Yeah. Like I went 35+ years - the first 20 being when there were ZERO sources for cuemaking tips or instructions - without developing and clever or efficient ways of doing anything.
The funniest thing to me is now, after there have been at least two manuscripts, many DVDs, and countless Youtube videos produced to "teach" cuemaking, the collective knowledge about the craft is actually considerably more limited (!) That's because all you experts (KJ, et al) have gotten your "knowledge" from the same limited pool - then you simply repeat it among yourselves and all nod at each other like it's a good thing. With VERY few exceptions, no newer cuemakers today even give a passing thought to incorporating / developing new methods or technology - why should then when DZ's latest YouTube video has already taught them everything they think they'll ever need to know?
Back in the 80's I had the priceless opportunity to become friends with Tad Kohara. Tad had been born in a machine shop (literally), and was already a successful manufacturer when he bought all of Harvey Martin's equipment and supplies (after Harvey died). The things he learned from studying Martin's tools could fill volumes, and Tad was clever enough to make that knowledge his launching pad for even greater tools and methods that Tad himself invented. And I was the lucky recipient of much of that because Tad was a very generous friend.
To this day there are secrets that came out of Tad's shop (with perhaps their roots in Martin's shop) that are very closely held by a handful of cuemakers. One in particular is SO valuable that if it became illegal to use I would quit the craft. I learned it from Jerry McWorter (who learned it from Tad). I assume Jerry shared it with Rick Chudy, and I shared it with Samsara. As far as I know, other than the four of us, it's unknown by any other cuemaker. In fact, we have a secret "code name" among us for the device so that we can discuss using it without ever risking accidentally revealing anything about it by a descriptive term.
Or maybe it's just a myth. Maybe there IS no secret device. Maybe there aren't several secret automated machines in North Dakota that make the most tedious cuemaking tasks not only easy, but also produce perfect results. Maybe there is no brilliant, efficient, high-yield way of slabbing ivory from a tusk section. Maybe ALL of what I've described is just pure fantasy.
The important thing is, you guys will never know. And the reason you’ll never know is because you exist in a knowledge bubble that is drawn from sources too far removed from the roots of this craft. When I started cuemaking there was no CNC available to small shops, and the NC/CNC machinery that existed on an industrial level was crude by today's standards. So I had to invent ways to use what WAS available to do what I needed to do. The same is true of every cuemaker from that era, and we all became the better for it. And all those guys know more about cuemaking than anyone today could learn from the current “shared knowledge pool”
Regarding “ego”, probably my favorite relevant quote is from baseball great Dizzy Dean, who said. “It ain’t bragging if you done it.” Well, I’m here to tell you we done it. So keep thinking they “got played”, KJ... and keep thinking you know everything – ‘cause I, for one, really enjoy watching the show.
TW