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

[jay helfert]

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.

Have you tried going on social media and asking for a pool mechanic there? Keep looking for that used GC and one will show up. Be patient! Out here on the left coast I see nice looking Gold Crowns on FB marketplace at least once a week. Price range can be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000. You want the one that has been moved the least number of times. Ideally one that was in the same location for most of it's life. I've bought used GC's out of old poolrooms that were closing and they had the original rails and still played good. The worst thing for rubber is to sit somewhere and not be used. A table that has been in storage for a number of years will almost always need new rubber.

 

[Biloxi Boy]

Thanks, Jay. Makes sense to me.

Anyone have any experience with a GC with "bubbling" or delamination of the rail tops?

 

[Black-Balled]

Thanks, Jay. Makes sense to me.

Anyone have any experience with a GC with "bubbling" or delamination of the rail tops?

If touche a lot of them and never have seen that. I guess improper storage or water damage could result in such

Chipped exterior pieces and oxidized metal parts...definitely seen tosehips

 

[loggerhead12]

You know anyone nearby that's handy? A few people here have done wonders on their own tables. Get a degree from YouTube University. Rails and other work can be farmed out via mail if necessary. Just because you're in the sticks doesn't mean there aren't useful people around.

 

[EJmagnum186]

What I did was reach out to Real King Cobra (Glen) on here and asked him who the best table mechanic was in my area. He gave me the name and number of a guy. Most mechanics have used tables that they sell. It ended up being a slam dunk as I got the table that I wanted, along with 1 stop shopping for repair, moving and set up. A yr later I am still a happy camper playing on my GC4 with 4 1/8" diamond cut pockets and rail extensions.

 

[Biloxi Boy]

What I did was reach out to Real King Cobra (Glen) on here and asked him who the best table mechanic was in my area. He gave me the name and number of a guy. Most mechanics have used tables that they sell. It ended up being a slam dunk as I got the table that I wanted, along with 1 stop shopping for repair, moving and set up. A yr later I am still a happy camper playing on my GC4 with 4 1/8" diamond cut pockets and rail extensions.

Great minds must think alike. See #17 above:
". . . (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 . . .) . . . "
I was not kidding when I said I lived in a pool desert. 50 years ago pool halls were everywhere around here. Now pool lives on in bars.

 

[jtompilot]

Great minds must think alike. See #17 above:
". . . (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 . . .) . . . "
I was not kidding when I said I lived in a pool desert. 50 years ago pool halls were everywhere around here. Now pool lives on in bars.

I thought Pensacola had a room with some 9' Diamonds