Wooden Cases: Advantages and Disadvantages?

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I know people used to use wooden case pretty often, notably in the Color of Money and in browsing around the Premium Cue Cases page on FB I discovered WAF Custom Cases that is making some awesome looking wooden cases.

https://www.facebook.com/WAFcustomcuecases/posts/1133456700133585

So I was just wondering what people's feedback on wooden cases is?

Obviously they would be heavier, but how do they work in terms of protection, warpage protection usability things like that?

Some of the ones he is making are really pretty.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The only disadvantage to me is they are "clunky" or awkward to carry compared to more sleek modern designs.

If they are finished wood and not covered in vinyl like O'Neil cases, then you will also deal with finish scratches and the like.

It's a hard box, so it protects the cues well.

I guess if you pick it up without latching it the cues would fall out. So don't do that. But if the liner holds the cues like a Longoni case, the cues will not fall out.

Warpage protection? If you store it on end then I would assume it is no better or worse than any other kind of case.

Advantage? Easier to clean chalk and debris out of it than any tube style case.

I carried a box case for a lot of years. It was big and clunky, but I liked it. It also displayed the cues nicely when you opened it. No need to remove the cues to show them off. Another advantage.


The box cases you show are nice. The lining leaves something to be desired.

Do some web searches. There are woodworkers that make some spectacular cue cases.

In addition, you will find leather covered custom box cases. Like old shotgun cases. Very nice. You will pay well for them.

http://www.dlschwarzbilliards.com/Custom-Cue-Cases.html

http://breakwideinc.com/washingtonworkswood/mainpages/poolcuehome/aboutproducts2.htm

Your find: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/90843

Companies like this will make you a cue case: http://www.hueycases.com/trunk-cases/

There are many makers and many options if you look around.



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johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The only disadvantage to me is they are "clunky" or awkward to carry compared to more sleek modern designs.

If they are finished wood and not covered in vinyl like O'Neil cases, then you will also deal with finish scratches and the like.

It's a hard box, so it protects the cues well.

I guess if you pick it up without latching it the cues would fall out. So don't do that.

Warpage protection? If you store it on end then I would assume it is no better or worse than any other kind of case.

Advantage? Easier to clean chalk and debris out of it than any tube style case.

I carried a box case for a lot of years. It was big and clunky, but I liked it. It also displayed the cues nicely when you opened it. No need to remove the cues to show them off. Another advantage.


The box cases you show are nice. The lining leaves something to be desired.

Do some web searches. There are woodworkers that make some spectacular cue cases.

In addition, you will find leather covered custom box cases. Like old shotgun cases. Very nice. You will pay well for them.

http://www.dlschwarzbilliards.com/Custom-Cue-Cases.html

http://breakwideinc.com/washingtonworkswood/mainpages/poolcuehome/aboutproducts2.htm

Your find: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/90843

Companies like this will make you a cue case: http://www.hueycases.com/trunk-cases/

There are many makers and many options if you look around.



.

Great post, thanks! Just something I had never considered before. Always been an It's George guy.
 

JohnnyslideRR

Registered
I've built a few hard cases myself and seems not that bad on finish but I usually carry a schmelke 1x1 but I don't find it clunky or have any problems with it or anything with the ones I made. Just all depends on what you want.
 

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JohnnyslideRR

Registered
Seems like I made the one I posted for $200. It’s all top notch materials and made well. Yet it is a box case. I’ve tried selling this one but no one is interested. So I’ll take the lid and make it where I can fit four cues and re line it in leather. What do you guys think about leather (soft leather) as a liner.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Seems like I made the one I posted for $200. It’s all top notch materials and made well. Yet it is a box case. I’ve tried selling this one but no one is interested. So I’ll take the lid and make it where I can fit four cues and re line it in leather. What do you guys think about leather (soft leather) as a liner.

No offense meant, but the devil is in the details.

As for a leather liner, I have done that. A nice soft suede really works nice. I used a garment leather to do it once as well. Really nice. Buttery soft.

