Five in the Side (Was: Today's the Day) (OT)

The pool table installers come this morning! The culmination of maybe seven months of work and, um, worry. A long-awaited day. They're due within the hour. I'm excited.

Updates and a picture later.

Mike

UPDATE 5:00 p.m.:

After more than five months, many tradesmen, and a medium-sized bucket of money, the first ball down was a five in the side. We are cookin' with gas!

Ed and Spencer Watlack of Watlack's Billiard Service in Rochester New York, second- and third-generation pool table mechanics respectively, arrived at about 10:15 this morning. It took them about two and a half hours to get me up and running.

The most expensive thing I ever bought in my life was my son's college education. That was well worth it. My son graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in four years with an excellent GPA and $0.00 in student loans, and I'm very proud of that.

But even though it's not the most expensive thing, what you're looking at in this picture is the greatest extravagance of my life. Wholly, completely unnecessary! And I'm pleased as punch. Now I can get to grips with learning the game.

The table is a Brunswick Gold Crown I. It's nearly as old as I am. It was built in Chicago (I believe), probably in the mid- to late 1960s. At some point in the past, the legs and skirts were stripped of their original paint and stained, and the sub-skirts were removed.

Did you spot the Attention Hound in the upper photo?

—Mike

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Book of interest this week:

Picture This: How Pictures Work, By Molly Bang
(clicking on the link above takes you to Amazon from TOP)

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Robert: "Congratulations, enjoy! I played with the idea couple of years ago, but there is no room big enough in my house and I cannot buy additional real estate—everything is already occupated. Even if it was free to have, over here you pay nearly USD 2,000 per square meter...my Hassy will have to do as a sin which makes one happy."

Mike replies: I understand. I considered every possibility in my existing house and barn, and there was simply not enough room anywhere, no matter what I repurposed. But I do have lots of free land, and I even had the leveled gravel pad next to the garage—the previous owner had used it as a parking space for his utility tractor. I had considered building a stick-built freestanding building on a concrete slab, but the cost was too high. It wasn't until I visited my friend Mike's pool-table-in-a-shed, and at the same time my financial advisor told me that I needed to borrow some money to improve my credit rating (I've had no debt other than my mortgage for a number of years) that the idea gelled.

But if you don't have room, you just don't have room.

Comments

[Dave Stewart]

Noting the sunlight on the far end - some sort of blinds for the windows next? (It never ends!)

[Grant]

WOW!

[Patrick Dodds]

You can feel the happiness radiating from this post Mike - making me smile. Enjoy! You deserve it.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Looks wonderful, Mike. Congratulations! May it bring you endless hours of enjoyment and, one day soon, host many hours of friendship and competition!

[Frank Gorga]

Enjoy!!!

[Michael J. Perini]

I think it is wonderful. We all deserve an occasional splurge, especially now when other entertainment options are limited. There are lots of studies that show that immersing yourself in an activity you love that is different from your main occupation is very good for you and enhances the other parts of your life as well.
I'm very happy for you. Pool is one of those things that can be enjoyed alone or with friends about equally. Great Choice.
PS you might want to mount a goPro above just in case you make the shot of a lifetime with no witnesses......It might also help to analyze your technique.

[Patrick Dodds]

This might also be germane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-oHBkikDBg&list=RDvkLOg252KRE&index=15&ab_channel=TheWarOnDrugs

[MikeR]

It does look nice, but I hope you don't get lost there, and forget to write.

[Helcio J. Tagliolatto]

"After more than five months, many tradesmen, and a medium-sized bucket of money..."

And some people say that building a darkroom is time consuming and expensive...

[schralp]

Congrats; you can work on your masse shot!

[Greg Heins]

Bravo! Looks great. And also a pleasure to see your portrait of Sally Mann selected for photographersphotographed on IG today.

[Jim Freeman]

How does it play? How do you feel about giving up the Golden West for this one? And finally, have you been able to sell the Golden West?

[Rob de Loe]

May it give you great pleasure for a long time! (By the way, your ceiling looks terrific. Well done.)

[Malcolm Leader]

Very nice. Now find people to play with! Practice lags. And yes, the furry blur is always there.

[Mike]

Looks great. Congrats!

[Kye Wood]

Are you worried about U.V light from the windows fading or perishing the felt? down the centre?

[Xf Mj]

Congrats, Mike! Nice to see. A lot of planning and coordination and it looks great.

[Dave Karp]

Congratulations Mike. Enjoy.

[Dan Gorman]

I'm happy for you, Mike - you've earned this! Your new (to you) table looks great - much like the ones I used to play on back in the day - and so does the shed/pool parlor/future gallery. Well done! :-)

Cheers,
Dan

[David Lee]

So happy for you Mike. Enjoy the table.

