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  • Good evening everyone

    Hi everyone, new on here today so thought I'd say hello and pre warn you i'll have a ton of questions over the coming weeks/months.
    Think my story is similar to many others, played a ton of snooker in my early teens playing league and tournaments and soon discovered it was a passion that would stay with me for life...until the inevitable happened...I discovered girls and they quickly became my new passion, fast forward through the years of playing here and there and I'm finally in a position to buy a log cabin snooker room.
    Right...first question is this...Last night I bought my first full size snooker table, it was the match table played on at the 1981 tolly cobbold classic which was a professional invitational tournament won by Graham Miles beating Cliff Thorburn in the final, also played on by Alex Higgins and Kirk Stevens, because of the professional / local history connection I thought yes, thats the one for me plus I'm assuming being used by the pros it must be of reasonably good quality. As I dont yet have my log cabin I need somewhere to store it for a few months, do you think it would be ok in my garage ( hot in summer cold and damp in the winter) or hire a storage locker, dont know if the wood would warp or twist or whether it would be ok, wood is mahogany and was new in 1981, sorry to waffle on but like I said ...it's a passion
    I'd really appreciate any opinions
    Thanks
    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

  • #2
    Depending on where you live really, but I would recommend contacting Geoff Large of GCL billiards and ask him these questions and also for a quote to build if you need that service, he's the best there is.

    It would be great to know what table maker it was that you bought, I guessing maybe Riley for that time/ period ? If it's a quality hardwood table you have it should play well when fitted with new rubber, pocket leathers and a decent Strachan cloth.
    ⚪ 🔴🟡🟢🟤🔵💗⚫🕳️😎

    Comment


    • #3
      A great story / piece of history , welcome to TSF and look forward to seeing the progress of snooker cabin .
      Still trying to pot as many balls as i can !

      Comment


      • #4
        Hello and welcome ,I belive that tournament was bought in and sponsored by canon sports and was played in Ipswich for about 5 years .The table was most likely a Riley ,all though it’s hard to say with out more details or pics .Storing the slates in a garage is fine ,but they need to be stored upright against a wall with the joint areas away from the ground ,this is important as those areas need to be kept clean and sharp as possible so less filler is needed ,storing slates the wrong way can lead them to dish ,slightly warp .I would not put the cushions and the wooden side panels in any area where there is moisture or temperature change to an extreme .The cushions should be steel block if it was used in a pro event ,do you have any verification that you have a tournament table ,have you seen this table up and running before you got it . I take it it’s a traditional snooker table made of wood and it could even be oak ,one table used for some events in the late 70’s was the Riley Starline ,this was a table made of aluminium and fibre glass with no legs as such ,it had a frame all the way round it ,bit like a pool table and was the worst Billiard table ever made .Some more detail on the table or pics would help and if your planning to get the room finished before winter then storage in a garage shouldn’t be too much of a problem .

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks for that cue crafty I'll definitely give him shout and its always nice to get a recommendation rather than taking pot luck.
          The table was a one off apparently, it was called " The Melford " manufactured by GM Cartlidge, although I cant find any reference to it anywhere. I dont have any documentation to 100% prove it but I do have a few photos of the table being played on by Graham Miles and Cliff Thorburn in the final and when you look close it looks exactly the same plus spending a bit of time in the company of the elderly gentleman I bought it from I have no reason to doubt him but who knows eh? When I reach 5 posts I'll try and add some pictures and you guys can tell me what you think.
          As for the wood its made from he told me it was solid mahogany, could it be oak stained mahogany or did they use to build them out of mahogany, apologies if thats a daft question.
          Thanks for the great tips on the slates mikee i genuinely didnt realise that ,I'd of just stacked them as they come.
          The cabin will hopefully be built by oct nov time so should be up and running before the cold weather gets here, I'm in Suffolk so its usually quite mild till dec jan.
          Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

          Comment


          • #6
            GM Cartlidge - I think would be "Gordon Cartlidge" who started a billiard table fitting, repair, supply business around the early 70s in Tamworth before moving/expanding to Camberley by the late 70s. No record of him making tables so any further information on this and the name Melford (which I can not find any mention of ) would be great.

            Tables were made from many woods, oak and mahogany being two of the most common back in the day
            I doubt an oak was stained to look like mahogany but possible a light oak stained to be darker oak.

