Warning: I apologize in advance for this being so long. I tried to keep it simple but it's been a very long journey and it's difficult to figure out what to leave out.
About 2 years ago, as part of my increasing awareness of pool, I discovered the
Brunswick Anniversary pool table and was hooked immediately. It had great lines, a really solid look and from what I had read played really well. The more I learned about the history of the table, the more I knew it was the perfect table for me.
However, at around $12k for a fully restored version it was a little out of my pool table budget.
So, I spent a year (yes, a year) searching craigslist every couple of days in a 400 mile radius with various search terms and exclusions before finding this:
The ad read:
"Large Pooltable 3 price slate needs new pockets and felt its a Brunswick and it's nice don't have much pics we took it apart to move everything is there call (name) leave message it used to be in the elks lodge and I've had it for years also have good sticks and balls"
Not having "pool" and "table" be separate words meant that it missed most other people actively looking since the seller said I was the only person to call. I immediately offered the full asking price and told him I'd be there the next morning to pick it up.
The morning after that, I called Mark Gregory.
Mark and I talked about a plan for how to store the table, what I needed to do before getting back to him to start and gave me a ballpark estimate on the work. The challenge he had was that I am in California and he is in Georgia and usually with these projects he's more of an onsite guy. On an anniversary table he wants to know every part of the restoration and setup was done right. He said he'd think about it though and have an idea when I got back to him.
My next hurdle was where to put the table even if I did restore it. So, I bought a house. (yeah, you read that right) Unfortunately, finding a house with a 14' by 18' room proved to be a challenge. So I just bought one and removed a couple of walls around the kitchen and installed counters low enough to get pool cues over.
Kitchen Remodel Album
OK, now that that small detail was fixed it was time to work on the table. This is where Mark goes from amazing pool table restoration expert to saint.
He talked me through every step of what I needed to do. The old stretcher was toast so I had to make a new one. The pedestals were in really bad shape so I refinished them. The previous owner had removed the wood from the slates so I had to screw it back on (very carefully) and so on. Meanwhile, Mark was building the rails, blinds and ball box based on the castings from my table.
Mark works in very specific tolerances and with very high expectations so the whole time he wanted pictures and to see how it was going. He had a certain standard and if this table was going to have his rails, blinds and ball box on it, I was going to live up to that standard as well.
After months of working with Mark over the phone, it was all ready and he encouraged me repeatedly to do the cloth myself. I watched Glen's video on rail cloth (well done, by the way) and got that done...not to either of their standards but it was my first time. And then Baxter (yes, from AZB) and I spend several hours on FaceTime with Mark putting the bed cloth and rails on. Yeah, that's right. Mark taught us to put the cloth and rails on the table over the phone. I can't imagine too many pool table mechanics doing that. My fiance was our "camera woman" and Mark supervised every step of the way.
Pool Table Restoration
Mark isn't just a pool table mechanic or pool table builder or pool table anything. Mark is a man who loves pool and genuinely wants others to love it as much as he does. He does NOT charge enough for the service he provides. It may sound pricey at first. Get over that! The commitment you will get from Mark when you start working with him will probably be unlike any other experience in your life.
I bought a house and remodeled it to fit a 9ft. Brunswick Anniversary pool table. That was my commitment to this project. What I didn't expect was that Mark was just as committed to it. I have learned more during this project than I ever expected and I can't even put into words how grateful I am for all that Mark did for me.
If you are lucky enough to work with Mark, nothing will prepare you for the results.
I played Baxter for a couple of hours before we left for league and I was totally overwhelmed (and won the first to games...suck it, Baxter). Tonight my fiance will probably beat the ever living hell out of me as she does every time we play each other and I'm sure I'll love every minute.
Thank you, Mark.
About 2 years ago, as part of my increasing awareness of pool, I discovered the
Brunswick Anniversary pool table and was hooked immediately. It had great lines, a really solid look and from what I had read played really well. The more I learned about the history of the table, the more I knew it was the perfect table for me.
However, at around $12k for a fully restored version it was a little out of my pool table budget.
So, I spent a year (yes, a year) searching craigslist every couple of days in a 400 mile radius with various search terms and exclusions before finding this:
The ad read:
"Large Pooltable 3 price slate needs new pockets and felt its a Brunswick and it's nice don't have much pics we took it apart to move everything is there call (name) leave message it used to be in the elks lodge and I've had it for years also have good sticks and balls"
Not having "pool" and "table" be separate words meant that it missed most other people actively looking since the seller said I was the only person to call. I immediately offered the full asking price and told him I'd be there the next morning to pick it up.
The morning after that, I called Mark Gregory.
Mark and I talked about a plan for how to store the table, what I needed to do before getting back to him to start and gave me a ballpark estimate on the work. The challenge he had was that I am in California and he is in Georgia and usually with these projects he's more of an onsite guy. On an anniversary table he wants to know every part of the restoration and setup was done right. He said he'd think about it though and have an idea when I got back to him.
My next hurdle was where to put the table even if I did restore it. So, I bought a house. (yeah, you read that right) Unfortunately, finding a house with a 14' by 18' room proved to be a challenge. So I just bought one and removed a couple of walls around the kitchen and installed counters low enough to get pool cues over.
Kitchen Remodel Album
OK, now that that small detail was fixed it was time to work on the table. This is where Mark goes from amazing pool table restoration expert to saint.
He talked me through every step of what I needed to do. The old stretcher was toast so I had to make a new one. The pedestals were in really bad shape so I refinished them. The previous owner had removed the wood from the slates so I had to screw it back on (very carefully) and so on. Meanwhile, Mark was building the rails, blinds and ball box based on the castings from my table.
Mark works in very specific tolerances and with very high expectations so the whole time he wanted pictures and to see how it was going. He had a certain standard and if this table was going to have his rails, blinds and ball box on it, I was going to live up to that standard as well.
After months of working with Mark over the phone, it was all ready and he encouraged me repeatedly to do the cloth myself. I watched Glen's video on rail cloth (well done, by the way) and got that done...not to either of their standards but it was my first time. And then Baxter (yes, from AZB) and I spend several hours on FaceTime with Mark putting the bed cloth and rails on. Yeah, that's right. Mark taught us to put the cloth and rails on the table over the phone. I can't imagine too many pool table mechanics doing that. My fiance was our "camera woman" and Mark supervised every step of the way.
Pool Table Restoration
Mark isn't just a pool table mechanic or pool table builder or pool table anything. Mark is a man who loves pool and genuinely wants others to love it as much as he does. He does NOT charge enough for the service he provides. It may sound pricey at first. Get over that! The commitment you will get from Mark when you start working with him will probably be unlike any other experience in your life.
I bought a house and remodeled it to fit a 9ft. Brunswick Anniversary pool table. That was my commitment to this project. What I didn't expect was that Mark was just as committed to it. I have learned more during this project than I ever expected and I can't even put into words how grateful I am for all that Mark did for me.
If you are lucky enough to work with Mark, nothing will prepare you for the results.
I played Baxter for a couple of hours before we left for league and I was totally overwhelmed (and won the first to games...suck it, Baxter). Tonight my fiance will probably beat the ever living hell out of me as she does every time we play each other and I'm sure I'll love every minute.
Thank you, Mark.
