all the pretty pool tables

i've been making pool tables now since about 1989 .... hmmm almost 25 years?  seems like a blink.  i was first captivated by pool in high school, at the bowling alley, at Fry's, the luncheonette with two pool tables 'in the back', one for an open 9 ball game (50 cents and a dollar) and one for the 'old men' to play one pocket on.  high chairs to watch too.  there was also another 8 table room on the second floor above woolworth's where we hung out and played games to 25 or 50 for 'time'.  loser paid for the table time.  i got hooked by the geometry, the skill building, the camaraderie and pool hall culture.  and, in one of my fondest high school memories, my father, who was also good with a stick, took me into 'the city' to play at Allinger's, the famous philly pool room where they still had girls come around and rack your balls up and a pretty fair sized gallery section to watch the action on the hot tables.  it was something.  but i digress ... the table above was a redo of an old brunswick table i bought with peeling veneer and a broken leg.  i was making it for my boys, but a client (for the second time) bought the table as i was working on it.  click the photos to enlarge them.

the table above, with claro walnut rails by will and a steel frame by sam is one of our latest.  finished last fall and shipped to chicago.  more pictures and info here. 

10/7/17 ... we've made 5 versions of this design now

side view, in the shop

this one was for a special client, back in 2003.  they were building a large barn/party/entertainment building and we got to make the pool table and a large kas style tv cabinet.  i'm doing some work there now and it's great to revisit this stunning space.  we received a design award from custom woodworking business magazine for it in 2005.  there is a video of how this table plays at this link.  i hope to get better at this video thing as time goes on, but it gives you an idea of how the table plays.

and here we have our first attempt at acquiring a pool table in about 1989.  this one was in rough shape when i bought it for $500. and i had to make new curly maple rails, new legs, and strip the peeling veneer off the body and paint it,  but it was worth the effort, though that one sold too before i finished it.

the 'mark of zorro', table a version of my original beidermeier inspired table

then we got into our 'arts and crafts' era.  this one's mahogany with burl accents and i wish i had a better picture of it ... it also had a nice wood frame light above it inspired by the brother's green and i know i have a picture of it somewhere.  also 2003.

and this one, yet again the same year (it was a VERY good year), a little fancier with some baseball inspired motifs on the legs and some fabulous quilted maple panels ... i'm planning a visit to as many of these tables as possible to take videos of them in action.  they all play great.

simpler version of the same style ... 2012 ... more photos here

and then in the 2004/2005 ea, we had a short 3 edition run of these vertical grain fir tables.  simple, direct, effective, and they all went in spectacular rooms with lots of windows.  stratton mountain, vermont above ...

weston, vermont ...

and finally, greenwich, ct

and then our next diversion/trend was for some 'post and beam' style tables.   this one was for a builder friend who made the base and leveled it up, we just did the slate work and built the rails and the did the cushions and felt work ... 

 

 this one came next in 2009 and it went to martha's vineyard.  will and i took it down one crystal clear january weekend ... i never saw the vineyard quiet like that.  we felt like we owned the place.  the blog post about this one is in my list of  'popular posts' off to the right there.  that post can get you started if you are interested in building your own pool table. 

and this is our latest version of the 'post and beam' style.  we delivered that one to sugarbush, vt just last december and here is a link to a video of it in action ... more video links to follow soon i hope.

now we're looking forward to our next commission, which is in manchester.  that project will be an older table that has lost its slate (somehow).  we've ordered some new slate and when it comes, we'll set up the base, refelt the rails and cushions and set that one up in a spectacular recently remodeled home.  more on that later.

pool .. i love it.  i think i'll go to my man cave and shoot a few racks right now ...

man cave with my modestly 'restored' 1915 brunswick balke-collender pool table.  after selling the first two attempts to get a pool table for myself, i decided to not make this one too fancy so no one would buy it.  it almost sold once, but i talked the clients into a new table, and i still have the one above in my cellar today.

sam and will, (now 30 and 28), on the day of the original set up in our previous home.  this was in the very early 90's i think. no date on the photo and that period of our lives was pretty much a blur.

