Exactly!
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- Thread starter gretch6364
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boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I find tournament blue the most playable so that's what I picked. If you're looking for more old school charm, there really is nothing wrong with green either. I think t. blue films better so that could also have something to do with it being popular on televised events. I've never seen it in person but I hear camel is fine for vision also. I believe when I recloth I'm going with english green for a change of pace.
If the wood is soft and settling is a concern you could easily build simple (and attractive) wooden "rests" out of 1/2" thick oak boards. Just measure 1.5" wider than your legs in each dimension .. cut a piece of 1/2" inch thick oak board .. and trim it with 3/4 inch board. You can stain it to match. Regarding cloth color .. Willie Mosconi reached a time in his life that his eyes were failing .. he would ONLY play on tables with GOLD COLOR CLOTH as it was the easiest to see balls with minimal shadows. I was torn between gray and traditional green .. and went with green Simonis 860 tournament green. Cannot wait!!!!
gretch6364
Member
You are absolutely right. I am buying the table for me, but the “house” cues have ZERO to do with pool. I will never use them...it’s about hospitality and providing guest with a nice cue that makes them feel good. None of my friends play pool more then casually at a bar and none own their own tables. I just want them to feel like I am handing them a nice stick to play with (without me spending more then $150).I treat guests like gold. I'm sure you like to as well. That does not mean I over-think what cue they use because I GUARANTEE they aren't thinking about it 1/2 as hard as you are. And anyone that had ever played pool in a bar (that's many peoples extent of experience) was a grungy, dirty, crooked, tip-failing, one piece cue. And they had fun. YOU hand them a clean, straight, well-tipped and conditioned house cue that looks like new and they will likely be thrilled!
And it's YOUR room, so it's almost expected that you have your OWN cue. Are you thinking you'll have to lessen your own equipment quality because some schmuck friend guest came over to enjoy your table? What you both play with need to be "Even Steven" looking?
I am being a little snarky but it's only because I get a sense this has little to do with pool or a pool room and more like a decorative venture (see yuppie). To answer your question however I have 4 guest house cues, new, clean, excellent shape in a rack on the wall. Straight as an arrow, 18, 19 an 20oz. They never leave the house so 1 piece works and frankly they wear better than cheap two-piece cues would (the price you alluded to).
I use my player cue or my sneaky pete which I've had 40 years. NO ONE gets to use them. EVER. I don't want to hate on a friend or relative because they were too clumsy or lazy to care for my cue like I do. It doesn't mean I have to cheapen my experience by using the same thing I am providing them. But if your guest is going to "judge you" by the "looks" of the cue you have them use...you need new guests (or they should bring their own).
OK, now we are talking! I took a trip that was my usual version of the great circle theory. That just means cover as much scenic route as possible and never come back the same way I went. Anyhow, one trip I ate elk, moose, and American bison on the same trip. I know a lot has to do with handling immediately after the kill and the cook later but the moose might as well have been beef round steak, that was the taste, texture, everything about it. The buffalo was a little gamy but OK. Then we came to the Elk. The chef had just cut a roast into one inch by one inch by whatever length and marinated it in his own teriyaki mix. One bite of what was coming off the grill and I found a chair and a beer and set up close to the grill to spend time with the chef. It was a major effort not to be a real glutton, as good of red meat as I have ever tasted and I have had some pretty tasty red meat!
I laugh, his handle was FrankGJ for many years when he lived in Grand Junction. Now he has moved to Fruita. Now his handle is FrankGJ! He has a friend with land that the migration route for elk goes through. Thousands a year or tens of thousands I forget which. A bodacious plenty of elk any way you size it.
Well now that you have me drooling and crying in my beer thinking about elk which we don't have down here I will tell you a horror story just in the interest of paybacks!(grin)
My older brother was in the military when I got serious about pool. Number eleven in the last draft lottery, he said the first thing he had ever won! They ended up not using that lottery, too late, he had already signed on the dotted line to get his choice of jobs instead of being cannon fodder in 'nam.
He comes home on leave and we are playing pool on my table. I have assorted house cues that have doubled as swords in major battles, no joke. I did find out those horrible discount store aluminum cues are the most durable "swords" something you might bear in mind when your boys are a little older. Not going to let my older brother play with junk so we are sharing my cue. My cue that is an extension of my arm and mind. My cue that I could defeat any human and slay dragons with. My cue that I would have slept with if I had it along on a road trip. My magic wand that could make the balls sit up and sing! After beating him at eight ball he reaches out with that cue and taps some balls quite gently with the shaft to my magic wand to roll them to me. Just as I am telling him that he couldn't do such things two inches popped off near the ferrule, the shaft snapped. I was there and I would swear on a stack of bibles that the gentle tap could not break a shaft we had been playing with for hours with no indication of anything wrong with it. I think the cue was just outraged to be passed around like a common house cue in a bar with just one playable cue.
