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Been a while since I've done a leather wrap, so I decided to put one on this less than stellar piece of curly maple I had got free with a shipment. Turned out damn nice even for a practice piece. Got some nice quality leather wraps on order, excited to work with those next.

Finished this bad boy today and am at the bar now putting it through the paces. Love how this one turned out. Canary wood butt sleeve and forearm full cored 30” Purple Heart dowel. Osage orange handle. Purple Heart and maple rings on white rings. Juma for the joint collar and butt cap. 19.5oz...

I’m a fan of canary wood even though it’s not the prettiest or tonal wood. It works nice and plays very acceptable. Threw some Purple Heart and maple rings, black with red speck wrap, and extension bumper. Solid little player. Still working on my processes especially for finishing, but I...

I've been around pool my whole life, but took a fairly long hiatus for about 12 years before coming back. Since being back and deeper than ever, I started realizing that the money games and action has changed around me. I am not old, not even over the hill, but when I was younger it wasn't...

Found a ratty bar cue at a thrift store, was a decent candidate for some practice on wrap grooves and such. Points were too far out to salvage to begin with, but it turned out kinda cool. I wish people who have the old Dufferin's didn't want $90 per cue. I'd convert a ton of em if I could...

Had a customer ask for a new ferule and tip on a sentimental stick. He mentioned getting a new blue irish thread wrap, so I decided he'd like the time crystal for it's color and general forgiveness and low maintenance. I am a fan of the time crystal tips, no complaints. They install nicely and...

Fifth day in a row here in SE Wisconsin having to go out and plow, with the sixth day tomorrow. Just getting ready to head out the door to go do a cleanup round this evening before tomorrows storm. Hoping I can somehow manage to stay awake at league tomorrow. Did I mention there's been a run /...

Well, not that I really ever left. I just had to take a two month break from making cues to deal with some necessary adjustments in life. One of them, the biggest being building a shop space in my basement since my garage was non-climate controlled, not even insulated. -20F and cues don't mix...

Got a quick change gearbox for the old atlas lathe. This will be a game changer for saving time on gear changes. It's a luxury most of you already had when you got your lathes, but a lot of craftsman and atlas lathes came without gearboxes. Mine came without, and boy what a pain in the butt...

This is going to save a lot of time and headaches! Takes some of the guesswork out of the old gal.

Decided to whip up a simple one piece bocote butt with minimal features. Really let the grain do the show work on this cue. Loving how it’s looking as I taper it down. Back to sit in the basement for a bit and then I’ll throw a pin in it and finish it.

A beautiful Bolivian rosewood / ebony handle cue I made this week. Purple Heart and maple for the rings. I sure do love letting the wood do the talking. I love the streaks of blonde that show through the ebony.

Getting ready to do finish on this cue, and I wiped it down with mineral spirits and denatured alcohol, and these hazy white splotches started showing up on the mac ebony handle. What the hell is this, and how do I get rid of it? I've finished a handful of cues before and I've never ran into...

Well, just finished the first real cue build, I guess it started months ago when I bought the wood and let it sit and season, but started the process of working on it last week. I've learned a lot the past summer, and felt like I was sporty enough to knock out my first full core cue. I guess I...

So, as a newbie cue maker getting my head wrapped around all of this, I am starting to consider long term solutions for shop conditions and climate. I live in Wisconsin, where it's general not too humid or dry either way, but it's not california that's for sure. My main shop is in my...

Learning a lot, pretty happy with the finished products. Neither is perfect, but they're getting better.

Got this welded up tonight. Can't believe how sturdy it is, but guess I shouldn't be surprised with how beefy I built it. Cuts super nice. Less than $70 into this, router and metal included. Time to get the right bits and start tapering some blanks!

Just wanted to throw this out there for anyone wanting to live thread and eventually taper on their metal lathe. I made up a router mount from a 65mm cnc spindle bracket and some steel. Tap the steel to mate the aluminum bracket, then weld on some 1/2 inch sections for the quick change tool...

So I got a cue man 3 jaw chuck on a bearing to put in my steady rest on my atlas lathe. I’ve got it close to aligned by getting it to .005 runout on the dial indicator, but can’t get it zeroed. I’m using the method of putting stock in my lathe, turning it true, putting a center on it, then...

Got bored this morning so I decided to make some pre-finish and post finish arbors in 5/16-14. Sizes are .840 and .845