Pool Tables?
 

So, giving this a shot, we'll see how much actual traction this will get. Actually searching around on the internet doesn't reveal a lot of hard evidence. It's mostly buyer guides and sellers with blogs.

So I'm asking you guys, who had experience with pool tables? What brand do you like or hate? Stuff like that. I know a lot of basics from my searching, but I want more.

Also, I'm looking at buying a table soon. I want a new table so I get what I want, but my dad says buy used and just refurbish it. Here's some tables I'm looking at.

This is a table for about 3 grand. That's delivered and installed with my choice of felt.
http://www.watsons.com/default/gaston-plank-and-hide

This one is a couple hundred more, and is metal. It looks cool and feels solid, but I can't help but think it goes against tradition. Shouldn't a table be wood?
http://www.watsons.com/default/xane-plank-and-hide

They seem like well built tables. I have no clue how long they're going to last, but my biggest concern is the cushions, no info.

On the other side of things, this guy will deliver and install the table with new felt for 1250.
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/tag/5294634509.html

Already gave ya all I can in the other thread.
The wood one looks fine but like you implied it is kind of hard to tell. My info on table is 30 years out of date so maybe metal is fine now but I would be wary.

Buy used. People are usually desperate to get rid of these when they're moving. Craigslist is overflowing some months.

-Justin

This is my recommendation as well. The money you can save will pay for having a pro move and set it up and still leave you well ahead of the game in price.

You can also get a used one re-felted cant you??

There are several on craigslist, and people are pretty desperate to get rid of them. My dad also made the good point that a lot of people will get a table, then just never use it. Some of these could be several years old, but basically be brand new because they were hardly used. Buying used and having new felt installed does seem to be the cheaper option all day long.


It's still a hard decision for me though because if I buy used I don't get the table I want, but I also don't know if that's worth the extra money. As long as I can play pool on it, who cares what it looks like, right? Also, I've been talking to a salesperson and I almost feel obligated to buy something from her, but that's a personal thing.


I have a month to decide, either way.

Bought our house, gutted the basement and built a beautiful games room, bought a high end pool table, foosball table and dartboard, used them all extensively for about two years. Son moved out. Now the pool table makes a great laundry sorting place and cat bed the foosball table managed to keep the rest of the room dust free due to some weird static charge thing and I am pretty sure the darts are seized right into the board.
On the plus side, the grandsons are now at an age where they can actually start to play these things properly so I expect an upswing in use soon.

I tend to re-arrange rooms over time, and a pool table really limits that flexibility. Just knowing I could never really put the thing anywhere but where it sat would drive me nuts, even if I was using it consistently.

Also, I bet a lot more pool tables see use as laundry stations than as game tables.

-Justin

I used to move and set up pool tables as a side gig back in my army days and can vouch that this is 100% accurate.

Fun story:
Got a call to move a coin op table from a bar to a guy's house. He didn't want to pay for the 4 to 6 hours it takes to dismantle a coin op so all we did was pull the legs. Get it in the truck and head to the guy's house.
The house is brand new, very expensive (around $500K in 1978 expensive) and they hadn't even moved in yet. He shows us where the stairs to the basement are and we take one look and tell him "no way is it going through there". We he whines that he really has to have that table for sentimental reasons and we need to make it fit.
We manhandle it and get it to the door but there is no way it can be angled enough to fit. He asks us to back it off a couple of feet and then disappears for about 20 minutes. Eventually he shows up with a chainsaw in hand and proceeds to chop the top of the door jamb out right to the ceiling. Well this helps a bit and we get it partially angled but now it catches on the stairs. Down he goes with the chainsaw, chops off the top and bottom of the stairs. We can now lower the table into the basement and set it up.
Dude really, really wanted that bloody table!

I don't get how he can afford that house, be willing to destroy stuff he'll have to fix later and still not be able to pay the cost of moving the table. I bet it wasn't cheap to fix the door or stairs.

He cut wires and everything. The whole dismantle and reassemble process would have cost him about $150 (again 1978 dollars) and delayed the delivery by about a day.
It was a sight to see though and ya just can't make that crap up.

Now here's an Olhausen, which I think after reading everything I could find is maybe the best brand. There's not much detail and he doesn't have a location in the post, so I'm suspicious, but the price is good. I think moving and refelting it will cost another $500.


http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/for/5313038802.html

Very nice table. In fact that is what I have except mine is the older style with the straight legs and base (no taper like that one has).
For that price even if you had to put $1K into it (which you won't) you would still be getting it for less than half price. That is the sort of deal that can frequently be found in used tables. Listing doesn't mention if accessories come with it but if they do then that can easily be another $200 you can be saving.

I don't mind about the accessories. I want to get a nice set of competition grade pool balls and one of those aluminum racks anyways.

Is it true that Olhausen cushions don't need to be replaced?