Enquiry from new member in Wyoming, USA

Jan 28, 2016 12:27:43 GMT msdawn said:

Jan 20, 2016 16:26:01 GMT tommo III said:

Table plans do exist on here but you would have to become a full member to access them.

I posted as a guest while waiting for my membership to be approved. I've been approved since :)

Tommo, do you know where I might find those plans?
Also, does anyone have any ideas or solutions on timing mechanisms? Word on the street is they're impossible to find and expensive. Mercury Leisure says they have kits available but I have been waiting for weeks to hear back from them, to no avail.
Any help you gentlemen (and ladies) could provide would be much appreciated. :)

Hi Dawn,
You will note that I've switched our dialogue to the Members Only section. Have a look at some of the other threads on this board, you will find loads of useful tips on table maintenance.

Meanwhile for a set of plans, the best way I can start you off is by providing a link to this non-related site:
www.billiardsforum.info/billiard-room/uk-bar-billiard-table-plans.asp
Check on the pdf file given on the main page and the plans should come up.

There is at least one member on here who has constructed his own table, this being to a 'Jelkes' design. Most of us (99.9%) however play on original tables that were built between 1934 and 1950. The manufacturers of these tables are no longer in business.

There is a modern manufacturer of tables, ("Supreme" they're called, and they have electronic timers) but these have never found favour with venues where league play is staged. You're correct about the timers, very expensive and in very short supply. Mercury Leisure is your best bet - if you can get hold of them !

tommo

[msdawn]

There is a modern manufacturer of tables, ("Supreme" they're called, and they have electronic timers) but these have never found favour with venues where league play is staged. You're correct about the timers, very expensive and in very short supply. Mercury Leisure is your best bet - if you can get hold of them !

tommo
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Dear Tommo,

Thanks a million for this. I've contacted the member who built his own and Mercury Leisure. Finally got ahold of Mercury today. They said the Supreme is not being made currently. Do you know why they aren't favored for league play? Are they inferior or deficient in some way?

Meanwhile, I'm trying to find out from Mercury how much shipping an existing table would cost.

I would love to think I could build one but I have little woodworking experience and cutting holes in slate is probably above my capability level (without serious instruction.)

It seems I'm running into quite a few issues on this :-/ I would love an antique table but these too seem hard to come by.

Hi Dawn,
Re: Supreme tables.....these suddenly started to appear occasionally in pubs around the turn of the century and did not find favour because there seemed to be quite a bit of "Pool table DNA" in their genes ! They have the big chunky legs and somehow look heavier and lack the grace of a traditional table.

We did actually get to play on one in Shoreham-by-Sea in a competitive match, and the balls were jumping all over the place, which we later discovered was due to the fact that the earliest Supreme tables did not have a slate bed, MDF having been used. The other thing we didn't like was the coin slot positioned immediately above the ball rack, which we kept snagging our hands on.

Whereas a traditional table that's been well maintained will hold its price, I've seen loads of Supremes change hands on eBay, never for much more than half of their original cost.

So if you're not planning to make your own, you'd be best advised to search for an antique one. It has been claimed that top-quality Jelkes tables were exported to the States an the 1980s in their thousands, but only a handful of these have been traced since. We know of no U.S. league, so can only assume that these went into private dwellings for their own aesthetic value as furniture. You never know, you may be able to strike lucky and stumble upon one of these !

Regards,
tommo