After a half minute of stunned shock I couldn't avoid venting. Not at my brother who I was sure walked on water, just in general because the stick was broken. My brother couldn't understand what the big deal was, it was just a pool cue and not really an expensive one. The trouble was that I couldn't get that exact shaft back. I might get lucky and get another magic shaft first try or I might buy a hundred and not get another perfect shaft. Very unlike me but I took fifteen minutes or so before I calmed down enough to explain the loss. That was King Arthur's Excalibur laying on the table in pieces. That was my weapon I was conquering the world with! Once he understood he offered to buy a replacement shaft or cue. His heart was in the right place but you can't buy magic!
This hopefully emphasizes the dangers of letting guests use a cue you can't easily replace. I see Cuebuddy has joined the thread so he has done his own volunteering. Jim is as fine a person as anyone can hope to meet and if he tells you something you can write it on a rock. Worth noting that he sells very probably the world's best pool cue seedlings. The only problem is that they are very slow growing and by the time they reach harvest size of 58-60 inches of playable length they may be of use to your grandson or great grandson. Great granddaughter too in order to be PC. Much thought must be given in the selection of a seedling trying to decide on a cue that will still be in style in 75-100 years. Simple elegance never goes out of style though!
Hu
I laugh, his handle was FrankGJ for many years when he lived in Grand Junction. Now he has moved to Fruita. Now his handle is FrankGJ! He has a friend with land that the migration route for elk goes through. Thousands a year or tens of thousands I forget which. A bodacious plenty of elk any way you size it.
Well now that you have me drooling and crying in my beer thinking about elk which we don't have down here I will tell you a horror story just in the interest of paybacks!(grin)
My older brother was in the military when I got serious about pool. Number eleven in the last draft lottery, he said the first thing he had ever won! They ended up not using that lottery, too late, he had already signed on the dotted line to get his choice of jobs instead of being cannon fodder in 'nam.
He comes home on leave and we are playing pool on my table. I have assorted house cues that have doubled as swords in major battles, no joke. I did find out those horrible discount store aluminum cues are the most durable "swords" something you might bear in mind when your boys are a little older. Not going to let my older brother play with junk so we are sharing my cue. My cue that is an extension of my arm and mind. My cue that I could defeat any human and slay dragons with. My cue that I would have slept with if I had it along on a road trip. My magic wand that could make the balls sit up and sing! After beating him at eight ball he reaches out with that cue and taps some balls quite gently with the shaft to my magic wand to roll them to me. Just as I am telling him that he couldn't do such things two inches popped off near the ferrule, the shaft snapped. I was there and I would swear on a stack of bibles that the gentle tap could not break a shaft we had been playing with for hours with no indication of anything wrong with it. I think the cue was just outraged to be passed around like a common house cue in a bar with just one playable cue.
After a half minute of stunned shock I couldn't avoid venting. Not at my brother who I was sure walked on water, just in general because the stick was broken. My brother couldn't understand what the big deal was, it was just a pool cue and not really an expensive one. The trouble was that I couldn't get that exact shaft back. I might get lucky and get another magic shaft first try or I might buy a hundred and not get another perfect shaft. Very unlike me but I took fifteen minutes or so before I calmed down enough to explain the loss. That was King Arthur's Excalibur laying on the table in pieces. That was my weapon I was conquering the world with! Once he understood he offered to buy a replacement shaft or cue. His heart was in the right place but you can't buy magic!
This hopefully emphasizes the dangers of letting guests use a cue you can't easily replace. I see Cuebuddy has joined the thread so he has done his own volunteering. Jim is as fine a person as anyone can hope to meet and if he tells you something you can write it on a rock. Worth noting that he sells very probably the world's best pool cue seedlings. The only problem is that they are very slow growing and by the time they reach harvest size of 58-60 inches of playable length they may be of use to your grandson or great grandson. Great granddaughter too in order to be PC. Much thought must be given in the selection of a seedling trying to decide on a cue that will still be in style in 75-100 years. Simple elegance never goes out of style though!
Hu
gretch6364
Member
Sounds absolutely awesome! Can’t wait till you can post some pictures!
gretch6364
Member
Awesome stuff. Did you work with Dave? He is suggesting I stick with the pro cut pockets. I don’t personally have enough experience to pick either way, so probably just trust him.
are you in Winterpark?
No I ordered directly from Diamond and it worked out great. Originally I had decided on league cuts and Diamond was hesitant, when I changed my mind I could here people cheering in the background at the Diamond office when I was on the phone. I live just outside of Vail.
gretch6364
Member
2 hours from Denver on Monday afternoon ;-). Man I-70 is getting rough! Hopefully you are getting some good turns this season. Even during the holidays, Aspen has been dead. Like ski onto the lifts on Saturday slow. Just hope all the small places survive this economically. Tough times...but the summer season was very very good.
Yes I-70 is brutal. I need to be on my A-game when I make the trek. So many aggressive drivers. Many businesses have set records in Vail this summer and fall and there are thousands of people up here. Getting some snow would be good but things are dry so far. Let me know if you have any questions I am a pool freak and have seen it or done it all.
