| Project by Michael Brailsford | posted 565 days ago | 3267 views | 10 times favorited | 42 comments | ![]() |
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I call this table the “Rex” because all of the wood for the project came from recycled handrails from Rex hospital. It makes me sick to think of the thousands of boardfeet of maple that went to the landfill before I was able to claim the rest. This was my first billiard table and it was an exciting project.
A Little more on the wood, the hand rails were installed in the hospital in 1980. I started working at the hospital in 97 and they started changing the rails out to plastic ones in 99. They are easier to keep clean.
So when I got each rail they had many coats of poly on them, as well as lots of gum and god know what else. They were milled to 8/4 and had a one inch wide groove routed in the back about 1” from the top (that was where the majority of the gum was). Each one was able to be milled in several ways. I could resaw off two 3/8’s strips off the back, one 1” and another about 3” wide. That left me with a piece of 3/4 x 5”. I could also rip it at the groove and get a piece 1 3/4” x 3”. I used it in both ways on the table. The base was laminated up pieces of the 1 3/4×3”, while the legs were laminated pieces of the 3/4” x 5”.
-- Michael A. Brailsford






























42 comments so far
GarageWoodworks
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303 posts in 594 days
posted 565 days ago
Wow! That is awesome. I’ve always wanted to build one of those. Did you follow plans? How long did it take to complete?
Any in-progress pics?
Details man! Need details.
-- Brian http://www.garagewoodworks.com
Mark Shymanski
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1650 posts in 684 days
posted 565 days ago
Echoing Brian’s comments, that is a tremendous table. This is the kind of project to do once the kids have grown and aren’t using the basement as a play area…I could use it as a play area LOL. Thanks for the great post.
-- ...it's rennovation time!!!
NY_Rocking_Chairs
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445 posts in 568 days
posted 565 days ago
Awesome, really makes me wish I had room for one. Out of curiosity, where did you go for the slate?
-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com
glennl
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24 posts in 598 days
posted 565 days ago
Awesome table!
-- GlennL, New Jersey
trifern
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7941 posts in 738 days
posted 565 days ago
Great looking billiards table. Thank you for sharing.
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 565 days ago
I did not follow any plans. The story behind it is as follows: I had been building furniture for many years but building a billiard table never entered my mind. My wife and I were out shopping for a table and were pretty much blown away by the prices for a quality table. A Brunswick Mission style table (btw the Brunswick salesman told me that Brunswick has to pay for use of the Mission name…..How Pathetic) is $5500. After looking my wife said “why don’t you build one”. As silly as it now seems in retrospect I was thinking “because billiard tables are made at factories”. After doing a little research on line I found there was nothing on a billiard table I could not do. I learned the needed dimensions of different parts, drew up some prints and went for it. I bought all of the parts needed on line, retail. I then was able to find a place to by wholesale for the next two tables, but have now been shut off because I do not buy enough from them (????). If you build one expect to pay around $1000 for materials. The first table took me 160 hours. The bed frame I built with 8/4 poplar it was cheaper and easier to work with and the parts of it that are visible I covered in maple. Be very careful on how you have you slate shipped my first set came broken and it took alot of time and energy arguing with the trucking company to get them to cover the loss. The hardest part to fabricate were the rails. The tolerances are VERY tight. It is what controls how your ball rebound.
I hope this information helps
-- Michael A. Brailsford
scottb
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3409 posts in 1298 days
posted 564 days ago
great table. and a great salvage. I would love to have one of these in my living room, who needs a couch!?
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
John Gray
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1998 posts in 856 days
posted 564 days ago
BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Thanks for posting.
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
GarageWoodworks
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303 posts in 594 days
posted 564 days ago
No plans! Even more impressive! You hit it out of the park!
-- Brian http://www.garagewoodworks.com
jeanmarc
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1751 posts in 687 days
posted 564 days ago
Great looking billiards table.
-- jeanmarc manosque france
Dick, & Barb Cain
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7210 posts in 1270 days
posted 563 days ago
One of the nicest looking pool tables I’ve seen.
Great craftsmanship!
It’s a shame about all the good material that ends up in the landfills.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Karson
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28894 posts in 1372 days
posted 563 days ago
Great Table. We had one as a kid and I remember my father wanting to move it from one room in the basement to another. He was going to have a company move it. I suggested that we try and if we fail then get the company involved.
Setting up the table was simple. we found that shoting the balls on just the slate, it was easier to determine if it was flat that to use a level and find that you were off a part of a bubble and never know it..
Very nice design and construction.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
ND2ELK
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7442 posts in 745 days
posted 563 days ago
Beautiful table! You did a great job on it. I only had a chance to work on one of these tables in a restoration job. A guy had a 1889 Brunswick table that was his grandfathers. It had been stored up in a barn loft for years. It was quite elaberate and really had fun redoing it. Always regret that I never took a before and after picture of it. I was surprised I could find all the parts for the restoration at the time. Thanks for posting.
