3 piece slate steel plate joined and leveling system added as well.

I thought that might be the case, I just thought I would ask for my benefit.

All that work looks like a serious investment in your time. You should start a school for mechanics to pass along all of this great information. Heck, if it were close enough, I would attend just to get a better understanding of how things work and what can be done to work even better.

Thanks Glen for the wealth of knowledge you pass along through the forums. I find it interesting and innovative.
 
KC, you must be the last "furniture mfg" in the US....

and knowing that you COMPLETELY understand your product, ensures that it is made right - the 1st time. i enjoyed reading/viewing/learning this. technology changes. and logistics costs come into play. i can tell from your stance, that you are HIGH QUALITY -

- and you get what you pay for.
 
PINKLADY said:
KC, you must be the last "furniture mfg" in the US....

and knowing that you COMPLETELY understand your product, ensures that it is made right - the 1st time. i enjoyed reading/viewing/learning this. technology changes. and logistics costs come into play. i can tell from your stance, that you are HIGH QUALITY -

- and you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

You know, RKC's association with Diamond might qualify him as a (sorta) manufacturer. I think of him more as a restorer and there are still a few of those left in in America. I know some great funiture guys and I'll bet you do too. Did you see this table ? Merk Gregory (the restorer) credits RCK for much of his set up technique, but the wood work and attention to detail is extraordinary:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=321491

And don't get me started on Cue Makers. Last of a breed.

Kevin
 
kvinbrwr said:
You know, RKC's association with Diamond might qualify him as a (sorta) manufacturer. I think of him more as a restorer and there are still a few of those left in in America. I know some great funiture guys and I'll bet you do too. Did you see this table ? Merk Gregory (the restorer) credits RCK for much of his set up technique, but the wood work and attention to detail is extraordinary:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=321491

And don't get me started on Cue Makers. Last of a breed.

Kevin
Click to expand...

wow.

i enjoy AZB for various reasons (most of all - YOU, Kevin), and this thread is one of them.

high-end, hand-crafted "furniture", is all but extinct at this point. thanks to IKEA & mass production. unfortunately, it's what is dictated per required budgets, red-tape, etc. but those who KNOW, and APPRECIATE, quality workmanship & the warranty behind it - PAY for it. and it lasts. for generations....

like your cue(s).
like your table.
like your case(s).

it's nice to know that KC is one of the few left here, and cares. (my restoration guys are all still on unemployment.)

PS - nice wormholes - you pay extra for that!
 
PINKLADY said:
my restoration guys are all still on unemployment
Click to expand...

I know I know, furniture is slow.

Here's a Kling from when Brunswick was an American manufacturer and quality meant something. RKC is really a Diamond guy and part of his talent is enabling an old Brunswick to play like a new Diamond and lots of people would ask why not just buy a new Diamond but that Centennial from Dean's house (if its still there - he keeps stuff less time than I do) and this Kling example might be decent reasons why.

In a dream world I would have a Kling restored and set up by Mark Gregory, or restored by one of "my" wood guys and set up by RKC.

kling.jpg


Kevin
 
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And to rerail this thread. RKC can not only retrofit your old 3 piece slate Diamond table to act like a 1 piece, he can then add the new leveling system to an old table, not to mention, recalibrate the rails to play perfect modern while he's at it.

Not only can he do it. He's willing to show everybody how to do it.

carry on.
 
kvinbrwr said:
I know I know, furniture is slow.

Here's a Kling from when Brunswick was an American manufacturer and quality meant something. RKC is really a Diamond guy and part of his talent is enabling an old Brunswick to play like a new Diamond and lots of people would ask why not just buy a new Diamond but that Centennial from Dean's house (if its still there - he keeps stuff less time than I do) and this Kling example might be decent reasons why.

In a dream world I would have a Kling restored and set up by Mark Gregory, or restored by one of "my" wood guys and set up by RKC.

kling.jpg


Kevin
Click to expand...

Love that table
 
rjb1168 said:
Love that table
Click to expand...

I know. Look at those inlays and the wood, in and of itself, is a work of art. There are a lot of things better in this world due to the technology and pace at which we all operate, but the artfulness of our surroundings, and the quality of the goods available to us, has declined. This is why people collect.

