Willie Mosconi Herman Rambow Shafts-The Real Old Growth Wood

cuesblues · Sep 3, 2017

Willie Mosconi played with these shafts, his Rambow was his favorite cue .
I needed shafts for my three Herman Rambow cues, and these are perfect for me,
and it was a terrific deal from Mark Kulungian of Pool Table Magic.
A little tuning up and I'll be playing just like Willie.

Ivory ferrules, perfectly straight except one has a little wiggle.
2-13.0 mm, 2-12.6
Don't think I want to clean them though.

cuesblues · Sep 3, 2017

A few more pics

I love the one with Howard Cossell

deanoc · Sep 3, 2017

Thanks for posting
I love stuff like this

Chopdoc · Sep 3, 2017

Love it!

I have snagged a few old shafts, here and there, over the years for the old cues I have. I have never been disappointed. Only once did I grab a batch of them and one shaft was a banana.

Old growth wood, ivory ferrules....and that patina.

To find a set cut by Rambow? For Mosconi? My friend there is a lot of mojo in those shafts. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Nice find! :smile:

Thanks for showing off! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

.

measureman · Sep 3, 2017

Nice pick up Ted ,don't clean them.
Oh!!!
Maybe we can get some of Willies DNA and clone him!
I would want a rematch.
He spanked me when I played him straight pool. :bash:
that's Willie on the right, me on the left.

cuesblues · Sep 3, 2017

I'll need to do some kind of restoration to be able to play with all four these shafts.
Brass insert on one is an issue, the tenon on one seems to have swelled or something, and the collars need a little modification.

I'll know more when I get my two more traditional Rambows back from Paul Drexler.
Leave em alone for now.

mikemosconi · Sep 3, 2017

Very nice indeed! I have two old Tascarella shafts in my possession, not sure if he used any leftover wood from Balabushka on those- same petina - had Drexler put on Aegis ferrules about 25 years ago - Drexler had a place way out in the sticks in north CT.- Tascarella did repair work for the guy in Long island who was importing Adam's and helmstetter cues . Also have a nice 1960's box case signed for me by Willie across the entire lid of the case- great signature piece from the legend!

WildWing · Sep 3, 2017

Very neat history, great post.

If you never want to play them, no cleaning needed. But, I suspect you want to play them a bit. As you can see, they do need some work.

A more interesting question: Where is the Rambow butt that belongs to this cue? To my knowledge, never put up for auction. Just wondering.

All the best,
WW

cuesblues · Sep 3, 2017

WildWing said:
Very neat history, great post.

If you never want to play them, no cleaning needed. But, I suspect you want to play them a bit. As you can see, they do need some work.

A more interesting question: Where is the Rambow butt that belongs to this cue? To my knowledge, never put up for auction. Just wondering.

All the best,
WW

Thank you

I don't believe the Mosconi Rambow has been sold, may never happen.

WildWing · Sep 3, 2017

cuesblues said:
Thank you

I don't believe the Mosconi Rambow has been sold, may never happen.

Agree with you. Nice that you got hold of the shafts, and I recognize them.

For history, Mosconi's Bushka auctioned for close, though a bit lower than 100 grand, with about 8 shafts or so.

His preferred Rambow was a bit more of an enigma. The last time we saw it in competition was when he and Jimmy Caras played straight pool in Horsham, PA in the 90s. Other than that, there is some Youtube video of him playing with this Rambow in someones basement, a gathering of pool enthusiasts. Anyone can look it up.

These are special shafts. I would give them very special treatment. But, you know something? I would also play them. After all, what else are you going to do? Take them to your grave? Seal them in a case? I don't think so. When you have artifacts like these, use them. It's what they were meant for.

All the best,
WW

Chopdoc · Sep 3, 2017

cuesblues said:
I'll need to do some kind of restoration to be able to play with all four these shafts.
Brass insert on one is an issue, the tenon on one seems to have swelled or something, and the collars need a little modification.

I'll know more when I get my two more traditional Rambows back from Paul Drexler.
Leave em alone for now.

