Steel Block Cushions - Pro and Con

[s.h442]

CGQ you are right about the STAR. They are made in China and World Snooker Services in Bristol finish the cushions in the Uk for the tournament tables. The two guys are Pete Godwin and Eugene James. As far as the Aristocrat it is made in the UK and finished at BCE/Riley in Bristol by Leighton Bailey. There was a short period when tables were built in China but not now. I`ve been to the factory as recently as 2 years ago.

I think geoff mentionted on a previous thread that some aristocrats did not have adjustable muntings was this the reason why?

[CGQ]

very good maryfield you done a bit of homework,as far as the aristocrat goes while BCE/RILEY where still doing tournaments on tv all their frames where made in china and cushions finish in the uk.now at the moment because they sell no quantity there is a company in england make there tables and its not leighton in bristol it sovereign leisure in accrington also funny enough from i posted the above message i was rang from bce/riley today to tell me to take their table off my website because they have stopped selling to the trade they only sell direct now!

[Ex Enbild Fitter]

Philip I wasn`t just referring to snooker table manufacture. I was referring to aspects of manufacturing. Yes factories will open and close due to supply and demand, no more apparent than the boom of the 80`s when they couldn`t manufacture enough tables in the UK to meet demand. As Geoff has alluded to quality suffered through bad design and poor timber. But you need skilled labour to meet the demand when it arises. Who is going to pass this on?

I have a friend who owned the largest snooker club in Scotland if not the UK back in the 80`s. (59 tables) Demand for tables was so great that he travelled the length and breadth of the country buying sets of second hand slates from people who had them lying in their gardens, used as driveway paths etc. When snooker died a death in the sixties and early seventies you couldn`t give tables away. A situation we are facing again, thanks in part to the smoking ban. However he took these slates, had a joiner knock up a frame using 4 x 4 timber boxed in with laminate plywood and married them with a set of cushions. Not very pretty but did the job and they filled the need when people would be happy to play on the floor!

China doesn`t confine itself to copying snooker tables. About every conceivable consumer product is now manufactured over there, legally and illegally. They are even ripping off Rolls Royce cars!

Find your comments about slates in the 80's pretty confusing as there were plenty of Italian slates available to meet demand, the company I worked for had no trouble obtaining them 50 sets at a time!

[maryfield]

Why confusing? He was obviously on a budget and didn`t wish to import brand new slates. The company you worked for were manufacturing tables, so obviously they would have to buy slates in. I never said slate was in short supply. He actually started importing when he briefly had a table business. He bought his frames and cushions through Arthur Varley and the tables were marketed as Caledonian Snooker tables.

You will be well aware that there some shocking tables sold at that time. Poor quality timber, badly constructed. In some cases the tables shook like hens heads the way the frames were put together. Was one of them not Darlington Snooker Services. No dowels or mortice. Just a groove which the frame rails sat in and a single bolt. The wood was that rough you were in danger of getting splinters.

[Ex Enbild Fitter]

Why confusing? He was obviously on a budget and didn`t wish to import brand new slates. The company you worked for were manufacturing tables, so obviously they would have to buy slates in. I never said slate was in short supply. He actually started importing when he briefly had a table business. He bought his frames and cushions through Arthur Varley and the tables were marketed as Caledonian Snooker tables.

You will be well aware that there some shocking tables sold at that time. Poor quality timber, badly constructed. In some cases the tables shook like hens heads the way the frames were put together. Was one of them not Darlington Snooker Services. No dowels or mortice. Just a groove which the frame rails sat in and a single bolt. The wood was that rough you were in danger of getting splinters.

Ah sorry I misunderstood you, I wrongly thought you were implying there was a shortage of slates. Yes unfortunately there were some tables manufactured that weren't actually fit for purpose. Oh for a return to the times when we manufactured in batches of 50 and were working day and night to keep up with the orders!

[philip in china]

I knew a guy in the early eighties who was always on the look out for snooker table slates then. My father managed a shop. In the back was a bench the top of which was old table slates. I used to reload my own ammunition in those days and had my reloading press bolted to one. It provided a good strong base! Maybe we shuld have a thread for uses to which we have seen slates being put.

[CGQ]

they are not being built there now because there is not a lot being sold!

[maryfield]

Built where?

[CGQ]

sorry acristocrats are not build in china now because theres not enough being sold!

[maryfield]

Can`t comment when they were made in China. I have seen and sold them and it may have been possible that RILEY shipped sapele wood for the manufacture, I do believe that the Westbury was built abroad for a while but now that too is made in the UK.

[CGQ]

why do you think there made in the uk now!

[maryfield]

RILEY proper in Burnley went bust in 2003. The pool table side `Superleague` was bought by Master Billiards and BCE purchased the RILEY brand name. This was after a series of restructuring prior to their ultimate demise. BCE/RILEY actually sell Chinese imported tables such as the Renaissance alongside their UK made ARISTOCRAT and WESTBURY tables. This is in order to catch a share of the lower end market where customers are more driven by price than quality.

[CGQ]

i now all this im in the trade, i have sold and built riley aristocrats i trained in there cushion factory in accrington in the 80s from BCE took over rileys even the ARISTOCRAT was made in china and the cushions where finish in the UK for tournaments. as is the STAR table now. that is the point im trying to get across! from they started to use silver paint on the legs that is most likely when they where made in china because the legs where cracking in the containers and paint hides everything, hence the STAR legs gold.

[philip in china]

Maryfield, how good or bad is Sapele? I know it is used for doorskins is it any use for anything else? I think it is one of the cheaper hardwoods.

[maryfield]

Philip it is one of the more inexpensive hardwoods, but is a good quality stable wood with a tightish grain. Unlike Shorea or Merranti which are also sometimes used. Gone are the days when Cuban, Honduran or Brazilian mahogany were used. One couldn`t afford them. I have a table at the moment which is all solid mahogany, 9 inch legs, frame rails, intermediate rails or muntings (9 off) and cushion cappings. Made back in 1910. I shudder to think what this would cost in todays money just to buy the timber. Let alone the craftsmanship to build it.