| harryhoudini
- 04 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 4
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Hi all!
Long time air hockey fan recently purchased a "mint" condition SST-8 U.S. Billiards Air Hockey Table. Been doing quite a bit of research on the company because the table came without legs. Temporarily we made some legs out of 4x4 but I would love to find out of any replacements are available. I have some pictures of the table with legs but from only one angle so it is hard to determine attachment method, size, etc. I could rebuild them to OEM spec/look (I have the leg levelers on order) but I'd love to know if anyone knows of this company or this table.
The company US Billiards Inc was in Amityville, NY. It looks like that at least the air hockey portion of their business was taken over by Imagination Leisure, Inc. (http://www.imagines.com) but their number is disconnected. That company seems to have some relation to Royal Leisure, Inc. in Holbrook, NY but I can't find a website for them. Left a message for the one number I found for Royal Leisure and for the domain owner of imagines.com just now.
Any info?
Thanks!
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| carolina phil
- 04 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 1084
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I remember that table from the mid 80's I think.
What part of the country are you in?
Phil
Houston, TX.
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| harryhoudini
- 04 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 4
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I'm in Southern California. The story I got from the guy I bought it from is that he has had it around 20-25 years. Got it back when he was in college. His friend's dad owned a strip mall in San Diego and there was an arcade in there that closed up shop or didn't pay rent or something and they got the games. This guy ended up with the table and had it all through college and then had it wrapped up in blankets for the last 15 years or something. He brought it out had the blower motor rewound and sold it to me. He wasn't very clear on all the details but from what I gathered he never had the legs for it.
I see that Imagination Leisure makes or made tables that are very similar but different leg styles. I would be fine with legs like that... but I would also be ok with the original style legs. Either way I assume I'll have to make them so I'd love to see some details pics of them but I can't find anything online.
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| tableman
- 05 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 690
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U.S. Billiards started making tables in the mid-70's, after Brunswick. Their first table was called Aerojet - not too bad, formica top (I won the Michigan State tournament in 1974 on that table). Then later in the 70's they started making the SST (stainless steel top) table - to the chagrin of the USAA players, since the steel top doesn't play very well. By the early 80's, U.S. Billiards was the only AH manufacturer left standing world-wide. Brunswick departed in 1978.
In 1980, with my assistance, Tournament Games (TGI) (Tournament Soccer) started to develop a formica-top tournament-quality table to be made by US Billiards. U.S. Billiards also was providing them a pool table. We had 5 or 6 of those brown-top Tournament Games tables made, which went to the 1981 TGI Championships in Chicago - at which tournament TGI went bankrupt.
I then took over marketing and selling the US Billiards formica-top table, under my own brand "Air-Table-Hockey", from 1982 to 1985. In 1985 I ended my association with USB and went with Dynamo, developing their new table.
U.S. Billiards continued on into the 90's, I think, under the new name Imagination Leisure. Same company, owned by the same guy - Dick Simon.
During the last years of Imagination Leisure the steel-top tables were actually built for them by a contract manufacturer in Chicago, rather than at the original factory in Amityville.
As I remember: the USB table had metal legs. You might be able to use legs from another pool/AH manufacturer, like Dynamo, but you would probably have to drill new mounting holes into the bottom of the cabinet, and put in T-nuts or threaded inserts.
Last I looked (it's been a few years), there were still some USB/Imagination Leisure steel-tops at the arcade on the Santa Monica boardwalk.
Mark
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| harryhoudini
- 05 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 4
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Hey Mark,
Thanks for the awesome details. I want to try and restore it to as much of the original as possible. We're fairly regular amateur players but haven't noticed much difference with the stainless top v. normal dynamo tables. I have to say that aside from the fact that this table was obviously well taken care of (the cabinet is pristine) the top looks brand new. Can't say that for many of the others I compared to before purchasing.
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| carolina phil
- 06 Feb 2011
Total Posts: 1084
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I played on that boardwalk in Santa Monica around 1976 when I tracked down Rod Yamanaka for a revenge match after he beat me by one point in New York at the Brunswick/Aurora Stadler Hilton ah Collegiate tournament, knocking me out of a chance to play Pat Spiderman Wolf in the Finals, which Wolf won. Jim Carter was with me and he would have beaten Spiderman had they both competed. This is where I first met Mike Dickstein and my "roomie" from Naropa Institute Mark Robbins.
Carolina Phil
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| corydzbinski
- 28 Mar 2011
Total Posts: 148
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Harry, where are you located?!? We're trying to get a league going in socal...north San Diego. I'm here, playing hard and going to world's in June. Are you going? Let's get together!!!
harryhoudini said: I'm in Southern California. The story I got from the guy I bought it from is that he has had it around 20-25 years. Got it back when he was in college. His friend's dad owned a strip mall in San Diego and there was an arcade in there that closed up shop or didn't pay rent or something and they got the games. This guy ended up with the table and had it all through college and then had it wrapped up in blankets for the last 15 years or something. He brought it out had the blower motor rewound and sold it to me. He wasn't very clear on all the details but from what I gathered he never had the legs for it.
I see that Imagination Leisure makes or made tables that are very similar but different leg styles. I would be fine with legs like that... but I would also be ok with the original style legs. Either way I assume I'll have to make them so I'd love to see some details pics of them but I can't find anything online.
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| harryhoudini
- 10 Jul 2011
Total Posts: 4
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corydzbinski said: | Harry, where are you located?!? We're trying to get a league going in socal...north San Diego. I'm here, playing hard and going to world's in June. Are you going? Let's get together!!! |
Woops, just saw this message. I'm in Santa Clarita area but not anywhere near good enough to compete. We just play for fun. Thanks!
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