Diamond versus Brunswick

ChrisinNC · Jan 10, 2019

Quesports said:
The best tables I have seen in over 50 years playing pool are in Sanford N.C. They are at Speakeasy Billiards on Horner Blvd. Two Gold Crown 5's set
up by Mark Gregory. The corner pockets are 3 7/8 and play absolutely perfect. I drive 40 miles one way to play on them whenever I have the time.

I'd be curious as to the pocket facing angles on those 3-7/8" pockets? If they are +/- 142 degrees they would play absolutely brutal. I'm guessing Mark altered the angles and now they are more like +/- 138 degrees? We have a Gabriel's Signature Pro with 4-1/8" pockets with 142 degree pocket angles. I'd put that table up against any table anywhere for demanding the utmost challenge - even for pro level players.

jalapus logan · Jan 10, 2019

ChrisinNC said:
The obvious reason for Diamond's dominating over GC's in that area of the country is the close proximity to the Diamond Billiards factory.

We have exactly 4 diamond nine foot tables in the area...that's not exactly dominating lol n:banghead:

mechanic/player · Jan 10, 2019

Meucciplayer said:
I would not bet a dime that Brunswick POOL is still around in 10 years. Look at their bowling division. Years ago Brunswick (and AMF) used to be the most important name in bowling. Now Brunswick gave that part up completely.

The only way I see a decent chance of the name Brunswick around in pool in 10 years would be if they sold that part of their business - i.e. that they'd sell the name to some Chinese company or so. Which again would be unlikely if they are still making lots of money with boats etc.

Good post. It's been awhile since I cared enough to talk to someone at Brunswick about it but at that time the billiard division of the company was for sale but the name is not and never will be because of the yachts .

3kushn · Jan 10, 2019

mechanic/player said:
Good post. It's been awhile since I cared enough to talk to someone at Brunswick about it but at that time the billiard division of the company was for sale but the name is not and never will be because of the yachts .

The end of 2017 they applied with the SEC to split off the Fitness Division from the Marine Division. The tables were moved to the Fitness Div after selling other parts of the company.

I'd guess that even if the business is insignificant but shows some growth however small they will keep it going. Like Bob Jewett thinks, their home table business is where the money is vs Gold Crown.

I'm also guessing they would just liquidate the whole thing if they lost interest completely. Who could purchase it if they couldn't use the Brunswick name?

mechanic/player · Jan 10, 2019

Apparently no one because that was about 5 yrs ago.

trentfromtoledo · Jan 10, 2019

jalapus logan said:
Yes, youve been here for sure then. This is the reason I stopped going out to play with any degree of regularity some years ago now. It's pretty hard to be a pool fan in a pool desert!

Nice, fun looking GC (or Medalist???) there!

Yep, Lexington must not be a pool town.

The table you asked about is a Gold Crown 4 we made to look like the
special edition GC4 that Brunswick was advertising on their site
for a while. Client called and asked if I could do it, I happily
accepted the challenge.

What went down:

WilsonArt Solicor Designer White Laminate on rails.
Paua Abalone inlaid sights, Penny Vein Powder Coating,
Simonis 860 in Royal Blue, New pockets and
New Superspeed Cushions.
4 5/8" corners at 141 degrees, 5 1/8" sides at 102 degrees.
plays like a dream and looks amazing!!!

Trent from Toledo :thumbup::thumbup:

Texas Carom Club · Jan 10, 2019

diamond or goldcrown, dont matter

franko · Jan 10, 2019

Wow

trentfromtoledo said:
Yep, Lexington must not be a pool town.

The table you asked about is a Gold Crown 4 we made to look like the
special edition GC4 that Brunswick was advertising on their site
for a while. Client called and asked if I could do it, I happily
accepted the challenge.

What went down:

WilsonArt Solicor Designer White Laminate on rails.
Paua Abalone inlaid sights, Penny Vein Powder Coating,
Simonis 860 in Royal Blue, New pockets and
New Superspeed Cushions.
4 5/8" corners at 141 degrees, 5 1/8" sides at 102 degrees.
plays like a dream and looks amazing!!!

Trent from Toledo :thumbup::thumbup:

Wow that came out beautiful ! Hats off to you .

iusedtoberich · Jan 10, 2019

I’ve never seen a white table before.... that looks amazing! I’d much prefer that look to the standard GC offerings.

pt109 · Jan 10, 2019

iusedtoberich said:
I’ve never seen a white table before.... that looks amazing! I’d much prefer that look to the standard GC offerings.

Early 50s....George Chenier played Fred Davis for the world snooker title....
...in Vancouver BC.....on a white Brunswick Anniversary 6x12...

Fred retained his title 31-28.....if I recall correctly.

trentfromtoledo · Jan 10, 2019

iusedtoberich said:
I’ve never seen a white table before.... that looks amazing! I’d much prefer that look to the standard GC offerings.

Thanks guys, I am sort of limited to the imagination of my clients and I get lucky a lot! I have done some really fun custom work.

Trent from Toledo

https://www.facebook.com/pg/toledopooltables/photos/?tab=albums

Lawnboy77 · Jan 11, 2019

That white GC IV looks outstanding Trent! I think a Bolivian Rosewood veneer for the rail caps would look good to. I’m afraid I’d be wiping those white rails off much more often than the typical dark rails.

jimmyco · Jan 11, 2019

Those sights are out of sight, man.