There was a thread where people were ooh and aaahing over the clean and precise work of a RKC pocket on someone's table, everything just folding in and looking perfect, and a poster pointed out that the table wouldn't play any better because Glenn had taken the time to make the pockets perfect and stylish (which is only sorta true because it follows that if a guy is doing that job on stuff that doesn't effect play think about what he's doing on the features that do), and yeah, the Kling wouldn't play any better because of that wood, or the design, or the inlays, an yeah, a Ginacue won't play any better because of its unique inlay design.
 
Last edited:
kvinbrwr said:
And to rerail this thread. RKC can not only retrofit your old 3 piece slate Diamond table to act like a 1 piece, he can then add the new leveling system to an old table, not to mention, recalibrate the rails to play perfect modern while he's at it.

Not only can he do it. He's willing to show everybody how to do it.

carry on.
Click to expand...

I was shown the "magic" behind a really cool card trick one time.

I still can't do it.

JC
 
JC said:
I was shown the "magic" behind a really cool card trick one time.

I still can't do it.

JC
Click to expand...

JC

You are right. I should have said "shows us how he does it", although to some table guys it might be "shows how to do it".

Kevin
 
kvinbrwr said:
JC

You are right. I should have said "shows us how he does it", although to some table guys it might be "shows how to do it".

Kevin
Click to expand...

I have no problem if some mechanic's out there learn something from my posts, be great if they did....but they still have to do it right in order to copy me. Mark Gregory is just as skilled as I am when it comes to working on rails, in fact....maybe even better at it than I am as he has a fixed shop instead of a truck traveling all over the place to work out of, so in a lot of cases I just tell the customer to get a hold of Mark, then send your rails to him to rebuild. I'm limited in what I can do, or take on for work as I just don't have the room to set up a shop, so I do what I can.

Glen
 
SC02GTP said:
I thought that might be the case, I just thought I would ask for my benefit.

All that work looks like a serious investment in your time. You should start a school for mechanics to pass along all of this great information. Heck, if it were close enough, I would attend just to get a better understanding of how things work and what can be done to work even better.

Thanks Glen for the wealth of knowledge you pass along through the forums. I find it interesting and innovative.
Click to expand...

I've considered a school for table mechanics, but then gave up on such crazy ideas as being way to hard to pull off.
 
Your post below is exactly why, deep down inside, I like and tolerate RKC.

kvinbrwr said:
And to rerail this thread. RKC can not only retrofit your old 3 piece slate Diamond table to act like a 1 piece, he can then add the new leveling system to an old table, not to mention, recalibrate the rails to play perfect modern while he's at it.

Not only can he do it. He's willing to show everybody how to do it.

carry on.
Click to expand...
 
Hungarian said:
Your post below is exactly why, deep down inside, I like and tolerate RKC.
Click to expand...

Me too. You know as well as I do, most guys that have "secrets" in pool keep them secrets. Mark Gregory does fabulous fabulous work and he says he was inspired by RKC and technically shown the way in many aspects. That stuff is priceless.

Kevin
 
Mark is "uptown" and Glen is "downtown". Both are great. It's not an insult either way. Example, BB King is "uptown", Albert King is "downtown".

I love what Mark can do with rosewood and how he can recalibrate and upgrade the rails. Once I decide to restore one of my centennials I wish to hire him for the rails.

And what Glen can do on the road working out of his truck is simply amazing. If I would open a pool room I'd go buy (45) gold crowns for $175 ea. and hire Glen to reverse engineer them.




kvinbrwr said:
Me too. You know as well as I do, most guys that have "secrets" in pool keep them secrets. Mark Gregory does fabulous fabulous work and he says he was inspired by RKC and technically shown the way in many aspects. That stuff is priceless.

Kevin
Click to expand...
 
Hungarian said:
Mark is "uptown" and Glen is "downtown". Both are great. It's not an insult either way. Example, BB King is "uptown", Albert King is "downtown".

I love what Mark can do with rosewood and how he can recalibrate and upgrade the rails. Once I decide to restore one of my centennials I wish to hire him for the rails.

And what Glen can do on the road working out of his truck is simply amazing. If I would open a pool room I'd go buy (45) gold crowns for $175 ea. and hire Glen to reverse engineer them.
Click to expand...

