Original GC1 found

realkingcobra said:
Read this Brunswick document, read that brunstone was avaliable on the early GC3....dated when?
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Well, you sure are narrowing it down Glen, good job.
It so happens that 1981 is sits between 1976 and 1997.
That is 22 years (inclusive) in which time Brunswick made modifications to the Gold Crown III.
One of those modifications, Glen, was the BRUNSTONE done in 1981.
Glen, not all of the modifications listed were done in 1976.
Best regards,
Dave
PS, and Glen, that is a very nice job you did on Kickin' Chicken's table. Good photos too.
You are a great asset to the community, Glen.
 
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Kickin' Chicken said:
my 1961, GC1. :smile:

best,
brian kc
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Slate or B'stone? That "1981" deal is either a misprint or just first time they openly mentioned using it. I'm not a mechanic but i grew up in a 60's rec. center that had about 35 GC1's that were installed by Brunswick. The beds were NOT grey in any way. There were sort of a "rusty" hue and clearly not slate. The 'Cobra has worked on more of these than probably anybody and i would defer to him as far as what was and wasn't used.
 
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jay helfert said:
I had 22 of those tables in my first poolroom in Bakersfield. The only thing I really didn't like was the plastic skirting or aprons. It was a hassle to take them off and a bigger hassle putting them back on after recovering the tables. I finally opted to just leave them off permanently. They are only there for decoration and do not affect the looks or playability of the table in any way imo. Just save them in case you ever decide to sell it.

I also believe that is real slate there. I had two great mechanics work on my tables; Pat Welch out of Fresno and Black Nate out of L.A. Pat could tear down and recover a GC in two hours! He was an amazing mechanic. He'd come down to my room and do four tables in one day and four more the next day, by himself! And they all played great.

Nate was equally as good, only slower. He was a perfectionist like realkingcobra. He wanted everything to be just right. He used to take the bus up to Bakersfield from L.A. to do my tables. I paid $75 per table back in the early 70's to have them recovered. On his last trip he had his tools stolen out of the luggage compartment of the bus. I sent him $100 to help him buy new tools but he never came back to Bakersfield after that.
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Jay, thanks for sharing story.

I know they serve no purpose and probably break very quickly in a commercial setting, but I think the plastic skirts are a must have for a fully complete gold crown 1.

Ian
 
One reason Glen is so good, is that he uses the proper tools.
When many table mechanics (TMs) would be satisfied with one Starrett spirit level, Glen has five on the table!
And does anyone but a TM know what the cost of those levels are?
On Amazon the 98-6 is about $125., and the 98-8 is about $140.
Glen’s has a lot of money in equipment. All for doing a splendid job.
We should be thankful for Glen's expertise and his willingness to help.
Dave
 
This conversation comes up every time with the gold crowns.

From a mechanics perspective, how much better is slate over brunstone? I have probably played on 100 gold crown 1s over the years, and the playing surface has always played fine. From a players perspective does it matter if its slate or brunstone?

I assume since my GC1, sold in 1969 has the original surface, its brunstone?
 
garczar said:
Slate or B'stone? That "1981" deal is either a misprint or just first time they openly mentioned using it. I'm not a mechanic but i grew up in a 60's rec. center that had about 35 GC1's that were installed by Brunswick. The beds were NOT grey in any way. There were sort of a "rusty" hue and clearly not slate. The 'Cobra has worked on more of these than probably anybody and i would defer to him as far as what was and wasn't used.
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it's Brunstone.
 
DMM4342 said:
One reason Glen is so good, is that he uses the proper tools.
When many table mechanics (TMs) would be satisfied with one Starrett spirit level, Glen has five on the table!
And does anyone but a TM know what the cost of those levels are?
On Amazon the 98-6 is about $125., and the 98-8 is about $140.
Glen’s has a lot of money in equipment. All for doing a splendid job.
We should be thankful for Glen's expertise and his willingness to help.
Dave
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another reason Glen is so good, imo, is because he knows how to use those tools. :)

or when Glen needs a specific tool but one doesn't exist, he makes one. :wink:
 
xianmacx said:
This conversation comes up every time with the gold crowns.

From a mechanics perspective, how much better is slate over brunstone? I have probably played on 100 gold crown 1s over the years, and the playing surface has always played fine. From a players perspective does it matter if its slate or brunstone?

