Would you consider?

C

cjl0s

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I got a new pool table. Actually a snooker table of similar age. My old 5x10 pool table is basically fine other than needing new cushions but there is zero interest or market for such a beast. I have had it listed for a few weeks at $400 with no bites other than a guy who wanted to turn it into a snooker table and wanted me to throw in stuff that was not included in the listing.

I am considering turning the slates into a bar downstairs reclaiming as much of the frame to use in the construction. Am I mad? Have any of you done this? I am not looking to free-cycle it on general principle and most freebee seekers turn out to be unreliable flaky dicks that I don't want to let into my house. It is a sad ending for an 80 year old table with t-rails but I am not into storing it indefinitely. Thoughts? I think it would be an interesting project.
 
my first thought was, I'd offer you $100 for the slate if it was within a 4 - 5 hr. round trip.

second thought, if retro recycle is possible, how come not a refit of new cushion?
then, well,
how ugly is this beast of a table.
Is this T-Bolt the issue?

If its you were just ready for a change, a new one, to bad you're not a lot closer.
 
cjl0s said:
I got a new pool table. Actually a snooker table of similar age. My old 5x10 pool table is basically fine other than needing new cushions but there is zero interest or market for such a beast. I have had it listed for a few weeks at $400 with no bites other than a guy who wanted to turn it into a snooker table and wanted me to throw in stuff that was not included in the listing.

I am considering turning the slates into a bar downstairs reclaiming as much of the frame to use in the construction. Am I mad? Have any of you done this? I am not looking to free-cycle it on general principle and most freebee seekers turn out to be unreliable flaky dicks that I don't want to let into my house. It is a sad ending for an 80 year old table with t-rails but I am not into storing it indefinitely. Thoughts? I think it would be an interesting project.
Click to expand...

Some rooms in Canada, due to snooker losing its popularity, utilized 6x12 parts to make
bars and counters. They even used rails and pockets pleasingly. If the table had upscale
frames, they became end tables.

If your table was an Anniversary, I would beg your to keep it....rails might be available to
make it a 3-cushion or a snooker table also.
 
The table is not ugly but it is no heirloom table either. You can see it on denver craigslist for about a week or two. Once it expires I will not relist.

The t-rails are fine - 5 bolt. I just found the table I always wanted (a beautiful Anniversary) and I am not getting any younger. I have had this table for 20 years and it was just time.

I do not think the cushions were set up properly when I got it and It never played the way I wanted it to. I lived with it for a long time. Then I really did not use it as much. Now the rails are dead and I am on to a new table. It is hard to get people to work on 5x10 tables because the rubber is not carried and often has to be ordered in and they do not know the correct profile is without taking a trip out yada yada. I have had a hard time with even well known places in Denver (not naming names) willing to work on them period. Very few people have experience setting up a snooker table I am finding.

If someone is going to cannibalize it for the slate it might as well be me. I have seen some beautiful re-purposed slate countertops and thought why not? Besides I would have a connection to it as I played on it for years. Thanks all for your responses.
 
A friend of mine gave up the game for health reasons but kept part of his table by cutting about 2' off one end and putting it up against a wall as a buffet/utility table in his living room. (Of course, it wasn't that simple and it looks pretty good.) The slate probably went elsewhere. I think there is a new solid wood top.
 
When my friend opened Surge here in Chicago one of the tables he inherited was this old Brunswick Pfister carom table.

Interior 9.jpg

It was too far gone to refurbish, so he used the legs and skirt for this cafe table and the ends of the bench against the far wall.

IMG_3407.jpg

pj
chgo
 
cjl0s said:
The table is not ugly but it is no heirloom table either. You can see it on denver craigslist for about a week or two. Once it expires I will not relist.

The t-rails are fine - 5 bolt. I just found the table I always wanted (a beautiful Anniversary) and I am not getting any younger. I have had this table for 20 years and it was just time.

I do not think the cushions were set up properly when I got it and It never played the way I wanted it to. I lived with it for a long time. Then I really did not use it as much. Now the rails are dead and I am on to a new table. It is hard to get people to work on 5x10 tables because the rubber is not carried and often has to be ordered in and they do not know the correct profile is without taking a trip out yada yada. I have had a hard time with even well known places in Denver (not naming names) willing to work on them period. Very few people have experience setting up a snooker table I am finding.