You look at the totality of the job Mark Gregory did for Dean on that Centennial, and yeah, that's what you want. A huge advantage Mark offers (and charges for) is the one stop shopping of his flawless restore AND table set-up. The logistics are a little staggering when you are shipping the rails to one guy and the rest of the table to another and trying to coordinate.

And like you said, and as far as logistics goes, having RKC parking in your driveway and being able to do the set-up work while you do nothing but schlep him drinks and say "wow" every once in a while is pretty darn appealing.

The two of them are the best in the business and both active and contributing members here at AZ. Its what makes it a great place (besides you and me).

Kevin
 
Hungarian said:
Mark is "uptown" and Glen is "downtown". Both are great. It's not an insult either way. Example, BB King is "uptown", Albert King is "downtown".

I love what Mark can do with rosewood and how he can recalibrate and upgrade the rails. Once I decide to restore one of my centennials I wish to hire him for the rails.

And what Glen can do on the road working out of his truck is simply amazing. If I would open a pool room I'd go buy (45) gold crowns for $175 ea. and hire Glen to reverse engineer them.
Click to expand...

You're 100% right about Mark and myself, as I can't sit in a shop and do what Mark does day in and day out, it would drive me nuts...it can take 6 months to refinish some of the tables he does, even longer. He does great work, second to none trust me. Myself on the other hand, I'm more concerned with the playability of the whole table, I don't care about refinishing them, I have no interest in that line of work, never have. I carry enough tools with me to do a complete job on a pool table on location, and finish up when I'm satisfied there's nothing more I can do to make the table better than it was to begin with.

Mark...he'll refinish a set of rails 4 damn times if that's what it takes to get the LOOK he's after...what a nut case....I'd have called it done after the first time I refinished the rails:thumbup:

What Mark and I both share in common....is the will to do the best we can possilbly do, and it has nothing to do with the time frame it takes to get the job done. Neither one of us likes to be rushed, or pushed to meet a schedual....we don't perform well under those circumstances, because it kind of forces us to finish up faster than we'd planned on...and it don't always turn out like we'd hoped it would. We've both made mistakes, and that includes myself as well...LOL..BUT, it takes making mistakes to learn what NOT to do in the future, that's how you learn this job. So, once you start runing out of mistakes to make, you start getting the hang of just exactly what you want to do...and just exactly how to do it...THAT is what makes a great table mechanic, but to a lot of guys out here working at table mechanic's....they never learn from their mistakes so they just keep making them over and over again...yet sleep great at night with no thoughts what-so-ever about the jobs they've just finished up.

Glen
 
..."I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have
succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have
eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will
work."

Thomas A. Edison


QUOTE=realkingcobra;4519707]You're 100% right about Mark and myself, as I can't sit in a shop and do what Mark does day in and day out, it would drive me nuts...it can take 6 months to refinish some of the tables he does, even longer. He does great work, second to none trust me. Myself on the other hand, I'm more concerned with the playability of the whole table, I don't care about refinishing them, I have no interest in that line of work, never have. I carry enough tools with me to do a complete job on a pool table on location, and finish up when I'm satisfied there's nothing more I can do to make the table better than it was to begin with.

Mark...he'll refinish a set of rails 4 damn times if that's what it takes to get the LOOK he's after...what a nut case....I'd have called it done after the first time I refinished the rails:thumbup:

What Mark and I both share in common....is the will to do the best we can possilbly do, and it has nothing to do with the time frame it takes to get the job done. Neither one of us likes to be rushed, or pushed to meet a schedual....we don't perform well under those circumstances, because it kind of forces us to finish up faster than we'd planned on...and it don't always turn out like we'd hoped it would. We've both made mistakes, and that includes myself as well...LOL..BUT, it takes making mistakes to learn what NOT to do in the future, that's how you learn this job. So, once you start runing out of mistakes to make, you start getting the hang of just exactly what you want to do...and just exactly how to do it...THAT is what makes a great table mechanic, but to a lot of guys out here working at table mechanic's....they never learn from their mistakes so they just keep making them over and over again...yet sleep great at night with no thoughts what-so-ever about the jobs they've just finished up.

Glen[/QUOTE]
 
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