how do you become a table mechanic?

[BUGSY]

i hope you do not take this as a DUMB question? i was looking into this type of service as a profession and would like to know if there are any table manufacture or clothe schools that provide this for a fee...would there possibly be any techs that would be interested in training someone in a non competition area ...work in same area as he.. jacksonville florida..for a fee? THANKS BUGSY.... if interested in please pm

 

[LCCS]

table mechanic

Probably the best way to learn is to go to your local pool hall and talk to them and see if you can help out when they redo there tables. If you know anybody in the buisness. The best way is to just go and help out for free.
You will not make a fortune on this, but if you like it go for it.The reason why i like to do this is because i got tired of a local guy ripping people off and doing shotty work. I am sure if you talk to others they will tell you awful stories of there home town repair people.
Beleive me every time i come across one of the tables that he touched.
I no it instantly.
Thanx, Ron www.lccsbilliards.com

 

[Donny Wessels]

It takes years to learn to become a journeyman billiard tech. I started by going to a local billiard retailers and got a job right out of high school. It helped that I was working on my parents table in high school. They knew that I was interested because I was buying cloth and parts from them before I asked for a job. I'm a independent billiard tech in So CA. I've been doing tables for 16 years and sometimes it hard to find good workers. Call everyone in your yellow pages even the small guys. You just want to find a teacher that good so you have a solid foundation. Also, you may think its glamorous working at titty bars, but alot times you been in a dirty garage pulling staples.

 

[Eddie4269]

i hope you do not take this as a DUMB question? i was looking into this type of service as a profession and would like to know if there are any table manufacture or clothe schools that provide this for a fee...would there possibly be any techs that would be interested in training someone in a non competition area ...work in same area as he.. jacksonville florida..for a fee? THANKS BUGSY.... if interested in please pm

Step 1: Look in the mirror.
Step 2: Slap yourself in the face as hard as you can.
Step 3: Go back to college.

 

[JimS]

Step 1: Look in the mirror.
Step 2: Slap yourself in the face as hard as you can.
Step 3: Go back to college.

Probably good advice here.

 

[SlateHumper]

two things

Two qualifications......A strong back and a weak mind.

 

[realkingcobra]

Come on guy's, after all, it IS a profession. It's not like he was asking anyone's advice on how to play pool for a living...LOL

Glen

 

[CreeDo]

just curious, but is it possible to make a living doing it, paying all your bills? Or is it strictly a sidejob and you'll need to do more? Seems like once all the local tables are done, they don't need to be done again for a long time and there are only so many pool halls in driving distance.

 

[Donny Wessels]

If your good you can make a living. I live in So CA, married with 2 kids and my wife works part time. I also turn down most evening and weekend job. I work as an independent company.

 

[realkingcobra]

just curious, but is it possible to make a living doing it, paying all your bills? Or is it strictly a sidejob and you'll need to do more? Seems like once all the local tables are done, they don't need to be done again for a long time and there are only so many pool halls in driving distance.

Being a billiards technician, is more of a way of life as opposed to being a job. In order to be a good billiards technician, you need about 90% salesmanship, 10% labor, to produce 100% satisfaction when the job is done, in order to build a rep to find more work, and keep your repeat work in the bank so to speak. Every pool table on earth to some extent belongs to, or use to belong to another billiards technician BEFORE you come along, the question is...can you make it your work! With out the ability of salesmanship, you're going to need another job. And without the ability of doing a better job than the last technician, you're going to go hungry or find another profession, McDonald's is always hiring...LOL Not only do you have to believe in yourself as a billiards technician, but others have to as well, THAT is the key to staying busy working all the time.

Glen

 

[Eddie4269]

i hope you do not take this as a DUMB question? i was looking into this type of service as a profession and would like to know if there are any table manufacture or clothe schools that provide this for a fee...would there possibly be any techs that would be interested in training someone in a non competition area ...work in same area as he.. jacksonville florida..for a fee? THANKS BUGSY.... if interested in please pm

I hope my previous post didn't offend you, I was just pulling your chain...

