Gold Crown 3 question

D

dearnold

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been looking for an oversized 8 foot table. Diamond Professional, Gold Crown and now, the Olhausen Champion are the list of options. I could buy a Diamond Professional new. That's at (perhaps a little above) the upper limit of what I want to spend ($7k or so). But like many, i have a nostalgic place in my hart for a gold crown. Plus the diamond 8 foot is not exactly oversized from the 8 foot I already own.

There is a local pool hall that is moving out their 8 foot gold crown 3s, so they will be for sale. But there are issues (of course). The biggest issue is that they had a crazy table mechanic do the cloth once. And this idiot apparently did not protect the rail when hammering in the feather strips and there are hammer dings along every inch of every rail of every table. Ugh.

I asked what he is selling them for and off the top of his head it was 2k. Way too much especially with that rail issue. I'm also thinking about the smoke, what I'm going to find on the slate, the aprons will have to be touched up, etc.

I am seeing that I can buy a set of new GC 3 rails for $500.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brunswick-G...plete-Set-6-billiard-pool-table-/350491420083

I'm also seeing that I can get new corner and side castings for $400.

http://www.classicbilliards.net/html/gold_crown_medalist_parts.cfm

Add in cloth and setup and the right price on the table, maybe I can get it in the 3-4k range for a pretty darn new looking GC 3.

They have the ball returns by the way.

Any opinions on all of that. Am I working to hard at this? I didn't think it was going to be this hard. Apparently the pro 8 makes it harder.
 
dearnold said:
I've been looking for an oversized 8 foot table. Diamond Professional, Gold Crown and now, the Olhausen Champion are the list of options. I could buy a Diamond Professional new. That's at (perhaps a little above) the upper limit of what I want to spend ($7k or so). But like many, i have a nostalgic place in my hart for a gold crown. Plus the diamond 8 foot is not exactly oversized from the 8 foot I already own.

There is a local pool hall that is moving out their 8 foot gold crown 3s, so they will be for sale. But there are issues (of course). The biggest issue is that they had a crazy table mechanic do the cloth once. And this idiot apparently did not protect the rail when hammering in the feather strips and there are hammer dings along every inch of every rail of every table. Ugh.

I asked what he is selling them for and off the top of his head it was 2k. Way too much especially with that rail issue. I'm also thinking about the smoke, what I'm going to find on the slate, the aprons will have to be touched up, etc.

I am seeing that I can buy a set of new GC 3 rails for $500.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brunswick-G...plete-Set-6-billiard-pool-table-/350491420083

I'm also seeing that I can get new corner and side castings for $400.

http://www.classicbilliards.net/html/gold_crown_medalist_parts.cfm

Add in cloth and setup and the right price on the table, maybe I can get it in the 3-4k range for a pretty darn new looking GC 3.

They have the ball returns by the way.

Any opinions on all of that. Am I working to hard at this? I didn't think it was going to be this hard. Apparently the pro 8 makes it harder.
Click to expand...

Where are you located?
 
PoolTable911 said:
Where are you located?
Click to expand...

Minneapolis. Which is another issue. Whenever I find something out of town, I need to start dealing with the shipping dilemma. If someone would just magically product a GC 4 pro 8 shipped to my house for a reasonable amount (I'm willing to pay for quality), the problem would be solved.

Regards
 
GC Pro 8

Dearnold,

As of night before last, on Craigslist, there is a Pro 8 GC in Tennessee and one in California. Their condition is unknown. PM me if you want to investigate them, and I will provide a link.

Regardless, your location will play a big part in how you can get what you want. That is due to the unavoidable costs of shipping or transportation. Even if you use your own vehicle, the true cost of every mile you drive can be surprisingly expensive. In my case, it's .85 cents per mile! So, if I travel 500 miles each way for a pool table, I have added $850.00 to its cost.

The plastic laminate on Gold Crown rails can be replaced. Due to a difference in the design of the metal strip that attaches to the outermost edge of GC rails, that process should be somewhat easier on I's and II's. (The strip on the III's has a tongue that fits into a recess cut into the rail edge, thus making removal of the strip a bit more risky.)

Regarding the apron touch ups.....if you go with the I and II paint scheme, that task is easy. If you want the stain type finish common to the III's that is more difficult. Practically any apron is a good candidate for paint restoration, but some are beyond restoring to a stain finish.