If someone is going to cannibalize it for the slate it might as well be me. I have seen some beautiful re-purposed slate countertops and thought why not? Besides I would have a connection to it as I played on it for years. Thanks all for your responses.
Click to expand...
The trouble with T-rails is that they don’t age well....even in good shape, I don’t like them.
World class snooker tables use steel-block cushions...in my opinion, it’s a few thousand $
option to just make them hit as good as a GC or Diamond.
I hate the hollow thud of T-rails without steel block.
 
pt109 said:
The trouble with T-rails is that they don’t age well....even in good shape, I don’t like them.
World class snooker tables use steel-block cushions...in my opinion, it’s a few thousand $
option to just make them hit as good as a GC or Diamond.
I hate the hollow thud of T-rails without steel block.
Click to expand...
For those of us who have not knowingly dealt with such things....

For a T-rail are the rail bolts vertical? It seems like a horizontal bolt would handle ball impacts better but would require the slate to be a precise width.
 
Bob Jewett said:
For those of us who have not knowingly dealt with such things....

For a T-rail are the rail bolts vertical? It seems like a horizontal bolt would handle ball impacts better but would require the slate to be a precise width.
Click to expand...

This is what a T-rail looks like....notice the steel block, in 1990, a $2,000 option.
..( I called it side-mounted)

5AA12695-AAAE-404E-9AA9-71F62F457251.jpeg

I’ve played on Rileys and BCEs without it...and I hate the hollow thud.
The advantage is the rebound off the cushion gets the length of the bolt.
The disadvantage...the rail can bow...and the slate holding the bolt can get worn.
..however, the great carom tables tend to use T-rail, so I’m impressed with that.

More tan one billiard mechanic has told me that alternating bolts would be perfect...
...but hard to do.

So I’ll stick to our system...I’ve played on GCs and Anniversaries that seem to hit as good
as steel block....even with a quarter inch thinner slate.
 
I play on snooker tables without steel blocks and those with interchangeably. Sometimes I don't even notice which one I'm on. The steel block does seem to make the rail play slightly more consistent and maybe there's more bounce, but on good tables it's not easy to even notice any difference. If there is a big hollow thud sound, most likely the rail is worn out. In the club there are 4 tables that are exactly the same except one is steel. Only the very best players sometimes manage to guess right, and sometimes they're wrong. There is a difference, but it's not night and day.

I'm far more troubled by the "square bounce" of some tables (they play short, especially 2 rails). I've no idea what causes that phenomenon on a snooker table. Some tables do it, others don't and there is no real easy way to see any physical difference between them. In my former club, there were two tables of the same kind where one did this, and the other didn't. The rubber was the same as far as I know.

The weird thing is, I heard that a company did try steel rails for pool, but that they bounced way too short. However, the square bounce is almost never a problem with steel rail snooker tables. It seems that the side mounted rails and top mounted differ a lot in many respects. Of course, even the steel block rails have wood between the steel and the rubber on snooker tables, so maybe that's what needs to happen if this is to work in pool.
 
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Thank You!!

Thanks a Bunch!

First time I remember seeing that cut away view. Now I understand the big deal about the steel in the rails but the entire construction seems like a royal pain to build to begin with and to work on later. The price of the steel rails should have came down with NC equipment but probably didn't happen.

Hu




pt109 said:
This is what a T-rail looks like....notice the steel block, in 1990, a $2,000 option.
..( I called it side-mounted)

View attachment 550541

I’ve played on Rileys and BCEs without it...and I hate the hollow thud.
The advantage is the rebound off the cushion gets the length of the bolt.
The disadvantage...the rail can bow...and the slate holding the bolt can get worn.
..however, the great carom tables tend to use T-rail, so I’m impressed with that.

More tan one billiard mechanic has told me that alternating bolts would be perfect...
...but hard to do.

So I’ll stick to our system...I’ve played on GCs and Anniversaries that seem to hit as good
as steel block....even with a quarter inch thinner slate.
Click to expand...
 
I admire your creative thinking.

Personally, I’d sell or give away the slate. If I wanted to make a bar type counter fir my billiards room ( which I did), ID just purchase a piece of 1”MDF board for a couple of dollars.. Much easier to work with, cut, shape, finish etc. Also easier to fasten any side pieces, mouldings, etc.

I could easily get a free billiards table once a week in my city...for the pick up effort. Often accessories tossed in. So don’t feel bad for junking it. Perhaps a table mechanic will take it away for parts.

People are the same with heirloom pianos. It’s unfortunate when once a family treasure is just a big pain taking up space. No happy home to give them away to.
 
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