But honestly, before you begin to consider this "profession" as a career path, here are some things to consider:

1. There is a finite amount of business in any one market. There are only a certain number of pool tables in any city. Unless you also plan on selling pool tables, there isn't anything you can do about this fact.

2. It is almost impossible to make a decent wage working for someone else as a table mechanic. Most GOOD table mechanics (I'm talking guys with 3-10 years experience) can still only make 10-14 dollars an hour working for someone else. So basically, the only way to make decent money is to work for yourself.

3. In order to work for yourself, you MUST put in at least a couple of years working for someone that can teach you properly. When I say a couple of years, I mean a couple of years working 5-6 days a week, doing 2-4 jobs (recovers/moves/assemblies, etc) each day. One of the biggest problems with this is that alot of good mechanics are reluctant to really teach anyone. I know I don't teach much to my helpers. I pay them to hump slate and pull staples. Why would I educate someone just so they can turn around, buy a few hundred dollars worth of tools and become my competition?

4. There is NEVER a guarantee of success. One person I used to work with is a VERY good mechanic. But he moved to a metripolitan area that already has 2 very good mechanics working there. Glen made the point that you can't KEEP the customer's business unless you do a better job than the last guy... well likewise you can't get his business in the first place if he's 100% satisfied with what he's getting now.

5. Even if your making a good living, it can still be feast or famine... The winter time will kill your back and the summer will kill your wallet.


I would imagine that a great many table mechanics are like me... I didn't really choose this profession, it chose me. Fact is I stood in one place too long at the pool hall and they put me to work.... the rest is history.

 

[NineBallNut]

3. In order to work for yourself, you MUST put in at least a couple of years working for someone that can teach you properly. When I say a couple of years, I mean a couple of years working 5-6 days a week, doing 2-4 jobs (recovers/moves/assemblies, etc) each day. One of the biggest problems with this is that alot of good mechanics are reluctant to really teach anyone. I know I don't teach much to my helpers. I pay them to hump slate and pull staples. Why would I educate someone just so they can turn around, buy a few hundred dollars worth of tools and become my competition?

This is the way I used to be as well. I agree with the principles but the problem is that some of these guys that watch others and are the "help" end up in other places with claims of knowing how to do this when all they were is a helper. That is why we have so many hack technicians. There needs to be a better system to train people the right way to encourage people like the original poster to follow their desires and become one. Then it's just a matter of getting experience.

 

[realkingcobra]

In my peak, when I still pursued recovering pool tables in the bars, I had 328 accounts, recovered over 1,000 bar tables a year, but when I look back, I didn't choose to become a billiards technician either, I just liked to play pool, and there were no decent tables in the bars where I lived to play pool on, so I kind of took it upon myself to start recovering pool tables in an effort to try and change that...for myself, so I'd have some decent tables to play on. Then things just kind of evolved from there. I don't know of anyone that PLANNED on being a billiards technician, and I know a lot of technicians.

Glen

 

[realkingcobra]

Now you know why I started the post of "What does factory certified mean" a while back. I agree, and have always felt that we need more trained technicians in this profession, not less techs.

Glen

 

[Dartman]

Seems like once all the local tables are done, they don't need to be done again for a long time and there are only so many pool halls in driving distance.

There's a lot more tables in homes then you'll find in a few local pool rooms. I got 5 calls so far today - 2 for recovering and 3 for moving (it is Spring isn't it, lol). You also need to be willing to travel a bit for work. You might also consider that established pool rooms will already have someone to do their tables or they may do it themselves. If you can hook up with someone or a company that does table work that is probably your best bet and after a few years of experience you might make a go of it on your own.

I think I'm kinda repeating the gist of what others here have said.

