Best Size Pool Table For Your Game Room…

Here’s a brand new Connelly Billiards table we just delivered and installed for our Coto de Caza, CA clients. The whole family visited our Orange County pool table showroom and picked out this seven foot solid maple San Carlos with ball in claw legs stained in Millcreek. The clients could have easily fit a standard size pool table in the space but decided on this “bar-size” pool table instead. After all, it’s not about how big a pool table you can squeeze into your room it’s about using the room to it’s fullest potential. Choosing this seven footer will allow them to comfortably incorporate other furnishings such as a pub table and bar stools in the same space as their pool table. Ready to experiment with the idea of buying a new pool table for your home entertainment needs? Aren’t sure what size pool table will fit your room the best? Then you should check out our handy dandy game room planning guide to help you create the perfect game room.

Brunswick-Balke-Collender Billiard Table Experts…

This antique Brunswick pool table has been installed here in this Garden Grove, CA home for 40 years. As a child our client used to play on this old Brunswick whenever she’d visit Grandma and Grandpa’s house. So when she and her husband and their two sons recently moved from Orange, CA into their new home in Anaheim Hills, Grandma decided to bestow this old relic so that it could be enjoyed by her Great Grandsons. Our job was to disassemble this circa 1940′s Brunswick-Balke-Collender over-sized eight foot billiard table and move it over to it’s new Anaheim Hills home. We were told by the clients when they had previously visited our pool table service center to choose a new felt color, that the old Brunswick was going to need a lot of TLC. The leather pockets were all in need of replacing as was the cushion rubber on all six rails. Our client decided on refelting the antique Brunswick pool table with a neutral felt color called Camel. So back at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, we finished disassembling the BBC and loaded it up into my van and headed for Anaheim Hills. I wrapped up the rails which we’d later bring to the shop to be re-cushioned and refelted. I boxed up what was left of the #3 antique leather pockets and planned on shipping them out a few days later to be recovered entirely with new chocolate brown leather and small external shields.

Free Pool Table Delivery and Installation…

Here’s a recent pool table delivery we made to our Orange, CA clients. The couple visited our pool table store to get an idea of what style pool table to buy. The Mr. liked the look of the Duthchess but the Mrs. didn’t like the traditional ball in claw style legs that came with it. She liked the clean lines of the Elayna, especially the queen anne style legs that come standard with that model. I think you all know what happens next, right? A chunk of chocolate bumps into a jar of peanut butter and voila we have Reese’s peanut butter cups. In our case we have a Dutchlayna! It’s never been done before but I think the results look great. At DK Billiards we pride ourselves on being able to give our clients the most custom pool table options possible. So why not mix it up a little; custom built pool tables to your specs. Drop by our O.C. pool table shop to put your own stamp of approval on one of our fine CL Bailey pool tables.

What Size Pool Cue Is Best?

So many of our clients are unaware of which size pool cue stick is best to use. Well the old rule of thumb states that you should have at least 57-58 inches of cue stick space between the walls and the nose of the pool table cushion. The nose is the part of the cushion that the billiard balls rebound from. Let’s say that your planning on installing an eight foot pool table in a room that’s 11’9″ by 15’4″, you’ll need to use a 48 inch pool cue for some of the shots. The ideal pool table room size for a 4×8 foot table is 13’3″ by 16’10″. Another determining factor for which size pool cue to use has a lot to do with the players’ height. We always recommend that parents who are buying a pool table for their kids to use should probably consider one of our shorter cuesticks. If your son or daughter is under five feet tall we’d recommend a cue stick length between 42 inches and 52 inches. If you’re still unsure about cue stick sizes then bring you kid down to our OC Billiard table showroom so we may show you the sizes in person.

How to Handle a Three Piece Slate Pool Table…

When our Fullerton, CA clients decided on changing out their existing flooring in the entire house, they knew that their eight foot slate pool table would need to be handled carefully. If you’re ever in a situation like this just remember to handle your slate pool table carefully. Many of our clients will actually undertake the task of disassembling their own pool table. In order to avoid any damage to your pool table’s slate, legs, rails and/or blind aprons, your best bet is to break it down then remove it from your game room. However, most of our clients just hire us to do the whole job of disassembly, moving and finally setting the pool table back up.

This pool table we’re working on today is an eight foot three piece slate Fischer Dutchess. The clients purchased it from us about five ago and are now ready to install new hardwood floors throughout their Fullerton home. The Mrs. was concerned about what type of leveling shims we’d be using when reinstalling the 800 pound slate pool table atop her new floors. “Not to worry”, I told her. Whenever we install any pool table on top of hardwood floors, tiled floors or any hard surface flooring we always use our custom made leveling shims. Our shims are made of a special blend of rubber that will protect any hard surface floor as well as gripping it, so you won’t have any problems leaning on your pool table while playing a game and having it slide inadvertently. Our shims are available in thicknesses from .25 inches down to .03125 inches to really fine tune the pool table leveling process!

Tips For Keeping Your Felt From Fading…

We recently refelted this eight foot Olhausen pool table from camel to Dk. Green. It had only been about five years since the Lake Forest, CA residents had their pool table recovered last. Unfortunately the room that this standard size pool table is in gets tons of natural light which fades or even changes the color of billiard cloth. If you have your pool table setup is in a room which gets a lot of sunlight you may want to consider purchasing a heavy duty cover to keep the ultraviolet rays from damaging your felt. If you look at my second picture you’ll see the dramatic difference between where the sunlight faded the previous camel billiard cloth and what it looked like originally, underneath the rails. Some of our clients choose not to keep their billiard tables covered up. If you’re one of those folks you may want to consider having a UV blocking window film installed on all of your windows to keep your pool table and other furniture from fading out.

