7 foot tables with 3 piece slate recommendations?

[kling&allen]

I am not opposed to a furniture table at all. As long as the cushions are good, I'd have it set up with Simonis, Andy, or any decent worsted cloth I could find. This seems like the most likely route.

I bought a Brunswick furniture table (7ft with 3 piece slate) due to my basement stairs. I had a local table mechanic recloth it and tighten the pockets. Cushions are dead compared to a Diamond or GC3 (but bank true). So not bad when compared the effort and cost of something better.

I recommend that you find and talk to a local table mechanic first. He might have a good lead on a cheap table (or check Facebook) and you will need his help improving it anyway.

 

[m00sebumps]

I bought a Brunswick furniture table (7ft with 3 piece slate) due to my basement stairs. I had a local table mechanic recloth it and tighten the pockets. Cushions are dead compared to a Diamond or GC3 (but bank true). So not bad when compared the effort and cost of something better.

I recommend that you find and talk to a local table mechanic first. He might have a good lead on a cheap table (or check Facebook) and you will need his help improving it anyway.

We do have a family owned business here that has been in business since the 1890's with a great reputation. They actually have a showroom with used tables and after some of the advice here I'm leaning towards going with them since their prices include moving and installation. Maybe I would go with something on facebook marketplace if the price and timing is right but I think I'll just pop into the local business from time to time and keep an eye on inventory.

 

[kling&allen]

We do have a family owned business here that has been in business since the 1890's with a great reputation. They actually have a showroom with used tables and after some of the advice here I'm leaning towards going with them since their prices include moving and installation. Maybe I would go with something on facebook marketplace if the price and timing is right but I think I'll just pop into the local business from time to time and keep an eye on inventory.

Go with the local company with the good reputation. Some furniture tables have better cushions than others so you might be able to find one with full superspeed or the like.

 

[jbart65]

If a bar box like Valley won't fit, I'd go used Connolly, Olhausen or older Brunswick table, in that order. You can get on FB Marketplace for $2000 or less, including delivery and new cloth.

These three-piece slate tables break down very easily and can be carried into virtually any room. I have very narrow cellar stairs and a 7-foot Olhausen was no problem.

I plan to expand my basement and get a Diamond 9-footer, but the Olhausen is just fine for drills and practice. The table is 24-years old, but the Accufast cushions play almost as well the GC 4s at my pool hall. The mechanic who installed my table said he's only had to replace failing Accufast cushions once in 20 years. They last.

 

[m00sebumps]

If a bar box like Valley won't fit, I'd go used Connolly, Olhausen or older Brunswick table, in that order. You can get on FB Marketplace for $2000 or less, including delivery and new cloth.

These three-piece slate tables break down very easily and can be carried into virtually any room. I have very narrow cellar stairs and a 7-foot Olhausen was no problem.

I plan to expand my basement and get a Diamond 9-footer, but the Olhausen is just fine for drills and practice. The table is 24-years old, but the Accufast cushions play almost as well the GC 4s at my pool hall. The mechanic who installed my table said he's only had to replace failing Accufast cushions once in 20 years. They last.

Thanks, I do actually see 7ft olhausen tables for sale more than others. I definitely plan on sticking to the major brands vs whatever random furniture brands are out there

 

[Swighey]

Any 3 piece 7ft slate is a good table.

 

[jbart65]

One or two brands have had issues with rapid cushion deterioration or are harder to break down. Older American Heritage tables, for instance.

Some cheaper AMF tables and older Presidential or Legacy tables I'd stay away from, too. Ditto for Imperial.

Higher level AMF, Gandy, A.E. Schmidt, Peter Vitalie are good tables.

 

[snookered_again]

I bought an old brunswick 7 foot , its from around 1961 it's pretty well made although not slate. the cushions were only about 1/2" and you cant' get the rubber.

I trimmed 10 mm from the rails and fitted 3/4" triangular rubber that is used on other tables, the Century I think.. I had to also fill and move the strip to trap the cloth so it wasn't near the edge. I then put a new sheet of MDF on the top and made a nice molding to hide the edge. the new MDF is suprisingly very flat and true. I rubbed in coat of laquer to seal it.

I also rebuilt all the pockets, they had rubber sleeves that are old and going rotten and NLA so i used sheet rubber and inside that I bought plastic trim pocket liners..

It was all a fair amount of work but the balls roll nice , it was very flat and I kept the dimensions the same except that I narrowed the pocket openings a bit. we used it lots, moved up to a 10 foot Brunswick Balk Cullender. I'm selling it now ( I think) its not slate but I guess the next best thing.. Its home depot orange ( original) and cool looking with the Brunswick labels and side ball returns. balls are 1 7/8 we sure had a lot of fun over the past couple of years.. Its advantage is it can be moved in one piece, no mechanic required, and its a 7 foot so it fits a smaller room. I had a lot of fun and learned some rebuilding it.. I put it up for $1500

There are lots of 1970's department store 4x8s that are complete garbage and not slate.. I like this little table, its better quality so I went to some effort to restore it for myself.

No argument that slate is nicer but It really changed it when I added that extra sheet of MDF. Its heavier now but still moveable.

 

[muskyed]

I had a Valley barbox moved in and out of a basement years ago and it went really smooth. Going down we just slid it down the stairs about ten minutes. Getting it up and out was almost just as easy. While I hired a moving company for that as I was moving anyway, they asked if I could help with the pool table and if so they would only need 2 men.
They had done this many times before and actually was quite simple. We took the legs off and the mover that was the biggest guy hooked up a strap assembly to himself and one end of the pool table. He set it so the strap was tight when he squatted down and every step he would stand up and the other guy and I would push up one step. Ten minutes later the table was in the truck.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Thanks, I do actually see 7ft olhausen tables for sale more than others. I definitely plan on sticking to the major brands vs whatever random furniture brands are out there

The olhausens throw me off a bit with the narrow rails. They do bank nice.

My parents had a 7 ft Brunswick in their basement. It was 3 piece slate and got the job done. Same bank lines as the gold crowns(kinda like kling said), but that also means you’ll have to adjust for the rails a little when playing on a diamond. Adjusting for a valley? That’s another story I can’t answer..

 

[trob]

If you can't get the slate up, there is no chance of getting a bar box up there.

But if you could find a table that comes apart with a 7 foot, one piece slate, I suppose you could cut it in half?! And then modify the table with cross bracing in the middle where the seam will be.

So I went to look at a valley years ago that seemed to cheap. When I got there it was in a 3rd floor apartment and my first thought how the hell did they get it up there?! Well the answer was they took the slate out.. used a saw to cut off a 1/3 of the table.. carried them up to the room and then screw 2x6 to both sides to keep it together before putting slate back in . it seemed to play fine but I wasn’t interested lol

 

[trob]

The olhausens throw me off a bit with the narrow rails. They do bank nice.

My parents had a 7 ft Brunswick in their basement. It was 3 piece slate and got the job done. Same bank lines as the gold crowns(kinda like kling said), but that also means you’ll have to adjust for the rails a little when playing on a diamond. Adjusting for a valley? That’s another story I can’t answer..

Yeah same here. I didn’t like the thin rails or the bucket pockets lol