Olhausen Vs. Brunswick Pool Tables

The quality and expert craftsmanship is evident in every Olhausen and Brunswick billiard table built. An investment in either brand of table is usually a quality investment, and lifetime warranties on every table are provided by both companies. There are obvious differences in styles but only subtle differences in overall composition from both manufacturers.

Commercial grade competition tables, traditionally used in pool halls, are increasingly popular and are usually a company’s best seller. Brunswick’s Centurion, Gold Crown V and Metro are very popular and feature sturdy designs making them ideal for heavy usage. The prices of these tables range from $4,400 to $9,000 in 2009.

Olhausen’s versions of competition tables include Champion Pro 2 & 3, Grand Champion 2 & 3 and the Grand Champion Waterfall. These tables are can be found in competition settings across the globe and are priced between $1,500 and $3,500.

Both companies offer a wide variety of styles for the consumer to choose from. Tables designed for home-use are where the manufacturer really gets a chance to put mastery into their designs. Both companies offer several series of designs with prices ranging from $2,000 all the way up to $40,000 for some of Brunswick’s most exclusive models. Brunswick’s Traditional and Transitional Series are quite popular and relatively inexpensive with price tags ranging from $2,500 to $6,500. Olhausen’s comparable Signature and Portland Series are their more popular and similarly priced series.

In terms of exclusive, top-of the-line billiards tables, Brunswick offers their European line and Olhausen offers their Select line, where prices range from upwards of $5,000.

Both Brunswick and Olhausen create many types of billiards tables accessible to all. There are several sizes of tables available that customers can choose from. There are 7-foot, 8-foot, 8.5-foot and 9 foot tables that are more popular, but both companies create custom tables, if possible, specific to whatever the customer requests.

Olhausen is noted for using some cloth from Hainsworth, a reputable pool table cloth company from England. Olhausen uses Accu-Fast (100% gum rubber) cushions, which are arguably some of the best cushions to have on a billiards table. In 2009, Brunswick tables are just beginning to use cushions made of 100% gum rubber, but they can also be fitted with Accu-Fast.

Both manufacturers are noted for using premium choices of wood for their tables. Both companies use woods from across the globe, but Olhausen uses wood from North America almost exclusively.

The J.M. Brunswick Company’s version of a billiard table was born in 1845. Within ten years, John Moses Brunswick built a reputation for creating the finest tables in the world. Currently, Brunswick Billiards is headquartered in Bristol, Wisconsin, but most of the production process for Brunswick tables is handled overseas. Materials are also mostly manufactured overseas.

In 1972, Butch and Don Olhausen started their own company in San Diego, California, moving pool tables. Soon after, Olhausen Billiard Manufacturing Inc. was born. The family-owned company now operates out of Portland, Tennessee and sells around 30,000 billiards tables annually. They produce every table out of their facility in Tennessee.