Table refurbishment from a DIY perspective

[jonny66]

Good to hear you got a refund, but a tan cloth?

[DeanH]

blood, sweat, and tears!
literally :wink:

[Kryten]

Yeah, thought I'd go for something a bit different to the usual green. I was going to fork out for a Strachan 6811 but thought with the state of the table as it is, it's really only going to be any good for knocking about on and casual games so not worth spending the money on. Plus it was cheap
Not sure tan is the right colour - sort of a dark beige.

[jonny66]

You'll never be able to see the brown ball

[Kryten]

Well it's like for like, I couldn't see the green ball before

I have a load of carbon fibre style vinyl wrap I thought about doing all the woodwork with. Then I realised I don't own a 1985 Vauxhall Nova with subwoofers bigger than the wheels, so decided against it

[culraven]

Yeah, thought I'd go for something a bit different to the usual green. I was going to fork out for a Strachan 6811 but thought with the state of the table as it is, it's really only going to be any good for knocking about on and casual games so not worth spending the money on. Plus it was cheap
Not sure tan is the right colour - sort of a dark beige.

Just make sure you get the same coloured chalk or it will show up every single mark, pretty sure mastercue do a tan chalk.

[Geoff Large]

Tan cloth . could have been worse

http://gclbilliards.com/pool-table-r...er-cloth-info/

so go on ebay and get some tan chalk or beige chalk http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-x-SILVE...gAAOSwxH1UHDRY

[Kryten]

Already been bought I thought about something loud but I'm quite quiet so it didn't suit me. Besides which a table that colour should only ever come in one shape: http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/banana-pool-table

Have you ever worked on any novelty tables, Geoff, such as those, the L shaped tables, hexagonal ones etc?

[Geoff Large]

I have done round hex L shape and oblong hex ends , and tables without pockets ( Carom )
I prefer to leave novelty tables alone , some are two man job especially those rotating round and hex tables as the slate is very heavy
break one of these slates and you cannot get one off the shelf
I actually turned a re-cover job two days ago on a round table , as pricing for two men to do a re-cover it is not cost effective if the slate has to be lifted off like some do .

at the end of the day why make a L shape or hex end table ?
I can understand a hex and round table if it spins as you play in a corner and just spin the tbale around to cue , meaning you just play from the same spot every time .
have a look at this lot of odd tables http://gclbilliards.com/odd-shaped-p...es-to-recover/

[Kryten]

Blimey! There's some odd ones. I don't see the attraction myself, certainly of the round ones but I can imagine the L shaped ones may help build one's knowledge of the angles. Certainly would in my case, my potting is reasonable but my cushion work is diabolical. I've often watched my best friend play billiards on both standard & carom tables and amazed at how easily cueball and cushion control seems with him behind the cue!

Oddly enough, I've seen round/hex tables but I've never for one moment thought of them rotating round so the player doesn't need to move!

[Kryten]

Well, a little progress since last posting but can't say I'm particularly happy. My best advice to anyone looking at a DIY refurb/recloth/rerubber is simple - get a professional to do it! Or at least prepare to break out that special swear word that only usually utters forth when you miss one of those pots on the black that even a trained dog could make.

Really not happy with how the cloth is attached round the corners of the rails - no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the cloth to stretch round without creases/ruffling appearing. I must admit I've ceased worrying *too* much about making a particularly good job of this, especially when it came to starting the fitment of the cushion cloths, and finding the feather strips were barely doing anything in the first place, and then when having them lined up on the table realising they're all different widths AND lengths. Lengths? I thought all the cushions were identical, bar maybe different drops for the middle pockets? But no, unless I'm mistaken someone has utterly butchered the pocket openings

So it's definitely a "making a scrap table playable for casual mucking around on".
I'll up a few picks in a later post, I haven't taken many as I've been saving my (laughable) phone battery for my hospitalised wife's calls.

[Kryten]

So, very near completion - at least for the first stage. For now just have to mark up the lines & spots. Next job is to find a suitable donor dining table for it's legs and the top and to re-do the pockets so the brass isn't sticking up.
I'm far from happy with the cushion work and I've had to do a lot of "making do" due to shoddy past works, however it still plays nice and the cushion bounce is literally twice as good as it was even with 1/2" rubbers.

Bed cloth installed and tacked down (I put another tack in between the ones in place here once I was particularly happy it was taut enough.


Lots of tidying to do. I'm not going to worry about the pockets this time round due to my aforementioned plans to recess them.


Lots of old tacks. I learned a lot of patience doing this especially pulling these out. This is only around 1/3 of the tacks I pulled out in total, quite a few of these including those with cloth attached remained from a cloth prior to what I removed.


And the "finished" product with my new full size balls.


There's so much more I could have done to make a better job of it, however there's a few tips I can pass along to anyone brave/stupid enough to attempt this with my level of "expertise"! One godsend was having the 7 foot cloth for a 6 foot table, it meant I have spare enough for 2 more cushions should I wish to revisit them.
It's also damn fast - it's lovely!

1. Multiple knives and multiple blades. Sharp as they possibly can be. As soon as you feel a blade blunting, ditch it and do NOT be tempted to try and get that last cut out of it.
2. Make sure you have enough tacks/staples. If you're tacking, invest in a magnetic tack hammer unless you have help or 3 hands.
3. Be aware that tacks are BLOODY sharp. Sharp enough that dropping one on my floor (decking here) was enough for them to stick into it like a knife. More to the point, painful to stand on...
4. Measure 4 times, cut once. Old cliche but saved my bacon more than once.
5. If in doubt get a professional to do it.

[culraven]

Looks good, I will do mine this summer, but don't think I'll tackle the cushions! Did you use the spray adhesive they usually use with these cloths?

[Kryten]

No - a mixture of tacks and staples, tacks around the bed cloth and anywhere visible and staples elsewhere (such as bottom of cushions). I also ended up using staples to tack the cushion behind the feather strip as it was just far too loose to actually hold the cloth and couldn't find anywhere local that sold wood in strips that thin. Hobbycraft do have some, I did buy some from there last week to put under the rubber to bring it up to height but it's a bit soft (bass/balsa) for the feather strip.
Did consider using adhesive as I have a shedload of the stuff in my shed!

[Kryten]

Late addition last night Managed to pick up a DAMN heavy table with these two solid legs for £20 last night.
Unfortunately the table itself is spot on 6' x 3' so it would sit on the cushions. Decided however to make use of the legs which fitted well and also seem to suit it quite nicely Not sure on the wood, it's damn heavy (even the legs) but as much as I'd like to think it was solid wood of some form it's probably veneer.
Only thing I'd like to do is to add some sort of adjustable feet to the bottom to allow for levelling, something along the lines of but having to find a way to attach them (or a bracket/nut) to the bottom without adding too much height.

Anyhoo, these are the legs!