New Snooker Table

[DeanH]

cheers Geoff for a facinating reply.
all I know now is to contact you when it comes to the time I am looking for a table

[philip in china]

In a city the size of Moscow, with the amount of snooker played in Russia, there will be table fitters available.

With an unknown fitter watch him fitting it. Make sure he gets the table LEVEL using shims- in other words not just put the frame up and then shim under the slates. The latter is the easier way and is an absolute no no.

It is all down to finance and sponsorship at the end of the day , Star looking to promote their goods and the players wanting the most money for playing , then they have little option but to put it out to the highest bidder , he who pays most gets their tables as the ones officially used in tournaments .
Also production costs in China are a fraction than the UK.
I think you can still get a new Riley Aristocrat supplied in the UK but they are around the £12000 price range and the star is around £7500.
I do not stock full size tables but there are a few privately advertised on my web site , one is a very nice Riley Aristocrat at £2000 collected plus dismantle and load fee . http://gclbilliards.com/riley-aristo...will-find-one/

That's how Phil in china bought a full size not long back , he just arranged a lorry to come over to Nottinghamshire , I met them loaded the table and off they went .
You will just have to get a fitter in Moscow to reassemble it . or pay for one to fly over to fit it .

[Guy3103]

Geoff, would you mind telling me your opinion on STAR tournament tables and whether you'd recommend me getting one, and if so than from who? I found their tables on Ebay, ABC snooker and Snookermania... are these reliable sources? and what is a good price to pay for such a table?

Many thanks

[Geoff Large]

http://www.world-snooker.co.uk/catalogue/?categoryid=1

World snooker are the No1 suppliers for this table

price wise around £7500 is the going rate ,

As for build quality from feedback of other fitters and one that I have seen , they are not as good as the Riley Aristocrat . but they may be worth the asking price of £7500 !

A new Aristocrat will cost in the region of £12000

My advice is buy a second hand aristocrat but make sure it is UK made of 1990s vintage , some have UK stamped in the legs , and some of the slide in side panels also have made in England on them , but the Chinese can copy anything even BMW style cars if you have seen the top gear program so buyer beware .

[d@niel]

Hello, i want to buy two 12ft tables and i don't know what to do, i must choose between Shender used on 2014 European Under 21 Championship or some used tables from snookerservice.de. What is your advice? Are Shender really poor tables? Thank you.

[philip in china]

And a year later I still can hardly believe how lucky I was. Just being in the right place at the right time I suppose.

Anyway there are plenty around and Geoff is your man to sniff them out.

50/50 , benefits of older table , Welsh or Irish slate much better quality than any other slate in the billiard industry .

Quality of wood on the older tables especially if you can find one with Cuban Mahogany cushion wood

they look better when refurbished , more detail in the carvings on those Victorian and Edwardian tables .

bad things about older tables , pocket openings , the wood work gap at the pockets are such that the rubber cannot be cut back to widen as it goes further into the back of the pocket , I see plenty of players saying all rubber openings should widen as it curves into the pocket , sometimes this is impossible to achieve as the wood work gap on some is down to 3.5 inch or even below this without the rubber on the block !
Centre pocket plates can create easy bounce back , due to type of pocket and depth of upper cushion capping .
I would say , some old tables just cannot take the constant hammer of the modern game of snooker as when they where made it was the gentle stroke of billiards that was played on them .

New tables pro's are

Pocket openings , contemporary look of some of the tables makes them fit into modern building much better in looks .
the blocks are lower so the cushions react better , the lower you can get the rubber to sit without making the ball jump the faster rebound you can get .
Spares are available unlike the old tables where some pocket plate designs mean you have to fit new type rather than find a rare to find second hand one you end up replacing the whole 6 pockets .
most new tables made today have adjustable muntin slate bearers , these stop slate sag which is a common problem in newer tables , especially those mass produced one's made in the 1980s .
The pocket plate accept balls at speed with hardly any chance of bounce back , the pocket openings are wider so the rubber can be cut like a steel block cushion and widen as the rubber goes beyond the slate fall of 3.5 inch at the drop , you can have an old table with 3.3/4 inch wide at the opening going to 3.1/4 inch at the rear eject a fast ball , where the 3.5 inch all the way in acts like a vacuum cleaner and just sucks the balls down the pocket , it sounds crazy but that's what happens .

bad things about new tables the slate is rubbish , all modern table slate is soft and not as hard as Welsh or Irish slate , the wood used on some modern tables is nothing more than soft hard wood like Philippine mahogany , many of those thin leg Riley tables have that wood on them , but don't blame the manufacturer , in the 1980s people wanted a budget table and that one was rileys .

So there you have it pros and cons , you want to play the modern game then buy a Newish table , you want something that is built good and looks good then buy an old table .

If you want the best of both worlds then buy an hybrid , an old table with old welsh slate with new cushions and pocket plates on , like Phil in china bought , he has a Burroughs and watts table with NEW modern Riley cushions and pocket plates .
don't be carried away and try and buy the most ornate round leg out there , the table will play the same if it has square legs on it, and square legs do not collect dust on them . .

New tables made from 1980s onwards , I recommend are , UK made Riley aristocrat , Karnehm and hillman , thurston , Raper's , Enbild to name just a few

Old tables, George Wright , Burroughs and watts , Orme , Thurston , Stevens , John Bennet , Palmer and sons . the list is long really

[kheops]

i'm in a progress of buying a 12ft table, in a pretty bright color like this one
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FULL-SIZE-...item4d1750a583
uk is the land of snooker and buying a second hand snooker from there, a table who has history, means a lot for me
if by chance i can meet Geoff, who is so helpful to us all, it would be the nice cherry on the cake

please share the beautiful items you could have by your hand, and willing to bring it to france, tough job, i know that

we won't talk about money here if you wish, PM are welcomed but please by aware that i prefer direct emails afterwards for convinience of reading

(sorry for the spelling dudes)

[kheops]

Geoff says that Orme is a great old brand, so i have found something special...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=261462865884
next next next, your credit card number, next next next, and it's yours
as simple as that