Pool table brands to avoid?

Golden West? What the...

That is the only brand i recall being mentioned in this thread that specifically addresses the question 'what brand...avoid'.

I dont want to have to apologize to the words for wasting them. They deserve better.
 
Sweatin' said:
First off, let me say that Black-Balled has offered you some excellent advice above.

Having said that, I'm in a similar situation to you so I'll be watching this thread with great interest to see if you get more specific recommendations than I have been able to. It's been my experience here that every request for table recommendations ends up with advice to get either a Diamond or a Gold Crown, period. Nothing else should be a consideration. That may be good advice but problem is they are not out there for sale on every street corner, at least in the Atlanta area where I am. Plus, I can't imagine many sellers would let you dismantle a table before purchasing and even a mechanic doesn't have X-ray vision, so you could end up with a Frankentable, cracked slate or who knows what.
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If I lived in Atlanta, my first and last call would be to Mark Gregory (AZ member and an undisputed master table mechanic). I know he has done fancy and expensive complete restorations and rebuilds, but if money is tight I would tell him that and see what he can work out.
 
GideonF said:
If I lived in Atlanta, my first and last call would be to Mark Gregory (AZ member and an undisputed master table mechanic). I know he has done fancy and expensive complete restorations and rebuilds, but if money is tight I would tell him that and see what he can work out.
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I have done exactly that.

Money isn't the reason I haven't bought a GC. I'd be happy to pay the going rate but simply haven't been able to find one. I've come to the conclusion that you guys who give the impression that they're easy to find must not live in the south. It must be a regional thing, and very likely due to the south being swamped with Gandys during the heyday of the GC. I realize Gandy sold other places too, but they were all you saw in rooms down here back in the day. In talking to my mechanic/mover this morning he told me that in doing 12-15 tables every week for 17 years he's never encountered even one.
 
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Took me over 6 months to find a gold crown, was worth the wait 10x over. All I did to change my luck was stop searching the want ads/ web and ask the hosts at the local hall who had the goods. Text chain ended up 6 people deep on referrals, but I eventually found a guy with a whole pile of them! Too bad you are not in Utah, he has several gc1's left as well as an anniversary that has been in his family for 50+. Don't give up, they are out there!
 
I would not buy anything other than a gold crown.Between that and a house table you might be a grand more for infinitely higher quality.
 
I guess I got lucky finding my Gold Crown IV despite the problems I found dissembling it. These are some bolts that hold the frame together. Unfortunately the nuts that belong to these are encapsulated in the frame. Not something I thought I'd have to deal with. I'll go more in depth later when I actually go about fixing this.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=467072&stc=1&d=1502418389
 

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That just goes to show you.......

Never dry assemble threaded fasteners.

Corrosion will happen.

Grease, Anti-lock or at least oil.

Always!
 
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Sweatin' said:
I have done exactly that.

Money isn't the reason I haven't bought a GC. I'd be happy to pay the going rate but simply haven't been able to find one. I've come to the conclusion that you guys who give the impression that they're easy to find must not live in the south. It must be a regional thing, and very likely due to the south being swamped with Gandys during the heyday of the GC. I realize Gandy sold other places too, but they were all you saw in rooms down here back in the day. In talking to my mechanic/mover this morning he told me that in doing 12-15 tables every week for 17 years he's never encountered even one.
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Did you say where you are? Lotsa pool people from all over the country visit this joint.
 
While I know you have asked for na,especially to avoid; with SO MANY crappie ones out there it is my pics more practical for suggested good ones. Yes, I'm gonna gas Cold Crown and Diamond of course but that's for good reason. As to the drop pockets, that's gonna be a preference thing but don't expect to save a whole lot with DPs over a return in a used table. I really don't like DPs. If you are considering getting a DP table I'd recommend spending several sessions several hours long at a room with that type of table to make sure you really like it. Can't speak to your region , but I very regularly see GOLD Crown 3s for sale all the time between $1k and 1.5k. Craigslist, here you can find them but join some popular groups on FB and you'll find all you need daily almost. One last thing, if you are serious about pool at all or ever plan to be do yourself a big favor and make sure you get a commercial table and not a furniture table. Aside from holding their value way way better, the construction will be countless times better as will the play be. As others have saod, WI'll last you a lifetime. Good luck !
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Are you sure you are going to have enough room above a two car garage? Assuming you have a walled-off bedroom and bathroom, will there be enough room?

