Why is Tascarella the Bushka expert?

You keep saying things with ZERO collaboration and / or proof. None, zero. No where did I say anything here that you are saying. I am saying 1200/16 is 75.. so that is it. No where did I mention the number of blanks he used except for the assumption of 600 titlists. You think Burton Spain, hundreds of blanks is an issue? Burton could have supplied George all he needed and then some....

Whos' your guy in town? Come up with a name, instead of this I know a guy nonsense..

Again, same thing.. pop some names up here with this Tascarella nonsense.

I have no questionable dealings with Pete at all. He has always been square with us, period. As I said in another thread, rumors with no names, are rumors. Now there is Ginky, nice he is dead so I guess you'll use his name, and now its many people in on the scam.. names, and people who are breathing please... or its just BS.

So we all understand how you work, you go after a deceased and beloved former player, and a cuemaker that doesn't post here with "I heards" and I have a friend of a friend of a friend, that mowed Georges lawn....

Your issues with Pete whatever they are, he didn't make you a cue, maybe you sent him a cue he wouldn't write a letter for, whatever it maybe.. you should take it up with him, IN PERSON. He is easy to find, and easy to get on the phone. That is the problem with guys like you, hit a guy where he doesn't post or contribute, then not look the guy up when you get the chance, in fact I would be the word would more like be..avoid... Because I don't think for a second that you would even entertain the thought of talking this to him and his son in person.

BTW you're no protector of cue knowledge and history.. you don't have anything to protect.

JV

ideologist said:
Alter-ego? Unreal. :) Another nutswinger enters the fray to defend Tascarella and questionable business dealings.

What's the lie here? You say George was blasting out 75 cues per year from day 1 of his career, onward.

You say Burton Spain was giving him HUNDREDS of blanks at such a frenetic pace? Ridiculous.

George made shafts for guys. He made a few cues a year for dealers. He had one lathe. Guys stopped in to bug him and chat, so the lathe wasn't operating. George would barely make cues for anyone not named Willie Mosconi, you needed to be a VIP or known player. The wait times were quite noticeable.

A guy here in town can confirm all of this, as he was a player and dealer for George and worked exclusively with a personal friend of George's to sell cues in the Rochester market.

You have questionable dealings with Tascarella and selling "Balabushka" cues that somehow have bleached vacuum kiln-dried maple and a LOA from Pete clearing up the fact that the wood is not period correct, but still somehow from the 1960s.

Why should people blindly believe you when you have something to gain here? My friend here, my supposed alter-ego, has a phenomenal Balabushka. He was advised strongly to jot send his cue to Pete, by people who were in on Pete's scam with Ginky to rip off legit owners by "restoring" their original Bushka cues, selling the originals to Asia, and returning clones to the NYC owners.

My only interest is to keep counterfeits off the market, and for a dying cue market to boot out the trash that has gone on behind closed doors for years.
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classiccues said:
You are wrong 100%.. You want to say he made 10 cues a year which is not true, at all. It only takes 75 cues a year to make 1200 in 16 years. The math is simple, and it adds up. Where as your delusional math, is all over the board and makes NO sense.

JV
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Don't hyperbolize to downplay reason. I think several hundred is fair, lifetime. But any time he sanded a shaft down, he was not building cues. He sold a LOT of shafts, this can also be verified by people who dealt directly with him. Any time he was chatting, or eating, or doing anything besides building cues, he was not building cues.

I know everyone says he is Superman here, but modern builders with CNC and lots of process improvement, multiple lathes, etc... They have a very hard time hitting 75 cues annually.

George did everything by hand. No pantograph, no CNC, lots of artisan-quality work. This does not help crank out cues.

The magic "1200" or "2000" number only helps guys like you and Pete, and it does not mesh well with reality.
 
Gus and Burton, making the most labor intensive part of the cue, en masse for resale, and continue to have a similar output in their own cue work.
.... and George can't make 75 a year...

To paraphrase..My cousin Vinny...

The laws of physics must cease to work in your shops....

JV

merylane said:
Bigb'scues said:
I have said it many times it would not surprise me if he made well over 2000.

