Hi my name is Jake, I am brand new to AZ, I been playing pool since I was a little boy-when my uncle Rick (Goulden) would get me cues for xmas birthdays ect ect. I was intp motocross racing as a young man and never took pool serious until i was 20or so.when i started showing interest in custom cues and designing cues my uncle Rick took me under his wing and taught me everything he could,and as alot of you already know he is very knowledgable about cues - specializing in old palmers paradise bushka ect ect. The other stuff ive learn has been from attending 8or 9 ICCS (international cue collectors shows),and many other smaller scale shows. Im like a sponge when it comea to learning about the older stuff and new-makers ,materials,construction methods, design and whatnot,but you cant ever learn enough,well iam not on amy other forums or anything like that and actually hate computers and stay away from them as much as possible,so learning how to post pics,threads-or what a thread even is had been quite the learnimg experience lol lol lol. I shouldnt say i hate computers i just spend my time,hunting fishing and training/running my sled dogs amd obviously alot of time in tje poolroom,or i work for my uncle managing hos bar and we have two diamond bar boxes so i play at break every chance i get and if i wanna play some onepocket i go across the street to my unclea house and play on one of the two diamond 9footers surroinded by tons tons amd tons of memorabilia, old chalk, ivory-clay-plastic balls,rare posters,shadow boxes ect ect and he owns on of the biggest collections in the entire world. I truely am a very lucky guy to have all of this readily avalible anytime i want it. I dont take ot for granted either i know i am extremely licky amd alot of people would be happy as i am in my position. The stuff ive learned over the years through top cue makers and collectors is priceless amd i feel very fortunate to have an uncle that has introduced me to alot of collectors,cue makers ect ect and they aldo have taken me under their wing and taughr me all konds of stuff. Special thanks to Will Prout,Dennis Glenn,Ken Kerner,little Kenny,Tom Watters,Japanese friends Hiedo Ohara and Kiohara,Matt Conerly from cue addicts,Bill Grassley from Cornerstone,Kieth Walton and his son David,Max Hoskins,Phil "cigar man" Windham, and cue malers-frist and foremost Andy amd Vicki Gilbert-great friends and they have taught me so much about cue construction in the early days of my new found obsession, BillSchick,mMike Bender,Ernie,Pete Tonkin,Bruce Kuhn,Richard Black and one of the highlights of my life was meeting and talking to Tad way back at the lake las vegas show in 05 or 06,we talked for half and hour or so and iv heard he wasnt the type to just atrike up conversation with anyone and didnt really like the big crowds and all but i wouldnt have ever guessed that,he was a very nice guy and answered all my questions and would elaborate of the original question amd tell me all kinds of other stories that related to my questions,great memories Mr Kohara-you are truely missed my friemd. All of tjese people have helped mould me into what i am today and without your help,support amd guidance i wouldnt know all in know without amy of you. Some helped more than others but everyone listed has tolded me a little bit of info or helped me in spme way or another and i thank all of you,the biggest thanls goes to uncle Rick,he saw something and helped unlock it-my passion for custom cues and i couldnt do it withour you,i have loved every minute of it -everyand mile of driving20000+miles between cues shows DCC,SBE ect ect. I need help confirmimg friends onto my friends list amd if ANYONE has any advice,tricks or techniques about posting stuff up here please let me know, dont be shy,i love this site,i camt believe all the members!!!!crazy!!! Had no idea it was this big!!!i have now found others that like this stuff as much as i do.i feel at home now.i cant believe it took me over ten uears to join this sight. Good or bad you all are stuck with me-FOREVER,i imagine i will be a regular poster. I already put some picks of my Gilbert cues amd some random monsters from the ICCS shows they are in the products area<under cue and case gallery> thanks for the few qho have welcomed me so far,it means alot. I feel amongst my own now. :thumbup:
