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ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:36 PM

John Bender Fancy Merry Widow

Specs:

Birdseye Maple Custom 5/16-14 Stainless Joint
Faux Ivory "See-Saw" Inlays in Light Walnut Stained Nose
Alternating Ebony and Maple Windows in Sleeve, each
also Inlayed with "See-Saw" parts
Ebony Rings on Both sides of the Wrap and at Butt Cap
Each Inlayed with 8 Faux Ivory Dots. NS .030 Rings @ Join
White with Brown Speck Polished Linen Wrap
Signed only Under Wrap
Maker Name Engraved in White Delrin Butt Cap
Length: 58"
Butt: 15.1 oz
Shaft 1:4.1 oz
Shaft 2: 4.1
Weight bolt: .45

John just finished me 6 cues and this is one of these 6. It turned out beautiful and John was fantastic to deal with as he always is.

You will be able to see more of his work at this year's ICCS Show in Chattanooga, TN at the historic Read House hotel.

Enjoy the photos!!!

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:34 PM

King said:
That’s one beautiful cue added to your incredible collection. Enjoy!

Thank you very much Al

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:33 PM

R2PQZ said:
Your posts are so enjoyable I haven't had this much fun since the hogs ate my little brother at the Nebraska State Fair in 1963!

Thank you!

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:22 PM

Jim Buss....Blue Book of Pool Cues cue!

I decided to take some more pictures of this amazing cue built by legendary Jim Buss who is well known as one of the smartest guys in industry.

Jim Buss was born on November 23, 1942 in Boone, Iowa.
In his rich CV stands that he worked for NASA as electrician engineer.
His first assignment was to design an umbilical cable for one of the Gemini astronauts to use while doing a "space walk".
In 1982 McDonnell Douglas that he worked for get a contract to support NASA in Houston, Texas. They provided the technical assistance to the Space Shuttle program by developing the flight plans, flight trajectory studies, orbital studies, and training the astronauts to perform all the functions associated with flying the Shuttle and operating the Payloads & Experiments. Since Jim had the background that NASA needed, he was asked by McDonnell Douglas to transfer there and support the program, which he did.

Talking to his cue making career... in July, 1994, he was elected President of the American Cuemaker's Association. In August, 1997, he moved back to the St. Louis area, which is where he considers home.
Josh Treadway was tought by Jim and when Jim retired Josh took over his shop and kept building his cues.

It is really hard to get one of his cues since he has been retired for years and it is even harder to come across one which is unplayed!

So, here it is unplayed Jim Buss in Ebony and Pink Ivory.
The cue has been published in 3rd edition of Blue Book of Pool Cues as an example of Jim's finest work!

Enjoy the pics!

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:12 PM

Blue Grass....35th Anniversary Cue

Very unique cue, Merry Widow Style, wood is Waterfall Bubinga (museum quality) absolutely gorgeous!

It has Westinghouse Old Yellow Micarta Joint & Ferrules!

The wrap is black Elephant Ear

35th Anniversary Cue

The "Old Yellow Micarta" jointed cues will be some of the rarest cues Richard made.

I was told he would have to look it up, but he thinks this is the 4th cue with old yellow joint.

More and better photos soon

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:09 PM

Blue Grass by Donna & Richard Harris

6 Points Tulipwood i to Macassar Ebony
12 slots decor rings
Japanese Buffalo leather wrap that Richard bought more than 20 years ago from a dealer in Japan and only other cue that has the leather out of it is The Ruby Cue which is also in my possession.

Don't have to talk much about Richard since everyone knows how precise, immaculate and perfect work of Donna and Richard is.
It has been an absolute pleasure working with them on this project and can't wait to receive this cue!

Some new photos soon!

skogstokig · Sunday at 10:09 PM

skip100 said:
Link to bracket:

-

duya.dyzy6.com

Looks like the round of 64 is about to start. All three Kos, Orcollo, Potts, Wu Jiaqing are still in. Ko Ping Han and Wu play each other next.

haven't seen or heard about wu for ~2 years but if he's in the mix he's probably one of the top favorites

ivicafranic · Sunday at 10:06 PM

Blue Grass....The Camper Cue

6 Points Thuya Burl into Dark Birdseye Maple
Cocobolo Handle
Butt Sleeve in Thuya Burl & Birdseye Maple Area above and below the handle
Handle in Cocobolo
Ebony butt cap
Decor rings with Special 24 slot in Ebony and Orange
2 13 mm shafts with micarta ferrules
3/8x11 pin

There is a nice story behind this order, the cue and how did the name come about. The cue got the name The Camper cue because the money from it should have helped Richard and Donna to buy a camper to go on Bluegrass festivals and i let them to make the entire design for the cue.
Richard and Donna was pleasure to deal with as always and the cue came out fantastic and looks awesome. Workmanship is top notch as always and the entire experience was perfect as always is when you are dealing with honest, old school people who are big professionals.

Enjoy the photos!

GideonF · Sunday at 10:02 PM

skip100 said:
It’s an eye opening experience going to the golf course or pool hall with a skilled woman player and seeing how common it is for far less capable men to give them unsolicited advice.

