I recently picked up this unmarked cue and have been trying to work through the construction before assigning anything to it.
At this point, I suspect it may be an early Gandy cue by Ricco Cervantes, possibly built from a rosewood Brunswick Titlist blank. I’m hoping someone familiar with these early Gandy/National cues can either confirm that direction or tell me where I’m going wrong.
Two of Chopdoc’s cues in the Gandy Cue Information thread particularly caught my attention, for different reasons.
First is his ebony Titlist HC-140, identified by Dick Abbott as a circa-1969 Ricco Cervantes. The point geometry and veneer configuration look remarkably similar to this cue, with the obvious difference being ebony versus what appears to be rosewood here:
https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/gandy-cue-information.127423/post-6283210
Separately, Chopdoc’s HC-150 caught my attention because of several other construction details. In particular, the translucent material and ring arrangement at the joint look very similar, as does the veneer-style ringwork at the butt sleeve. That cue is also described as having aluminum shaft inserts and two shafts:
https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/gandy-cue-information.127423/post-6284550
I realize these are two different cues, so I’m not suggesting that either one individually duplicates this cue. What caught my attention is that several of its more unusual construction details seem to appear across these early Gandy/Cervantes examples.
A few details and measurements from this cue:
• 57 5/8” overall
• Butt: 28 7/8” excluding pin, 15.3 oz
• Two shafts: 28 1/2” to end of ferrule, 4.4 oz and 4.1 oz
• Both ferrules approximately 12.7 mm x 1”
• 5/16-18 joint
• 21.0 mm joint diameter
• Metal shaft inserts appear to be aluminum/nonmagnetic
• Approximately 13” linen wrap
• Butt diameter approximately 1.27”
• Four-point/four-veneer full-splice forearm
• No markings found anywhere
The cue was reportedly purchased years ago at a flea market in Chicago.
Does Ricco Cervantes / early Gandy look like the right direction here? And does the forearm appear to be a rosewood Brunswick Titlist blank?
Any information, corrections or comparable examples would be greatly appreciated.
