How does the old Anniversary table compare to the GC in terms of play, cushions, pocket size, or anything in between?
Brunswick Anniversary vs. Gold Crown
- Thread starter CamposCues
- Start date
Comparison
I have a gold crown 111 at home and have access to an anniversary. I have a good friend who is a table mechanic who says the anniversaries are built better - easier to work on. I think this is true. I think the gold crown plays a little better (imho). I found the anniversary's pockets to be cut very hard coming in down the rail. The pockets are big but the rail shots are hard. Also the rails I found to be very spongy. I like the gold crown for playability.
Chris
I have a gold crown 111 at home and have access to an anniversary. I have a good friend who is a table mechanic who says the anniversaries are built better - easier to work on. I think this is true. I think the gold crown plays a little better (imho). I found the anniversary's pockets to be cut very hard coming in down the rail. The pockets are big but the rail shots are hard. Also the rails I found to be very spongy. I like the gold crown for playability.
Chris
Tables
Thanks for the input. I'm trying to find something in my area, a GC or Anniversary within a 3 hour drive of Omaha, NE. This is tough because there isn't much around Omaha, NE in a 3 hour radius...just KC and Desmoines. I'd like an 8' due to room constraints but there seem to be more 9' around. I found a 9' Anniversary but it's a little farther than I want to drive. I may try to make the trip anyway. I searched some old threads and have heard mostly good things about the Anniversary table.
Run the Century said:
Thanks for the input. I'm trying to find something in my area, a GC or Anniversary within a 3 hour drive of Omaha, NE. This is tough because there isn't much around Omaha, NE in a 3 hour radius...just KC and Desmoines. I'd like an 8' due to room constraints but there seem to be more 9' around. I found a 9' Anniversary but it's a little farther than I want to drive. I may try to make the trip anyway. I searched some old threads and have heard mostly good things about the Anniversary table.
CamposCues said:
They are pretty close, if you check the parts numbers, (I have original Brunswick books that came with the tables) a lot are the same. I have owned both and if the table is set up right, pocket size and so forth I would rather have the Anniversary, it's a classic.
anyone who has played on a slate bed pooltable should know that brunswick billiard tables have smaller pockets than any other brand of pool table 
thanks
thanks
I haven't been a big fan of anniversaries. Half the time they have been moved and recovered so much the backing is barely there. Many bolts are stripped or missing. The pockets are rotted. Along with the rails. I'm not sure if the anniverseries come with Superspeeds but I think we often end up recushioning them. The Gold Crowns (3s and 4s) I feel are superior to them. If I remember correctly the framing is different. The Gold Crowns I think have a more solid framing. Good for wedging and preventing sag. And the aniverseries tend to have pins connecting the slate.
Also I think the Brusnwick Gold Crowns have larger pockets than the Diamonds. But the Gold Crowns kick out more balls than the Diamonds. That's what many pool players have told me. I haven't really noticed anything different. Even on nonshimmed Diamonds
The Anniversiries and the Gold Crowns both have K-66 cushions so you can put Superspeeds on there if you want.
Also I think the Brusnwick Gold Crowns have larger pockets than the Diamonds. But the Gold Crowns kick out more balls than the Diamonds. That's what many pool players have told me. I haven't really noticed anything different. Even on nonshimmed Diamonds
The Anniversiries and the Gold Crowns both have K-66 cushions so you can put Superspeeds on there if you want.
Long, for what it's worth!
Having owned a couple of poolrooms, mostly equiped with Gold Crown I's & II's and a service company that bought and sold a lot of pool tables, and having been a Brunswick dealer (actually unofficailly through another larger Brunswick dealer) along with my activities in the professional billiards world, I think I have a little insight on this.
My personal table is a Gold Crown II that is one of the sweetest in the country IMHO, but it's also one of the toughest. When I set it up I replaced the pocket facings which are normally about 1/8" thick using a special conveyor belting I have access to locally that has the same playing characteristics as the stock material, but they are 3/8" thick. This works out much better than double or triple shimming the pockets, especially if the table mechanic takes the shortcut and just adds facings on top of the original ones. This should almost never be done! If double or tripple facings ARE used, they should all be new. They should be properly laminated using quality contact cement applied to both surfaces and allowed to dry to the touch before joining. They should also be pressed together between 2 hard flat surfaces to assure they are as flat as possible. This is the reason adding new facings to old ones is a real bad idea! Usually the old ones are no longer perfectly flat after being assaulted by thousands shots from very hard balls. When you glue another facing on top you have a wavy surface that gives you unpredictable results! This is often why some tables reject balls that should go and vise versa! And why some tables have certain pockets that are much harder to pocket balls in when struck firmly and with english!
