I've been wanting a gold crown for years but thing just haven't worked out. The other day I came acrossed an old 9 foot AMF with ball return. The price is about half of what I can get a used GC for. So what I'm asking is how do these two compare? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. BANGER.
Gold crown vs amf
- Thread starter JUSTABANGER 2
- Start date
Anyone have any thoughts on these ?
I'm not a table mech so I can't give you a nuts and bolts comparison but I can tell you the few OLD AMFs I played on from the 70's were ok. I would prefer the GC though. Some that I saw much later seemed to be falling apart but that may have been because they weren't taken care of.
If it's half the GC it might seem to be a bargain but I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get parts if you needed them.
If it's half the GC it might seem to be a bargain but I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get parts if you needed them.
I played on AMF Gold Crown clones years ago (I mean MANY years ago) and they weren't up to GC standards. I distinctly remember the side pocket holes protruded out into the playing surface so you could literally slow roll a ball down the long rail and make it in the side pocket. We actually would play this shot in competition.
However, I've played on newer ones that played much better. You may want to get under the table and perhaps take some pictures of the construction and compare it to a Gold Crown. For instance, I don't know if the frame is as beefy or if the AMF uses 1" slate. Not saying these aren't the case, just that I don't know and there are things you should be on the look out for.
My best suggestion is to PM Aunty Dan. He has one that plays nice. He was selling it for a while because he was moving and intended to eventually get a Gold Crown in his new house, but kept the AMF instead. I don't know if that was because he thinks the GC is so much better or if he just figured that once he got rid of the AMF and went looking for another table it would be way easier to come across a GC than an AMF since there are so many more of the Brunswicks out there. He can probably give you some very good first hand info. Here's the link to his profile page (he's not on here every day):
http://forums.azbilliards.com/member.php?u=343
Hope this helps.
However, I've played on newer ones that played much better. You may want to get under the table and perhaps take some pictures of the construction and compare it to a Gold Crown. For instance, I don't know if the frame is as beefy or if the AMF uses 1" slate. Not saying these aren't the case, just that I don't know and there are things you should be on the look out for.
My best suggestion is to PM Aunty Dan. He has one that plays nice. He was selling it for a while because he was moving and intended to eventually get a Gold Crown in his new house, but kept the AMF instead. I don't know if that was because he thinks the GC is so much better or if he just figured that once he got rid of the AMF and went looking for another table it would be way easier to come across a GC than an AMF since there are so many more of the Brunswicks out there. He can probably give you some very good first hand info. Here's the link to his profile page (he's not on here every day):
http://forums.azbilliards.com/member.php?u=343
Hope this helps.
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If you pay half the price, you'll probably get a table you like half as much.
OTLB
Banned
AMF use to make a commercial table that was better IMO then the GC. I guess some of you guys haven't worked on them. Almost identical construction A great table! This was when the gc was introduced. The table is one of the best
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The AMF's that were out back in the 60's when the GC was brought out are exactly the ones I was talking about, being able to pocket a ball on the long rail in the side pocket. Yeah, super table.
The AMF's that were out back in the 60's when the GC was brought out are exactly the ones I was talking about, being able to pocket a ball on the long rail in the side pocket. Yeah, super table.
Well I just got back from looking at and shooting on the AMF it's in pretty good shape very lively rails and rolled dead true and well worth the $600 I gave for it. There's no way you could make the shot your talking about on this AMF. Thanks to all for your input. BANGER
Excellent buy for $600. Congrats and post some pics when it's set up! :wink:
AMF was a name brand table in it's day, out of business now, but it's like any other table in the sence that...once you have the table, the play ability is not in the manufacture of the table, as that day has come and gone, it's now...and the other half of a good playing table...is in the hands of who works on it, sets it up, and fixes it up...the mechanic. As important as it is to get at least a name brand table, it's just as important to get someone that knows what they're doing to work on it
just keep that in mind when you write the check to buy the table:grin:Glen
AMF was a name brand table in it's day, out of business now, but it's like any other table in the sence that...once you have the table, the play ability is not in the manufacture of the table, as that day has come and gone, it's now...and the other half of a good playing table...is in the hands of who works on it, sets it up, and fixes it up...the mechanic. As important as it is to get at least a name brand table, it's just as important to get someone that knows what they're doing to work on it
Glen
Fwiw, during the PBT days, Buddy Hall said they had fast bed but slow rails.
Corner Pocket here in Orlando used to have several AMF Gold Crown "clones". I played on all of them at one point or another and they compare pretty well with the GC 3. Not as good as the GC 2's. I will echo the sentiment about the rails, slow and short.
They sure did look better than the Brunswicks. The wood and metal work had a much higher finish. All in all I'd say you got a great buy. Enjoy!
They sure did look better than the Brunswicks. The wood and metal work had a much higher finish. All in all I'd say you got a great buy. Enjoy!
The AMF table that looks like a CG is called the Grand Prix. I've only worked on these tables twice. The rails look very similiar to the GC, but played much slower, it had the AMF brand cushion which I believe is only made in K66 profile. The other things I didn't like about this table is how the apron bolted to the rails, how they bolted to the corner apron casting and there was something with the corner casting that I didn't like but can't remember. Alot of the old GC's have been recovered 20-30 times and I just don't see the Grand Prix being tight after all these dis-assembly.
I think AMF owned Brunswick Bowling (along with a bunch of other recreational products companies) back in the '70s. I believe that Brunswick Billiards and Brunswick Bowling are two separate companies. Possibly that is because only the Bowling division was originally sold off. I am sure that bowling is/was a lot more lucrative to an investor.
I don't know about that but I know AMF owned Harley Davison motorcycle company for awhile back in the 70's.
Having worked on them and other tables I'm sure you know alot more than me about them. But when I shot on this AMF the other day. I was sold on it after about 5 minutes. The rails were very lively hitting 4 and 5 rails with just a medium stroke. The balls rolled dead straight I was very impressed. I couldn't get my money out fast enough. But now the fun really begins tearing it down, hauling it up out of a basement, loading, unloading and putting it back together. But before that I have to sell and tear down my 7 foot Olhausen. Then brace up the floor joices in my poolroom. I use it have an old nine foot Brunswick in there and over the years the floor must have weakened a little cause the slates shifted and that happened again with the Olhausen. So i'm going to make sure that it dosen't happen again. BANGER
AMF/Brunswick table
I found this table on craigslist, I was wondering if anyone can identify it? The owner said it was a AMF/Brunswick table and it looks like a Gold Crown. I went and took a look at it, but I didn't see any Brunswick badges anywhere on the table.
The frame of the table was black, and it had gold/brass colored trim/feet/scorekeeper. The owner said he bought it in 1996 (new/6 months old) from a Billiards dealer in town and they told him it was a Brunswick.
Here's the link to the CL ad: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/hsh/2084428562.html
I'm confused as to what this table actually is.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I found this table on craigslist, I was wondering if anyone can identify it? The owner said it was a AMF/Brunswick table and it looks like a Gold Crown. I went and took a look at it, but I didn't see any Brunswick badges anywhere on the table.
The frame of the table was black, and it had gold/brass colored trim/feet/scorekeeper. The owner said he bought it in 1996 (new/6 months old) from a Billiards dealer in town and they told him it was a Brunswick.
Here's the link to the CL ad: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/hsh/2084428562.html
I'm confused as to what this table actually is.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.