Buying A Used Table -- What I Know Now . . .

Biloxi Boy

Biloxi Boy

Man With A Golden Arm
Looking for the things that can bite me in purchasing, moving, etc., a table. Surely someone here has been there before. Its okay to tell me a few good things, too, to keep me going . . . Thanks.
 
The thing I worry about most would be the rails. I expect to replace the cloth so that expense is built in. Bad rails make the table unplayable. Replacing the rubber on the rails can add, I don’t know, $500 or more. Also damaged slate, you don’t see it until you pull take the table apart. I’d be careful if I bought a table that is in pieces and not full assembled. Short parts or non matching components will ruin your day.
 
Make sure the table installer you choose is right. I'd ask here for opinions.

Some are highly recommended and then end up being like cue builders, late and lying, so you have to be careful.

If you want the pockets tighter, change the rubber, do not shim it. Shimming will cause balls to rattle and not fall.

I'm not sure of the correct angle for the pockets(somebody on here will know) but I told the installer of my 10' with 4 1/8th pockets - i want to be able to hit the ball 100mph down the rail and the ball will go in if its hit correctly. You usually can't do that with shimmed pockets.
 
I'm holding out for a GC. Period. My problem is that I live in a pool desert. I've looked high and low for mechanics with no luck. I figured one should know where used GCs might be. There used to be be two good mechanics who came through here regularly to redo Jim-Bob's KimSteels, but I can't find them anywhere. I find myself getting discouraged, but what good could that do? I just keep on keeping on.

Happily, Mrs. Dr. BB is firmly on board -- she actually understands and appreciates pool.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
Looking for the things that can bite me in purchasing, moving, etc., a table. Surely someone here has been there before. Its okay to tell me a few good things, too, to keep me going . . . Thanks.
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It’s up to you to inspect the table you are purchasing to determine if the cushions, pockets, etc are good.

As far as the slate, you can ask the owner if he’s aware of any cracks in the slate, but I would make sure in the deal to stipulate that when the table is taken apart, if there is a crack or cracks in the slate, the deal is either off the sale price would be renegotiated, if the crack is not a major issue and can be repaired - which the table mechanic should be able to tell you.
 
Facebook marketplace is your friend, limit your search to a 50 mile radius unless you have a mechanic/mover that will go distances.

Honestly don't be in a hurry, a lot of great tables come on the market at a super-inflated price, and within 2 months they're half or lower than when they started. Everyone thinks THEIR table is worth so much more, the sad truth is it's not and it just takes a while for that to sink in.

Also don't fall for the sirens song of snooker tables, there are FOUR gorgeous Brunswick anniversary snooker tables in my local market two have been up for over a year. But the cost of trying to modify a snooker table into a billiards table is gobsmacking.

I've been eyeing a GC1 10ft snooker table with the idea of converting it into a bigfoot but what AE Schmidt wants to add dots to the rail will cover a year of college for my kid.
 
Don’t settle for a busted up Formica rail GC or anniversary. No busted side skirts. No previously shimmed pockets, no missing rail bolts. No cigarette burns.

If it had pinned slates, make sure no dingus tried to lift them up and bust chunks out. Just because a Brunswick GC/anniversary/centennial/sport king is old, it doesn’t mean the rails are bad. I’ve had 1 sport king and 2 anniversaries. All 3 has great original rubber.
 
I bought my table, then I took pictures of my slates and the bed before I put the table back together, just an idea some might want to use, that way you can show a potential buyer the slates, without tearing the cloth off.
I would not buy a table before I saw the slates,
 
Banger said:
Call Barry, at Pro Billiard Service, in the DFW area. If nothing else, he might be able to point you in the right direction to find a table, and mechanic.

Pro Billiard Service
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Really, you should call this Barry and tell him you want a gold crown and ask him how much you're going to pay.

Let him hear 'please bring me one'.

I think it is completely possible you are in an area that just doesn't have any real tables. It's going to cost you and it's cheaper than moving.
Have you thought about the joy of loving Jesus?
Maybe you think 3,000 is about your cap for one completely set up? If you add another 2/3 to that, it still isn't that much, based on the length of time you're going to own it and the mental damage you'll gleefully inflict upon thyself.
 
Oh, FM, I done messed up and got logged into the rich folks pool site.

If money was not an issue, your solution is a great one. I live in a different world, however, and my journey to a pool table will be one step at a time. There are a lot of us who live our entire lives biting off no more than we can chew at one sitting. Things work out like they are supposed to, and if it is meant to be, it will happen.
 
Which way is it to the poor folks section? You know -- the folks who lived/slept in the pool halls. I need someone with whom I can relate.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
Which way is it to the poor folks section? You know -- the folks who lived/slept in the pool halls. I need someone with whom I can relate.
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You can relate to me.
But I will hitchhike on what Black-Balled said. My wife and I are both
civil servants, in other words...only well off once we retire. I sprung for a Diamond large in 2007. It was a lot of money at the time at $4700, Had RKC set it up. Having to get 4 children through college it was money I should not have spent.
I pulled the trigger and never looked back. Good luck on your decision, I am pulling for you.

Cuebuddy>>>just worked some overtime.
 
I hear ya brother, gotta find the right guy. The right guy will find the table you want. He brings it, and provides the expertise. You guarantee the muscle, so he can come by himself. He can find the table cheaper than you. This provides him a margin, and less total expense for you. Gotta find the right guy.
 
Garczar has id/ed Rick Howard as Starcade's mechanic, and I have been trying to call him.

I also spoke with Barry in DFW and found him to be a great guy. If I decided to go the "one stop" way, he would be my first consideration. The problem is that a lot of travel expense is necessarily incurred when dealing with someone 500 miles away. I absolutely expect to pay extra for someone from out of town (when I worked, I traveled, and I worked with many others who traveled, some of whom billed "portal to portal") but, since I am flying economy, I prefer avoiding expense if possible. But, "yes", Barry is a very good source for one taking the Allman Brothers route. (A good referral greenie to "the other BB" for this one.)

I looked all over this area for a mechanic on several occasions and still cannot believe there is no one "local". (I even spoke with RKC for help or a "local"referral. I will not go into what he had to say, but he could not help me. He, too, was very accommodating, and if I lived in the Northwest . . .)
 
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after having tables for the last 15 years i can say ill never do it again unless i move to alaska

sounds good on paper but i never play on them enough and
too boring to play alone
 
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