On to the Anniversary! This is IMHO one of the best all around tables Brunswick had made until the Cold Crown IV came along (and quite frankly we have Greg Sullivan and Diamond to thank for that!) The Anniversary was the commercial predacessor to the Gold Crown. It was built at a period where craftsmanship was more commonplace. The Gold Crown was built to be the NEW MODERN table of it's time and while I think during it's first two versions it was the best commercial table on the market, but IMHO the quality fell way off on the CGIII's. Brunswick was no longer building the tables and were instead farming out the work to several furniture builders in the US and abroad. They also were no longer using the Manhattan Rubber which was IMHO the best cushions ever made in the US. By the time the Cold Crown IV's came about, Brunswick had felt the intense heat that Diamond had put on them. Greg Sullivan recognized the problem and decided to do something about it, when he decided to start building the Diamond tables. Brunswick had been resting on it's laurels for many years and had not really done anything for the sport or made any significant improvements until Greg and Diamond lit a fire under their ass! Most people will agree that the Diamond table is the "State of the art" but the new Gold Crown IV is also a great table.
Well I've been rambling on again and a lot of what I said was off topic I guess, but I thought some may find it interesting.
just more hot air!
Sherm
CamposCues said:
Having owned a couple of poolrooms, mostly equiped with Gold Crown I's & II's and a service company that bought and sold a lot of pool tables, and having been a Brunswick dealer (actually unofficailly through another larger Brunswick dealer) along with my activities in the professional billiards world, I think I have a little insight on this.
My personal table is a Gold Crown II that is one of the sweetest in the country IMHO, but it's also one of the toughest. When I set it up I replaced the pocket facings which are normally about 1/8" thick using a special conveyor belting I have access to locally that has the same playing characteristics as the stock material, but they are 3/8" thick. This works out much better than double or triple shimming the pockets, especially if the table mechanic takes the shortcut and just adds facings on top of the original ones. This should almost never be done! If double or tripple facings ARE used, they should all be new. They should be properly laminated using quality contact cement applied to both surfaces and allowed to dry to the touch before joining. They should also be pressed together between 2 hard flat surfaces to assure they are as flat as possible. This is the reason adding new facings to old ones is a real bad idea! Usually the old ones are no longer perfectly flat after being assaulted by thousands shots from very hard balls. When you glue another facing on top you have a wavy surface that gives you unpredictable results! This is often why some tables reject balls that should go and vise versa! And why some tables have certain pockets that are much harder to pocket balls in when struck firmly and with english!
On to the Anniversary! This is IMHO one of the best all around tables Brunswick had made until the Cold Crown IV came along (and quite frankly we have Greg Sullivan and Diamond to thank for that!) The Anniversary was the commercial predacessor to the Gold Crown. It was built at a period where craftsmanship was more commonplace. The Gold Crown was built to be the NEW MODERN table of it's time and while I think during it's first two versions it was the best commercial table on the market, but IMHO the quality fell way off on the CGIII's. Brunswick was no longer building the tables and were instead farming out the work to several furniture builders in the US and abroad. They also were no longer using the Manhattan Rubber which was IMHO the best cushions ever made in the US. By the time the Cold Crown IV's came about, Brunswick had felt the intense heat that Diamond had put on them. Greg Sullivan recognized the problem and decided to do something about it, when he decided to start building the Diamond tables. Brunswick had been resting on it's laurels for many years and had not really done anything for the sport or made any significant improvements until Greg and Diamond lit a fire under their ass! Most people will agree that the Diamond table is the "State of the art" but the new Gold Crown IV is also a great table.
Well I've been rambling on again and a lot of what I said was off topic I guess, but I thought some may find it interesting.
just more hot air!
Sherm
I agree that Brunswick has rested on it's name for a while. I'm not a fan of Brusnwick. And the earlier Gold Crowns must be more prominent in the north. I worked on my first GC1/2 the other day. I think it was a one. It had ball return which just made my day.cuesmith said:
I prefer Olhausen to Brunswick when it comes to their standard home tables. I think those are some of the best tables out there now. For home use of course.