 

[Eddie4269]

In my peak, when I still pursued recovering pool tables in the bars, I had 328 accounts, recovered over 1,000 bar tables a year, but when I look back, I didn't choose to become a billiards technician either, I just liked to play pool, and there were no decent tables in the bars where I lived to play pool on, so I kind of took it upon myself to start recovering pool tables in an effort to try and change that...for myself, so I'd have some decent tables to play on. Then things just kind of evolved from there. I don't know of anyone that PLANNED on being a billiards technician, and I know a lot of technicians.

Glen

C'mon Glen... This has GOT to be a gross overestimate. First of all, not including weekends, that's 4 tables a day, not including the various residential recovers, moves, and assemblies (which I'm sure you wouldn't turn down since those jobs are certainly more profitable than recovering bar boxes)...

 

[realkingcobra]

C'mon Glen... This has GOT to be a gross overestimate. First of all, not including weekends, that's 4 tables a day, not including the various residential recovers, moves, and assemblies (which I'm sure you wouldn't turn down since those jobs are certainly more profitable than recovering bar boxes)...

No, that's a fact. I didn't do home tables, I don't care for the time involved. I'd pass on most pool rooms as well, unless it was a favor more or less. You see, MOST billiards technicians don't like recovering bar box tables, that's why they suffer so much. They'd rather do the jobs that pay more...like home tables, pool rooms. But I figured out a long time ago, I made $100 an hour recovering bar tables with the use of just one other person, $50 an hour by myself. And I worked pretty much 7 days a week, as with now...I seldom ever take a day off, because I'm doing pretty much what I like to do, so it's not really like working. Washington state is bar table strong, not pool room strong. Most of our bars have an average of 3 tables, and recover their tables on the average of twice a year. Figure the math on that Eddie...LOL I actually in a couple of them years, ran 2 crews and exceeded even more tables than that.

Glen

 

[realkingcobra]

Eddie, my personal record for bar tables in one day by myself...is 11! With my friend Rich, that still works with me, between March 1st, 1993 to April 15th 1993...we recovered 137 8ft bar tables!

Glen

 

[SlateHumper]

Look! up in the sky...

Eddie, my personal record for bar tables in one day by myself...is 11! With my friend Rich, that still works with me, between March 1st, 1993 to April 15th 1993...we recovered 137 8ft bar tables!

Glen

I bet you can leap over tall buildings in a single bound too!

 

[SlateHumper]

I hope my previous post didn't offend you, I was just pulling your chain...

But honestly, before you begin to consider this "profession" as a career path, here are some things to consider:

1. There is a finite amount of business in any one market. There are only a certain number of pool tables in any city. Unless you also plan on selling pool tables, there isn't anything you can do about this fact.

2. It is almost impossible to make a decent wage working for someone else as a table mechanic. Most GOOD table mechanics (I'm talking guys with 3-10 years experience) can still only make 10-14 dollars an hour working for someone else. So basically, the only way to make decent money is to work for yourself.

3. In order to work for yourself, you MUST put in at least a couple of years working for someone that can teach you properly. When I say a couple of years, I mean a couple of years working 5-6 days a week, doing 2-4 jobs (recovers/moves/assemblies, etc) each day. One of the biggest problems with this is that alot of good mechanics are reluctant to really teach anyone. I know I don't teach much to my helpers. I pay them to hump slate and pull staples. Why would I educate someone just so they can turn around, buy a few hundred dollars worth of tools and become my competition?

4. There is NEVER a guarantee of success. One person I used to work with is a VERY good mechanic. But he moved to a metripolitan area that already has 2 very good mechanics working there. Glen made the point that you can't KEEP the customer's business unless you do a better job than the last guy... well likewise you can't get his business in the first place if he's 100% satisfied with what he's getting now.

5. Even if your making a good living, it can still be feast or famine... The winter time will kill your back and the summer will kill your wallet.


I would imagine that a great many table mechanics are like me... I didn't really choose this profession, it chose me. Fact is I stood in one place too long at the pool hall and they put me to work.... the rest is history.

EXCELLENT POST!