I’m circling back to an unmarked cue I picked up some time ago and have recently started researching more seriously. I initially didn’t give it a great deal of thought, but the more closely I look at the construction, the more interesting it becomes.

The cue appears to be an older American custom. I don’t have a firm date for it. The original owner’s daughter believed it may have been more than 30 years old, but she was clear that this was only her best recollection, so I wouldn’t put much weight on that for dating purposes.

Here are the relevant construction details:

• Four long, sharp dark points into highly figured maple
• Matching figured maple in the butt sleeve
• Black/white speck linen wrap
• Flat-faced 5/16x14 joint
• Pin measures approximately .300” diameter
• Exposed pin length is approximately 1.17”, with a rounded/bullet nose
• Joint diameter is approximately .810”
• Black joint collars with a single very thin metallic ring
• Presumed original shaft has a brass insert and matching collar/ringwork
• Shaft measures approximately 29.75” from joint face to end of ferrule, excluding tip
• Ferrule is 1.25” long
• Butt is just under 29” from joint face to the bottom of the butt cap, excluding bumper
• Very short white cup-style butt cap
• The cup has a central opening with a fixed threaded receiver behind it. The bumper is retained by an Allen-head bolt that passes through the bumper and threads into that receiver. There is no weight-bolt access through the butt cap.

After comparing the cue with quite a few makers, Chris Drew is currently the most interesting possibility to me. Some of the architecture and wood choices on known Drew cues look surprisingly similar. However, the earliest Drew cue I’ve found documented is a “Drew 07,” and that cue used a 3/8x10 joint. I have not found a documented Drew using this long flat-faced 5/16x14/brass-insert arrangement, so I certainly don’t want to force that attribution.

Does anyone recognize the construction or have experience with Chris Drew’s earliest work? In particular, I’d be interested to know whether Chris ever used a flat-faced 5/16x14 joint like this, or whether the pin, .810” joint diameter, cup-style butt cap/bumper attachment, ringwork or other details point toward another maker.

Any thoughts are appreciated.