I love the Diamond tables. Especially the leather pockets.
But as you said. It's just our own personal opinions.
Tables
Sherm, I found all that very intersting.
It seems like when I didn't have room for anything but a bar box I use to see GC's and all kinds of nice tables locally for dirt cheap and now that I have the room I can't find anything under an 8 hour drive! As a matter of fact there was a small pool room here in town and a buddy of mine got me in there to play their weekly Sunday 9 ball tourney. This was 4 or 5 years ago. It was the first time I had been there and at the end of the tourney the kid announced they were closing and the tables were for sale at $600 each, all GC's. I had no room and didn't know how good of a deal that was at the time or I'd of bought them all.
Sherm, I found all that very intersting.
It seems like when I didn't have room for anything but a bar box I use to see GC's and all kinds of nice tables locally for dirt cheap and now that I have the room I can't find anything under an 8 hour drive! As a matter of fact there was a small pool room here in town and a buddy of mine got me in there to play their weekly Sunday 9 ball tourney. This was 4 or 5 years ago. It was the first time I had been there and at the end of the tourney the kid announced they were closing and the tables were for sale at $600 each, all GC's. I had no room and didn't know how good of a deal that was at the time or I'd of bought them all.
These guys below will probably be able to help.
510 Grant Avenue
Clay Center, KS 67432-2918
Phone: (785) 632-5909
They know more about Brunswick than Brunswick. It may be slightly further than 3 hours but well worth it. At least give them a call. If I were going to buy a Brunswick, it would be pre WWll. Before the Anniversary with T rails. These are the best Brunswick tables. Anything around Anniversary and later is not even close to the quality. The Anniversary era is close to the time they lost interest in Billiards and I think by then they had the fire that destroyed most of their records which was their knowledge for making tables.
Anniversary is better then GC although.
Again IMO
510 Grant Avenue
Clay Center, KS 67432-2918
Phone: (785) 632-5909
They know more about Brunswick than Brunswick. It may be slightly further than 3 hours but well worth it. At least give them a call. If I were going to buy a Brunswick, it would be pre WWll. Before the Anniversary with T rails. These are the best Brunswick tables. Anything around Anniversary and later is not even close to the quality. The Anniversary era is close to the time they lost interest in Billiards and I think by then they had the fire that destroyed most of their records which was their knowledge for making tables.
Anniversary is better then GC although.
Again IMO
Last edited:
asiasdad
Banned
They all share similiar features
I own a 55-59 era 9' sport king, which basically was the lowest grade commercial table brunswick made in order to win military and college contracts for their rec centers.
From what I understand, the slate, cushions (mine had original monarch cushions) and rails were all interchangeable up to and including the gold crown III. So you could have anniversary, centennial, sport king, and GC parts work with each other.
Personally, I like the idea of the anniversary era tables better than the late model GCs' for this reason: They were created and manufactured in AMERICA. None of this 3d world nation (Brazil/China) crap on the table. In the case of my sport king, it even has the (in)famous Pennsylvania slate, complete with ribbons and everything so my table is a 100% AMERICAN MADE table. As i resent corporate take overs (ie: corporate whores) I'm also proud to say I have the stick figure symbal on the emblem at the foot spot rail instead of that butt ugly "B".
I own a 55-59 era 9' sport king, which basically was the lowest grade commercial table brunswick made in order to win military and college contracts for their rec centers.
From what I understand, the slate, cushions (mine had original monarch cushions) and rails were all interchangeable up to and including the gold crown III. So you could have anniversary, centennial, sport king, and GC parts work with each other.
Personally, I like the idea of the anniversary era tables better than the late model GCs' for this reason: They were created and manufactured in AMERICA. None of this 3d world nation (Brazil/China) crap on the table. In the case of my sport king, it even has the (in)famous Pennsylvania slate, complete with ribbons and everything so my table is a 100% AMERICAN MADE table. As i resent corporate take overs (ie: corporate whores) I'm also proud to say I have the stick figure symbal on the emblem at the foot spot rail instead of that butt ugly "B".
I believe the Gold Crowns are still made in the United States.
And what is wrong with globalization?
And what is wrong with globalization?