[Ger Lawlor]

Congratulations! Will the sunlight cause any fading or other issues? I have a very multi-toned carpet inside a double glazed south facing door. UV filters aren't just for lenses, it seems.

[Richard Parkin]

Are those feet adjustable to compensate for any minor settling without major work? They look as though they would be.

[Yes. --Mike]

[Michael Matthews]

Congratulations. An exceptionally good looking room and table. Enjoy!

[jp41]

Mike, I went searching for the image of your previous pool table to compare and discovered this nugget: <https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2013/10/open-mike-off-topic-sort-of.html>. Nice essay. So in the end, you've essentially gotten your previous pool table back in spirit. I find the design of both tables' feet appealing. Besides the trim behind the pockets being made of metal instead of wood, what else is different between your new and old pool tables? Is one considered more high-end than the other? I would like to see a picture posted of your pool room taken at night with only the light of the overhead luminaire.

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

Congratulations! Let the games commence!

[Nigli]

I disagree Mike. Based o your blogging, I'd say its not an extravagance but a necessity. It gets you moving and exercising, it will bring you lasting enjoyment. These are things that will both bring you good health. Enjoy it, you deserve it.

[Rich Jacobson]

Enjoy the table and the shed! That looks exactly like the table at my home town bowling alley in Elk Grove, Illinois. Early 60's Chicago - probably the same origin. When I moved to Wisconsin 40 years ago I was surprised that the bowling centers here do not offer pool - the only place to play is in bars. Sorry to say that I have not engaged in either sport since the early 80's. Keep up the O.T. posts - I enjoy reading them.

[SteveW]

Lovely, just lovely.

[Ed Kirkpatrick]

Looks great! I am jealous! I grew up with an antique table in our basement and spent many hours with friends shooting pool. One word of advice is to get some UV film on those windows to protect the cloth. Enjoy!

[Jim Kofron]

Congratulations, Mike!!! Looks incredible.

[JoeB]

That has turned out beautifully ! Enjoy. I do believe you will need a small fridge in there for summer refreshments.

[Fred Haynes]

Congratulations Mike! A pretty room, and nice looking table! Enjoy!!
Love the previous comments, especially “don’t forget to write”. Lol!
Fred

[Dan]

Wow, that is beautiful. Love the light fixture. Now you need a jukebox.

[mike r in colorado]

Very nice. Have fun! so does this mean no TOP updates for a couple of weeks? :)

[Michael]

A w e s o m e !

[ChrisC]

So college is more expensive than a house in the US?

[I don't own my house...I have equity in it and the bank owns the rest. I pay them a mortgage. --Mike]

[Shawn H]

Congratulations!
I would stop by the House of Billiard three time a week after work. Pandemic has put a stop to that for now. It is best therapy money can buy.

[Melanie]

That is a handsome and, no doubt, extremely heavy piece; congratulations. I did read somewhere (on this site, probably) about the huge benefits to neck health by playing pool to counteract the negative effects of using a computer device for hours daily. It's an idea I like, but am yet to have the chance (or extreme need) to try out.

[robert e]

Woohoo! Looks fantastic! I hope you enjoy it for a long time, and often.

[bob Cook]

I know there was some discussion about how to treat the ceiling. You made a great choice, especially the color. Very appropriate for the space. Enjoy your new room.

[Rob Campbell]

Makes my Leica Q2 Mono on/off dream look quite a modest one.

It also illustrates different psychologies: I could never spend money that way unless I did have a huge "bucket" of spare money to spend. On the other hand, your spending should only add to the value of the house; my dream, like a boat, would be a sinking asset from the moment it arrived.

All that said, the end product looks amazing: I wish you many happy years using it, and don't forget its secondary, photo-display function... :-)

Rob

[Mike Cawley]

My 1st thought after seeing that table, "I pumped a lot of quarters into one of those when I was a kid".
Great project!

[Kent Wiley]

Looks fabulous. Wish I could help you out with your interior trim, but you're not exactly "around the corner" from me, here in VA.

Ignore the pool haters. More O.T. pix please.

[Olybacker]

I would be so torn! A choice of studio space + darkroom or sports room with snooker table + table tennis table.

My best wishes to you Mike for good relaxation and exercise.

[Earl Dunbar]

I’m so glad you’ve done this and the project is finished! I don’t play pool, so no worries about me begging to come join you! 😂 I have attempted to play in the past, but wasn’t very good. That’s one occasion when I knew when to quit.

Have fun!