Where's my cue?

Jodacus

Jodacus

Shoot...don't talk
Silver Member
Eight years ago I paid a custom cue maker a down payment for a cue. Nothing I wanted was particularly extraordinary. Since then I have had one response from the cue maker about how the cue was coming along. I got pictures so at least I know it was started. Now his voice mail box is full and he ignores my e-mails. I know the well known makers take years (10 or more) to fill some orders, but this man is not that well known. I still want the cue from him. I have two others of his. Besides "wait" any other advice? Any one else have similar problem?
 
Kiss your money goodby is my feeling. Hope you have a nice cue to play with.
 
Thus the argument against custom cue makers!
I am in the same boat.
My advice is if using a custom maker, make sure they are in your own back yard.
I probably will never do it again myself.
 
Jodacus said:
Eight years ago I paid a custom cue maker a down payment for a cue. Nothing I wanted was particularly extraordinary. Since then I have had one response from the cue maker about how the cue was coming along. I got pictures so at least I know it was started. Now his voice mail box is full and he ignores my e-mails. I know the well known makers take years (10 or more) to fill some orders, but this man is not that well known. I still want the cue from him. I have two others of his. Besides "wait" any other advice? Any one else have similar problem?
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Who is it?
 
I have a simple question: why cue makers need so much time to build a cue?
 
Wait for What ?

There is only one maker that I know of that is close to a 10 Year wait
and everybody knows it's Southwest Cues.
Would love to know who the maker is because something does not sound right to me about the wait time.



Thanks.......Paul
 
twal said:
Thus the argument against custom cue makers!
I am in the same boat.
My advice is if using a custom maker, make sure they are in your own back yard.
I probably will never do it again myself.
Click to expand...

I have never, ever run into these issues with the cue makers I have commissioned cues from. The worst thing was that the delivery date was extended about a month, both times because the maker was getting ready for the SBE, and I didn't have a problem with it because I knew it would be delivered shortly thereafter.

I suppose I should thank my lucky stars...but doing the research on the makers went a long way.

Lisa
 
Trent said:
how long do you think it should take?
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the actual time to make a basic cue? not more than 6 months. if it takes longer than that there's something wrong. i say this because i got my dick neighbors in less than that and i'll put it up against anything else. it's a four point, four veneer with inlays and deco rings made of birdseye and ebony. nothing complicated.
now a pile up of orders creating a backlog or exotic materials and a complicated design is a different story. but 8 years, c'mon. southwest and searing maybe can be out that far based on number of orders but not many others. and if they are - imo - they should consider saying no to new orders, and definately not take deposits. becasue i am not giving any one a penny who talks in terms of years. you have no way of knowing what can happen that far away, and to many guys flake. you see it on here all the time.
edited to add: i just noticed you were in ohio. ask dickie or sherm and i'm sure they tell you it shouldn't take years and years to do it.
 
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twal said:
Thus the argument against custom cue makers!
I am in the same boat.
My advice is if using a custom maker, make sure they are in your own back yard.
I probably will never do it again myself.
Click to expand...

Let's not generalize. Cue makers are people, and people vary in every aspect of their lives. Some cue makers are good businessmen, and some are not, that is a fact. We have also seen instances in the past where a cue maker has gotten ill, or had an accident, etc, that takes him out of action for several months and his customer base has not been notified. Things in life happen, but you as a paying customer have a right to know what to expect as a delivery time.

The reasonable thing to do is to communicate, but if he's not responding, then your options are certainly limited. If you are now at a point to make your story public, I would suggest that you get very specific. Don't exagurate and don't skew the facts in any way, just state the facts of your story with accuracy and dates, and state who the cue maker is. Chances are that he will read your story and respond to you, or someone on here will tell him about your post and he will respond to you.
 
twal said:
Thus the argument against custom cue makers!
I am in the same boat.
My advice is if using a custom maker, make sure they are in your own back yard.
I probably will never do it again myself.
Click to expand...

Quick to feed the trolls arn't we! Though I do agree with using local cuemakers. If you are putting up a deposit.

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat as the the OP. Not all cue makers/wanta-be cuemakers are crooks!

Larry
 
custom cue

I have spent lots of money on high end cue's and have sold 50-60 of them myself. My advise is to buy what is already in stock new or used. If you just have to have a certian design that you cant live without and cant find already made somewhere, you are in a bad place if you dont use the list of guys that are well known and there are plenlty!!!

If you leave any of the major cue shows without a cue you love, you dont love cues!! If you go through the major cue brokers to have a custome cue maker do the work, it always works out. No cue maker wants to burn the major brokers, the word will get around and no one will touch their work. Good Luck!
 
jrt30004 said:
the actual time to make a basic cue? not more than 6 months. if it takes longer than that there's something wrong. i say this because i got my dick neighbors in less than that and i'll put it up against anything else. it's a four point, four veneer with inlays and deco rings made of birdseye and ebony. nothing complicated.
now a pile up of orders creating a backlog or exotic materials and a complicated design is a different story. but 8 years, c'mon. southwest and searing maybe can be out that far based on number of orders but not many others. and if they are - imo - they should consider saying no to new orders, and definately not take deposits. becasue i am not giving any one a penny who talks in terms of years. you have no way of knowing what can happen that far away, and to many guys flake. you see it on here all the time.
edited to add: i just noticed you were in ohio. ask dickie or sherm and i'm sure they tell you it shouldn't take years and years to do it.
Click to expand...

im with you i believe no more than 6-12 months unless there are special circumstances, illness injury mistake, and whatever else. I was curious.
 
Thanks for your responses. I love cues. I collect cues. I don't play with most of them because sometimes stuff just happens. I guess I'll have to fly across the country just to knock on his door. I would probably get my money back, problem is, I would rather get the cue! Sometimes I play with one of his that I already own but it is not perfect. I wish he would come through, the new one just might be. Oh well....not the first time I've lost money with a stick and probably not the last.

Thanks Again.
 
I don't want to put him out to the public. It is too difficult to make a living at this job as is. I suspect he got very busy with local customers and keeps putting mine on the back burner. From your comments you sound as if you may have an idea as to who this is. Am I correct?
 
Jodacus said:
I don't want to put him out to the public. It is too difficult to make a living at this job as is. I suspect he got very busy with local customers and keeps putting mine on the back burner. From your comments you sound as if you may have an idea as to who this is. Am I correct?
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Well if you can't get in touch with him it could help if you post who he is here. Somebody might know him or maybe he visits the forum. Either way IMO after 10 years you should have more than a picture after you paid the money. Just sayin.......
 
You are a patient man. I have had some bad life events pile up and had to ask the cuemaker to let take a little longer to pay for a cue, but unless it is southwest, 8 years sounds like a long time. Just saying, it may be time to right it off. BHQ makes a nice cue, so does steve klapp. Good luck, John
 
Slh said:
I have a simple question: why cue makers need so much time to build a cue?
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Each piece of wood must be turned, approximately every 3 weeks. Each cue gets turned 6-10 times. Do the math. A reputable cue maker will have a large number of pieces of wood...in progress.
 
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