Shuffleboard Table Comparison · Champion VS McClure Tables
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Time to read 4 min
OVERVIEW
Right away, we have to give some kudos to Champion Shuffleboards. They pride themselves on crafting shuffleboard tables in-house, and that is certainly something to be proud of. We're big fans of the in-house and American Made mentality, a tip of the hat to Champion there.
There are a couple things that we don't like about Champion Tables.
#1: The Playboard Material. Champion uses "Canadian Maple" in their playboards. Canadian Maple implies hard maple but it's just a clever marketing tactic. Canadian Maple usually means hard maple but Champion uses Soft Maple, Soft maple wood is easier on presses and faster to sand down, making the building process quicker and cheaper.
#2: The Plastic Polymer Playboard Finish. This is a thick plastic epoxy that is poured over the top of your playboard which means you’re essentially playing on plastic. The polymer wears down and can damage easily, and it tends to warp boards. Virtually every shuffleboard manufacturer that uses the poured epoxy doesn’t even bother with a premium hardwood playboard because the end-game is being played on plastic, not the actual wood.
COMPARING GOOD-BETTER-BEST
Unlike Champion, at McClure Tables, we don't use a good-better-best pricing model. That's because we're a small craft shop. We build and sell direct-to-consumer with no middlemen or distributors. We only use the best materials in every price range. Whether you buy a table for our entry-level price of $5,895 or spend up to $28,000, the cabinet, legs, and playboard are all still made from locally harvested Hard Maple.
For comparison purposes, we'll compare features across three McClure Models in the same price range, using the good-better-best marketing approach.
The main difference is that Champion manufactures in a mass-production fashion, and they sell everything they make to reseller dealers who have to mark up the factory price or the cost to build. At McClure Tables, you are buying directly from the craftsmen who build your shuffleboard table.
GOOD
www.championshuffleboard.com
https://mccluretables.com/
Qualifier
Sizes: 9, 12, and 14 feet.
Sale Price Range: $3,995-$4,395.
Retail Price Range $5,395-$5,595
Playboard: The Qualifier has a 16" wide, 1.5" thick playboard made of Maple.
Playboard Finish: 1/4" polymer resin top.
Cabinet Construction: Laminate or Formica on particle board.
Customizations: Stain colors are none it only comes in one laminate color
Liberty Maple
Sizes: 9, 12, 14-feet
Price Range: $5,995-$6,495
Playboard: Hard Maple 18″ wide playboard, which is a full 2″ thick (no thick plastic poured epoxy top) and made of North American Hard Maple
Playboard Finish: Lifetime Warranty Traditional Piano Polyester Finish (10 times harder than polymer poured resins)
Cabinet Construction: All McClure Tables cabinets, legs, and component parts are made from solid hardwood. We do not use any laminates Most like our Liberty are hard rock maple
Customizations: Lights, Scoreboards, Score Beads, Cabinets, Wood Type & Finish, and add a logo to any model
BETTER
www.championshuffleboard.com
https://mccluretables.com/
Limited Edition
Sizes: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22-foot Sale Price Range: $7,895-$9,085
Retail Price Range $10,995-$12,795
Playboard: 20″ wide playboard, 2.75″ thick, made of North American Maple.
Playboard Finish: 1/4″ polymer resin top.
Cabinet Construction: Red Oak Veneer, or consider the limited-edition soft maple or red oak solid with a laminate horse collar. The limited edition has a maple horse collar with a color stain, whereas our horse collar on Prestige is made with walnut wood veneer, and the trim is walnut or optional hard maple. Brass screws are visible on the finished model.
Customizations: Stain
Prestige
Sizes: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 feet
Price Range: $9,285-$13,224
Playboard: Hard Maple 20" wide playboard, which is a full 3" thick (no thick plastic poured epoxy top) and made of North American Hard Maple
Playboard Finish: Lifetime Warranty Traditional Piano Polyester Finish (10 times harder than polymer poured resins)
Cabinet Construction: The Prestige cabinet is designed to emphasize natural wood colors. All McClure Tables cabinets, legs, and component parts are made from the same Hard Maple wood as the playboards.
Customizations: Lights, Scoreboards, Score Beads, Cabinets, Wood Type & Finish, and add a logo to any mode
BEST
www.championshuffleboard.com
https://mccluretables.com/
Venetian
Sizes: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22-foot
Sale Price Range: $9,895 to $11,095
Retail Price Range $13,245 to $14,495
Champion prices, yes, for current pricing Look them up on shuffleboard federation.com
Playboard: 20″ wide playboard 2.75″ thick made of Soft Canadian Maple with 1/4" Polymer for a total advertised measurement of 3"
Playboard Finish: 1/4″ polymer resin top (no warranty)
Cabinet Construction: Soft Maple, which forms a rounded shape around the board.
Customizations: Stain
Veneto
Sizes: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 feet
Price Range: $9,695-$15,356
Playboard: Hard Maple 20" wide playboard, which is a full 3" thick (no thick plastic poured epoxy top) and made of North American Hard Maple
Playboard Finish: Lifetime Warranty Traditional Piano Polyester Finish (10 times harder than polymer poured resins)
Cabinet Construction: The cabinet is designed much like old-fashioned wood moulding with straight lines and corners. All McClure Tables cabinets, legs, and component parts are made from the same Hard Maple wood as the playboards.Also available in American Cherry
Customizations: Lights, Scoreboards, Score Beads, Cabinets, Wood Type & Finish, and add a logo to any model
In conclusion, because McClure Tables are handcrafted and sold directly, we seldom have sales. There is not really any comparison in the materials used or in the quality of the labor between a handcrafted product and a factory-produced product. If you happen to catch the factory-made product on sale, you might save a little money, but if you compare the retail prices, you pay little or no extra for handcrafted.