What to do with a broken Gus Szamboti?

straightline said:
Using the Sigel break? I had that happen in to a friend when he tried that. Dufferin sneaky too. Non piloted probably contributed although anything without collars is fair game.
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I saw Cannonball Eddie. Break a rack with a Balabushka and the cue broke in two at the front of the wrap. He was standing there with half of the cue on each hand. Rocky Tillis took the cue and like a week later brought it back like new.

I think he borrowed the cue from Joey Spath who looked in shock. Fortunately it got fixed.
Now that I think about it, I haven't thought about Eddie in years. I am talking about Cannonball Eddie Kanoski. I am sure I spelled his name wrong. He could really play at times.

I have a memory of him getting a standing ovation in the old Congress billiards. Eddie was playing Mike Caralla a $1000. Game of straight pool. Mike broke and Eddie ran 125 and out.
 
middleofnowhere said:
I saw Cannonball Eddie. Break a rack with a Balabushka and the cue broke in two at the front of the wrap. He was standing there with half of the cue on each hand. Rocky Tillis took the cue and like a week later brought it back like new.

I think he borrowed the cue from Joey Spath who looked in shock. Fortunately it got fixed.
Now that I think about it, I haven't thought about Eddie in years. I am talking about Cannonball Eddie Kanoski. I am sure I spelled his name wrong. He could really play at times.

I have a memory of him getting a standing ovation in the old Congress billiards. Eddie was playing Mike Caralla a $1000. Game of straight pool. Mike broke and Eddie ran 125 and out.
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Ok that's brute force. lol...
 
Do you have the missing piece? It can be repaired and it's worth getting fixed. The only person i would have fix it is Barry and he's the only repair that would probably retain the value. I would document everything and keep it.
 
If you have a joint collar the same or similar length of the cue next to it added to the cue, I'd bet it could be repaired to a point that the average person would never even know anything had happened. Anyone familiar with Szamboti's work could probably tell something was off about it because the points are going to look longer than normal. But it would still look good and probably play just fine. My only concern about getting it "right" would be how the geometry of the the butt's taper works out with the joint itself. The lowest part of the break might be a little fatter than the area where the joint ring meets the joint collar. So if any of that needs to be adjusted, it might throw some things off slightly.

Regardless, it's definitely worth saving. And as some other members have stated, unless Barry is willing to do it, Proficient Billiards would be the first place I'd look into. Send Scot some pictures and let him know what you want to do. He'll take care of it as well as anyone I've ever seen. Years ago a buddy of mine sent him a Meucci Lock and Key cue that looked like it had been ran over. Every section of the cue was loose and there were gouges into the wood. It was bad. That cue came back looking and playing like it was brand new.
 
middleofnowhere said:
I had a cue break exactly like that which is one of the reasons I don't like birdseye maple. Billy Stroud was able to fix it. He built a new joint for it and where he cut it off ahead of the points created a decorative design that looked almost like maybe it was supposed to be like that. If I remember right he put in a ring with 4 dots and diamonds that lined up with the points.
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I like this idea, do you have any pictures of the repaired cue? Thanks.
 
Cuemaster98 said:
Luckily, it looks like a clean break, so it's pretty easy to insert a dowel and add the new collar and joint... if anything, it would just be slightly shorter. The points are all perfect, so really nothing to do there...just need a new collar and ivory joint installed. This will be more of a playing cue, and I don't really care about the value or resale on this one.
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Yeah, based on the photos, a dowel insert, repin and collar and ring work and it should be good with a refinish.
 
Zerksies said:
Do you have the missing piece? It can be repaired and it's worth getting fixed. The only person i would have fix it is Barry and he's the only repair that would probably retain the value. I would document everything and keep it.
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That's not true, but you have to know the other guys. Doubt Barry will fix it, hope I'm wrong. There are other people who would probably fix it better, they're all in Florida
 
Zerksies said:
Do you have the missing piece? It can be repaired and it's worth getting fixed. The only person i would have fix it is Barry and he's the only repair that would probably retain the value. I would document everything and keep it.
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Any repair would restore this cue’s functionality but as far as value, forget about it. That train left the station long ago.
The cue’s intrinsic value is lost and can never be adequately recovered by any repair. It would still retain some value but
not ever approaching it’s original value. It is a tragedy this ever happened but it is what it is and repairing it would not be inexpensive either. It would need to be done by only a top name in cue making or else in a glass case on display with a sign that reads…….Behold the Greatest Pool Cue Tragedy in Recent History….I’d still try to get it repaired by Tascarella.





repair would
 
I'd be a heart broken fella if I owned this cue and this happened to me .
Not having any idea how a cue such as this hits a ball , I'm certain in its original condition it played very well , I'd be interested to shoot with a non broken Gus Szamboti then this one .
 
Sent this Gus with 2 original shafts to Pete's team for repair, plus adding a few diamond inlays to the forearm and butt sleeve, and having Pete make a new matching shaft for the cue. Sent the cue is an old Fellini case....can't wait to see the end result. Cleaned and added new tips on the original shafts...both play solid.

GusFull.jpg

gusforearm.jpg




GusButt2.jpg
 
Cuemaster98 said:
What should I do with a Broken Gus Szamboti? Picked this one up recently with 2 decent full-size shafts, and now I'm thinking of sending this one out to be rebuilt. The butt on this cue was slightly longer than 58" from what I can tell, and the cue was broken from the joint collar down. It looks like the butt is salvageable if you add a new dowel and then have a new collar and joint added. Getting a quote to have this one fixed up.


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Feels like you should sell it. I’m sure there would be buyers interested.
 
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