Help ID'ing a table

So this is my first post here. I've been lurking for quite a while reading posts and trying to learn some things about re-felting and replacing pockets on older pool tables.

Anyways I was hoping someone would be able to help me identify this table. It was my grandfathers and I know he got it sometime in the 50's or 60's (sorry can't be more precise than that). I believe he got it used out of a pool hall, and it was in pretty rough shape when he got it. Anyways my dad and I recently took it apart up in NJ (taking tons of pictures and drawings, and keeping all the parts in zip lock bags) so we could put it back together in my basement in MD. So here's a few photos I have of it in various stages of assembly, that I hope will help to identify it.

This is the table with the slate on it in my basement from the end.
It's 4 piece slate, with the pocket holes shaped out of wood
This is a picture of it in my grandparents basement. The wood was black with dirt and smoke? from when it was in the bar I assume, and we got most of that off, and then put some old english on the wood to help keep it looking good. The base came apart and went back together quite easily and ended up being almost perfectly flat and level with only minor adjustment. There are quite a few places where trim was broken off, but the structure seemed in pretty good shape. My grandfather even made a custom tool for getting the square head bolts out, and for the pin heads on the rail bolts so that was really useful.
There is this number stamped in to most of the parts (20020) so I don't know if that was a model number, serial number or date).

We got all the slate put back on the base. Took quite a while getting the top of the slate all in the same plane. in the pool supplies there was a can of Durhams rock hard water putty, so I went out and got a new can to use to fill in the cracks and screw holes. Luckily since we spent so much time leveling and shimming the slate the gaps didn't take hardly any putty, and the main place we put it was in the screw holes.



These are the rails, that I'm currently taking off the felt to re-cover them with new felt.

I did find that the strip that holds the felt in on the top of the rail had been nailed in by whomever re-covered these last time. Is that normal? and can you buy replacement wood strips for these (i.e. are they a standard size). I could fairly easily cut some strips of wood on my table saw and hand trim them to fit in the slots, but if they're fairly standard I'd rather buy a proper strip.

Hmmm, looks like I'm limited to 10 pictures per post ... will have to break this up into 2 posts in that case

Part 2 ...

OK so to continue ...


This is the label on the bumpers, not sure if they're original, or if that helps ID the table any.

And here's the only nameplate I can find on the table set into one of the end rails. It says "Fast Cushions" from Newark Pool Table manufacturing, Newark, NJ. But it looks like it was added at a later date by someone why chiseled out a rectangle from the rail and removed the original more ornately shaped piece (you can see the indentation on the rail). At some point someone flipped the nameplate around and glued it back on upside down so there was a blank brass plate at one end.


Here are the pockets that were on it. They are leather covered #3 pocket irons, which I'm also replacing the leather on, and hopefully cleaning up the irons themselves a bit. I was wondering how the pockets nail to the table. i.e. do I tack the leather pockets on top of the felt, and then cover with a piece of felt to hide the tacks, or just not worry about the inside of the pockets? Can't seem to find many instructions about re-doing #3 leather pockets online.

Also found these books from ~1950 or so, which are pretty neat and in really good shape.

And finally he had this really old set of pool balls that I was wondering is anyone knew anything about them. I'm not planning on using them, but might put them up on the wall more as decoration inside a rack.






Anyways that's about it. Sorry if it was a really long post, but I'd really appreciate any help in ID'ing this stuff, or answering some questions on the proper way to re-assemble the table (I took pictures of how it was assembled in my grandfathers basement so I can easily just re-assemble it that way, just want to be sure it was assembled right in the first place).

-Kevin

hmmm, thanks for that link, that does look almost exactly like the table I have in terms of the pictures (legs, rails, and the main bed look identical)

Although when I read the details that particular model doesn't match up so well ... i.e. my table seems to be a standard 8 foot table (from measuring the slate) and I only have 4 legs on it. Also the slate isn't lined up, or held together with dowels (i.e. it needs plaster)

But the design looks dead on. Any chance Brunswick would have made a smaller 8 foot table later using a similar design. Or is there a chance that someone could have taken one of these larger tables, and cut it down and put 8 foot slate on it (although if they did ever cut it down there is no visible seam anywhere that I found)?

Anyways, thanks for the link, that's more than I had to start!

And from that link I did find this table all the way at the end of the list of antique tables:

The picture seems to show a carom table, but in the description it looks like it was also sold as a 6 pocket model. It also mentions that it comes apart quite easily for shipment, which is what we found, and it is indeed held together with large iron bolts and dowels for alignment.

Anyways that looks like a good match for the ID, anyone else have any other ideas either on the ID or on the other questions?