If you take his peer Ernie for example he was making well over 100 a year in the 60's similar shop.... And he said it was closer to 150.

What's hard to believe he was buying 12 Spain blanks a month for years and still doing titlists.

Or Gus all the work he did plus work for Palmer and his cues were more labor intensive.


.
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classiccues said:
You keep saying things with ZERO collaboration and / or proof. None, zero. No where did I say anything here that you are saying. I am saying 1200/16 is 75.. so that is it. No where did I mention the number of blanks he used except for the assumption of 600 titlists. You think Burton Spain, hundreds of blanks is an issue? Burton could have supplied George all he needed and then some....

Whos' your guy in town? Come up with a name, instead of this I know a guy nonsense..

Again, same thing.. pop some names up here with this Tascarella nonsense.

I have no questionable dealings with Pete at all. He has always been square with us, period. As I said in another thread, rumors with no names, are rumors. Now there is Ginky, nice he is dead so I guess you'll use his name, and now its many people in on the scam.. names, and people who are breathing please... or its just BS.

So we all understand how you work, you go after a deceased and beloved former player, and a cuemaker that doesn't post here with "I heards" and I have a friend of a friend of a friend, that mowed Georges lawn....

Your issues with Pete whatever they are, he didn't make you a cue, maybe you sent him a cue he wouldn't write a letter for, whatever it maybe.. you should take it up with him, IN PERSON. He is easy to find, and easy to get on the phone. That is the problem with guys like you, hit a guy where he doesn't post or contribute, then not look the guy up when you get the chance, in fact I would be the word would more like be..avoid... Because I don't think for a second that you would even entertain the thought of talking this to him and his son in person.

BTW you're no protector of cue knowledge and history.. you don't have anything to protect.

JV
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Sure, but when I air names, you'll just say "but they aren't in my rarefied air" and discredit them too.

I left the NY guys names out since they live in the same town and I don't want to cause them a rift while I'm disputing your cue sales.

Rochester? Fran Imburgia was there in the halls when George's cues were sold directly by Sam Calabrese, George's close friend and dealer. He recalls the period with surprising clarity. Knock me all you want, but I wouldn't knock him, you'll just damage your reputation on the matter even further. Sam got ~12 cues a year, and that was with a lot of nagging. Fran, a very strong local player, wasn't able to get a cue since George didn't know him personally, until Sam interceded on his behalf. 75 guys a year were close personal friends with George? This was in the 1960s, before his name and prices were in the upper echelons of the pool world, and he sold cues to any buyer with cash. He was very exclusive for the first chunk of his career, and people on here rave about his perfectionism. Perfection and cranking cues out, they don't match up well.

Mike Sigel was around Rochester at the time and may corroborate this. I've never met or spoken with him so I'm not sure what he knows.
 
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You're wrong. Again, he purchased the most labor intensive parts of the cue outside, the shafts were pre-turned, again minimizing what he had to do.

75 cues, 16 years.. not only very possible but very likely. As calculated by another cuemaker that makes cues in a similar fashion.

If those cnc guys did what did what George did, by purchasing his components, they would have little trouble hitting 75, IMHO.

Like its already been stated there are cuemakers, that have said they have done more, and they had to make forearms...

JV

BTW 1200/2000 I would rather have the number lower, a higher number doesn't help me at all. However, the reality IMHO is 75 per year on average...

ideologist said:
Don't hyperbolize to downplay reason. I think several hundred is fair, lifetime. But any time he sanded a shaft down, he was not building cues. He sold a LOT of shafts, this can also be verified by people who dealt directly with him. Any time he was chatting, or eating, or doing anything besides building cues, he was not building cues.

I know everyone says he is Superman here, but modern builders with CNC and lots of process improvement, multiple lathes, etc... They have a very hard time hitting 75 cues annually.

George did everything by hand. No pantograph, no CNC, lots of artisan-quality work. This does not help crank out cues.

The magic "1200" or "2000" number only helps guys like you and Pete, and it does not mesh well with reality.
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classiccues said:
You're wrong. Again, he purchased the most labor intensive parts of the cue outside, the shafts were pre-turned, again minimizing what he had to do.

