Antique burroughs and watts steel block snooker table and life pool scoreboard

[lesedwards]

Thanks Geoff I actuall borowwed my sons leather oil for his saddles and they are now nice and soft. I picked up some leather string like what you would see in a pair of moccasians which should work perfect just not sure how to tie the end when i get across the pocket? I plan on a small knot on the inside of the pocket where I start but it is the other end I am having a problem with. Any suggestions would be great.
Les

[Geoff Large]

Thanks Geoff I actuall borowwed my sons leather oil for his saddles and they are now nice and soft. I picked up some leather string like what you would see in a pair of moccasians which should work perfect just not sure how to tie the end when i get across the pocket? I plan on a small knot on the inside of the pocket where I start but it is the other end I am having a problem with. Any suggestions would be great.
Les

this is going to be fun trying to explain but here goes


Start at the back from the inside thread the string / cord through the centre hole backwards then thread the next hole through to the front then back then front , turn around on the end , work your way to the other end , you will then turn back towards the middle and if done correct will have both tail ends in the middle to tie at the centre of the leather just inside of the leather , tie 4 times and cut off the tails .

be careful with oils on leathers getting onto the ball and then the cloth , fully dry out the leather if you have used any oil on it .

Geoff

[lesedwards]

this is going to be fun trying to explain but here goes


Start at the back from the inside thread the string / cord through the centre hole backwards then thread the next hole through to the front then back then front , turn around on the end , work your way to the other end , you will then turn back towards the middle and if done correct will have both tail ends in the middle to tie at the centre of the leather just inside of the leather , tie 4 times and cut off the tails .

be careful with oils on leathers getting onto the ball and then the cloth , fully dry out the leather if you have used any oil on it .

Geoff

Hi Geoff i figured it out thanks for your instructions. Next step LOL i ran my cord through the leather for practice but then I tried to add my new nets and rails for practice and now I have a nightmare. I have not taken any of my rails off to get at my pocket irons yet because I use my table on the average of 3 hours a day and do not want to be in a jamb. Looking like a job that I am not going to take on. Any great suggestions. I am just about ready to pack everything in a box with the irons and send them over night to you with pre paid postage over night back to me. What would you charge.

[Terry Davidson]

Les:

Why not do one pocket at a time? If you don't have any spare pocket iron then you would be out of a table for quite awhile if you sent them to Geoff. Either that or you'll be commuting to the closest snooker room (Hamilton?) or else commuting to my place.

I figure by the time you get to pocket 3 or 4 you should be quite good at it

Terry

[lesedwards]

I spent an hour just getting the cord through then when I tried the nets I had a mess on my hand. I am afraid to even try one. Canada sucks when it comes to Snooker, no wonder Cliff talked down Canada in his interview at the seniors. It would be nice to have a club to go to and play and snooker shops all over the place where we can get help and buy stuff. By the time I get them all done and how good is anyones guess I could have shipped them to Geoff and had them back and on. I always say there is a job out there for everyone, I build custom homes if I need an oil change I go to my mechanic and if I need new pockets on I go to a table fitter.

[lesedwards]

Well thats out. Looking at over $200 one way. Anyone have another idea?

[Geoff Large]

I have done a set for someone on this forum who lives in Canada who sent them to me and I sent them back , he got caught on import tax ( UK VAT ) so it really is not a good option to send them to me . also the time frame may be too long without use of the table .

it is best to fit them off the cushions , you have to take the irons ( pocket plates ) off the table , this can be done by just taking three cushions off the table , unscrew any bolts or screws holding the nets on , and take off cushion 1 ( the baulk cushion ) and cushions 3 and 5 , that's the cushions each side of the black spot end cushion , this will leave the other three still bolted in place and make fastening back on more easy ,

strip one iron down , put the net on , take the leather and sew on as described , trim leather and leave around 1/8th overhang of leather over each end of the iron , this will hide any gaps at each end . we like to take the cord when sewing and loop around the end and not leave them open , but for now it may be more simple for you to just sew on and trim them leaving the ends open if you get my meaning . also at the end make sure the thread has the end loop of the net locked in as sometimes the wire in the iron can fall out and then the nets start to come out , if locked in the end thread loop it cannot fall down if the wire comes out .
Being steel block cushions it is fact only the wood surround you are taking off , it is only the outside capping's that you are taking off and these have 4 stubby bolts to unscrew , be careful to have the cushion supported by someone when you unscrew and remove them gently , if you let one end drop you can rip through the top wood of the fixed capping still left on the table with the unbolted iron lug . if net bags then you will not have to do this.

you may want to practice just taking the old leather off and resewing it back on a few times before you attempt a new leather .
the only difference is that the new leather will require trimming at each end .

Sewing nets and leathers on is one of the first job's an apprentice has to learn along with Brushing and ironing and tipping cues so that he can be sent out servicing tables to help earn his keep in those first 4 years ,apart from stripping cushions and handling slates and making tea too .

Geoff

[lesedwards]

Well thats out. Looking at over $200 one way. Anyone have another idea?

I have an idea, does anyone know where i could get a set of used Burroughs n Watts broad bow pocket irons? This way I could work at them at my own pace until I have them all done.

[lesedwards]

I have an idea, does anyone know where i could get a set of used Burroughs n Watts broad bow pocket irons? This way I could work at them at my own pace until I have them all done.

Well I pulled the rail off one end of my table and pulled the two corner pockets off and my son pulled them a part and figured out how everything went together and I now have two new pockets. It is amazing how much more patience you have when your 27 instead of almost 50. Check out the attachments below. We will do the rest on Monday when I have the rails off waiting to have my new Northern Rubber installed Tuesday

[DeanH]

looks like a fantastic job there
how did it take?

[Terry Davidson]

Les:

I was wondering why you were not doing them yourself as I knew sending them to Geoff and back would take a long time plus as he said the VAT would be a killer and then the import duty and taxes on this end too.

By the way, if Odie is going to be there on Tuesday he should be able to help you if you still need it as I know he has done the pocket leathers on at least 2 BCE tables as he did the ones we used in Las Vegas.

See you tomorrow at The Annex

Terry

[lesedwards]

Yea I thought of Ode but my son has it down pat now. He did a great job and they look fantastic with the new rails. According to the online registrations we could have another full house tomorrow. Again it looks like a lot of A players.

[DeanH]

what's going-on on Tuesday then?
a secret?

[lesedwards]

what's going-on on Tuesday then?
a secret?

No secret. When I bought my table I had new Strachan 6811 Tournament installed but after playing on it for a couple of weeks we realized the corner pockets would not take a ball from any sharp angle and if you run one down the rail they will not go in because the pockets narrow after the fall and there is no under cut to them. The sides are cut in such a way that anything just on the edge will not go in because again there is no under cut and cut all wrong. I am having brand new Northern Rubber installed and cut to IBSF Templates and the Strachan Rail cloth installed. My table should be absolutely perfect after Tuesday. I picked up a white Gel Pen today and marked my spots with little + looks just like a match table. Now your thinking I am obsessed with game and I would say you are probably right......LOL

[DeanH]

ah, lovely
obsessed - nah!


glad you sourced the leathers no problem