Restored Brunswick - banking accuracy

R

Reposado

Registered
My wife and I are considering purchasing a roughly 1920s era 9-foot Brunswick. It was restored by a reputable company. New 1.5" thick slate, new rubber, should have good quality bolts, etc.

I have not viewed the table myself yet. Unfortunately it is disassembled so I will not be able to play on it. Current owner has receipt detailing purchase from a good restorer.

I do not fear the new slate. I do however have reservations about the banking angles of the cushions. I'm looking for guidance and/or what to expect from you experienced mechanics out there.

For example, will an old table like this (think Kling, Medalist, Arcade, Arcadian, etc) bank well enough to please a one pocket and straight pool player who likes fast cloth and shoots twist banks and 3 railers frequently? Will I be frustrated by it? I will be happy to have the rubber replaced should that be required.

What should I look for when I look at the disassembled pieces?
 
Free advise from experience

I am not a mechanic, but I own a Non Pareil Novelty circa 1876 and a Rosewood Centennial which I currently have up in my pool room. The Non Pareil Novelty is stored in a guest room upstairs. Both tables pllay lights out.

First, Both of my tables play best with Brunswick Super Speed and Simonis 860 HR. I would recommend the under rails be rebuilt for uniformity or recehcked at the very least so all 6 rails can have the rubber uniformily set at the correct height and angle. I could really twist banks and move the ball well on the Non Pareil Novelty. The only reason I stored it was tables of that era were 34" off the ground as opposed to 31". You should ot have that.

I am not a straight pool player but they favor bigger pockets due to the nature of the game. One pocket players like them tight. You can not have both. We were playing alot of 9 ball and one pocket on the Non Pareil Novelty and the pockets were 4 5/8". If was, and is, a fun table to play and gamble on.

I had the Centennial first set up with Artemis Continental 55 because I was embued by Diamond. It played and banked awful. The table is not a Diamond and not meant to play that way. The pockets were 4 5/8" and kicked balls out and balls could not run the rail unless at bare pocket speed and that was hard. The angle of the pockets kicked balls out with speed. AT LEAST IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME THAT WAY. I had it redone by Mark Gregory with Super Speed cut to 4 1/2" pockets and it plays great in every way. It is tougher than the Non Pareil Novelty but I love them both equally.

I live outside Jacksonville, FL. I had an excellent mechanic but he disappeared. Mark Gregory has been doing my work from Atlanta for 6-7 years? He has my table tuned to the max and I highly recommend him if you are in an area where he travels. You need to invest in someone who really knows their stuff to get the most out of your table.

I have had my slate backed, underrails rebuilt, rails and rubber calibrated, new Super Speed, Simonis 860 HR, and obviously a top notch restoration, originally by Time After Time when both tables were purchased. Mark also does great restorations.

Good luck,
Phil
 
Good to know your old tables play that well.

I had a similar experience in the past having Artemis installed on another table. I hated how it played. Going to stick to Brunswick rubber.

I expect that I will at the very least want to eventually change the pocket angles and size slightly. I want them big-ish for straight pool and don't mind the extra size for one-pocket, practice etc. I'll use pocket reducers occasionally for snooker like accuracy practice. Maybe 4 7/8 or 4 3/4 inches. I do need balls coming down the rail with speed to fall of course. I plan to measure the length of the cushion edges to estimate existing pocket width at the points. Pocket width at the start of the pocket irons is 4" according to the seller.

If we do buy it, I'll use it as is for a few months to see what I think. Then I'll need a good mechanic to fix what needs fixing as you said. I'll ping Mark in that search, thanks.
 
I just recently had a gentleman from Snohomish, WA contact me about his antique Brunswick Pro 8 table, he paid $10,000 for it, and yep, it looks like its worth the money he paid too. He asked me what could be wrong with how the rails play, they're just dead he says to me. I told him he needs the rails rebuilt, he replyed he boght the table fully restored....and i said yep, but that was to just look at the table....you didn't really expect it to play like a table today does....did you?....LOL So he took the rails back off, removed the cloth on one and sends me a picture to show me the cushion rubber as a way of saying....see, i even have new cushions!. Well, to say the least he wasn't to happy when i told him MASTERFAST K66 cushions have no business being installed on a Brunswick table no matter WHEN it was built and in seeing the original sub rail still right there in full view....that the sub rails needed to be rebuilt to accept todays newer K55 profile Brunswick cushions....and if he wanted me to fix his rails it was going to be $2,000. He told ne he'd already paid $10,000 for the table....i told him that has nothing to do with what i have to do, my fee is EXTRA....haven't heard from him since...LOL
 
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