Dead Money · Jan 11, 2019

trentfromtoledo said:
Yep, Lexington must not be a pool town.

The table you asked about is a Gold Crown 4 we made to look like the
special edition GC4 that Brunswick was advertising on their site
for a while. Client called and asked if I could do it, I happily
accepted the challenge.

What went down:

WilsonArt Solicor Designer White Laminate on rails.
Paua Abalone inlaid sights, Penny Vein Powder Coating,
Simonis 860 in Royal Blue, New pockets and
New Superspeed Cushions.
4 5/8" corners at 141 degrees, 5 1/8" sides at 102 degrees.
plays like a dream and looks amazing!!!

Trent from Toledo :thumbup::thumbup:

That is cool. Would be perfect in a lake or beach house:thumbup:

Dead Money · Jan 11, 2019

trentfromtoledo said:
Thanks guys, I am sort of limited to the imagination of my clients and I get lucky a lot! I have done some really fun custom work.

Trent from Toledo

https://www.facebook.com/pg/toledopooltables/photos/?tab=albums

Some really nice work in here!

jay helfert · Jan 11, 2019

pt109 said:
Early 50s....George Chenier played Fred Davis for the world snooker title....
...in Vancouver BC.....on a white Brunswick Anniversary 6x12...

Fred retained his title 31-28.....if I recall correctly.

Fred was the equally talented younger brother of the great Joe Davis, who was the Snooker equivalent of Willie Mosconi at Pool.

trentfromtoledo · Jan 11, 2019

Lawnboy77 said:
That white GC IV looks outstanding Trent! I think a Bolivian Rosewood veneer for the rail caps would look good to. I’m afraid I’d be wiping those white rails off much more often than the typical dark rails.

Yes, but, the heart wants what the heart wants! Cool thing about that Solicore laminate, its solid white, so it won' t "wear" through like normal formica. Will stay white for ever, even if you have to clean it every day!

jimmyco said:
Those sights are out of sight, man.

Totally! I seee what you did there, player of the words!

Dead Money said:
That is cool. Would be perfect in a lake or beach house:thumbup:

Thanks Dead Money! The cloth color gets me a lil bit, but, with a white table like that any color combo is possible!

I still have enough of that white solicore if anyone is looking for a unique GC!!!
Thanks for all the nice comments, I appreciate you guys. Have a great day!

Trent from Toledo

Meucciplayer · Jan 12, 2019

I do like the looks of the Gold Crowns. More than the Diamonds. However, for the reasons I mentioned before I would still favor a Diamond. But that's me and everybody has a right to their own opinion.

Your white table looks great. I would not want to have it because I can see how much work it will be to keep it clean. Still, if someone else owns it and keeps it in that pristine condition - it is eye candy. I think even the deep blue cloth looks good on that table.

I would have a question for you, Trent. I am sure you can answer this easily - having worked on all those GCs. How can you tell the earlier models apart - is there an easy way to tell which model you're playing on? I have played on a lot of earlier GCs but back then I did not worry about which model they were. I just remember that some had copper colored metal inserts vs. aluminum/silver colored ones. But I am pretty sure that both metal colors would probably have been available for more or less all models.

I am also sure that you (and other table mechanics) can make any model GC look like another. Still, is there anything that tells you right away which model GC is right in front of you, even though it may have been reworked?

jalapus logan · Jan 12, 2019

trentfromtoledo said:
Yes, but, the heart wants what the heart wants! Cool thing about that Solicore laminate, its solid white, so it won' t "wear" through like normal formica. Will stay white for ever, even if you have to clean it every day!

Totally! I seee what you did there, player of the words!

Thanks Dead Money! The cloth color gets me a lil bit, but, with a white table like that any color combo is possible!

I still have enough of that white solicore if anyone is looking for a unique GC!!!
Thanks for all the nice comments, I appreciate you guys. Have a great day!

Trent from Toledo

Truely great work on a unique and fun table! Compliments are well deserved here, congratulations!

trentfromtoledo · Jan 12, 2019

Meucciplayer said:
I do like the looks of the Gold Crowns. More than the Diamonds. However, for the reasons I mentioned before I would still favor a Diamond. But that's me and everybody has a right to their own opinion.

Your white table looks great. I would not want to have it because I can see how much work it will be to keep it clean. Still, if someone else owns it and keeps it in that pristine condition - it is eye candy. I think even the deep blue cloth looks good on that table.

I would have a question for you, Trent. I am sure you can answer this easily - having worked on all those GCs. How can you tell the earlier models apart - is there an easy way to tell which model you're playing on? I have played on a lot of earlier GCs but back then I did not worry about which model they were. I just remember that some had copper colored metal inserts vs. aluminum/silver colored ones. But I am pretty sure that both metal colors would probably have been available for more or less all models.

I am also sure that you (and other table mechanics) can make any model GC look like another. Still, is there anything that tells you right away which model GC is right in front of you, even though it may have been reworked?

The nameplate and score counters tell a tale and not having them at all tells the final tale. Castings are different. The only hard one to identify is the GC2 and that is because it is exactly the same table as the 1 but is stained and not painted. So many refinished gc1's out there you basically have to take it apart to tell whether it was factory or refinished.

Thanks for all the compliments!

Trent from Toledo

Diamond versus Brunswick

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9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america

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