Customer-proof tables?

D

derangedhermit

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
They don't exist, of course, but what are some good alternatives that get close?

Background: I was in a nice restaurant/bar with some tables that were recently nice, but needed much repair. I asked a guy who had been there for years, knew the (rich) owner, etc. He said the owner finally got tired of pouring money into the tables when the customers just tore them up. The pocket irons were showing, since the leather was cut through by people slamming balls. He said the tables had been recovered 2 months ago, but it looked like someone had run a garden tiller over the surface - white marks and small holes everywhere.

Are rubber pockets longer-lasting?
Are there tables where it's simple to lift off the rails and recover the slate without having to move it?
Are there tables resistant to people sitting on the rails?
Is some cloth less resistant to burning, tearing, and spot wear-through?

I think the owner might be willing to give it another try if he was sure that some new tables were much more damage-resistant (or/and cheap to fix).

Thanks!
 
kaylaemarx said:
As per my point of view its better to get new one rather than fixing the old table
Click to expand...
If he bought the same tables with the same felt again, he'd need to repeat that every few months. They aren't bad tables, just not designed to tolerate abuse. So that's my question - what new tables are built for use by people who can tear up a steel ball with a rubber hammer?

It's not by any means a unique situation - lots of folks who play pool ignore the signs on the wall and sit on the rail, smoke on the table, shoot scoop shots, abuse house cues, etc.

I have already suggested Diamond smart tables to the general manager, but now I seem to recall they also have leather pockets with metal reinforcement, and I don't know if they are especially easy to recover, or if some big old boy can bounce around on the rail without damage. I imagine the dymondwood(?) rails should hold up to set stains and cigarette butts well.

The only solution I know now would be to have someone sit in a chair and watch over the six tables constantly, to remove people from playing who did not show a little respect for the house equipment. Can't afford that...
 
Have the owner looked into Valleys and Brunswick Gold Crowns? I believe those tables were designed for commercial/heavy duty use/abuse.
 
If the predominant business is pool then the customers and staff would care about the tables. Of course we have people that come in to bang balls around for something to do while drinking beer and don't respect the equipment. I've had someone drip tobacco juice from out of his mouth on to a table and a mechanic come in with grease on his bridge hand.

I don't need a guard. My regular customers and my staff have no inhibitions about telling someone to not smoke over the tables, do not sit on the tables, and do not put drinks on or hold them over the tables. If they don't comply then my staff or I will ask them to leave. Chewing tobacco and dirty hands ... haven't figured that one out.
 
tables

This sounds to me like they need to invest in some used coin op bar boxes. Valley or Dynamo tables are heavy duty, easy to level, easy to cloth and can take a serious beating. You can get them in 7 or 8 foot variations. I personally would never spend the money on diamond tables in a place that people abuse the equipment. I would lose sleep at night thinking about the money that I spent on that high dollar diamond table and the way people treated it. We have a back room, that bangers play in, with 2 seven foot and 2 eight foot dynamo's. They get beat up pretty well, but I dont mind. I paid virtually nothing for the tables, and its about $80 to recloth them, of which I do myself. Im a believer.
 
The help is busy serving drinks. They enforce no rules, it might mess with their tips.

I'm a bit taken with the Valley suggestion. With replacement rails, they might serve well enough for both the bangers and the people who want a more demanding game. And they are made not too far from where I am in Texas - I might find a factory outlet or something.

They seem to be about half the price of the same size Diamond Pro-Am (from what I can see for consumer pricing).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top