Brunswick Medalist

GregoryGrc

GregoryGrc

<---Zinzola #57
Silver Member
Hi, I'm replacing this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7187734831&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

with this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7181395370&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1

I have been reading the posts here and appreciate all of the knowledge shared. I am in the process of procuring a machininsts level and would like to know if a 12" one is sufficient. The label on the frame of the Medalist says model number "FB", serial number 2830, and "Made in Brazil". If anyone knows when this table was made or anything particular about it that would be good to know as the installer please share it.

The disassembly of the Medalist at pickup went smoothly, except for the plaster in the slate screw holes. I am planning to use beeswax to seal the seams and leave the slate screw holes as they are when I reassemble it. I have read the controversy here regaring seam sealing materials and do not wish to re-ignite any arguements about that. I have used beeswax in the past and have had no problems with it. The corner pocket castings are tarnished as mentioned in the eBay listing. Does anyone know some way sort of rebuffing and replating to make these look a little better?

If you know anything else you think I should know please let me know...

Greg
 
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table mechanic stuff

Gregory, congrats on your newer table. You can buff the castings with a car polish buffer and compound but you have to seal it with something as it will retarnish quickly. Try spray can clear coat. A more permanent solution is to have them re nickeled not chrome. On the seams i used durhams water putty and it came out great. I highly recommend Mose Duane's book rookies guide to pool table maintenance and repair available thru phoenix billiards. I bought, dissassembled, moved, reassemled, leveled, seamed and recovered my new table. Steve, the table mechanic at hard times, came over and said i did a pretty good job. Of course it took me about 3 times longer than a professional would have and i only cut my hand once! Now i know why these guys charge what they do. I've learned enough to know i won't probably do it again! Also, im having him rewrap the rails instead of trying it myself cause that just seems like pushing it. Good Luck and enjoy.
PS. email brunswick with serial # and they will give you all sorts of info.
 
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Thank you for the information!

Do you have any opinion as to whether a 12" machinists level is adequate to do the leveling?

Chops Louie said:
Gregory, congrats on your newer table. You can buff the castings with a car polish buffer and compound but you have to seal it with something as it will retarnish quickly. Try spray can clear coat. A more permanent solution is to have them re nickeled not chrome. On the seams i used durhams water putty and it came out great. I highly recommend Mose Duane's book rookies guide to pool table maintenance and repair available thru phoenix billiards. I bought, dissassembled, moved, reassemled, leveled, seamed and recovered my new table. Steve, the table mechanic at hard times, came over and said i did a pretty good job. Of course it took me about 3 times longer than a professional would have and i only cut my hand once! Now i know why these guys charge what they do. I've learned enough to know i won't probably do it again! Also, im having him rewrap the rails instead of trying it myself cause that just seems like pushing it. Good Luck and enjoy.
PS. email brunswick with serial # and they will give you all sorts of info.
Click to expand...
 
thats a really nice table you have there gregorygrc. a 12 in machinists level will be fine. try using some type of metal polish on the pocket castings, you can get them refinshed locally, look for someone in your yellow pages that does chrome plating and they should be able to help you out.
 
Thank you mechanic/player!

I believe my Medalist is the 'home' model since the rails are wood (Curabixa I think) instead of the HPL rails on the commercial models. I'm taking my time setting it up right and enjoying every minute of it!

Greg
 
Just one more thing about the Medalist...the skirts are solid wood and not veneered chip board. The only veneered chip board on the entire table is the flat panels on the pedestals. Maybe that info would help in trying to determine the approximate year of manufacture?

Greg
 
sometimes there are dates engraved/stamped,scratched (look closely) on the back of the castings,or maybe someone signed/dated the cushions like i do when i install a table. i would guess late 60's early 70's.
 
Tarnished Medalist corner pocket castings

I used fine steel wool, Noxon, and a liberal amount of elbow grease to take off the clear lacquer coating and the tarnish.
Step 2 was 'Nevr-Dull' polishing wadding I got at an auto parts store:

http://www.nevrdull.com/what.htm

and then a coat of Nu-Finish car wax. They look fine now. There is still some minor pitting but it just adds character to this fine table!

I'll see if/how fast the castings tarnish without a clear lacquer coat and if it becomes too much of a chore to polish them as normal maintenance I'll hit them with a clear coat.

On another subject:
Is there is any specific kind of beeswax to use for the seams? Would a block of generic beeswax suitable for making candles do the trick, or do I need something else?

Responses would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Greg
 
mechanic/player said:
sometimes there are dates engraved/stamped,scratched (look closely) on the back of the castings,or maybe someone signed/dated the cushions like i do when i install a table. i would guess late 60's early 70's.
Click to expand...

I think I'd guess a little later than that - like mid-80's at least. The copper plating was used concurrent with GCIII production, as was the Brazilian slate, which takes it out of the late 60's early 70's era. The Medalist was one step down from GC and was part of the Commercial line of tables - not the home or recreational line. The 12" level is what you want. Good luck and have fun.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

PS: If it comes to replating the corner castings, you may want to look into powder coating them instead - less costly and a nice look. JMHO.
 
Your guess on the date of manufacture is correct I believe. I contacted Brunswick and and usual Marvin Eisenhauer was very helpful and informative. He sent me an Medalist installation manual dated 1991 in which the illustrations of the table looked like mine, especially the style of the pedestals.

