Restoring '46 Brunswick Anniversary - Castings Concern

The table looks awesome, you did and outstanding job on the rebuild, the finish looks like new or even better, you did this Anniversary proud, now play some pool,
 
Been following this forever.


Came out really really nice. Enjoy that fine table.
 
The table looks really good....you did fantastic with it....get yourself some GC 4 pockets...they will sit low profile on the castings and hold 8 balls in a pocket....you'll love them.

Mark Gregory
 
Hey there GC,
Nicely done. You must be pleased.
It's been helpful and encouraging to see and hear your progress on the table. I appreciate all the time you've spent documenting your project and keeping us up to date.
.... looking forward to seeing those rail sights glow!

Thanks,
Dave
 
The table looks really good....you did fantastic with it....get yourself some GC 4 pockets...they will sit low profile on the castings and hold 8 balls in a pocket....you'll love them.

Mark Gregory

I've been wanting to get a price on something low profile in black, that doesn't mark up the Centennials. Whatever I get cannot have the bump outs that take an Allen head fastener to the pocket casting, as my table has the older casting design and I'd rather not go thru that cutting process again.
 
Hey there GC,
Nicely done. You must be pleased.
It's been helpful and encouraging to see and hear your progress on the table. I appreciate all the time you've spent documenting your project and keeping us up to date.
.... looking forward to seeing those rail sights glow!

Thanks,
Dave

Labors of love require more patience than I knew I had, more support I ever thought I'd get, and time I didn't deserve.

I appreciate everyone's help, input, and encouragement, every step along the way... I can hardly wait for the sapphires now. I still need to design a dimmable low voltage DC circuit, battery powered, for the under-rail lighting. Can't be too bright nor too dim...therefore dimable seems to be the answer.
 
@ bigkahuna: As far as I know, the castings were dipped into "Type-III Hardcoat/Class I Natural" anodizing solution. (Exceedingly nice work on your majorly detailed restoration/documentation effort by the way... just got done reading thru ALL of it)

@matteroner: I will be scraping the inside of one of these castings to see how deep I have to go to get back to what looks like aluminum. If I proceed with a DIY polishing effort, that will hint at what grit to start at. I mean, I can polish agates, gems and minerals and alumunim is considerably softer than some of those I work with in my lapidary hobby, so this shouldn't be too difficult conceptually. I don't own a bench grinder though so I can't attach convenient polishing/sanding wheels to it. That might have to change.
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If I get these powdercoated, I hope there's a nice shiny silver (untextured) color available. I've been searching the awesome forums here at AZBilliards trying to find as many photos of powdercoated pockets as I can. Can't really use the GC copper pics to judge by. I don't know exactly what state my pockets are currently in... that is, they "appear" to be ready for some kind of coating because it looks like a smooth, flatter than flat gray color (slightly beige/olive too)... completely sheen free at present. I'm going to continue researching what "chrome/sandblast" looks like before deciding on powdercoating because i've been quoted $243.50 to do all 10 pieces that way (or $487 for chrome that might not turn out the way I hope.)

If you decide to powder coat try eastwoods reflective chrome powder coat. It yeilds a very high gloss close to real chrome. Also Eastwoods is a great site for car restorations.
 
If you decide to powder coat try eastwoods reflective chrome powder coat. It yeilds a very high gloss close to real chrome. Also Eastwoods is a great site for car restorations.

I'd consider that for a future project, but need to see some examples of what you're describing. As you can see from my project, the castings have been completed (early January I believe). They were done using good ol' fashioned (commercial grade) machine sanding and polishing rouge... the kind of equipment used for polishing Mercury Marine props.

Thanks for the suggestion though, because I know about another Anniversary table that is in need of restoration and was thinking about taking it on as a side job for the owner.
 
Druthers

I also would ask this general question to mechanics, as I am looking to obtain a "pre owned" brunswick table if things work out. Would you druther own an Anni or druther a GC if the money to puchase is roughly the same.
 
Did you add a stretcher yourself, or was that always there.

The title to my thread dates back to July 2011... I didn't know any better then what year my table was made. I know now that it is not a 1946 because it came with a stretcher, but I don't know how to change the thread title name.

My stretcher is not quite stock, as the veneer had been sanded in preparation for new walnut veneer, but since the piece that was going on there turned out not to be long enough, I ended up buying a 3/4" thick 12 ft plank of poplar and my neighbor (with all his clamps) "veneered" it to the stretcher by simple gluing. I then finished it in Danish oil and rub-on poly.
 
I also would ask this general question to mechanics, as I am looking to obtain a "pre owned" brunswick table if things work out. Would you druther own an Anni or druther a GC if the money to puchase is roughly the same.

The Anniversary, IMO, is a more beautiful table and should command a higher resale value, but only if you find one that has the real wood rails (not formica). It can be made to play as good as any tournament quality table out there, while outclassing them all. Timeless design.
 
Well , first I have to say that you did a beautiful job on your table. Only in my dreams could I have done as nice a job myself.
Your stretcher came out great as well.
I love the design and the hefty presence of an Anni, but never actually having the pleasure of playing on one I have questions.
Thank you for taking time to share your accomplishment with the forum.
 
Well , first ... I love the design and the hefty presence of an Anni, but never actually having the pleasure of playing on one I have questions. Thank you for taking time to share your accomplishment with the forum.

Thank you for the kind comments. As for questions on an Anni's playability, here's my two-cents:

From all my reading on AZBilliards, it would seem that if players aren't playing on their own Diamond Pro/Pro-Am/Smart etc, they dream of doing so... Or, if they're playing on a Gold Crown, that's because they couldn't find an Anniversary (or Centennial for that matter) at the time they were looking for one or at a price they could afford.

Now, back to your point. "Playability" is directly related to how professionally the table was set up... not its looks. Condition of slate, rail design & cushion type, cloth type and quality of each part of the installation are paramount. One thing I particularly LOVE about Anni's and Centennials is the comfort factor. There's a perfect marriage of how the rail's contours conform to one's palms for applicable bridge situations. There are many great tables out there that just have that sharper angle on the rails that I simply don't care for. Gold Crowns for one. There aren't too many tables that have comfortable rail edge shapes. Here are some others that do: http://www.connellybilliards.com/dws-app/products/display/aspen http://www.brunswickbilliards.com/catalog/pool-tables/gibson.html
 
From all my reading on AZBilliards, it would seem that if players aren't playing on their own Diamond Pro/Pro-Am/Smart etc, they dream of doing so... Or, if they're playing on a Gold Crown, that's because they couldn't find an Anniversary (or Centennial for that matter) at the time they were looking for one or at a price they could afford.

This is why I chose to buy an anniversary and have the pockets "diamonized" to me it should be the best of both worlds!

Diamonds are nice looking tables, but you can't beat the classic look of the Anniversary.

I also agree about the rail comfort. Like the saying goes, they don't make me like they used to.

Woody
 
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