Question about a Bob Frey cue

MeeLosh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey guys, I have a couple of questions in regards to the Bob Frey sneaky pete butt I just acquired and was hoping to get some help here.
First off, I have to say that the cue hits great and the balance is perfect, I fell in love with it the moment I picked it up (fwiw, it's currently married to a Cynergy 12.5 radial). We don't get a lot of custom cues in my part of the world, so I have almost zero experience with those, even though I've had over a dozen production cues over the years from various well known brands.

Ok, so onto the questions:
1. I attached some pictures and a video (I can add more if asked). I guess my first question would be if anybody could provide some info on the cue or the various materials used? I see it's a radial pin (though I don't know if it's stainless steel, titanium or something else?). I suppose it's a phenolic joint? I see it's birds eye maple, but what is the other wood used in the butt (maybe ebony)?
(sorry for the poor quality of pictures, if needed I can take better in daylight)

2. Here's a video of the joint. Are we seeing anything that looks worrisome or does everything appear to be kosher?
https://youtube.com/shorts/xLD3ePTF9gc

3. When the shaft is screwed, there is a tiny gap for about one third of the full circle between the shaft and the butt. I tried to capture it in the blurry image (it's the best I could do, it's only visible if the light hits it just right). I've only played about half an hour with it and from what I could tell, it didn't affect the hit and it didn't produce any weird sounds or anything. The shaft also seems to have screwed on fine. My question is - is this something that should worry me long term or is that something that happens fairly often with custom cues?
(I'd like to emphasize that there are no cuemakers where I live and I can't have any further work done on it)

4. I took a picture of the bumper. Could anybody tell me (either from that photo or by just knowing more about Bob Frey cues) what sort of cue extension would work with it? Also, what sort of weight bolts (though I don't think I'll be adding those, but can't hurt to know if anybody knows). But I'm mainly interested in the cue extension. Would any of the mass produced cue extensions fit Bob Frey cues? It's easier to obtain those in my part of the world than trying to get a custom one made.

Thank you all and sorry for the long post.

PXL_20220904_013016695b.jpgPXL_20220904_013106656.jpgPXL_20220904_013452490b.jpgPXL_20220904_013537573.jpgPXL_20220904_014258502.jpg
 
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MeeLosh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Looks like it could be a refacing issue. That would bug me if it were mine. I'd send it off to a competent cuemaker or repairman.
Unfortunately, that is not an option at this point, as there are no cue makers in my part of the world.
If I don't experience issues while shooting with it (at the moment), is that something that could get progressively worse, or is it what it is at this point? I mean, while it's obviously not ideal, I think I can live with it if it doesn't give me any issues other than visual in the future.

Does anybody know the answers to any of my other questions? Like if any of the commonly found mass-produced extensions (Predator, Mezz, Cuetec, etc.) could be used on Bob Frey cues (picture of the bumper thread attached in the original post). Or any of my other questions, like what wood the dark one is, etc.
 
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JT4Annapolis

JT in FL now
One of the old Bob Frey cues I use to have needed new bumper and after researching I found only replacement was the Joss bumper sold on their site (something about Joss getting exclusive from the rubber manufacturer and Bob having to change to different thread on newer cues). Not saying that yours is the same but if they have an extension option you might want to look into it.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Does look like someone messed with the pin, it could be crooked, or the facing is way off. I don't think I have seen a cue that much off where you can see a large gap in the joint, usually a slightly off pin or facing would show up as a wobble when the cue is together not as such a large gap. I would have a talk to whoever sold you the cue and possibly return it.

Since you are using it with a CF shaft, the butt really does not matter if it's a Frey or some cheaper one as long as the balance is one you like. The butt is mostly a handle for the shaft, past the artistry in it, using any well-constructed butt with an aftermarket shaft would be the same thing for the performance, and the hit feel would be like 80% the same. The major thing when people talk about how a cue "hits" or "plays" is the shaft the custom cuemaker built, soon as you change out the shaft, you have a whole other cue. Some guy I saw at SBE was using a $10,000 + Black Boar with a Revo shaft, one heck of an expensive handle LOL
 

MeeLosh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thank you for all the advice, guys. I think I'll wait to see if I experience any functional issues with it before I turn to the 'Ask the Cuemaker' forum. If the issues remain solely visual, I don't think I'll mind. It's that good of a cue. :)
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thank you for all the advice, guys. I think I'll wait to see if I experience any functional issues with it before I turn to the 'Ask the Cuemaker' forum. If the issues remain solely visual, I don't think I'll mind. It's that good of a cue. :)

It may play OK but do you really want a cue that someone modified from the original and not even very well? It's like buying some Star Wars early toy for $5,000 to find out the kid that owned it glued and colored his own parts onto the thing.
 

td873

C is for Cookie
Silver Member
Overall, the cue should play fine. Those types of sneakies were somewhere around $500 or so from Bob with one shaft [give or take across time].

#2: It looks like the pin was replaced, which would require removing the old pin, plugging and a re-drill. Not a hard or uncommon task. Won't affect playability. Perhaps a little on resale, but not much.

#3: The shaft issue could be a crooked pin, or one surface of the shaft or butt not being flat. In the video, I see a lot of grime on the joint collar. I would clean well with some cleaning solution. [assuming you don't have a lathe] I'd also try to use some sandpaper and very careful try to clean up the butt facing. It's got some weird stuff on it. [see pic]

#4: it's really hard to tell what the thread is on that bumper, but there is a chance you can screw in a different one that will accept an extension. [that isn't the butt cap on my Frey, by the way] Without knowing exactly what you have, it will be difficult to assist on this as there are many different butt cap/extension sizes. Cuetec and Predator are common, but here are a number of them. You could buy different versions from Amazon and return the one(s) that don't fit.

For what it's worth, you could ship your cue to any reputable cue maker and they can fix it up just like you want it pretty quickly.

-td
 

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MeeLosh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thank you for taking the time to provide such sound advice, td, much appreciated.
I tried cleaning the grime on the butt face, there was definitely some residue there, not sure what it is, but I cleaned most of it. The very tiny gap is still there, but it still seems like a cosmetic issue more than anything, as I am not experiencing any fit issues, or any weird sounds or anything. Hopefully it never escalates to anything more than that.
 
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