This is true and real 100%.

But I’m not certain it’s just about gender in this case. My recollection of the old World Cup of Pool matches was that in many cases the “senior” member of the team would be telling the other male pro player what to do.

Sometimes this makes sense (eg SVB and Savannah or Filler and Reintjes at the WCP) but many times the players are close and they should just back off IMO. You’re probably right that the women get it more, though.

ivicafranic · Sunday at 9:59 PM

Art Cantando

4 Points most probably Rosewood into BEM with propellers and dots design which is one of my favorite. The cue has a gorgeous genuine lizard wrap and ivory ferulles.
I am feeling happy and lucky that I was able to find one of Art's masterpieces in brand new, unchalked condition.
Art built some of the nicest cues that are fantastic players too. His sense for aesthetic was amazing.

About Art Cantando

Art played a lot of pool when he was a teenager. When it was time to make a living , he went into the car repair business with his family. He then started his own succcessful bussines. Along the way he learned leather carving and he carved animals on gun cases and holsters and the like.
Whenbhe retired, he decided to pursue another field, cue making. His goal was to build a good playing cue. He talked to Barry Szamboti, who he knew, and who put tips on cues for him. Art brought a lathe and began doing his own tip work and this led to making cues which he started buiding in 1997.
Art owes his success to friends Tony Scianella from Black Boar, Jeff Prather and most of all Barry Szamboti.

Enjoy the pics!

Baby Huey · Sunday at 9:45 PM

I think the 80's belong to Hopkins. RA was done, Efren became the MAN in the 90's and forward. Grady, Joyner and Cornbread did not have his firepower running balls. Certainly Varner could compete at a very high level but Hopkins IMO reigned supreme back then.

straightline · Sunday at 9:38 PM

My skill only matters to me. Wonder how much Sharivari made for that line. Maybe I should give Lowry a try?

straightline · Sunday at 9:34 PM

Independent International Sports Community

westcoast · Sunday at 9:32 PM

Rocket354 said:
Playing all the time with an extension was a fad for a couple years, no clue why. A decent number of pros did it, so lots of league players suddenly did, even ones who played only on 7ft tables. Then the pros stopped, and I don't see any more league players doing it.

Both SVB and Shaw seemed to play great with the extension- they won a lot of big tournaments- that old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" may apply- both seem to play worse without it, Shaw especially- may just be a coincidence though (perhaps natural age-related decline). Kaci is probably the one major pro still using a full extension now.

Out of curiosity, I started shooting with one around 7 years ago and have consistently used one since- don't know exactly why I like it, but it feels like it adds stability and power to my stroke.

InsertCleverNameHere · Sunday at 9:30 PM

iusedtoberich said:
Why aren’t they breaking like Shane taught the world then, and making 2-4 balls on the break like he was, even with the wood rack in TAR 1?

Breaking from the rail in 10 and 8 ball will never make sense to me. I can understand second ball playing 8 ball but hitting the 1 solid from the rail is dumb imo.

Dbex6505 · Sunday at 9:28 PM

I have a Bobby Hunter wrapless coming to me this week if you’re interested in trades. Two shafts but both are a little thinner or the PK sneaky with two full shafts

ivicafranic · Sunday at 9:09 PM

R2PQZ said:
I am turning shafts today. Every time I get back to my phone you have more cues to share. If I miss the like button on any of them I apologize.

Thank you very much!

Positively Ralf · Sunday at 9:05 PM

iusedtoberich said:
Dumb question perhaps... if the Chinese are pumping this much money into cue-sports, what are they doing with more mainstream sports?

This is a great question that I've been asking for years now. The only mainstream sport that seems to get a lot of attention over there is basketball and that is because the NBA is in bed with the Chinese government. I have no idea what else is considered mainstream over there when it comes to regular sports. Do they even have a national soccer team?

I do know that the Chinese have invested heavily into the esports realm but have no idea if it has paid off as that bubble seems to have burst a few years ago.

azhousepro · Sunday at 9:00 PM

IT WAS QUARTER-FINALS day at the PREDATOR PRO BILLIARD SERIES as all three events played down to the last four. The best-of-three sets format means the pressure never ends until the last 10-ball is potted and the prospect of a spot shot shoot-out is never far away when the first two sets are shared. In the Billard Beckmann Men’s Open, Felix Vogel, the 2025 WPA World Junior Champion, is transitioning superbly into the men’s game and he showed his quality to defeat an in-form Max Lechner to dash home hopes and advance to the semi-finals. Vogel is a top ten […]

See full article...

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🎈John Bender Box Style😘

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🎈AE Custom Cue Ebony on Ebony 4 Points🎈

🎈AE Custom Cue Ebony on Ebony 4 Points🎈

🎈Jim Buss The Blue Book Cue🎈

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🎈Bluegrass Tulipwood & Macassar Ebony 6 Points🎈

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🎈Bluegrass Thuya Burl 6 Points🎈

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🎈Art Cantando🎈

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Best 1Pocket Player of the 80's - 90's

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$1.5M first place prize for Chinese tournament next week

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