75 cues, 16 years.. not only very possible but very likely. As calculated by another cuemaker that makes cues in a similar fashion.

If those cnc guys did what did what George did, by purchasing his components, they would have little trouble hitting 75, IMHO.

Like its already been stated there are cuemakers, that have said they have done more, and they had to make forearms...

JV
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Um, he bought final sanded sealed shafts with tips and ferrules installed? The finishing is the most aggravating part of a shaft, tedious and careful work.
 
ideologist said:
Don't hyperbolize to downplay reason. I think several hundred is fair, lifetime. But any time he sanded a shaft down, he was not building cues. He sold a LOT of shafts, this can also be verified by people who dealt directly with him. Any time he was chatting, or eating, or doing anything besides building cues, he was not building cues.

I know everyone says he is Superman here, but modern builders with CNC and lots of process improvement, multiple lathes, etc... They have a very hard time hitting 75 cues annually.

George did everything by hand. No pantograph, no CNC, lots of artisan-quality work. This does not help crank out cues.

The magic "1200" or "2000" number only helps guys like you and Pete, and it does not mesh well with reality.
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I used to visit Burtons shop from time to time and he mentiond to me he sent George "hundreds" of blanks. Constantly at the post office....

There ya go..Now YOU can say you know someone who knew that...

Incidentally he also said George was "tethered" to his shop. Seemed to always be working...Just one more thing you can bank on.

1200. Easily.... As John said prabably more.

Just an FYI, 75 cues a year is NOT, in any way, "hard" for any maker as long as they know what they're doing and work more than 3 days a week...
 
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12 cues a year going to this unknown dealer and friend of Georges, and he is making cues for a multitude of other customers, so did he only make 12 cues for Rochester NY? Of course not. But if 12 go to Rochester, how many go to real players and customers? You really cannot be that naïve'.

I don't knock people I don't know, and I certainly wouldn't knock someone that can't post for themselves. BUT I also know what 50 year old memory is worth in terms of accuracy as a point of reference, as a life lesson, in general.

I mentioned 7500/11500k a year is what he would be making at 75 cues a year. $1k 1965 / same buying power as 7.5k today.. So again... the numbers mesh.

I don't have to post anymore. Guys who know more about cues than you, and I combined are good with the numbers and they make sense. BTW that number (1200) was not from Pete, so to think Pete came up with that number to cover some shady activity, is a flat out lie in itself.

JV

ideologist said:
Sure, but when I air names, you'll just say "but they aren't in my rarefied air" and discredit them too.

I left the NY guys names out since they live in the same town and I don't want to cause them a rift while I'm disputing your cue sales.

Rochester? Fran Imburgia was there in the halls when George's cues were sold directly by Sam Calabrese, George's close friend and dealer. He recalls the period with surprising clarity. Knock me all you want, but I wouldn't knock him, you'll just damage your reputation on the matter even further. Sam got ~12 cues a year, and that was with a lot of nagging. Fran, a very strong local player, wasn't able to get a cue since George didn't know him personally, until Sam interceded on his behalf. 75 guys a year were close personal friends with George? This was in the 1960s, before his name and prices were in the upper echelons of the pool world, and he sold cues to any buyer with cash. He was very exclusive for the first chunk of his career, and people on here rave about his perfectionism. Perfection and cranking cues out, they don't match up well.

Mike Sigel was around Rochester at the time and may corroborate this. I've never met or spoken with him so I'm not sure what he knows.
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skins said:
I used to visit Burtons shop from time to time and he mentiond to me he sent George "hundreds" of blanks. Constantly at the post office....

There ya go..Now YOU can say you know someone who knew that...

Incedentally he also said George was "tethered" to his shop. Seemed to always be working...Just one more thing you can bank on.

1200. Easily.... As John said prabably more.

Just an FYI, 75 cues a year is NOT, in any way, "hard" for any maker as long as they know what they're doing and work more than 3 days a week...
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Did he have one lathe and no other taper machines ?
Did he taper his shafts on a wood lathe with chisel?
No pantograph?
 
