Last week, Donny came and fixed my eight-month-old Gold Crown V Tournament Edition. The improvement in the table is remarkable.
To start with, just finding anyone willing to come up here in the middle of nowhere is difficult. I feel quite fortunate that Donny was willing to drive up here. He put in a very long day, but never rushed or cut corners; his only purpose throughout the day (and well into the night) was to make the table the best it could be. And I believe he succeeded. The fact that Donny is also a hell of a nice guy and it was enjoyable hanging with him while he worked is a bonus.
I had thought that the table was very flat and level, but after Donny fixed a slight crown in the head slate and releveled all the slates and the table, it was obvious that small imperfections have a big effect. I guess it's true that close only counts in horse shoes and grenades. Donny spent nearly as much time leveling the table as some "installers" will take for a complete table installation (okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but he did spend a very long time leveling the thing).
The pocket castings were all fitted properly. The pocket angles were corrected and new facings were installed to replace the Brunswick ball ejectors. When new, the corner pockets varied in size by more than an eighth of an inch, and the angles were not all the same. The side pockets were an eighth different at the points and a quarter-inch different at the throat. With the down angles way off spec, the side pockets were nearly unusable. When Donny was finished, I had 4-3/8" corner pockets and 4-7/8" side pockets that all play exactly as you would expect; no surprises. Excellent.
I had been unhappy with the cushions on the table, because they banked a little short. This was apparently due to the cloth on the cushions being just a bit loose, because with the new cloth installed, the banking is now perfect. Another bonus.
Now, it's like having a new and better table. I couldn't be more happy with the work that was done.
So, thanks again, Donny.
To start with, just finding anyone willing to come up here in the middle of nowhere is difficult. I feel quite fortunate that Donny was willing to drive up here. He put in a very long day, but never rushed or cut corners; his only purpose throughout the day (and well into the night) was to make the table the best it could be. And I believe he succeeded. The fact that Donny is also a hell of a nice guy and it was enjoyable hanging with him while he worked is a bonus.
I had thought that the table was very flat and level, but after Donny fixed a slight crown in the head slate and releveled all the slates and the table, it was obvious that small imperfections have a big effect. I guess it's true that close only counts in horse shoes and grenades. Donny spent nearly as much time leveling the table as some "installers" will take for a complete table installation (okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but he did spend a very long time leveling the thing).
The pocket castings were all fitted properly. The pocket angles were corrected and new facings were installed to replace the Brunswick ball ejectors. When new, the corner pockets varied in size by more than an eighth of an inch, and the angles were not all the same. The side pockets were an eighth different at the points and a quarter-inch different at the throat. With the down angles way off spec, the side pockets were nearly unusable. When Donny was finished, I had 4-3/8" corner pockets and 4-7/8" side pockets that all play exactly as you would expect; no surprises. Excellent.
I had been unhappy with the cushions on the table, because they banked a little short. This was apparently due to the cloth on the cushions being just a bit loose, because with the new cloth installed, the banking is now perfect. Another bonus.
Now, it's like having a new and better table. I couldn't be more happy with the work that was done.
So, thanks again, Donny.