I lived above a 32x24 two car garage with one bedroom and one bath for about ten years and really didn't have enough room for a pool table except a 7-footer. I finally had it made 12 feet wider, into a 44x24 three car garage and then had enough room for my Gold Crown IV.

Be careful here if you want a pool table up there.........

r/DCP
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The one boon is I really don't intend to park inside the garage, so if the floor plans aren't satisfactory I should be able to easily accommodate a table downstairs. But yea, it's all speculation at this point--once I see the money I'll be able to get more defined ideas as I have contractors come by and give estimates.
 
Sweatin' said:
I have done exactly that.

Money isn't the reason I haven't bought a GC. I'd be happy to pay the going rate but simply haven't been able to find one. I've come to the conclusion that you guys who give the impression that they're easy to find must not live in the south. It must be a regional thing, and very likely due to the south being swamped with Gandys during the heyday of the GC. I realize Gandy sold other places too, but they were all you saw in rooms down here back in the day. In talking to my mechanic/mover this morning he told me that in doing 12-15 tables every week for 17 years he's never encountered even one.
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How about this one: https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/spo/d/brunswick-gold-crown-pool/6163317377.html


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BmoreMoney said:
While I know you have asked for na,especially to avoid; with SO MANY crappie ones out there it is my pics more practical for suggested good ones. Yes, I'm gonna gas Cold Crown and Diamond of course but that's for good reason. As to the drop pockets, that's gonna be a preference thing but don't expect to save a whole lot with DPs over a return in a used table. I really don't like DPs. If you are considering getting a DP table I'd recommend spending several sessions several hours long at a room with that type of table to make sure you really like it. Can't speak to your region , but I very regularly see GOLD Crown 3s for sale all the time between $1k and 1.5k. Craigslist, here you can find them but join some popular groups on FB and you'll find all you need daily almost. One last thing, if you are serious about pool at all or ever plan to be do yourself a big favor and make sure you get a commercial table and not a furniture table. Aside from holding their value way way better, the construction will be countless times better as will the play be. As others have saod, WI'll last you a lifetime. Good luck !
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Drop pockets are just a preference, I feel like less can go wrong that I'll have to get fixed down the road. But yea I'm hoping to find a nice table that's roughly equal to what I find in public venues--having a home table will be awesome for a lot of reasons but the driving factor behind it is definitely becoming a better, more consistent player. And that seems like it will be easier to do if I'm practicing on familiar equipment.

But yea if $1-1.5k is a general amount for a table that everyone universally recommends, I believe I'll try to get one of those. And thanks!

Thanks to everyone else for the replies as well.
 
WVShootist said:
Drop pockets are just a preference, I feel like less can go wrong that I'll have to get fixed down the road. But yea I'm hoping to find a nice table that's roughly equal to what I find in public venues--having a home table will be awesome for a lot of reasons but the driving factor behind it is definitely becoming a better, more consistent player. And that seems like it will be easier to do if I'm practicing on familiar equipment.



But yea if $1-1.5k is a general amount for a table that everyone universally recommends, I believe I'll try to get one of those. And thanks!



Thanks to everyone else for the replies as well.
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Do factor in moving/set up and new cloth (like Simonis). Maybe $500 more.


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GideonF said:
Do factor in moving/set up and new cloth (like Simonis). Maybe $500 more.


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I was budgeting at around $2k, I definitely want blue Simonis cloth, so looks like I'll probably be right at budget to get what I want--maybe a few hundred less if I'm lucky. Still, not spending $100+ in quarters a month, it will pay for itself in a year and a half. haha
 
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