Shuffleboard Tables at Recent Trade Show in Chicago
|
|
Time to read 2 min
We recently displayed our shuffleboard tables at the BCA (Billiard Congress of America) trade show, a show for retail stores who mostly sell pool tables and other game room furniture. We showed our new Veneto model shuffleboard table, now available on our website, in a two-tone finish with black and natural maple combination. (see pictures below)
Veneto Shuffleboard in Mocha Natural finish with criss cross style legs[/caption] It was an interesting show and fun to see old friends we have known in our industry for several years. It is difficult to get retail stores interested in shuffleboard tables, as their expertise and loyalty lie with billiard tables. Most of the pool table manufacturers now offer shuffleboard tables. In fact, one of the largest shuffleboard manufacturers recently bought a home pool table in addition to Valley Dynamo, which makes foosball, air hockey, and coin-operated tables.
McClure Tables is the only manufacturer of shuffleboard tables, specializing in one product line. Consumers can purchase several items made at the same factory, but they often sacrifice the personal touch of a smaller company that specializes in one product. Factories that make many different products rely on an assembly-line-like, impersonal construction. At McClure Tables, we do not claim to be the largest shuffleboard manufacturer, nor are we the fastest growing. Our mission is to offer a product that is handmade or handcrafted and of world-class quality. It is difficult to see this quality in images on our website, but we have tried to show several different pictures of each model in different finish colors. While we do not have a showroom, we welcome visits to our factory. Depending on when you visit, you will see several different models of shuffleboard tables in production. At the trade show, we displayed an antique 62-year-old Rock-Ola shuffleboard and our new reproduction Rock-Ola shuffleboard side by side. See some pictures below of our trade show booth with an antique Rock-Ola and a brand new one together.
One thing that stands out in our tables is the play surface of our boards. We introduced a new finish that allows a player to feel the actual wood play surface, thanks to its much thinner coat. You can hear the pucks as they glide down the board, and the surface is a full 3-inch thick hard maple. Many manufacturers use a polymer, which is basically a 1/4-inch-thick bar-top epoxy plastic. So it is like putting a piece of Plexiglas on top of a wooden board. This is why most manufacturers use soft maple and then pour on the bar top epoxy. This method requires far less attention to sanding and board preparation before you apply the finish. The finish material we use is more traditional and still has a lifetime warranty. If you remember the way shuffleboard tables used to be played and you are a woodworker, you will appreciate our new lifetime warranty finish. We plan to make this the standard on all our shuffleboards and only offer the polymer finish as an option for customers who prefer it.
Antique Rock Ola beside a New Rock Ola
