anyone have any Philippine cues F/S

You may choose from the following list of good Filipino cuemakers I know of - Edwin Reyes, Linds, Al Bautista and Hadj. I believe they have their own websites and have posts here in AZ from time-to-time.

Hope this helps.

;P George

You might like to know that the chances of you getting a cue that has been properly dried and re-cut over time in the Philippines is very slim. Most of the cues coming over here all fancied up with amboyna and thin ivory sliced inlays have extremely high moisture content..If it doesn't and was dried and cut over time like real customs here, then it is probably made by a real cue maker who has made cues for the likes of Efren Reyes (does Santos ring a bell?) and it is still gonna cost you considerably to get Amboyna and ivory in it. In a semi-arrid climate like Colorado the cheapies will be a pretzel in less than a year. I had both Audrick and a couple other amboyna and ivory pretty boys. The Audrick actually stayed reasonably straight, so I could actually sell it after a year. The pretty boys made of amboynas, ebony and ivory twisted so much I gave them away to firends who would shoot with a broomstick if it were free. They still shot really decent, but they were embarassing to roll on a table in front of someone and I had spent over $120 having new shafts made locally for them because the originals DID look like pretzels. Only after the shafts came did I roll the cue to learn the butt was as bad as the original shafts. I later did a survey on an eBay auction until they shut my auction down. 90 % of the people who responded saying they had previously bought a PI cue said it warped badly. Shortly after my expose survey, the prices dropped to below $100 and many didn't sell. My wife is from PI and I have been there 3 times. I love the people there and wish them no harm, but the majority of cues made there are really best left there where they are in the climate they were made in. I wouldn't give $25 for another PI cue unless it was just to play with while I was there. And then I would give it away before I left.

I just shelled out $400 and Predator SP for a BEM Les Blevins that hits on par with a Southwest or Richard Harris. I have had highly ornate American made cues which stayed straight over the years. I now own and play with 2 plain Jane BEM Blevins, a 1995 and a 2002- both are straight as an arrow and play oh so sweet. No fancy inlays for me. I just think you are heading down a slippery slope.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

justabrake said:

I'm looking to buy a Philippine cue that has amboyna burl or ebony in it , NO Audrick cues , the cue has to be straight and clean,


Thanks!

Steven

Click to expand...

FS/FT:High-end Bautista Custom 2007

Hi Steven,

Got this cue just one month ago directly from bebot himself.

Reason for selling, i prefer a medium hit cue than this cue has a very stiff hit.

Condition: 9.5 out of 10

Basic Description:
Forearm:BEM
Butt: Ebony
Joint Type: Stainless steel 5/16X14 (Piloted Type)
Black Leather wrap
Weight:20oz

Design:
3 different woods amboyna burl, Snakewood & cocobolo on 3 low points 3 high venereed points ivory.

buttsleeve is ebony with ivory window frame design and matching wood to the 3 low point and each with 3 elongated diamond design, double rings on buttsleeve and in between wrap and forearm with 18 pcs small diamond ivory on top and bottom of design.








ALL WHITE ARE IVORYS

Come with one shaft with ivory ferrule and moori tip. (Test hit only)

I'm using my 314-2 to play with it.

The cue roll straight with the shaft or apart.

Remarks:One of the senior Philippines cue maker which produce elegent design with affordable price as well as very playable cue.

PM your offer if interested.

Simmon (Singapore)

The point that 'our auctionguy' was making about the differences in climate conditions having an adverse effect on the Philippines cues is very true.
It's unfortunate for the people that want them but cues made in the Philippines should stay there. Unless their new home has a similar climate, the cues tend to move around like a snake. As if that's not bad enough, the quality on some is shockingly bad. This is not a blanket statement to say that all of their cues are of bad quality as I'm sure that some are built better than others, but they are in the minority.
I recently did a refinish on a Filipino cue and the job was a total nightmare. The client also wanted 2 extra shafts made with matching ringwork and everything changed to a Uni-Loc joint system. That aspect of the job went as it should. I (& the client) were very satisfied with the outcome of that. But the refinish had me banging my head. The cue was a black base with maybe 50 white mtrl. inlays. I don't know what the white mtrl. was but 1/3 of them were cracked, some in several places. When sanding the old finish down to get to the bare wood, I had the shock of my life. The base wood was NOT ebony or some other black wood but rather maple that had been PAINTED black. The seperation lines btwn. the inlays were paint lines. Now having exposed the white maple it was my job to get the exposed areas back to black. Don't let anyone tell you that black is black. I tried every source of black that I could think of and while that client made no comment about the 'patch paint work', I could tell were the patch work had been done. The client, bless his heart, was satisfied but I was not.

I now have another Filipino cue in my shop for the purpose of mating/matching a Predator shaft. The cue looks to be made well but I have my doubts. The forearm is snakewood as is the butt-sleeve. The cue is brand new and the snakewood is already showing signs of splitting. That has nothing to do with my assigned task but I have a sense that I should be finishing my work as quickly as possible. What is having an effect on my task is that the joint pin is off-center. Trust me, when I drill & tap a shaft, it's in the center. On this cue, when the shaft is attached to the butt there is a mismatch, a step on one side. I've confirmed that the pin is off by spinning just the butt in the lathe & watching the pin oscillate. I'm savvy enough to give this cue an acceptable mate at the joint but quite frankly, if I never see another Filipino cue. it will be too soon. I've been building and repairing cues for 20 yrs. and have never turned away work. If another Filipino cue comes my way I may have to change my policy.