Recent content by billyjack

I was just at Jimmy's room last night for a few hours of practice. The future of the room is uncertain. The building is going on the market, so there's no telling how long it will still be open as a poolroom. As we all know, the ratio of poolrooms closing to new rooms opening is staggering. To...

R.I.P. Jimmy I never saw him play in his prime, but I frequented his room and every now and then you could pry a story out of him about his days on the road. He was modest in his later years, at least to me, offering up more stories praising the talent of guys who beat him rather than his own...

Congrats to the winners, and thanks to Chris for the contest! Bill

Sign me up! And thanks for the offer! Bill

PM sent. Bill

Personally, I'd much rather play 8-ball, as long as we play by a good set of rules. I play in a league where we use APA rules, except for the table always being "open" after the break. IMO, it's the god-awful "Bar Rules" that give serious players a distaste for the game. Safety play is a lot...

Great idea, John. I have a Wave case in the 3X4 / 2X5 configuration. One of the things I like about it, in addition to the flexibility, is the opportunity to put my shafts in joint-down, minimizing the chalk residue in the tubes. I actually carry it more often than my 2X4 Instroke buffalo...

Good idea. There were some long discussions in the "Ask the cuemaker" forum about 5 years ago. At the time I bought a bundle of well-used Dufferins and tried a variety of the cleaning / sealing ideas proposed. By the time I got the McDermott with the overdose of red chalk, I had my own process...

Here's a post of mine from a few years ago. I doubt you'll have a shaft in worse condition than mine in this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=61661 Bill

When a new or used shaft comes into my stable, first I'll scrub it with a Magic Eraser, then wipe on a couple coats of diluted shellac, sanded between coats with 1800 micro-mesh abrasive. I'll finish sand with 4000 to get it perfectly smooth, then burnish with paper from a brown shopping bag...

Subscribed... I have some of each and was always curious what the difference was. Bill

The 1971 champ was a young man from Pittsburgh, Jimmy Marino. Jim is still alive and well and owns a poolroom in a Pittsburgh suburb-South Hills Golden Cue.

The "brittle" part is what drove me to Gorilla Glue. Sometimes, with a new shaft or new cue, I may try 2-3 tips before I find just the right feel. Any superglue I tried was always a pain to cut off clean, since the glue was harder than the shaft. I'd nick the ferrule and have to turn it a bit to...

I've probably done 30-40 tips with Gorilla Glue, including a White Diamond which has a reputation as being very sensitive to glue type, and only had one come loose. It was on a cheapo graphite cue with a slimy plastic ferrule. Bill

I've never filled the stampings on my Duffs, but I periodically re-do my golf clubs. I use a very thin brush to dab in some model paint, then stretch a solvent-soaked rag around a plastic putty knife and wipe off the excess. I've actually sanded and polished off the stampings on some of mine...