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nlatchman91

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Hey guys i'm new to the forum and new to the game of pool. I plan on purchasing a pool table for my dad for his upcoming birthday. A couple years ago we bought a pool table from sears for around $800 and as we played more we realized that how bad the pool table really was. My dad's pretty good and wants to be a tournament caliber player so i was thinking of buying something from Brunswick or Olhausen. I went to an Olhausen dealer and they quoted me at $3400 for a signature series dona marie that has championship titan cloth with delivery/installation and included and a play package (balls, cues, leather cover etc). I went to a couple pool halls in my neighborhood and noticed that pretty much all the tables there were brunswick gold crown. I found a gold crown III that was refurbished with simonis 760 cloth and k-55 cushions as well as new pockets for $3000 delivered and installed.

I would hate to buy him something like the table we bought from sears. Hopefully, i'll get it right this time. Which do you think is better? Both of these are 9ft tables by the way
 
GC 1000%. Especially if it was professionally refurbished.

There is no comparison between a GC designed for commercial use and any table designed for home use, even if it's from Brunswick or Olhausen.

3k installed with 760 and new cushions is a good price. If you can get the installer to throw in a light you are all set.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! The company selling the GC III also has a IV for the same price but it has formica rails and new "super speed cushions". Which do you feel is a better buy?
 
The 4 is better. It has better pockets that don't stick up very high to rub your cue when shooting out of a corner. It also has rotating discs under the legs for easy leveling.

Also of note, some early 3's used a rubber cushion shape they no longer make today. If the 3 in question is one of these, a new cushion won't fit perfectly and the ball may not react off the rail the way you expect. The way around this is to modify the wood portion of the rail where the rubber cushion attaches to.

The later 3's and all the 4's use the same K-55 Super Speed cushion that is available today. So if you get the 4, there is no chance the cushion is the wrong fit as long as the mechanic used K-55 super speed cushions.

Also of note, we have an Ask the Mechanic sub -forum section here. You can make a post there with your location and see if there is a table mechanic that posts here is local to you who might also have a good table available.

Finally, I'm not a mechanic myself, just a pool player who owns a GC4 and I try to learn as much as I can about all the professional tables as the topic greatly interests me.

Good luck.
 
nlatchman91 said:
Thanks for the quick reply! The company selling the GC III also has a IV for the same price but it has formica rails and new "super speed cushions". Which do you feel is a better buy?
Click to expand...

Also, all GCs, from GC1 to the current GC5 have Formica laminate rails. So you probably misunderstood what the person was saying. The 3's and the 4's were also offered in a black color, in addition to the wood grain print, but it was still Formica.

Another thing to keep in mind, most likely these tables were in a pool hall. So they might be beat up cosmetically on the outside. If the Formica is beat up, as in chipped, its a lost cause for the most part, and you'll have to live with it. The Formica is the horizontal curved top portion of the rail. The vertical parts viewed from the side of the table are solid wood. So worst case scenario if these are beat to sh!t they can be sanded down and refinished. But most likely a furniture marker from home depot can tidy up any smaller dings. That's what I did on my table, that only had a few scratches, and it looks pretty good.

The other thing that goes on most of the GC's is that metal around the pocket can get dinged up and discolored from pool hall use. If that really bothers you, a lot of members here have cleaned them up, either by polishing, or powder coating, or regular spray paint. I think one guy even had them chrome plated.
 
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learned a lot from your posts, thank you. The table looks to be in pretty good condition so i'm not too worried about the appearance. My understanding was that tables in this price range would have solid wood rails but i'm sure the formica holds up well. The points you brought up about the 3 possibly not having the right mechanics for the cushions kind of steers my away from it. I just happened to come across a GCV selling for 2800 delivered and installed. Do you know if these newer models are as good as the older generations?
 
Glad I could help.

Your posts get better all the time. 2800 for a GC5 installed in the best deal by far. Don't let that get away from you.

The GC5 many consider to be the best looking of all the GC's. They only came out about 5 yrs ago, so they will have much less wear and tear than the 3 or 4, all other things equal.

The 5 has a more modern looking pocket casting and ball storage section. It also has a few structural improvements to the frame underneath (although all the previous GC's were also rock solid). The cushion rubber should also be in great condition. It takes much longer than 5 years for them to go bad.

The 5 is definitely the way to go, unless it has a broken slate or someone took a sledgehammer to the table.

