Chump cuemakers

This is one of the sillier threads I have seen in a while so I just had to chime in. Most cuemakers, I have found, are mediocre players at best. This may be a surprise to a lot of folks here but really good players usually devote more time to playing and less time to other, sometimes more rewarding, ventures.

A lot of the "great" cuemakers likely became so out of a love for the game and the talent, dedication and creativity that enables them to create functional art. Most "players" do not exhibit these traits and are typically more concerned with tournaments, gambling, etc.

My cue was created by a "C" player but he is an "A+" cuemaker, that is all I care about.
 
The game is in the player, not the cue. If he can make one that feels good to shoot with, then yes. If the cue feels bad, then no.
 
Who cares if the cuemaker plays like crap.The only advantage I could even
remotely come up with would be shaft taper.If the maker is a good player,
he might get a taper that is preferred by the masses.

What a cuemaker is to me,is somebody that can take your thoughts and needs
for a cue and intergrade them into an instrumental piece of playing art.

I'm more concerned about what he can do with a cue behind a lathe than
what he can do with it on a pool table.
 
snipershot said:
Im not sure how engineers or runners relate to a good playing pool cue. If you have an engineer build you a cue, it would probably be the most complex thing you ever seen. Lol. Im sure the people who design running shoes run themselves and have tons of equipement for testing and research and development.
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Analogy

That doesnt compare to making a cue. Wood tones, weight distribution, balance, cue sound, length, total weight, taper, shaft diameter, butt diameter, joint material, joint pin, wrap, finish, and more are things that a better player will or should understand.
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You don't need to be a good player to know any of those attributes, in fact, most good players don't care. What matters is that the cue maker can make a cue that feels good to the player and meets his required specifications.
If you ask most bar bangers what the balance point is on their cue, or what kind of wood is in their cue, most havent got a clue. Its not a bad thing, but that doesnt translate to a good builder if you ask me.

Joe
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The topic was not "Can most bar bangers make a cue?"

The topic was "Would you buy a cue from a cue maker who couldn't play a lick?"

In other words: "Is playing pool at a high level prerequisite to making a good cue?"

The answer to which is "no" considering how many great cuemakers there are who "can't play a lick"
 
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Although I appreciate a cue maker being able to test hit his products to insure that his/her finished product plays the way the maker intended. Additionally, if a cue maker plays pool at a higher level, then chances are, the maker is sympathetic to traits most commonly favored by players.
However, if a maker knows his woods, how to work with woods, and has a good eye for quality, then I'm ok with the maker not being able to play very well.
Very few of the people that make baseball bats are likely good baseball players, but they are talented craftsmen that know a good product when they see it. Makers of wood based musical instruments aren't all skilled musicians either.
I think it's entirely possible, and doesn't need to be a prerequisite for making a quality cue.

dave
 
Makers of wood based musical instruments aren't all skilled musicians either.
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They may not be virtuosos but they know their way around the instruments that they are making.

A violin for example isn't just tuned as a final stage. It is adjusted, played and adjusted again. If the maker doesn't have an ear for that, well, whats the point of making it.

A mechanic isn't necessarily a race driver and vice versa, but both probably know whats happening in either area if need be.

I think that it helps that the cue maker knows his way around the table also. Many have started making cues and then fine tuned the process to both theirs and players demands. There is much process in areas but quality shaft wood is a huge percentage in a decent cue.

But to use the word Chump when referring to cue makers wasn't necessary. I wouldn't use the word Chump when referring to players but as Chuck mentioned, what makes Chump players think that they have an inkling of the process involved in making cues and fine wood work. I would say that 99% or more in my city have absolutely zero idea of how a cue is built. There are guys running around here with 1800 dollar cues and thats all they know about them is they like it and they paid that much for it.

Like Ray Jay, I too suspect that the OP has or had a hidden agenda for starting this thread.
 
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Being able to play would obviously give a cuemaker a better understanding about what makes a good cue, but it's not an absolute requirement I suppose. It's kinda like buying a guitar from Gibson but the guy who made it can't play a single tune, or buying a custom Colt but the gunsmith who made it couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a handful of sand....:thumbup:
 
I would like to hear from some cuemakers on this subject, especially if they don't play well for some reason.
 
Yes, I sure would. If I picked up the cue and it felt good in my hand and moved the cue ball around to my liking, then I could care less how the guy who built it plays. In fact I've had dozens of custom cues over the years and the thought never entered my mind. Some of the cues I liked, some I didn't but I doubt it had anything to do with how the maker played.

"Great" players are all probably partial to different shaft diameters, tapers, and tips. If they were to start building cues exactly how they like them, how could they possibly satisfy everyone? They couldn't.

I think if you took a very strong player and taught him how to build a solid cue, people might be inclined to think his cues hit the "best". For some, his cue may, because the hit is so subjective but for the majority, it would be purely psychological. They would just be making an irrational correlation between the cue he made and what he can make the cue ball do with it. He could probably do the same thing with a bar cue with a decent tip. I would think it would be a good marketing angle for the cue maker, for sure. I imagine that's why pro athletes get big money to endorse various equipment.
 
When I say chump I mean the guy litterally can't make 3 balls in a row, has no stroke and no basics. Now let's hear some opinions.
 
cuemakers?

Are you talking about real cue making craftsman or assemblers. Pro,s can play with anything.In the 80,s Muecci had 6-10 of the top players using his cues. Ya think maybe paying their way had something to do with it.It takes Ernie up to 9 yrs to make a shaft . who cares if he can play. (it isnt an LD shaft)
 
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