            Hopefully one of our resident table-fitters comes on with more helpful tips for storage, etc.

            You don't need 10 (not 5) post to add images if you use image sharing sites like ImgBB which you can do straight away - instructions below.
            Please note, the attachment feature on vBulletin is notoriously difficult to manage and is very limited.

            We love photos on TSF so more the merrier


            How to add images to your TSF posts
            You can use a free image-sharing site such as ImgBB, without registering (you can register for free), to upload your images, you may have to do the “not a robot” checks quickly.
            ImgBB.com
            Click on "Start Uploading"
            Browse to the file and select it, click Open
            Click "Upload".
            Change "Embed Codes" to "BBCode full linked".
            Hover over the code in the box, a "COPY" will appear, click this.
            Go to your TSF post and paste.
            You can repeat for multiple images in a single post.
            There are other sites as well.



            oh, and welcome to TSF
            Up the TSF! :snooker:

            Comment


            • #7
              I wonder if Melford was a indicator of location as you are in Suffolk. (long Melford) did the old gent live near there? Sometimes table fitters put their name plaque at the head of the table so it can look like a makers name but all they have done is fit new cushion etc etc. Still sounds like a Riley but pics should help determine that.
              ⚪ 🔴🟡🟢🟤🔵💗⚫🕳️😎

              Comment


              • #8
                Welcome Paz!

                Where about so the world are you based? Just being nosey

                Having gone through a similar project recently, I stored my slates flat on the floor (a perfectly flat concrete floor), in my other shed, I just made sure to pack them up on timber batons. They were ‘stored’ for maybe 5 months that way and where fine. If you can store upright that is usually the recommended way, on there longest edge and up off the floor on batons. Be careful not to damage the dowels when moving them and keep anything oil based well away! WD40, paint, grease all a big no no. Maybe also cover them up just to be safe! The timber frame, if you must store in a dry garage, make sure you keep them up off the floor by a few feet and away from a wall by a foot or so! And also wrap them up in some breathable blankets to stop the cold and moisture getting to them! They should be fine, plus it will start to acclimatise to it’s new home (the cabin).

                If your going to attempt any refurb work on the table yourself to save money then there are lots of tips and advice on my ‘Project Snooker Shed’ blog,
                If you are looking for a table fitter then Geoff Large is da man!

                Have you considered yet how you will heat/cool and power your cabin? Also have you thought about under table heating? I’d highly recommend not scrimping in these areas if you take your snooker seriously!

                Good luck with it and we all look forward to seeing loads of progress pics!

                Steve

                Comment


                • #10
                  Here are the pics I've got of my table, can anyone tell if its a riley? couple of good points you made cue crafty, although its entirely possible he could of lived in long melford he doesnt now but I will definitely ask him when I pick the table up, also if Gordon just put his name on it as he fitted it maybe that would explain why we can't find any reference to it. Thanks dean for your deeply impressive knowledge, I've only been on here a few days and I've learnt a lot already.
                  Thank you as well Steve, more great tips on storage, the slates are going to be stored in the only place they'll fit in garage ( when I've cleared it out) which is right underneath where I keep my bike oil, wd40, grease etc so they will have to find a new home, by the way I'm in the UK in Ipswich Suffolk.
                  I won't be doing any restoration work to it, I quite like battle scars its picked up over the last 40 years or so however it possibly needs to be recovered, its been 10 years since its been done but I'll get Geoff large on the case on that one.
                  As far as heating goes I was thinking 2 electric radiators and keeping it at a constant ish temperature but I am all open to ideas and as for under table heating I didnt even know it was a thing till I came across TSF so interested in finding out a bit more about it, probably an ac unit in the summer.

                  Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

                  Comment


                  • #12
                    Meant to add one more pic and they all repeated themselves
                    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

                    Comment


                    • #13
                      Morning Paz

                      I see boxes for images
                      only one actually shows the table

                      It looks like you are using a phone, this should work, a couple of comments:

                      Just before the "upload " button, leave "Autodelete image" to Don't autodelete"
                      I don't know if you are doing this but do not delete the image from your phone memory - at least for a while

                      https://i.ibb.co/DCbmX0B/No-photos.jpg
                      Up the TSF! :snooker:

                      Comment


                      • #14
                        Oh ok, I actually done it from my pc but I did delete them off straight after, I'll try putting them on again
                        Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast

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