God Bless
tom
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
Grumpy
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15140 posts in 822 days
posted 553 days ago
Very nice job Michael. I know the work that goes into making one of these tables. Good luck in the contest.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 553 days ago
Thank you Grumpy. It was a bunch of work but well worth every bit. Billiard tables are alot of fun to build
-- Michael A. Brailsford
RobS
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1256 posts in 1277 days
posted 552 days ago
From the hospital hall to games of nine ball, nice save and best of luck.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
SteveKorz
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2028 posts in 685 days
posted 552 days ago
Wow, this is really nice! You’ve done a great job on it…
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
Karson
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28894 posts in 1372 days
posted 550 days ago
Congratulations on your first prize in the recycled catagory.
-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
YorkshireStewart
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795 posts in 872 days
posted 550 days ago
Congratulations Michael. Well deserved!
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
dennis mitchell
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3854 posts in 1285 days
posted 549 days ago
awsome!
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 549 days ago
Thank you very much Karson, Stewart, & Dennis.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
rikkor
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11329 posts in 846 days
posted 549 days ago
Congrats on winning the challenge, and congrats on a very fine table.
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 549 days ago
Thank you Rikkor.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
john
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1364 posts in 1353 days
posted 549 days ago
Congrats to you Michael for a well deserved win .
-- John in Belgrave ,(Slideshow http://cid-69bce320c6d8b119.spaces.live.com/ (Website) http://www.extremebirdhouse.com
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 549 days ago
Thank you John. It is very kind of you to say. Your birdhouses astounded me. I like the designs and workmanship.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
jinxedjohn
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3 posts in 602 days
posted 549 days ago
Amazing work and Congratulations on your 1st place win! I am sure you are very proud of your table. It is simply beautiful.
-- John
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 549 days ago
Thank you John.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
jeanmarc
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1751 posts in 687 days
posted 549 days ago
Congrats to you Michaelon your 1st place win splendid work very beautiful billiards
-- jeanmarc manosque france
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 548 days ago
Thank you Jeanmarc.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
wdh
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6 posts in 611 days
posted 548 days ago
Awesome pool table!! I love to shoot pool and always wated to make one but thought it would be hard to get the slate(and time to build it).It must give you a great sense of pride to play on it.Congrats on your win.
-- Wayne,Saint John,NB
thetimberkid
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1942 posts in 674 days
posted 548 days ago
Great job!
Thanks fror the post
Callum
-- For wood working podcasts with a twist check out http://thetimberkid.com/
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 548 days ago
Wayne, the slate and other parts needed are not that hard to find. It is a challenging job but well worth it.
Thank you Callum.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
Douglas Bordner
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3473 posts in 1035 days
posted 548 days ago
Congrats in the win. Fine job!
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
socal
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6 posts in 792 days
posted 547 days ago
Michael – Congrats on winning the contest. I’m glad that the judging obviously factored mechanical excellency and difficulty of build into the equation, not just aesthetics.
Great, impressive job. – JB
-- -JB
Michael Brailsford
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212 posts in 565 days
posted 547 days ago
Thank you Douglas and JB.
-- Michael A. Brailsford
jrlwoodworks
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14 posts in 964 days
posted 534 days ago
that is a amazing job!! i would love to get my hands on a table like that.
-- jrlwoodworks
Dennis Zongker
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1221 posts in 563 days
posted 493 days ago
looking at your projects. “Wow” this is beautifull, excellent craftsmanship & design. Thanks for posting
-- Dennis Zongker
Todd Thomas
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4822 posts in 420 days
posted 383 days ago
wow….great looking pool table…. excellent craftsmanship…
-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †
MDRoehl
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49 posts in 83 days
posted 75 days ago
Hey Michael, I have two slate sets from two horribly built pool tables. I have been thinking about the design of the first one that I’m going to build. Like the mission look and might do something similar. Great job and thanks for the heads up on the time it would take to constuct this project. I like the flush mount pockets, do you know where you remember where you got them?
-- Sawdust in my veins--
kimball
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90 posts in 268 days
posted 35 days ago
Michael, Fantastic project and it’s super that all that good wood was recycled.
Kimball
WistysWoodWorkingWonders
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1636 posts in 128 days
posted 7 days ago
wow, what an excellent table… not something that most guys are willing to challenge… I commend you on the build and great job in getting some of the maple from the handrails and keeping them out of the landfills…
-- Cut the Wood, not your fingers... you'll feel much better... this I promise...
a1Jim
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23636 posts in 548 days
posted 7 days ago
Great pool table.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, http://www.heirloomwoodshop.com/