Tidy finish work matters.

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JohnnyslideRR

Registered
What would be some of the faults of the work on this case? I’m open to the criticism. I’m in the works of another so I’d like the input.
 

Snooker Theory

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
To pick it apart from a buyers perspective, I think it looks rather large for being a 2x2. For instance the top looks to be the same dimensions as the bottom, but the top is just all padding(speaking of the depth). I think you could cut some weight by making the depth of the top piece smaller.


Also it looks like the corner doesn't shut all the way.

I know little about cases but reading some of the casemakers threads and maybe asking a few questions of people with a lot of experience with cases (if they don't chime in here), would be sure to benefit you.

I still think it is a nice looking case.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree. Plus the finish isn't the greatest. And a piano hings would be better.

Plus the lining installation looks a bit sloppy. The edges are all wavy. The ends are ragged. There is no lining at the ends, just wood.

Cases of this quality are not uncommon. A lot of work goes into them and that should give pride in ownership. But they don't sell well because they don't look very professionally finished, they look homemade.

A friend of min had a wood case made for his cue. He had a Lucasi that he thought a lot of. He thought it was a custom cue. The case was a very fancy coffin case. He tried to sell me the cue. His price was way out of line, he wanted $1,000. He was crushed when I showed him the same cue online for very little money. He wouldn't tell me what he paid but it was clear he got taken. So then he tried to sell me the case, which he knew for sure was a custom since he had it made. He wanted $400 for it. I told him I would give him $50 for it. He was very surprised. So he shopped the case around a bit and ended up giving it to our mutual friend, with the cue, as a birthday present.

I don't know what he paid for that case to be made, but he said the guy was a woodworker. The case was fancy. It had fancy hardware, and fancy wood trim. The wood trim looked like it came from the clearance rack at Home Depot and the hardware was brass but cheap looking brass castings. His finish work and lining were similar to your case. The lid did not close perfectly, and the lining was not well done.

It's a nice case. Enjoy it. :)
 

JohnnyslideRR

Registered
Thanks guys for the input. Yes I’m not the best at it and felt as though the liner needs more of a quality type of person to do such work on it. I’ll contact them about lining it in a soft leather. Plus the top padding I’m taking out to replace with a cue divider so I can put two more cues in the lid, I’ll just use this case as storage instead of having the cues standing up in the closet.
Thanks again for the input.
 

PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Your case needs joinery, not big metal corner doodads. Wow and impress with your wood skills and incorporate dovetails or contrasting dowels, all with exotic woods.Loose every sharp edge or corner and recess the locks so the only protrusion is the handle. Cases do not have to be rectangles. Doc's piano hinge is spot on, but hide it so it doesn't show unopened.

That will get you noticed, there is much more you could do but these things will put you on the rise.
 

Chopdoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree. Those that know what they are looking at will look for good joinery. There are several ways to accomplish this, some of which can be hidden. So the maker may need to say what you can't see.

I don't necessarily mind the metal corners if they suit the design...like a TSA case. But if going for a classy wood case look I think they are best left out.

There are many ways to skin this cat. If planning to sell then certainly the devil is in the details. People looking for such a case are used to looking at cues where the slightest show of glue in the veneers is a negative. Same with gaps around inlays or uneven points. And they are used to looking at finely finished top grade woods.

Look at the cues in the case and you can possibly estimate the value of the case.

To properly show off the case either leave the cues out or put fine cues in it.

Fancy car ads have hot chicks for a reason.

If you want to show it off with cues in it, put hot cues in it, even if you have to borrow them.

To be honest, the case matches the Brunswick Taiwan import that's in it. $60 to $80 cue. Yes, I know ebay can attract more but that is an aberration of pseudo-collectors inflating the value because they can't or won't pay for real Brunswick cues.


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PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can't lay the case , with the metal corners, on a table to open and risk damage to the cloth. The right joinery is also stronger than those bolsters.
 
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