JoeyInCali said:
Did he have one lathe and no other taper machines ?
Did he taper his shafts on a wood lathe with chisel?
No pantograph?
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I don't remember much of anything about his equipment but I did remember seeing a lathe relatively close to the front of the shop. Never really ventured deep in the shop..I was 22 at the time and wasn't that into the production of cues as much... An acquaintance from The Billiard Cafe new him fairly well and when I would go to a tournament there we'd sometimes end up stopping by Burton's afterwards for him to say "hey". He used to throw around George's name and what he did for him and such among letting us know how smart he was..LOL. :)
 
cuemakers usually made batches of things like shafts and hung them for a year or so. then did the final work on them when they would go into a cue. same with lots of butts.

he worked all the time and took a little off to play some pool.
his cues were more expensive and had a wait but not long in his early years. as he took his time on each cue. there wasnt big waiting lists like nowadays as we didnt have collectors or flippers. so most cuemakers werent really back ordered they just made cues as they felt. and of course the time between stages..

earlier on since his cues were not cheap most people got them fairly plain as they were just for shooting.
 
Why would Pete leave a bunch of wood behind? George didn't build blanks, so the wood had to be blanks or shafts. Doesn't make sense at all.
 
Actually it makes sense.. This would have been very new to Pete, and IF he did leave anything behind, it could have been because he didn't know he would have needed it, or maybe even what it was.

Remember he didn't have all the internet experts when he bought Georges shop to tell him how to make cues. :p

JV

jasonlaus said:
Why would Pete leave a bunch of wood behind? George didn't build blanks, so the wood had to be blanks or shafts. Doesn't make sense at all.
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jasonlaus said:
Why would Pete leave a bunch of wood behind? George didn't build blanks, so the wood had to be blanks or shafts. Doesn't make sense at all.
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They took a lot. They left behind wood like Brazilian Rosewoood. It's not like everyone knew that Braz Rosewood would become impossible to get. To his own admission, he jokes that he didn't know what he was thinking , but it's not like he was thinking he was going to be a full time cue builder. He had a full time job and was years away from becoming a full time cuemaker.

Per my notes and article, there were partial assemblies and components blanks for butts, but only a few.

Freddie
 
Cornerman said:
They took a lot. They left behind wood like Brazilian Rosewoood. It's not like everyone knew that Braz Rosewood would become impossible to get. To his own admission, he jokes that he didn't know what he was thinking , but it's not like he was thinking he was going to be a full time cue builder. He had a full time job and was years away from becoming a full time cuemaker.

Per my notes and article, there were partial assemblies and components blanks for butts, but only a few.

Freddie
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So he was starting to build blanks?
 
jasonlaus said:
So he was starting to build blanks?
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No. He purchased blanks. There is no indication Balabushka ever even considered making pointed blanks. He had Szamboti blanks (both turned AND completely unturned, so anyone could see immediately how a half splice short blank was built), and Spain/Davis blanks (full length, but maybe some Shortys). Only a handful, but enough to build a cue.

I cover this in the '04 Balabushka article (Hall of Fame year) and '07 Tascarella article (Tascarelle Cues "About" page).

Freddie
 
Cornerman said:
No. He purchased blanks. There is no indication Balabushka ever even considered making pointed blanks. He had Szamboti blanks (both turned AND completely unturned, so anyone could see immediately how a half splice short blank was built), and Spain/Davis blanks (full length, but maybe some Shortys). Only a handful, but enough to build a cue.

I cover this in the '04 Balabushka article (Hall of Fame year) and '07 Tascarella article (Tascarelle Cues "About" page).

Freddie
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The the rosewood he left behind was blanks then? This is why it doesn't make sense
 
jasonlaus said:
The the rosewood he left behind was blanks then? This is why it doesn't make sense
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The rosewood was wood. I never saw them; they were left behind. I would assume they were squares or planks, just like anyone would buy wood. If they were non-pointed forearms, Pete would have taken them. But Pete never mentions pre-turned non-pointed forearms. I suppose I could ask him, but it's not really important to me.

Balabushka didn't build pointed blanks, as far as any evidence showed, which is what we've been discussing.
 
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