The cue came out of the Bert Kellerman collection (probably one of the largest cue collections in the world). He was the original owner, I don't believe the cue had never been worked on prior to sending to Jim.
Sloppy and incompetent work by Jim Pierce, poor customer service
- Thread starter Salamander
- Start date
The cue came out of the Bert Kellerman collection (probably one of the largest cue collections in the world). He was the original owner, I don't believe the cue had never been worked on prior to sending to Jim.
And those that correct them will sometimes even have an attempt to burn them at the stake, won't they?
Sorry you have a bum cue, hope it works out. Wheeler is good people and builds a quality cue.
Great advice! Also good advice for the owner to do the same.
Ok, fair enough, I guess the photo's I provided that show damage don't mean anything to you?
Good luck with any of your future dealings with Jim Pierce.
Well, I have to concur with those supporters of Jim. I have been working with Jim on several cues for the last several months...a couple of them near completion now. Jim has not only been extremely communicative throughout the whole process, but he has been the one to initiate contact on numerous occasions to keep me updated on the progress of the cues.
As far as the playability of his own cues...they are some of the BEST playing cues I've had in my hands...and for that alone, I have no problem supporting him!
As far as his "bowling alley wood" shafts...I've gone so far as sending him another cuemakers cue to match his shaft onto the other's butt...they play THAT MUCH BETTER.
Of course playability of cues is completely opinionated...we all know that...but the fact that so many people have voiced their opinions regarding Jim's attention to detail and his desire to constantly go above and beyond what most other cuemakers do for their customers, speaks volumes to me about Jim the "man" not just Jim the "cuemaker"!
Jason
As far as the playability of his own cues...they are some of the BEST playing cues I've had in my hands...and for that alone, I have no problem supporting him!
As far as his "bowling alley wood" shafts...I've gone so far as sending him another cuemakers cue to match his shaft onto the other's butt...they play THAT MUCH BETTER.
Of course playability of cues is completely opinionated...we all know that...but the fact that so many people have voiced their opinions regarding Jim's attention to detail and his desire to constantly go above and beyond what most other cuemakers do for their customers, speaks volumes to me about Jim the "man" not just Jim the "cuemaker"!
Jason
People are only talking about the refinish on the cue, wasn't the new shaft also built poorly?
No I did not have the cue repaired previously. As mentioned above it came from the Bert Kellerman collection. I feel confident that the cue had never had any other work done on it.
Initially I asked that Jim Pierce buy the cue from me at the amount that I paid for it. I would return the cue to him and he could do what he wanted with it.
Jim responded with trying to get Mike Wheeler to fix it (Jim would pay) and I would pay Jim for the "work" that he did. The trouble with this is that Mike was not sure he could even make the repair, because he was not sure he had the necessary inlay material to recreate the butt. Much less the forearm issuee....
My last offer to Jim was to ask for $500 to compensate me for the damage that he did to the cue. My next intent is to put the cue up for sale on the forum. I suspect, due to its current condition, that it will probably bring at most maybe $400. It will be a loss all the way around.
Wheeler's super. Thanks for your comment.
I'm really glad, that things worked out for you and others. I've had pm's from people that have indicated otherwise. It would be nice if they would contribute to this thread, but I respect their privacy.
As to the bowling alley shafts.....hit is interely subjective.
As to the bowling alley shafts.....hit is interely subjective.
The shaft was built OK. The only issues where that it did not fit tightly on the joint screw (lose). And the diameter of the shaft was larger than the joint diameter on the butt. Hardly anything to get upset about, but just some of the other many little issues that I had with the cue.
A shaft, when built when the cue was in his shop should not have any problems. I'm not gonna bother digging for the posts, but I've read to many not positive comments about Pierce cues that the one I had my eye on, I no longer have my eye on it.
I'll offer more than it is worth!
Tell you what, I'll help out on this deal. For the cue and the three shafts including the brand new shaft made from bowling alley wood I'm prepared to pay $410 plus shipping. I assume you will jump all over this since it is more than the most you hoped to get for the cue.
