMate

Banned
anyone up for some bumper-pool. it'll cost ya .20. it takes two dimes to get the balls out. lol.... this thing IS old...
 

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Lawnboy77

Lawnboy77

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cool little project! I love all things of history and this one looks like it has some...if only it could talk it would probably tell some good bowling alley stories. I'm assuming of course that it spent most of its life in a bowling alley. I don't know, but I don't recall many of those bumper tables anywhere else but bowling establishments.

I was wondering what you were going to do with the formica that was delaminating. Removing it all looks fine.
 
trentfromtoledo

trentfromtoledo

8onthebreaktoledo
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
anyone up for some bumper-pool. it'll cost ya .20. it takes two dimes to get the balls out. lol.... this thing IS old...
Click to expand...

Looks Great! Nice work!

Trent from Toledo

Lawnboy77 said:
I was wondering what you were going to do with the formica that was delaminating. Removing it all looks fine.
Click to expand...


I would sand them , stain and poly.

They did come out doing just the removal and some sandin!
 
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S

SlateMate

Banned
it was last registered in Nebraska in 1971. that's all we will ever know about its history.

I was wondering what you were going to do with the formica that was delaminating. Removing it all looks fine.
Click to expand...

yes it looks better removed but the parts that were still stuck were REALLY stuck and pulled up the wood with the formica. i'll bondo that part first then consider my options. they make this liquid rubber coating that is used on tool handles that's available at Walmart. i might use it to pour some new rails but will have to make sure that i damn-up the side well first. it's supposed to seek it's own level which will fill the low spots. not sure yet...

I would sand them , stain and poly.
Click to expand...
the only problem with this is that the rails aren't flush with the cushions so i'd like to build them back up to the original height of the formica.
 
Lawnboy77

Lawnboy77

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
SlateMate said:
it was last registered in Nebraska in 1971. that's all we will ever know about its history.



yes it looks better removed but the parts that were still stuck were REALLY stuck and pulled up the wood with the formica. i'll bondo that part first then consider my options. they make this liquid rubber coating that is used on tool handles that's available at Walmart. i might use it to pour some new rails but will have to make sure that i damn-up the side well first. it's supposed to seek it's own level which will fill the low spots. not sure yet...


the only problem with this is that the rails aren't flush with the cushions so i'd like to build them back up to the original height of the formica.
Click to expand...

What about redoing with new formica? You might even find a real good match to the original. Heck as small as the pieces would be, you might be able to get a local cabinet/countertop shop to give you some good scraps for free. I never got the opportunity work with formica, but I used to watch my father at work and it looked real easy. A special router bit makes the final cut and edges look like factory. Just throwing some ideas out there. A hardwood veneer would look really cool to, but it would lose some points in the originality department.
 
S

SlateMate

Banned
yeah, i thought about that. but as you pointed out, you have to route the edges and i don't have a router and don't want to mess with it. i might get some cheap wood veneer and see how it goes. i don't want to invest too much time into this thing because i have a bunch of other projects going right now. motorcycles, cars, an old truck et... and i'm still looking for an 8'pro pool table which will acquire assembly so the bumper-pool table will have to be moved out of the way.

it would look cool with aluminum tread-plate rails though. ;)
 
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