Ballstar Polisher
- Thread starter stlerdave
- Start date
By the time I pack them up and drag them down to your bar I could have spritzed them with brillianize and wiped them clean. I do this after every session anyway when I put the balls away. It only takes a couple of minutes. Once in a while I'll polish them by hand with the aramith ball polish while I watch TV.
However the Ballstar will pay for itself in goodwill and increased business just from having clean, polished balls on the tables(s) in your bar. Trust me that players will notice - and like - clean polished balls.
However the Ballstar will pay for itself in goodwill and increased business just from having clean, polished balls on the tables(s) in your bar. Trust me that players will notice - and like - clean polished balls.
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If you're going to buy a ball cleaner, buy a Bloodworth ball cleaner. It does a great job and it cleans the entire rack at one time.
http://www.bludworth.com/products_and_services.htm
http://www.bludworth.com/products_and_services.htm
I can't speak for a Ball Star polisher. I have had a Bludworth and a Diamond. The Diamond ball polisher is the best that I owned. The Bludworth, ruined my best set of centennial balls because of excess vibration in the motor causing the platter to become imbalanced. It gouged the heck out of that set.
The diamond platters are not linked directly in line to the motor as the Bludworth.
As far as the OP's original question, you have to determine how much your time is worth, as opposed to polishing the balls by hand.
The diamond platters are not linked directly in line to the motor as the Bludworth.
As far as the OP's original question, you have to determine how much your time is worth, as opposed to polishing the balls by hand.
Agreed -- that bolded part is the most important. I have a BallStar (the new style that looks like somewhat like a blender, instead of the old style that looks like a crockpot):
http://forums2.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=157792
And I have to say, the convenience and time-savings of just putting the balls in, adding the cleaner/polishing agent, closing the lid, switching the BallStar on its cycle, and walking away to get on with the rest of your busy day, is worth the price alone. (I paid $300 for mine several years ago, and it's l-o-n-g since paid for itself with the time savings.)
I'm very happy with my BallStar. However, if I were in the market for a ball cleaner (i.e. I didn't have the BallStar) and cash was not an issue, I'd spring for the Diamond ball cleaner, though -- I would get the dual-spindle model that does an entire set in one fell swoop. The design is just classic American "over-engineering" -- meaning, it's built like a tank.
Hope this is helpful info,
-Sean
I have a crockpot ballstar and I think it does a good job. In my opinion, for the money just go buy some turtle wax, a 5 gal bucket, carpet remnants, and a buffer. You can get the same results as the ball star for about $50-60. If I owned a pool hall I would buy one of the commercial ones for the professional look, but for home just make your own.
I have the crock pot style and love it. My 6 year old enjoys putting the balls in and turning the machine on. It is nice playing with clean, polished balls all the time. $5 would be a deal.
JC
Coos Cues
I think you misinterpreted his post. He owns no bar. He wants to buy the thing for at home and offer his services to the bars for $5.
I second the motion to build a five gallon bucket one. You will get the same results for $25 and then guess what? You can still take the thing to bars and do theirs with it if you want to. The first 5 gallon bucket polisher I made I gave to my friend who owns a bar and she still uses it regularly. That was 10 years ago.
finding serious pool establishments that care enough about their equipment to have the balls polished would be your #1 hurdle in my opinion. Even the bars I went to in charleston with 14 plus tables had balls that looked like they were made from colored dirt. One of those places even had a Ballstar polisher... I should've offered the owner $100 for it in hindsight.
Those that don't see the value will not pay $1 a set, much less $5. Those places that do see the value... probably already have a machine.
Those that don't see the value will not pay $1 a set, much less $5. Those places that do see the value... probably already have a machine.
I have used ball polishers for years. Started with the ball star and it worked fine, fits inside a milk crate which was nice. Now I have a Diamond polisher and its great.
I have charged $10 for years, and this is a fair price. $5 is too cheap, you will have to polish 60 of balls to break even. And take in consideration how long is this ball star going to last: commercial polishing and being transported around.
You will probably find that bars that have league and tournament may want their balls polish every 1-3months. I personally had a route a few years ago with about 20 tables. Here's what I did, charged $15 per table, polished the balls, vacuumed the cloth, and wiped down the tables.
I have charged $10 for years, and this is a fair price. $5 is too cheap, you will have to polish 60 of balls to break even. And take in consideration how long is this ball star going to last: commercial polishing and being transported around.
You will probably find that bars that have league and tournament may want their balls polish every 1-3months. I personally had a route a few years ago with about 20 tables. Here's what I did, charged $15 per table, polished the balls, vacuumed the cloth, and wiped down the tables.
I have a Ball Star machine and love it. I wouldn't wear your motor and pads cleaning the general publics balls for money. Save the life of the machine for your business needs. If you have good paying customers with tables at home I would clean their balls in private. And I would keep the ball cleaner in the back where no one sees it or everyone will ask to have their balls cleaned.
Oh, you are right, he is looking to buy a ball polisher. He says..."if I was a bar owner...my bad. My previous post still stands...Just use it for yourself and your friends..
I have a ballstar and I really like it. I would think if you wanted to charge some people would pay a few dollars maybe even 5 bucks.
However if I owned a room or a bar I would have a ballstar cleaner or something similiar because clean balls go in easier, they roll farther and they look better. All of these will attract players/customers the return will be that alone. If you have leagues consider offering free cleaning to league members then they will think get something out of playing at your place. I think you will like a ballstar even though it does only 8 balls at a time that is true but it works well and changing out the balls is easy. I like the dual direction motion.
Probably the best cleaner is the diamond with 2 ball recievers that does all 16 but it take a little real estate. Very nice ball cleaner. The balls move fast and rotate getting a comple thorough and consistent polish.
A homemade bucket system does a heck of a job so whichever one you wind up with will be a huge improvement on what many rooms have around here which is dirty grimy balls.
However if I owned a room or a bar I would have a ballstar cleaner or something similiar because clean balls go in easier, they roll farther and they look better. All of these will attract players/customers the return will be that alone. If you have leagues consider offering free cleaning to league members then they will think get something out of playing at your place. I think you will like a ballstar even though it does only 8 balls at a time that is true but it works well and changing out the balls is easy. I like the dual direction motion.
Probably the best cleaner is the diamond with 2 ball recievers that does all 16 but it take a little real estate. Very nice ball cleaner. The balls move fast and rotate getting a comple thorough and consistent polish.
A homemade bucket system does a heck of a job so whichever one you wind up with will be a huge improvement on what many rooms have around here which is dirty grimy balls.
My understanding is the double platter Diamond is a two stage machine - the first stage for cleaning and the 2nd stage for polishing - since each platter holds 8 balls it doesn't do the whole set at once, though you can run the last 8 b alls in the first platter while the first 8 are running in the 2nd. I guess the idea is you don't use any agent in the second wheel so the carpet stays relatively clean.
Here's an explanation by RKC:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=1108602&postcount=13