Original Adam A/H-37 Galaxy with many modifications? Super Interesting, I have a ton questions. Maybe forum members can assist

Storman Norman

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I'm looking for any input from forum members that have historical knowledge on Adam Cues, that could help with figuring out who and why some of these modifications were made. The modifications could just be a custom order, but the changes are so specific and well done.
The owner was from Ohio and had passed away and i bought this from his brother-in-law. The brother-in-law said they were going to throw the cues away but he thought it might be something to save.

IF this post needs to be moved to the cue makers forum, I would agree. But the main forum gets more views.

A little back story. I purchased a Adam a/h-37 off of a listing site. It showed up today and i was taking the time to validate the cue was in fact a a/h-37. And then i started noticing differences between a standard Adam Galaxy and the one I received. I will go thru my findings and things that I noticed between this cue and a standard Galaxy that I noticed.
Specs:
1. length: 57" - butt 28-5/8" , shaft 28-1/8"
2. weight: butt 15.6 oz. , shaft 3.7 oz.
3. tip: 12.6 mm

Modifications that I noticed. Pics included
I will start at the butt and work my way up.
1. I don't believe that the weight bolt is the standard weight bolt that came with the Adam A/H series.
2. There should be a white ring at the top of the butt before the wrap starts, the white ring is missing.
3. Wrap and wrap grove. I believe that the a/h series cues came with a leather wrap. This one has a white/brown wrap. Wrap groove length is short only 11" inches long, and starts where the white ring should have been.
4. Joint rings and collar have been changed. From pictures an original Galaxy should have had a railroad ring and a white ring along with a stainless steel collar. This cue had a black ring along with rosewood. The joint collar has been replaced with a collar that looks like a brass wrapped stainless steel collar and its short. The stainless steel pin that I believe the original model had, has been replaced with what i believe is a brass 5/16-18 pin.
5. The shaft has also been worked. The shaft should have been piloted and the rings should have been a railroad ring along with a white ring. This shaft has a rosewood and a brass wrapped stainless steel ring. This ring makes up the difference in the joint collar being short. The shaft is now flat faced.

That is a crapload of custom work.

My thoughts:
It looks as if this a custom order, I don't have any idea if the cue was customized at the Adam Shop in Japan or somewhere else. I came across a Forum thread that mentioned that Burton Spain was authorized to sell Adam Cues and made modifications to these Adam cues. I doubt that this is one of them but man that's a ton of work.

Previous Thread that mentions Burton Spain selling and making mods to the cues.

After the cues arrived I called and asked him, if the original owner had spent anytime in Chicago where Spain worked, he said he didn't think so. But the guy liked to play pool and had some money and may have bought this from someone in the pool hall he used to frequent

So please take a look and let me know what you think. Maybe someone on here has a similar modified Adam cue and could provide their thoughts.
And thank you for taking your time to look and respond, your comments is passing knowledge on to a younger generation and helps us identify and save these cues from ending up in the Trash bin.
 

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Wonder if it was possilbly broken at the joint and the brass and rosewood at the joint on the butt and the shaft were part of the repair and the pin and joint were changed to flat face during the process.
 
Wonder if it was possibly broken at the joint and the brass and rosewood at the joint on the butt and the shaft were part of the repair and the pin and joint were changed to flat face during the process.
That is a strong possibility. The butt length is shorter than standard.
Then everything else seems to fall into place. The cuemaker then removed one of the rings and moved the wrap down for grip placement and replaced with new wrap. He also replaced the weight bolt to give the cue a preferred balance point and the cue the proper weight the owner wanted.
The shaft ferrule is white and not yellowed like expected on micarta after 50+ years. So the shaft may not be original to the cue at all.
I think you may have solved the riddle :)
So instead of custom work its actually repair work
I paid $150 for it :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
 
Wonder if it was possilbly broken at the joint and the brass and rosewood at the joint on the butt and the shaft were part of the repair and the pin and joint were changed to flat face during the process.
That's my thought.

Extremely highly unlikely a "custom" order IMHO.

Most likely a repair/rebuild job.

Chicago where Spain worked
I don't think that work is up to a Spain standard. JMHO.

The butt length is shorter than standard.


The fact that it is shorter lends to this repair notion as well.

ferrule is white and not yellowed like expected on micarta after 50+ years

Adam did not use Micarta ferrules.

I paid $150 for it

I would say you did "OK" for what it is.

After the cues arrived

Cues? Plural?

download (32).png



@jayman Knows Adam really well I hear...at least that is the rumor. ;)
 
That's my thought.

Extremely highly unlikely a "custom" order IMHO.

Most likely a repair/rebuild job.


I don't think that work is up to a Spain standard. JMHO.




The fact that it is shorter lends to this repair notion as well.



Adam did not use Micarta ferrules.



I would say you did "OK" for what it is.



Cues? Plural?

View attachment 917553


@jayman Knows Adam really well I hear...at least that is the rumor. ;)
Thanks all this info is great. I'll know more the next time if I come across another. I agree that the cue has been repaired from a breakage.
I think that the repair was probably done local to where the owner lived in ohio.
"Cues" was a typo.
I feel good about having it, someone spent some money on getting it repaired to save it
Thanks for taking the time to look and respond
 
The cue has been repaired without a doubt. However those were 57" cues from the factory. so it is still full length. It is amazing that they managed to keep track of all those points and veneers without a computer. Mine line up almost perfectly. All of them all the way around!
 
The cue has been repaired without a doubt. However those were 57" cues from the factory. so it is still full length. It is amazing that they managed to keep track of all those points and veneers without a computer. Mine line up almost perfectly. All of them all the way around!
Yes indeed, that length is original.

I didn't look at his measurements, I just noted he said it was shorter.

Thanks for catching and correcting that.
 
I remember Times Sg Billiards - it was downstairs from an upper gaming arcade center. Closed in the 80s or so. We own the Adam Corsair AH 36 in mint original condition. Sounds like yours had various repair visits .
 
Thanks all this info is great. I'll know more the next time if I come across another. I agree that the cue has been repaired from a breakage.
I think that the repair was probably done local to where the owner lived in ohio.
"Cues" was a typo.
I feel good about having it, someone spent some money on getting it repaired to save it
Thanks for taking the time to look and respond
Definitely unique. I dig that. I have a thing for cue mysteries.

I bet it could tell some stories.
 
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