I assume since my GC1, sold in 1969 has the original surface, its brunstone?
Click to expand...

Brunstone is not an issue in any way as being better or worse to play on when compared to real slate, so play ability is not the problem. What IS a problem however is the ability to correct the Brunstone for flat level, not saying that isn't a problem with real slate either....but where real slate is more flexible, therefore easier to level, Brunstone on the other hand is like trying to flex a very dry cracker. Try that sometime, bending a cracker, then you'll have an idea why brunstone can break so easy.
 
Glen,
In your very extensive experience with Brunswick GC's :

were the 1-inch pieces always slate?
and
were the 1.25-inch pieces always BRUNSTONE?

Here is what Brunswick says about the two.

http://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/29685370-7B87-4C10-830F-257455965183

But I want to hear from you, Glen. Because, what Brunswick said they did could very well differ from what they actually did. In house secrets are just that; it is privileged information.

Best regards,
Dave
 
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realkingcobra said:
Brunstone is not an issue in any way as being better or worse to play on when compared to real slate, so play ability is not the problem. What IS a problem however is the ability to correct the Brunstone for flat level, not saying that isn't a problem with real slate either....but where real slate is more flexible, therefore easier to level, Brunstone on the other hand is like trying to flex a very dry cracker. Try that sometime, bending a cracker, then you'll have an idea why brunstone can break so easy.
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Thanks for the response Glen. So its harder to correct issues. Would you say overall, one or the other has a tendency to stay flat over the years better? Do you find more warped slate or brunstone?
 
This topic and thread belongs to
canyon_creeper

So, I suggest two things;
1. We post here only to help canyon_creeper with his table.
2. We take all new post that do not directly deal with 1. above to the Talk to a Mechanic site.
And I ask Glen if that is OK, since he is probably the senior most TM here.
Mr. canyon_creeper, sir, I apologize for not dealing with your table.

Dave
 
DMM4342 said:
Glen,
In your very extensive experience with Brunswick GC's :

were the 1-inch pieces always slate?
and
were the 1.25-inch pieces always BRUNSTONE?

Here is what Brunswick says about the two.

http://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/29685370-7B87-4C10-830F-257455965183

But I want to hear from you, Glen. Because, what Brunswick said they did could very well differ from what they actually did. In house secrets are just that; it is privileged information.

Best regards,
Dave
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Do you work on pool tables?
 
xianmacx said:
Thanks for the response Glen. So its harder to correct issues. Would you say overall, one or the other has a tendency to stay flat over the years better? Do you find more warped slate or brunstone?
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Brunstone by far has more issues to deal with compared to real slate, but then again it also makes a difference in who manufactures the slate too.
 
realkingcobra said:
Do you work on pool tables?
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No, Glen,I simply respect your knowledge. And I like to know all I can about tables should I every have occasion to buy one. And I have relatives who have pool tables and they like to know too.

respectfully,
Dave
 
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DMM4342 said:
Glen,
In your very extensive experience with Brunswick GC's :

were the 1-inch pieces always slate?
and
were the 1.25-inch pieces always BRUNSTONE?

Here is what Brunswick says about the two.

http://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/29685370-7B87-4C10-830F-257455965183

But I want to hear from you, Glen. Because, what Brunswick said they did could very well differ from what they actually did. In house secrets are just that; it is privileged information.

Best regards,
Dave
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First off, there's no resin impregnated mentioned. Second, in 33+ years of working on GCS, I've seen brunstone 1 1/16th & 1 1/8th thick, but never 1 1/4". Third, I've carried enough brunstone and slate to tell you flat out as fact, slate weighs more per piece.
 
deanoc said:
I like the old tables
i prefer them exact;ly the way they were
5 inch pockets
maybe 5.25

i wish i had a really nice Gold Crown with everything original
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I agree. If it's so original I'm not sure why you would want to take it out of its original specs. Would probably lower the long term value of the table as well to have the pockets modified.
 
dearnold said:
I agree. If it's so original I'm not sure why you would want to take it out of its original specs. Would probably lower the long term value of the table as well to have the pockets modified.
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I talked to Steve about that very subject. I suggested he sell this table to someone in original condition for $5,000...then use that money to buy another GC, beat up preferably, then rebuild the next one into what he really wants.
 
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