Arts and Crafts Pool Tables

I posted an attachment photo of a Greene & Green style pool table to a newsgroup forum I belong to (Green & Greene at Yahoo) and the attachment shows up for some members and not for others so I'm posting it here. It's a table by Catskill Furnituremakers from a 2004 or 2005 ad in American Bungalow Magazine (the price is from then) . Coincidentally, we'll be starting an Arts & Crafts, though not Greene & Greene, inspired pool table for a client in Virginia in a couple of weeks and Ill be documenting the building process for that once we get underway. I have also posted some of my other Arts & Crafts inspired pool tables. Other models with different design influences are shown in the 'pool and game tables' section of my website ... Click the photos to enlarge them ...

The ad from American Bungalow

We built this table in 2004 and we'll be doing another version of it in a couple weeks ...

Got some walnut for it today ... Actually, I talked to my friend Myron at Irion Lumber Tuesday when I was looking for some 10-12" walnut for the legs and rails and I ended up talking myself into a whole log of walnut. There are about 10 boards in the 18-20" range which I'll use for other projects in the future and the other 10 boards (10-14" wide), (it was a big log), I'll use for the legs and other parts of the table ... Hey! how can pass that up ... I can always refinance the house...

Mahogany and maple burl ... this one had a nice hanging light with it ...

Other pool accessories in vertical grain fir, cherry and oak that went with a table similar to the one shown below. The spectator chair I notice has some vague Greene & Greene references ...

Vertical grain fir in a simple though very pleasant combination of elements .. End grain cherry details and gold abalone sight inlays.
Pool tables are great ... As long as the slate's level and the cushions work well, you can hold it all up with whatever kind of a structure you want ...

Dorset Custom Furniture's Custom Pool Tables

Throughout the 30 years of making custom fine furniture Dan Mosheim and Dorset Custom Furniture has also done a number of custom handmade and/or restored pool tables. They have ranged in many styles from traditional billiard tables, Beidermeier and Arts & Crafts. All of the tables are full sized with a slate top. To accompany the custom pool tables Dorset Custom Furniture also designs and makes pool table spectator chairs.

Award Winning Traditional Mahogany, Curly Maple and Walnut Custom Pool Table
Winner of the 2005 Custom Woodworking Business Magazine Design Contest
Walnut and Big Leaf Maple Arts & Crafts Custom Pool Table

Hanging Lights

I had a reader from the Yahoo Greene and Greene group I belong to request information on an Arts & Crafts style hanging pool table lamp. I built a couple of hanging lamps about 6 years ago for a client and went back and found the photos and drawings. I was just learning CAD then and the drawings are cluttery and crude, but still, (possibly), legible. Click them to enlarge them so you can read em ... Between the drawings and the photos and maybe by making yourself a full size cardboard mockup (which we did at the time ) once you have the parts on hand, you should be able to piece together your own lamp design. The crude steel hangers we made when my son was just starting to fool around with metalworking. As I recall, we had an anvil and maybe a forge, but not much else, including experience ... with some tinkering on site though it all worked out ... I've always wanted to build more of these, but the clients just never appeared ... They take some time and therefore aren't cheap ... Leave a comment if you have a question or send me an email through my website ... I have also added a "greene and greene' category to my blog. I'm not a strict reproductionist of any style, but I do enjoy using some of their elements and influences in my own designs ...

Shows some dimensions and inlay layout though i'm certain they are not totally accurate.

Other early cad versions .. I think the lamp should be roughly a little longer than the spot to spot dimension of the table to get the light over the whole surface.


The finished lamp with the other lamp in the background

Lamp over the table (+/- 30" above it in this instance ... I prefer them a little lower than this client did

Looking up .. commercial brass lamp parts purchased at the local lighting store .. Also not the copper heat shield spaced down an inch from the wood top. The wood top had slots to let the heat escape too .. I think in the end we used flood style bulbs ...

Ceiling support ... a simplified version of the ceiling plate on the light below, secured with round head screws

Our first hanging fixture, actually, coincidentally, over the dining table in a recent post about a table leaf. The lit panels are big leaf maple burl veneer on the outside, attached with 3m Spray 90, to plexiglass panels, held into rabbets with small brads

Looking up into that fixture ... four bulbs, hand blown and cut glass rondells, copper heat shield and slots in the fixture top .. It gives off a very warm funky light with interesting shadows from the rondells..

The whole fixture including the ceiling support and sconces we made in the background


this project was completed just as i was starting to do my own cad drawings. what i have assembled above here is all that i have, but with a little effort and imagination and picture staring, you can probably get a pretty good idea of the overall size of the hanging fixture ... top drawings with the hatched slots shows the cut outs for the heat to escape ... good luck