I was surprised he got such a celebrity on his channel. Been a fan of both of you for a while now. Well done!

boogieman said:

Heck, anyone can appreciate a well made and pretty cue. I only have a handful of cues but I appreciate and gaze into the wood grain each time I take it out of my cue case. Some members are cue collectors. It's a pretty neat hobby where you can enjoy looking at a master builder's work.

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I am certainly not here to kink shame, what you do with fine grains in the privacy…I am kidding. I should have included the collector or one who appreciates beauty/craftsmanship as well. I already have done what garczar pointed out and if asked would recommend that for most. I just don’t think a “state of the market” exists. That is why people continue to ask varying questions. I also did find a thread on cue makers and their contact information. I don’t think it has been updated or maintained after 2010 or maybe 2012. In the first 10-11 names listed the websites are no longer valid. I think pool as a sport has plenty of life, but cue builders have more competition by companies with streamlined production methods and increasing profit by (one example) buying resources in bulk. Pick an industry and I am sure that this story has already been told over and over again. America!

Mensabum said:

Thats hard money. Know exactly how he felt.
Some may call it low hanging fruit, I called it rent.
Didnt mind working, just rather work smart than hard.

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I called my normal nightly activities chopping wood.

I still remember some of the shots from tough matches fifty years ago. Ask me about something in a nightly activity, it is like asking me what I did on my day job. While I enjoyed shooting pool more than most jobs, I didn't remember playing most people a month later.

Hu

Mensabum said:

I think somebody put a bug in his ear!! Aint AZ grand?!?

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I used to do that for a few HIGH end makers - unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished. I'll never learn though lol

HawaiianEye said:

This was the photo Richard Black used for his catalog when I had him make the 4-point in 1978.

$175 is what I paid for it.

I wanted him to make the Hoppe for me, but he said he didn't want to make any more of them until he figured out what was causing them to make some sort of weird sound when you hit the ball with them. I assume it was because of the way he constructed the butt cap with the Hoppe ring and I can't remember if he used a bumper on them at the time or whether it was recessed into the butt.

I guess he figured it out because he started making them again,


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I had a Hustler, phoenix and Mando(i belive he called it a white baron) 80, 81 and 82. Still have the Mando/white baron...somewhere

garczar said:

I only had a 'cosmic connection' to one cue really, a 1983 R. Black 4pt Hoppe. I traded it for a Scruggs that played fine but the ol Black was special. Oh well.

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I had a RB as well as a scruggs that I loved, the other RBs not so much

The end goal of the game will always be to make the ball and gain shape.

The degree of challenge that a person accepts and what means they use to meet that challenge defines their character.