I've known Steve since his first cue, he's always been honest and upfront with me.
I have not talked to Steve since this post about this" beware " thread started..
One thing that most people don't understand is how much leather and wood can move with changes of climates and ways it's handled or stored, I've seen pool tables slates and rails that are so warped and twisted its hard to believe but I know there is no way the factory could manufacture a slate or rail in that condition and it's obvious that the defect occurred later after it was out of the shop or hands from climate or conditions of the materials that they was unaware of. I've dealt with wood rails that have been kiln dried and cured then bolted to a flat slate for 10 years then removed to recushion in the same location that the table resided for its whole life as use of a pool table... I take the rails off for 1 day while table is being serviced and while the rails was set aside on a flat sheet metal desk/work bench the rails warp like a banana in both directions....but only one rail warped like that so how do you explain that from a matched and numbered set of rails....?
Now it's my fault that the rails warped...? I don't think so.. Shit happens and there is a fix for everything in one way or another when it comes to such simple problems.... I'm not to blame or is the table company.... I hold mother nature responsible but she is queen over all so we just have to take that and accept it happens..
Relax and take it easy , Steve will deal with your cue and fix and or repair/service your cue. Stop and think about it.....no cue makers have/keep tooling to make curved shafts/cues.
I'm not taking sides here but I think there was another way to approach the matter of your cue.
Rob.M
According to the op it's been more than 7 months since he received a bad shaft and all promises from Steve to make it right have gone unfulfilled.
If what the op says is accurate then why tell him to "relax and take it easy"?
and where you said "there was another way to approach the matter of your cue"?, I wonder what that other way would be.
Attempts at direct contact with Steve were apparently not working.
imo, the op had no other good option but to come on here to air it out.
and for the record, I have had an eerily similar experience including delays on top of delays.
And I also had a tip switch. I ordered and paid for a Kamui black soft and when the shaft arrived, on the very first hit the tip flew off. Only because it came off was I able to see it was not a genuine Kamui, but rather it was an imposter.
And, oh yeah, the shaft was warped.
The tip being an imposter was suspicious to me, to say the least, and even moreso now that I see the exact same thing happened to the op.
Steve was apologetic and was going to "get right on it" making me a replacement shaft.
Ater about 6 months and many excuses for the delays, it arrived and there are two small but deep holes in the wood right in the bridge area. Damn. This really felt like the insult on top of the injury. now twice.
When I called to tell him this news, he seemed frustrated and he said I can send it back for a refund. I haven't because I know the further runaround I'd be subjecting myself to.
I keep living and I keep learning.
Anyone who is close to Steve and cares to back him up on mine, l'll gladly send it to you.
Worth noting is that Steve doesn't personally do all of the work turned out by their shop, so maybe he just has to do a better job controlling his shop's quality. He did do a couple of refinished for me back at his old shop in IL and that work came out perfectly.
I hope they get things back in order - I think he's a good guy, maybe just overwhelmed.
best,
brian kc