Hu
Tell you what, I'll help out on this deal. For the cue and the three shafts including the brand new shaft made from bowling alley wood I'm prepared to pay $410 plus shipping. I assume you will jump all over this since it is more than the most you hoped to get for the cue.
Hu
My thoughts as well.
Hu,
I'll tell you what, unless Jim Pierce comes up with a better solution, or someone comes up with a better offer, I very well might sell to you. Were you being sarcastic, or is this a legitimate offer? I have paperwork showing I paid $1,375, and Mike Wheeler would charge over $1,700 for the cue with 3 shafts.
If I do sell to you, it is strickly "as is", no returns....you are now aware of the crap work that Jim Pierce performed on this cue.
I personally know Jim and own two of his cues. He has always been extremely accommodating to me and gone above and beyond my expectations. I've also been to his shop and reviewed his cue building and cue repair process which proved to me he is very competent at what he does for a living.
I'm glad it did not happen to you.
Personally, I doubt that Jim would have any reason to cut the wrap groove any deeper. I can see the rim that you mentioned. It just looks like the linen
is lower at the star of the wrap. Maybe pressed a bit too much.
I have pressed a wrap too much myself. All I do is spray the linen a tad and let it expand again and re press at the edge to even it.
In the pic of the fore arm where you can see light under it. If you turn the fore arm 180 degress, can you see light under it too. You mentioned that
it is like and hour glass figure. Just wondering if the hour glass figure is even all the way around and it is the taper that Mike does.
It might sound kind of funny but if the wrap isn't totally even, it can make the fore arm look like it has a slight wobble. I have one or two like that. I can't tell as I am not there so just going on your description of the problem. Once the shaft is screwed on, the tip doesn't leave the table so all is good.
Building a cue can be rocket science and it isn't rocket science at the same time.
I have hand sanded shafts that are pretty much 100% perfect and I have done others that have a roll to them. I don't have a machine dedicated to tapering shafts so I have to do the best I can with my eyes and hands.
Most of my shafts have a slight roll to them. Even the Predators and production cues. In the long run, if the tip doesn't leave the table, no worries.
is lower at the star of the wrap. Maybe pressed a bit too much.
I have pressed a wrap too much myself. All I do is spray the linen a tad and let it expand again and re press at the edge to even it.
In the pic of the fore arm where you can see light under it. If you turn the fore arm 180 degress, can you see light under it too. You mentioned that
it is like and hour glass figure. Just wondering if the hour glass figure is even all the way around and it is the taper that Mike does.
It might sound kind of funny but if the wrap isn't totally even, it can make the fore arm look like it has a slight wobble. I have one or two like that. I can't tell as I am not there so just going on your description of the problem. Once the shaft is screwed on, the tip doesn't leave the table so all is good.
Building a cue can be rocket science and it isn't rocket science at the same time.
I have hand sanded shafts that are pretty much 100% perfect and I have done others that have a roll to them. I don't have a machine dedicated to tapering shafts so I have to do the best I can with my eyes and hands.
Most of my shafts have a slight roll to them. Even the Predators and production cues. In the long run, if the tip doesn't leave the table, no worries.
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The edge at the bottom of the wrap is raw and ragged. Who knows why he would have cut the wrap groove deeper. This is how the cue arrived to me. Yes you can see light under the joint all the way around. It is an hour glass shape, and no Mike Wheeler does not cut his cues that way. My other Mike Wheeler, made the same year, is perfect there.
Thank you...you beat me to it. I was thinking of posting the same thing until I read your post.
I HONESTLY don't know what the big deal is with these types of situations, because they can be avoided rather easily by doing just what you said.
The insurance companies do this all the time. If your car is damaged, they take pictures and then have it fixed to (hopefully) the condition it was in before the damage occurred.
EVERY time I send ANYTHING, I take pictures of it just in case somebody disputes the condition of the item. I would suggest the RECEIVER of an item do the same thing, so comparisons can be made if there is ever any question of who is right or who is wrong.
It only takes a few minutes to take pictures, so lack of time is not a credible excuse if you ask me. If a cue maker thinks it is time consuming, then they should build an extra $5 or so into their costs for their time.