View attachment 469266

View attachment 469267

Very typical for shafts of that age to need that kind of work. No worries. I am betting they will be road ready without too much fuss. :thumbup::thumbup:

Real treasures there. :thumbup::thumbup:

.

.

WildWing · Sep 3, 2017

To lend some provenance to the OP post, here is the only picture I'm aware of that shows a couple of Mosconi's Rambow shafts. In the upper left hand corner, are a couple shafts, one, missing the joint collar, as your picture shows. Just in case anyone was wondering. This picture was from Pool and Billiard, a short article by Charles Ursitti, probably the best authority on what Mosconi had, and what he did.

There are some other mistakes in this picture. I've been over them before. Up to cue detectives to call out all flaws. But, there is no doubt that these Mosconi Rambow shafts are the real deal. Great find of yours.

All the best,
WW

cuesblues · Sep 3, 2017

Chopdoc said:
Very typical for shafts of that age to need that kind of work. No worries. I am betting they will be road ready without too much fuss. :thumbup::thumbup:

Real treasures there. :thumbup::thumbup:

.

.

They're in pretty good shape, nice growth rings.
One needs a new brass insert for sure, but the shafts themselves stayed straight all these years.
More than you can say about some modern day cues.

crawf · Sep 4, 2017

Thanks for sharing. Congrats on your purchase.

As others have said, make them useable and use them.

John

maha · Sep 4, 2017

dont mess with them. the person that someday buys his rambow will want them unaltered. thats where their value is.

cuesblues · Sep 4, 2017

A lot to think about considering these shafts would be fun to play with.
I want to play with my Rambow cues so this will keep everything Rambow.
My other Rambow shafts are ok but oddly long.

The dilemma is still the black phenolic collars.
There is an issue with a brass insert but now I'm thinking it could just be faced off and retapped.
Two of the black collars are loose one is missing.
If I want to play with these shafts some fit & finish has to be done.
I'm happy with Paul Drexlers knowledge and ability to fix only what is needed, and seems to know what to do without affecting the collectibilty.

WildWing · Sep 4, 2017

cuesblues said:
A lot to think about considering these shafts would be fun to play with.
I want to play with my Rambow cues so this will keep everything Rambow.
My other Rambow shafts are ok but oddly long.

The dilemma is still the black phenolic collars.
There is an issue with a brass insert but now I'm thinking it could just be faced off and retapped.
Two of the black collars are loose one is missing.
If I want to play with these shafts some fit & finish has to be done.
I'm happy with Paul Drexlers knowledge and ability to fix only what is needed, and seems to know what to do without affecting the collectibilty.

I think you have the right idea. Some here say do nothing, sell it later as original. I don't know how old you are, and neither do they. You may never see the gain.

On the other hand, if you do some restoration, these shafts are playable. And, if you take good care of them, they get better and better.

I'm not sure what it is with those who say leave everything alone. Some of the greatest works of art have been restored. Mizerak's dove cue has been refinished multiple times. Just my opinion, but do what you think is best. Paul would do a great job on these.

Still wonder about the butt.............. Where the hell is it, since you have the shafts......

All the best,
WW

cuesblues · Sep 5, 2017

WildWing said:
I think you have the right idea. Some here say do nothing, sell it later as original. I don't know how old you are, and neither do they. You may never see the gain.

On the other hand, if you do some restoration, these shafts are playable. And, if you take good care of them, they get better and better.

I'm not sure what it is with those who say leave everything alone. Some of the greatest works of art have been restored. Mizerak's dove cue has been refinished multiple times. Just my opinion, but do what you think is best. Paul would do a great job on these.

Still wonder about the butt.............. Where the hell is it, since you have the shafts......

All the best,
WW

They're a big part of my Rambow project, and thanks to the generosity of Mark Kulungian, the cost was similar to current shaft pricing.

It would be nice to have the Rambow butt

although I like the butts I have, and two are 29".
I will have seven original Rambow, and two new matching shafts by PFD, when this Rambow project is completed.
Whatever work Paul does to all seven Rambow shafts will be just enough to make them functional and or improved in some way.
PFD is good at that, he breaks these thing down nicely.

Willie Mosconi Herman Rambow Shafts-The Real Old Growth Wood

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