Thank you for your response Pizza Bob!

Greg
 
Medalist progress - pool table mechanic question...

Ok, so the slates are settled in, the beeswax is on it's way as well as the vernerable Starrett 98 12" level, and I have a copy of 'The Green Book' in hand. Even though I've done this kind of work before, I find this book is a great reference.

OK, so on to my question:

As I've stated before I prefer beeswax over plaster or bondo for sealing the seams. The previous installer preferred plaster. I would really like to clean the old plaster off the slates. I tried just rubbing it off with a cloth and water but I'm sure there is a faster more efficient way to do this. Would a Scotchbright pad (used very lightly of course) with water instead of a rag do the job better without damaging the slate?

Any thoughts or suggestions? Or am I just being anal about this? :)

TIA Greg
 
Pizza Bob said:
I think I'd guess a little later than that - like mid-80's at least. The copper plating was used concurrent with GCIII production, as was the Brazilian slate, which takes it out of the late 60's early 70's era. The Medalist was one step down from GC and was part of the Commercial line of tables - not the home or recreational line. The 12" level is what you want. Good luck and have fun.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

PS: If it comes to replating the corner castings, you may want to look into powder coating them instead - less costly and a nice look. JMHO.
Click to expand...

Oh well, someone mentioned nickel/chrome plating , I should have looked at the pic. Level your frame first, then the center piece followed by the end pieces. Your level and a q ball on the slate will tell you what you need to do.U se a scraper of some type to remove the plaster from between the slates too.
 
Minor setback

As those of you who live in the Northeast probably know there was 10 straight days of rain culminating with some horrendous rain late night Friday, October 15. The 9 1/2" of water in my basement can attest to the voracity of the weather event. The Medalist survived as well as most of our other possesions. Fortunately my flood consisted of storm drain water instead of the raw sewage that plagued many less fortunate folks in my town. The water rose to about 6" up on the pedestals. Now that everything has substantially dried out there seems to be no damage. There is some hardly noticable swelling of the plywood panels between the main supports but structurally everything is sound. My timetable for completion of the Medalist installation has been pushed back as a result. On a positive note my new (used) Starrett 98-12 machinists level is in my possession and I won't have to worry about settling due to installation on a rug!

It could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the efforts of my wife and children, the Wethersfield, CT Volunteer Fire Department, my brother in law Ray, his neighbor Richard, and my neighbor Tim.

I'll keep you posted.

Greg
 
My cellar is dried out and my thoughts are now getting back to setting up my table. I am not replacing the wall to wall carpeting removed from my cellar due the the flood damage which is making the table leveling process much easier. I want to thank those on these boards who recommended a machinists level to do this task. My Starrett 98-12 has made the job so easy and exact! My final adjustments were made with slips of paper because the playing cards were too thick! I've done the clean glass and polished ball techique to check and I'm glad to say the ball just sits there wherever I place the glass on the slate. I'm loving life...

I'll be filling in the seams with beeswax tonight, installing the felt and rails tomorrow and hopefully playing by Wednesday if all goes well.

Thanks again for all the help and advice rendered here.

Greg
 
Beautiful Medalist, Greg! Glad the rain didn't hurt you too much. We sure got a lot up here, and there's more to come.

What type of cloth and what color are you using (I hope I didn't miss this in the above posts)?
 
I'm holding my breath about the rain. I'm paranoid after my experience of last week, but I think I'll be OK. Thanks for asking!

I'm going to use the green cloth that was on the table for now as it is still in pretty good shape. From looking at it I believe it's Forstmann 21oz. blend. Not my first choice but it will do for a couple of years until I get the Simonis on...

Greg
 
Work is progressing. The seams are now grouted with beeswax. I found that the Bernz-O-Matic propane torch I was using is overkill for this task so I purchased a Bernz-O-Matic Mini-torch which uses butane and delivers a pinpoint 3/4" blue flame. This little $8.00 torch is far superior for this task, especially the touch-up work!

The bed cloth installation went well last night (using non-rusting 1/4" Monel staples of course) and all that is left is to close out the pockets and install the rails. It should be up and playing by the weekend.

The only bad part is wondering what I will obsess over next? :)

Cost summary:
~~~~~~~~~
Table purchased on eBay $ 950.00
Truck rental 190.00
Gas 40.00
Food for the helpers 40.00
"The Green Book" 40.00
Nevr-Dull wadding for corner castings 5.00
Starrett 98-12 level purchased on eBay 88.00
#2 Phillips screwdriver for slate screws 8.00
Bernz-O-Matic mini torch 8.00
Beeswax purchased on eBay 11.00
-----------
Total $ 1,380.00
=========

The experience of finally getting the
table I wanted and setting it up
perfectly............. Priceless!

Not bad for a table that sold for around $5,000!

:)
Greg






Greg
 
The Medalist is all set up and done!

I'm loving life with a commercial quality table in my cellar. The cloth is a bit slow compared to the Simonis on the Diamond tables at my home billiard parlor, but at least I still have another project to look forward to...

The table is dead-nuts level and is a real pleasure to shoot on. Having the ball returns is convenient but I was not prepared for the noise associated with them. I've quieted the ball return box with some carpeting but the gullies are still a bit loud. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how to make the gullies less noisy? If I can't figure out a way I'll just convert it to drop pockets I guess...

Thanks again for all the help I got here!

Greg
 
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