Not to mention that although it may not seem like much, a three-quarter inch height increase in the table surface is significant unless the table height is borderline low as is.
gretch6364
Member
Doesn’t the table have 3” of height adjustment?
You can also purchase 1/4" thick oak boards .. generally in widths of 4" and 2' length ... trim to to fit your needs. Either Lowes or Home Depot .. or a hobby store.
I would assume some accessories should come with a new Diamond pool table purchase. I guess you can try, but if the accessories provided are not of the quality you would like, it’s not likely they are going to be willing to upgrade and let you pick and choose exactly what balls, cues and miscellaneous accessories you want to go with it.
You are better off negotiating a fair $ credit off of your total $ sale price for the table with no accessories included, and then pick and choose exactly what accessories you desire and purchase them separately.
The dealer I bought my Diamond from said it came with a "standard accessory pack" that included a basic set of balls, two cues, and chalk.
The table comes with a wooden rack from the factory. I advised that I had already purchased a set of Aramith Super Pro balls and a McCormick G204 playing cue and one of McCormick's Star import line break cue .. so we agreed on a fitted table cover as the dealer's contribution .. + set up and leveling. I have another Star cue that I got as part of a "cue & case" package and it is upgraded with a nice tip so right now I have my playing cue, a decent break cue, and one nice "house" cue. Will probably get 2 more import cues for house cues as well. Built a cue rack with a wooden box to hold balls. Built a couple of DRINK RAILS that have small notches in them for leaning a cue without touching the walls. Looks like another 4 weeks until my table will be delivered (waiting on addition construction to get finished). My table came stained cherry .. and i was able to get a gallon of the Diamond Cherry stain from their distributor .. so accessories that I built are also oak and stained with the same stain as the table (built a pub table, light box (has 4 LED tubes), escutcheon that the box hangs from, drink rails, bath vanity, medicine cabinet for the bath, and a counter / rail for the "kitchenette / wet bar" area. We built a small stand alone cottage that has a room for the table and a separate room for my loading bench and gun cases, etc. Will be spending a lot of time there!!
gretch6364
Member
Do you or anyone else know the dimensions of the bottom square of the type 3 legs? Thanks
Does your dealer have on on the floor? If not .. email Aaron .. the sales manager at Diamond. He is very responsive to customer inquiries.
His email is aaron@diamondbilliards.com
gretch6364
Member
I will talk to my rep, but I am over 4 hours away from any dealer, etc. I do everything in my power to not drive to Denver.
Contact Aaron .. I contacted him 3-4 times with questions and he responded quickly. He gave me the stain distributor they use for the stain on my table, gave me exact table dimensions and pocket dimensions (as my furniture model table had been discontinued .. I got the last one they had sitting in the warehouse).
As previously mentioned in this thread, call Heath Manning https://manningcues.com/.
Heath, I think, is the largest Diamond dealer in North America. Diamond has a 3-month backlog of orders, so I don't see where they have any incentive to discount their tables if you buy directly from them. Heath does offer discounts on tables and will even throw in other items, largely dependent on which table you decide to purchase and how much markup there is in the list price from Diamond.
Heath is EXTREMELY responsive and an excellent communicator. Diamond (according to my understanding and experience) has three teams of mechanics that cover the country. When the table is finished, they schedule delivery based upon the number of deliveries in your particular area of the country, so delivery might be immediately after completion or at least within one month of completion.
I had a Paragon ordered through Heath when the factory re-opened in Indiana on May 4th of 2020. The table was delivered on Labor Day weekend in September by two Diamond mechanics that drove from the factory, delivering tables in Louisiana and here in Texas. They did an outstanding job.
Heath also handled my purchase of a number of other items and provided several items at no charge. I would not hesitate to order anything from Heath. Even the mechanics spoke highly of him and said his customer service was better than anything they offered directly from the factory. They said his customer service enhanced their reputation.
Heath, I think, is the largest Diamond dealer in North America. Diamond has a 3-month backlog of orders, so I don't see where they have any incentive to discount their tables if you buy directly from them. Heath does offer discounts on tables and will even throw in other items, largely dependent on which table you decide to purchase and how much markup there is in the list price from Diamond.
Heath is EXTREMELY responsive and an excellent communicator. Diamond (according to my understanding and experience) has three teams of mechanics that cover the country. When the table is finished, they schedule delivery based upon the number of deliveries in your particular area of the country, so delivery might be immediately after completion or at least within one month of completion.
I had a Paragon ordered through Heath when the factory re-opened in Indiana on May 4th of 2020. The table was delivered on Labor Day weekend in September by two Diamond mechanics that drove from the factory, delivering tables in Louisiana and here in Texas. They did an outstanding job.
Heath also handled my purchase of a number of other items and provided several items at no charge. I would not hesitate to order anything from Heath. Even the mechanics spoke highly of him and said his customer service was better than anything they offered directly from the factory. They said his customer service enhanced their reputation.