Dont put anything but Simonis on it. If you live in a humid area, 760 is great. If not humid, 860 is a touch slower and what most tournaments use. Get a set of Aramith Tournament Duramith balls, or Brunswick centennial balls. Don't buy a package deal or a "starter kit" because usually they are inferior lines. If you get this table you want the best balls to go with it.

Also don't forget about the light. Brunswick made a beautiful light called the GC light. They retailed for about 1500 new, and have the same aesthetic lines as the GC table. If one of these guys with the great deals has this light for 500 or less jump on it. It is almost the same size as the table and illuminates it beautifully.

With that combination you will have the best of everything for less money than a new "home table" from a retail outlet.
 
Haha i know, started off with a 3 and now to a 5 for around the same price. I'm going to check out the table on monday to make sure it has no broken slate or any other abnormalities. Hopefully, i can get it home before january. Once the cushions last another 5 years i think i'll be alright. The table should come with the brunswick centennial balls, not sure about the light tho since it would be going in the basement and the ceiling is 8ft high.

I guess i didn't think about this before but when an installer disassembles and reassembles a table, would they have to use new felt?
 
Sorry for the late response been looking high and low for another decent table. After seeing the GC5 and trying to set up shipping and installation the owner decided to sell it to a friend of his. I'm still looking at the GC3 but im kind of weary at it because i don't know if the person who refurbished it sanded the rails enough to compensate for the k-55 cushions. The search continues
 
Hey does anyone know what kind of table this is? I asked the seller for more pictures but she's out of town. She says it's a 9ft Brunswick
 

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Looks like a gold crown but I'll need to see under her skirt to be sure. That line never works in bars by the way.
 
Haha it's a good line nonetheless. So i went to see the table today and its a Brunswick Century. The sellers asking for 1000 and its gonna cost 700 to have it disassembled/shipped/reassembled and new cloth; so 1700 all in. I haven't really heard about Century's before so i'm not too sure how the hold up over time.

I'm also looking at a GC3 for 2325 installed with new simonis 760. Which would you guys choose?
 
If you want a quality table made in the US, I would recommend a Diamond table. We have the best pool tables in the WORLD. If your dad is looking to play on a top notch professional pool table, we have several models available, perfect for home use. We have the Diamond Professional model, made with hardwood, professional cut pockets and all the other professional playing specs. We also have the Diamond Pro Am, a ball return Pro model with Dymondwood, built to last a lifetime. Give us a call here at DIAMOND and talk to one of the sales reps to get more information about these tables and different options available.
 
Hi

I would suggest you to buy the Olhausengo pool table.Because for many years since form 1930s they have been specialized in Pool table selling and services for pool table including cue tips ,pool table accessories and many series in pool table like signature series,select series,Americana series,Modern series,speakers etc.,They are specialized in both Indoor and Outdoor Products.All Pool table are made in usa only.

And also many pool table players are suggesting olhausen family pool tables only.
 
Hey guys i finally scored a new table. It's a GC 3 with new k55 cushions and Simonis 860 cloth. The table looks to be in very good condition the seller tells me that it was used as a tournament table. Anyways i got it for $2300 installed, is that a decent deal?

Being that almost everything we had with our old sportscraft table either came with the table or was bought from sears i decided to buy new cues and balls. I recently ordered a set of elephant traditional balls as well as player sneaky pete cues and a few one piece house cues.

Any thoughts on the price as well as the cues and elephant billiard balls?
 
Congrats on the GC.

You'll want to get better balls as recommended by someone earlier in the thread. Better balls burn the cloth less. I have Super Aramith Pro-cup. I heard from credible sources that those or Brunswick Centennials (or other possible same quality balls) are the way to go.

I just want to add for any prospective pool table buyers who, like me, didn't really know much about tables, that while an Olhausen might be a great table if set up by a mechanic rather than an installer, I sent back an Olhausen for a cost and then got a GC II from a mechanic. All done, the GC was still less expensive and plays way better. I paid substantially more than you did for your table. Mine never saw a pool hall and probably taken apart only once, according to my mechanic. Apparently its rare to find such GC II's nowdays. Still, just find a reputable mechanic and have them help you out rather than going to a store that is geared toward home tables.

Additionally, nothing beats a commercial weight table of any brand so take that into consideration, shoppers. Commercial is commercial. If you want a pool hall quality table then buy a table that you've seen in a pool hall or you might be disappointed.
 
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