Buying a used pool table

C

cue8chalk

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Hey,

I found what appears to be a good deal for a used pool table.

It's an 8' custom pool table for a few hundred $. It has 1" slate that comes in three pieces. The table has already been packed (professionally) in crates. The owner says it was built in 1971 and that it was packed about 13 years ago when he last moved. From the photos, I see three support beams going down the long side of the table and 4 cross support beams.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this thing put together nor will I be able to see it assembled to try it out and test for defects, but I will be able to go take a look at it and inspect the parts.

What is your advice on this? What things should I look for and/or ask about? How much do you think it would cost to have someone come set up a custom table like this?
 
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I would be very leary on buying a used table that I could not hit a few balls on first, especially if it is an unknown brand. You will probably want to budget recovering the table in the purchase price. If there are rail/cushion issues with the table you could easily spend $1500.00 trying to fix it. At the least I think I would want to know what cushion profile is on the table.
 
I've been looking at tables (Craigslist) for the past few months (looked at one last night).
I woulden't touch a crated table with a 10 ft pole. Almost every-single-table I've looked at has had dead cushions, missing bolts, cracked frame work, etc, including the one last night. Pass.
 
If you can inspect the slates and they are in fact a full 1 inch thick, with wood backing attached, and in good condition, you may have found a great deal. I would try to find out all that you can about the manufacture, make and model. Check out the general condition of the wood pieces (top rails, skirt boards frame and legs etc. as much as possible. If the price is right you can afford to make some repairs and restorations. What part of the country is it in? and what part of the country did it come from? Find out all you can and allow for additional costs of repair or restoration.
 
"Custom" as in built from scratch for someone?
(By whom?)

Or "customized" ?
( by whom, and what model was it originally. What mnfr? )

1971 is a well fermented table. Makes me nervous.
 
I would be wary buying a crated used table, especially an old one. All too often I have someone buy a used table, thinking they're getting a great deal, and they need us to replace the cloth and cushions and fix damaged parts, and by the time they're done, it would have been cheaper to get a new table.
 
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