Call me daft but this may be my summer project ...

[Peter Gillson]

Hi
you may have noticed from some of my non-modelling posts that my other pastime is woodworking. I am thinking of starting this as my summer woodworking project. I am not planning on turning the legs, i will try to get an old table from a junk shop, or perhaps some ewel post from the DIY shops may do Instead. A lot of planning and research to do before I start but it could be a fun project. Since it will be used at home, there will be no clockwork mechanism.

Peter

[JR]

That look a fun project Peter.
I'll definitely book a seat .

[Dave Ward]

Peter,
Not a thing you see a lot of - bar billiards tables! _ I can think of only one in my area - " The Old Spot" in Dursley, Gloucestershire ( top real ale pub ). Not a comfortable pub, all wooden settles & stools, not a piece of padding in the place!
Dave

[Peter Gillson]

John
- fun or stupidity, not sure which.

Dave - I recall a mis-spent youth, using a comb to stop the bar from dropping! There are a few pubs in Guernsey with tables and the world championships are usually held in Jersey!

peter

[Tim Marlow]

There used to be several in Salisbury when I was a nipper....all gone now though. My favourite was “bar football”. Don’t see that much now either.....

[Mini Me]

I've never actually seen one of these.....how does one play this game? Rick H.

[Dave Ward]

The Old Spot used to have a week dedicated to the old games- dominoes - bar billiards - shove ha'penny - table skittles, and of course darts - mind you that was about 20 years ago - I haven't set foot in the place for many years, there were some regulars who I disliked intensely!
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

I remember my youth when these were all standard games, not “old” games. You could also get a pack of cards, dominoes, draughts, or chess from over the bar! I also remember pub leagues for most of the games, with league tables that were published in the local papers....

Rick, you play the balls using a cue, exactly as in Pool. You score by cannoning a ball on the table, using one played from the black area, into the holes. The various holes score different points. You keep taking shots until you miss, then you add the total score you’ve made to your running total. it’s then the other guys go. You continue taking turns until the timed bar drops, then clear the table. The highest score wins.
There are two white balls and one red ball. Red ball scores double. If you clear the table before the bar drops you set up as pictured and carry on. If you knock over the white pin you end your turn and lose your score for the turn. If you knock over the black pin you end your turn and lose all of your score! After a few beverages that seems to happen a lot.

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
Definitely of interest. Always fascinating to see something unusual.
Jim

[Steve-the-Duck]

Does this count as 1 to 1 scale?

[Peter Gillson]

Rick - exactly as Tim explained.

Under the top are a series of channels linked to each of the holes so the balls roll down a different channel depending on the hole they are potted in - stops arguments about which hole they go down. When you put your money in ( 50p in my day), the timer starts and after a fixed time bar will physically drop, blocking of the channels, stopping the potted balls from returning to the trough. Its that bar we used to prop open using a small comb.



like all pool tables, the playing surface should be a sheet of slate. A bit of a problem for me to get hold of one - I doubt if the postman would be happy delivering one so I am thinking of using 3/4 inch MDF, which is nice and smooth. Unlike in the photo above, where the channels are not fixed to the slate I am thinking of fixing the sides and bottom of the channels to the MDF playing surface to create a sort of box construction which I think will help to keep the playing surface mdf nice and flat. Any thoughts anybody?

Here is as diagram showing the points for each hole.

[Peter Gillson]

Does this count as 1 to 1 scale?

Yep.

[Airborne01]

Peter,
Not a thing you see a lot of - bar billiards tables! _ I can think of only one in my area - " The Old Spot" in Dursley, Gloucestershire ( top real ale pub ). Not a comfortable pub, all wooden settles & stools, not a piece of padding in the place!
Dave

Dave, perhaps they assume all the necessary padding comes in on two legs!