I'VE GOT A SECRET!
I've been fortunate to be around some great cue makers in my life and have even seen a couple of them rise to the very top in their field.
In recent years, I was searching for a cue maker that had special skills and was willing to go on a journey with me to develop a very special kind of cue. I called my buddy Royce Bunnell at OB Cues (who has since passed) and told him of my unique requirements and he said, "I think I know just the guy for you." (And that has been my "secret" for these past few years which I am now sharing with you.)
That was the day that started a journey into designing and building one of the finest performance cues in the world. The cue eventually became known as the Performance Plus cue.
Bob Dzuricky, was the cue maker that Royce had in mind for me, so I did some research on the guy. I hadn't had any experience with him and his name wasn't well known to me but I valued Royce's opinions greatly so I did some background checking on him and quickly came to realize that this was the cue maker for the job. After looking at some of Bob's generous videos that he has on Youtube and other places, I realized that this was a man who had exceptional talent, creativity and a guy who liked a challenge and what a challenge I had in store for him.
Months went by as we collaborated on what I was hoping to accomplish and through it all, Bob never flinched. Bob built DymondWood shaft and cue one after the other. I tested them all using only my personal experience as a player and student of the game. Many efforts resulted in acceptable performance. I pressed on requesting Bob to make additional prototypes that would perform better. Each step along the way, Bob guided me toward my goal. I sometimes wonder how he put up with me but I'm glad he did.
I had purchased a large quantity of DymondWood and then the plant that made the DymondWood burned to the ground. That wood has lasted me for a few years and I am satisfied that we created a cue with excellent performance. I'm not much on glitter and fancy things but I am fastidious when it comes to how a cue performs. In the past, I have been known to purchase a dozen different shafts from all over the world for my famed POW-MIA cue made by Mike Bender from Delta Junction, Alaska just for the quest of finding the best playing shaft available.
The DymondWood dowels are phenolic resin, impregnated hardwood composite. It is an extremely stiff piece of wood and what I was looking for.
What I didn't know is how hard it was to use that wood and still create a cue which would have low deflection properties. But after many trials and testing, I believe we came up with a cue that I believe we are both proud of.
I even tested the LD Performance Plus cue as a break cue, but after strenuous testing, consisting of well over a hundred hours of estimated time in breaking and jumping, I finally was able to make the cue fail. For that reason, we will never build a Performance Plus cue for breaking and I recommend all users of my cue to use it only as a playing cue.
I am very fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Bob Dzuricky (btw, the "D" is silent) on this project and while I still have a few shaft dowels left in my inventory, my quest is pretty much over.
I so respect Bob for his willingness to help me create these cues.
DymondWood is so difficult to make into LD properties that it is not feasible to build these type of cues on a production basis, so my idea about eventually going to China to build these cues in large quantities never came to pass.
I have only sold about 3 Performance Plus cues per year so my labor of love is pretty limited. Most of the people I have sold these cues to are local people who have seen the performance of the cue before purchasing it. I never attempted to market the cue across the country so the locals have the corner on JoeyA's Performance Plus cues but Bob Dzuricky will always have my deepest appreciation for building one of the finest performing cues in the world.
CUE PEOPLE: Do yourself a big favor and contact Bob to build your finest creation. Check out his videos which share some of the secrets of his unique skills. Bob is also an artist as many of you already know, creating works of art with his magical cameras and lens. Go to his website and get up to speed on what he is all about and I GUARANTEE that you won't be disappointed. Send a Facebook Friend request and you might get lucky too.
THANK YOU Bob Dzuricky! You are the best!
I've been fortunate to be around some great cue makers in my life and have even seen a couple of them rise to the very top in their field.
In recent years, I was searching for a cue maker that had special skills and was willing to go on a journey with me to develop a very special kind of cue. I called my buddy Royce Bunnell at OB Cues (who has since passed) and told him of my unique requirements and he said, "I think I know just the guy for you." (And that has been my "secret" for these past few years which I am now sharing with you.)
That was the day that started a journey into designing and building one of the finest performance cues in the world. The cue eventually became known as the Performance Plus cue.
Bob Dzuricky, was the cue maker that Royce had in mind for me, so I did some research on the guy. I hadn't had any experience with him and his name wasn't well known to me but I valued Royce's opinions greatly so I did some background checking on him and quickly came to realize that this was the cue maker for the job. After looking at some of Bob's generous videos that he has on Youtube and other places, I realized that this was a man who had exceptional talent, creativity and a guy who liked a challenge and what a challenge I had in store for him.
Months went by as we collaborated on what I was hoping to accomplish and through it all, Bob never flinched. Bob built DymondWood shaft and cue one after the other. I tested them all using only my personal experience as a player and student of the game. Many efforts resulted in acceptable performance. I pressed on requesting Bob to make additional prototypes that would perform better. Each step along the way, Bob guided me toward my goal. I sometimes wonder how he put up with me but I'm glad he did.
I had purchased a large quantity of DymondWood and then the plant that made the DymondWood burned to the ground. That wood has lasted me for a few years and I am satisfied that we created a cue with excellent performance. I'm not much on glitter and fancy things but I am fastidious when it comes to how a cue performs. In the past, I have been known to purchase a dozen different shafts from all over the world for my famed POW-MIA cue made by Mike Bender from Delta Junction, Alaska just for the quest of finding the best playing shaft available.
The DymondWood dowels are phenolic resin, impregnated hardwood composite. It is an extremely stiff piece of wood and what I was looking for.
What I didn't know is how hard it was to use that wood and still create a cue which would have low deflection properties. But after many trials and testing, I believe we came up with a cue that I believe we are both proud of.
I even tested the LD Performance Plus cue as a break cue, but after strenuous testing, consisting of well over a hundred hours of estimated time in breaking and jumping, I finally was able to make the cue fail. For that reason, we will never build a Performance Plus cue for breaking and I recommend all users of my cue to use it only as a playing cue.
I am very fortunate indeed to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Bob Dzuricky (btw, the "D" is silent) on this project and while I still have a few shaft dowels left in my inventory, my quest is pretty much over.
I so respect Bob for his willingness to help me create these cues.
DymondWood is so difficult to make into LD properties that it is not feasible to build these type of cues on a production basis, so my idea about eventually going to China to build these cues in large quantities never came to pass.
I have only sold about 3 Performance Plus cues per year so my labor of love is pretty limited. Most of the people I have sold these cues to are local people who have seen the performance of the cue before purchasing it. I never attempted to market the cue across the country so the locals have the corner on JoeyA's Performance Plus cues but Bob Dzuricky will always have my deepest appreciation for building one of the finest performing cues in the world.
CUE PEOPLE: Do yourself a big favor and contact Bob to build your finest creation. Check out his videos which share some of the secrets of his unique skills. Bob is also an artist as many of you already know, creating works of art with his magical cameras and lens. Go to his website and get up to speed on what he is all about and I GUARANTEE that you won't be disappointed. Send a Facebook Friend request and you might get lucky too.
THANK YOU Bob Dzuricky! You are the best!