If the actual bottom line dollar figure is your deciding factor, it may be easiest and cheapest to just bite the bullet and pay the high price for the beat up tables with hammer marks. After that, the necessary refurbish work would be fairly straightforward.

Lastly, according to his ad, the rails that SD Billiards has are for nine footers.

I agree with you about the nostalgia aspect of Gold Crowns. I love 'em, too.

Good luck to you.

Joe
 
Last edited:
dearnold said:
Minneapolis. Which is another issue. Whenever I find something out of town, I need to start dealing with the shipping dilemma. If someone would just magically product a GC 4 pro 8 shipped to my house for a reasonable amount (I'm willing to pay for quality), the problem would be solved.

Regards
Click to expand...

We completly refurbish Gold Crowns. I have a half dozen GC III pro 8's in inventory. We do rail specs and extentions. Anything you would want done to the table. Call me with questions.
 
PoolTable911 said:
We completly refurbish Gold Crowns. I have a half dozen GC III pro 8's in inventory. We do rail specs and extentions. Anything you would want done to the table. Call me with questions.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry. do you mean complete pool tables, or just the rails?

regards
 
jfred0826 said:
Dearnold,

As of night before last, on Craigslist, there is a Pro 8 GC in Tennessee and one in California. Their condition is unknown. PM me if you want to investigate them, and I will provide a link.

Regardless, your location will play a big part in how you can get what you want. That is due to the unavoidable costs of shipping or transportation. Even if you use your own vehicle, the true cost of every mile you drive can be surprisingly expensive. In my case, it's .85 cents per mile! So, if I travel 500 miles each way for a pool table, I have added $850.00 to its cost.

The plastic laminate on Gold Crown rails can be replaced. Due to a difference in the design of the metal strip that attaches to the outermost edge of GC rails, that process should be somewhat easier on I's and II's. (The strip on the III's has a tongue that fits into a recess cut into the rail edge, thus making removal of the strip a bit more risky.)

Regarding the apron touch ups.....if you go with the I and II paint scheme, that task is easy. If you want the stain type finish common to the III's that is more difficult. Practically any rail is a good candidate for paint restoration, but some are beyond restoring to a stain finish.

If the actual bottom line dollar figure is your deciding factor, it may be easiest and cheapest to just bite the bullet and pay the high price for the beat up tables with hammer marks. After that, the necessary refurbish work would be fairly straightforward.

Lastly, according to his ad, the rails that SD Billiards has are for nine footers.

I agree with you about the nostalgia aspect of Gold Crowns. I love 'em, too.

Good luck to you.

Joe
Click to expand...

how do you refinish the top of gc III rails?
 
GCIII Rail Refinish

jdxprs said:
how do you refinish the top of gc III rails?
Click to expand...

jdxprs,

The following information is given from the perspective of my experience with plastic laminate in a general construction setting, and not necessarily from pool table repair.

In the 1970's and 80's plastic laminate was the hands down choice for kitchen and bathroom cabinet top surfaces. I was a general remodeling contractor, and built and installed many tops. Plastic laminate is a great product...... but for all practical purposes, it is impossible to repair surface damage. Just one little scratch here or there usually results in removal and replacement of the affected piece.

In the case of a Gold Crown, the simulated wood grain could probably be touched up in a small section by detailed hand painting. However, the repair would always be detectable from certain angles due to the impossibility to match the uniform sheen of the remainder of the laminate.

I have a set of 35 year old rails that are badly damaged from hammer marks, ball dents, and scratches. I am considering, for the sake of experience, painting them. If so, I will fill all dents with bondo, prime, and then spray with an automotive finish. Those rails belong to me, so if that idea doesn't work out, then no harm done. However, I would not take on that job for a customer without all parties having a very clear understanding of the risks of such a project.

There are many pros on this forum with a lot of years of experience in dealing with Gold Crown repairs. Hopefully, they will offer some of their techniques for sprucing up rails. Unfortunately, I suspect that all will agree that once plastic laminate is damaged, that damage is permanent.

Joe
 
Oops, my mistake

In post #4 of this thread, I originally said...."practically any rail is a good candidate for paint restoration". That is not true. I meant to say "any apron". :embarrassed2:I have since edited the original. Sorry about that.

jfe
 
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