OC’s Pool Table Experts to the Rescue…

Have you ever rolled a ball slowly from side to side on your pool table? Does the ball drift towards the center of the playfield? If the pool table in question is a slate pool table then one of two things are possible. The first possible reason is your billiard balls may be out of round. It’s rather unlikely but possible that one or more of your billiard balls are slightly imperfect. Check the box that your pool balls came in to see what brand they are. If your balls are anything besides a Belgian or an Aramith set I’d say it’s somewhat possible that it’s your pool balls and not an unlevel pool table. Go to the side of your pool table and try rolling each of your balls with the same speed from the same spot and watch the ball’s path for any deviations. If you notice the same drifting effect with each of the balls then you’ve got a bigger problem which will require your pool table to be releveled.

There are three potential reasons which can cause an unlevel pool table. The first is the most common and least expensive to fix assuming nothing was damaged internally. Let’s say that you’ve just replaced the flooring in your gameroom and the floor guys simply man-handled the pool table to get your new flooring installed, but when they were finished they failed to re-insert the leveling shims which were originally underneath the pool table legs. If this is the case then all you’ll need is a minor relevel. But this type of minor pool table releveling will only work if your pool table was installed correctly from day one. This leads us to the second reason for an unlevel pool table. If your original pool table installation was done hastily or poorly, no amount of releveling done at the legs will produce a truly flat playing surface. The only way to achieve a truly flat and level pool table is to tweak and manipulate the slate, whether it be a one piece slate or three piece slate table. The third reason for an unlevel pool table has to do with the age of the table. Sometimes a pool table’s cabinet can sag or bow in the middle from all of the weight bearing down on it for years and years. In the case of a three piece slate pool table the last two scenarios can be remedied by fully disassembling the pool table down to the bare slates and starting from scratch with a Machinist’s level. In the case of a one piece slate table, an unlevel pool table can usually be corrected by crawling underneath it and inserting a few hardwood wedges between the slate and cabinet cross support beams.

Best American Made Pool Table…

When you analyze the construction deficiencies and attributes of an Olhausen pool table versus a Connelly pool table, you’ll have to start from the inside out. You’ve all probably heard the old saying about kicking the tires and checking under the hood before buying a car. We at DK Billiards feel that Connelly Billiard Mfg. builds such a superior product we’re not shy about showing off the insides first. We feel that the cabinet is the most important part to any billiard table. The cabinet supports all the weight of the slate which can weigh up to 900 pounds in some of the tournament pool table sizes. In addition to supporting the slate the cabinet must stand up to the rigors of everyday use. This means the cabinet must be the strongest part of any slate billiard table. Take a look at the inside of an Olhausen Billiard Mfg. cabinet, notice that you don’t see very much structural support at the corners where the legs are mounted. Connelly Billiards over builds all of their cabinets, even in their entry level models. Connelly’s leg mounts are permanently attached to the cabinet by way of glue, nails and screws. In addition to this, Connelly uses two pieces of solid poplar as additional vertical support for their leg mounts. Connelly even goes the extra mile by utilizing solid wood gussets in all four corners of their cabinets. So before pulling the trigger on the first big name brand pool table you come across, visit our Orange County billiard showroom so that we may give you the “inside” scoop on Connelly Billiard tables.

Southern California Pool Table Experts…

When most people are researching quality American made pool tables for sale, Connelly Billiards is probably not the first name to come to mind. Most consumers just assume Brunswick Billiards is the only and/or best pool table brand to buy. Pool table consumers are also led into believing that Brunswick produces an American made product. The fact is Brunswick has not made pool tables in the U.S. for over 10 years. On the other hand if you’re a consumer that buys popular name brands and doesn’t mind paying a lot of extra cash for it, Olhausen Billiards builds one of the finest American made pool tables. But the fact is you’d be paying for Olhausen’s bloated advertising budget and not for their superior construction. We represent Connelly Billiards, the other, lesser known American pool table manufacturer.

When you invest your hard earned money in a Connelly pool table you need to understand what you’re paying for and what you’re not paying for. First, what you’re not paying extra for is Connelly Billiards utilization of real lumber, such as solid Oak and Maple which is used to build their cabinets. If you buy an Olhausen pool table you’d be paying an additional $800 for these species of wood. Secondly, when you invest in a Connelly pool table you’re paying for the most rigid cabinetry in the Billiards Industry. Take a look at the inside corners of a Connelly cabinet and you’ll see rock solid 45 degree mitred corners with permanently glued, nailed and screwed leg mounts. Connelly beefs up their cabinet corners even further by incorporating solid poplar wood gussets into the four corners producing a 100% more solid union between the legs and the cabinet. There are many other design attributes that sets Connelly Billiards apart from the competition. So before pulling the trigger on the first big name brand pool table you come across, take a closer look at the intricacies between Us and Them. For an in depth comparison please visit our Orange County pool table showroom.

Billiard Table Service Orange County…

Slate pool tables are delicate and need to be handled very carefully. Take this full size Brunswick pool table we recently disassembled for our Anaheim Hills, CA client. The client was in the midst of a major remodel and was ready to start reconstruction of his former gameroom. This nine foot Brunswick had been tarped up and sitting in this spot upstairs for the last two years. We started the job by disassembling this tournament size pool table into small enough pieces so his workers could carry the former 1000 pound Brunswick downstairs and store it in an empty shipping container. I was surprised to see how well the pool table held up after two years of being tarped up under the sun and stars.