Expert: Bill Newsted - 7/8/2007

Question
hello Bill:  my son wants to move our table to his new home in SC.  Is there anywhere I can find instructions on how to safely take it apart and move it the find an expert to reassemble & clothe it.   It is a 9 foot  1992[i think] gold medal.  thanx for any help

Answer
Hi John,

But then what are you going to do without a table? ;-)

I'm not familiar with a "Gold Medal" table so I can't offer specific instructions on that  but I will say that if you're handy with a wrench taking a table apart is not a difficult procedure.

If you have metal corner components I'd remove them first then proceed to remove the vertical bolts that hold the rails to the frame. With the rails off you'll probably need to remove a couple hundred staples that are holding the cloth to the wooden backing on the slate. Once that's off you may need to remove beeswax, body compound, plaster or other material used to cover screw holes that are out in the playing area (and perhaps some that are not). When removing the large screws that hold the slate to the frame (some may be under the beeswax, etc.) remember that some of them may only be used to hold the slate to the slate backing (shorter bolt) rather than into the frame itself. Leave those in and handle the slates and wooden backings together.

If you meant you have a "Gold Crown" by Brunswick that's a pretty sophisticated table. There are about 20 slate leveling screws that can be mistaken for structural components. You want to make sure you don't lose track of them.

Keep the various sized bolts and screws in separate containers and label them as you go. I couldn't hurt to take a few pictures of the process, particularly if you find something that doesn't seem obvious. Handle the wooden pieces with the care you would use on any piece of furniture and stack the wood-backed slates so they are laying flat on bottom of the load. Get three young guys to move it for you by offering them pizza and beer or something (just kidding - maybe not).

Reassembling the table and recovering it in its new home is a different story. Unless you've done it before leveling a table can be difficult. Also, if you plan on recovering the rails as well that is tedious work and difficult for the inexperienced. I recommend hiring a qualified table mechanic for that unless someone really wants the experience.

I don't know any one personally in South Carolina. If I were doing it I'd visit a few pool rooms looking for one that has great tables and ask them who is the best table mechanic in the area and see if you can make arrangements that way. If your table is a Brunswick (still stuck on that gold thing) you can ask them for information from their website at http://www.brunswickbilliards.com/index.php?t=help/contacts_us

Let me know if I can be more help,

Bill

P.S. Here are some pool rooms in SC:

South Carolina Pool Halls
Aiken

The Break Room
1593 Whiskey Rd
(803) 649-7045
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Columbia

Jillian's Entertainment
800 Gervais St
(803) 779-7789
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Palace
1404 Gervais St
(803) 771-9356
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Stubbie's Neighborhood Grille
8512 Two Notch Rd
(803) 788-9208
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Greenville

Bailey's Sports Grille
2409 Laurens Rd
(864) 281-9347
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Game Time
5 Webb Rd
(864) 297-6500
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Palace Billiards
56 Airview Dr
(864) 234-0428
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Mr T's Recreation
293 Lakewood Dr.
(864) 277-7779
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Inman

G Jay's Private Club
10451 Asheville Hwy
(864) 472-4339
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Star Bar
11630 Asheville Hwy
(864) 472-9367
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Irmo

Carolina Wings
7587 Saint Andrews Rd
(803) 781-0084
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Mauldin

Cue Time Billiards
516 N Main St
(864) 288-2184
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Mt. Pleasant

Players Place Billiards
627 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.
(843) 881-8883
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Myrtle Beach

Smoke House Billiards
3164 Waccamaw Blvd
(843) 903-4288
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Port Royal

Keith's Place
1340 Ribaut Rd
(843) 521-9345
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Spartanburg

Aladdin's
1564 Asheville Hwy
(864) 585-9477
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Firehouse Wings N' Things
1106 Charisma Dr
(864) 503-3473
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Summerville

Fast Break Lounge
1204 N Main St
(803) 926-1199
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Swansea

Fastimes
275 W 3rd St
(803) 926-1199
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Walhalla

Jim's Pool Room
228 E Main St
(803) 926-1199
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West Columbia

Calloways Bar & Grill
2410 Augusta Hwy
(803) 926-1199
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