Special Guest Blogger Joe Newell on Antique Pool Table Restoration

 This post is courtesy of www.beyondthepocket.com, the official Brunswick Billiards Blog

This week we check in with a great friend of Brunswick Billiards, Joe Newell, of Newell & Company. The unofficial Brunswick historian discusses his craft – pool table restoration.

1. What is your first pool memory?

When I was about nine years old, my father put me on a stool and explained as the oldest son/grandson in the family I was the one who must understand the history of pool tables. My family had a shop where I began working at around 12 years old. Initially I hated the idea of taking over the family business, but when my father gave me the opportunity I said yes, and haven’t looked back since.

2. How do you locate tables in need of restoration and decide to take on the project?

All of our business comes from word of mouth – about 50% from clients and 50% from our past museum jobs. Everything I work on is more than 100 years old and was custom made. In a complete restoration our goal is to make the table look identical to when it came out of the factory.

3. How many tables have you restored throughout your career?

I’ve restored almost 1,000 tables in my career.

4. Is there a certain restoration project that you’re most proud of?

I’ve been fortunate to restore tables in the private residency of the first family at The White House, Camp David and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, the largest private residency built in North America.

5. What is your favorite billiards game?

My favorite game is Carom billiards because it is more of a science game requiring a lot of skill. The first tables Brunswick made had no pockets and were played with one red ball and two white balls. For those not familiar with this game, the object is to score points by caroming one’s own cue ball off both the opponent’s cue ball and the object ball(s) on a single shot.

6. Any other information that you would like to share?

When Brunswick tables were first introduced they were only built for the very wealthy and elite. Today, everyone can own a piece of history by owning a Brunswick table.

Click to Check out this antique reproduction by Brunswick