How long does it take to make a cue?

Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

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Silver Member
This may be a better question for the "Ask the Cue Maker" section, but it doesn't get a lot of traffic. We always bellyache when we don't get our cue on time, so how long does it really take?

If a cue maker could work 8 hours/day on a cue how long would it take before it's ready for delivery? This is from rough wood to finished product. I understand that cues and makers are all different. For example; how many inlays, if you use a pre-made blank, wrap vs wrapless, etc.

For this example lets say it's a 4 point cue, full splice that the maker builds, wrap, no inlays, and delrin buttcap with bumper. This assumes that the maker has shafts ready for final turning and doesn't have to go through that whole process. What do you think?

Edit: By the way, this is not directed at any cue maker and I don't have a cue being built right now. Just an honest question to satisfy my curiosity.
 
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Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

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Silver Member
Black-Balled said:
Imlossible to answeer

Ga ron teed!
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Maybe so but I thought I could get some ideas if I laid out the parameters of the cue. This doesn't take into account procrastination, laziness, etc. We are making an assumption that the maker has good work ethic :p.
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Too many tbds, m-man.

From condition of the wood to how many pieces he is working on concurrently...to does he have to set the lathe to do different jobs/ does he have different , dedicated equipment.

I dont even know a poop about cue making, but i di know that shit doesnt come tovether by itself.

As they say about lunch: healthy/ fast/ cheap...pick any two .
 
ideologist

ideologist

I don't never exaggerate
Silver Member
Actual time spent working it? 12 hours

Glue, finish, and turning time? 12 months


This is assuming you don't want it to warp or pop. I have a jig made and can have a fullsplice ready in 10 minutes. However, the wood seasons after I prepare the squares for months, so it depends on the quality level. I could probably have a cue with clear coat rammed out in a day if you didn't care about it.
 
9Ballr

9Ballr

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Some cue maker at some point told me he makes about 150 a year.
I may be wrong about this, it was at least 10 - 15 years ago.
 
Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

and gravy
Silver Member
ideologist said:
Actual time spent working it? 12 hours

Glue, finish, and turning time? 12 months


This is assuming you don't want it to warp or pop. I have a jig made and can have a fullsplice ready in 10 minutes. However, the wood seasons after I prepare the squares for months, so it depends on the quality level. I could probably have a cue with clear coat rammed out in a day if you didn't care about it.
Click to expand...

I see what you mean if you have to build the splice. Thanks for the response. Most cue makers have a "stock pile" of splices and shafts to work with. The only problem is you may not be able to pick out the veneer colors and woods you want. So if you had it all ready to go and you'd done all of your seasoning on the front end, 12 hours is about right?
 
Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

and gravy
Silver Member
9Ballr said:
Some cue maker at some point told me he makes about 150 a year.
I may be wrong about this, it was at least 10 - 15 years ago.
Click to expand...

Cool! That's about 2.5 days/cue assuming you worked weekends. That means ~2 days to complete if you do a 40 hour work week.
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It varies with the cue-maker, the backlog of orders, the complexity of designs underway, the similarity of these various designs for organizing work into groups for scheduling the different phases of construction, how much CNC involvement, will there be hand mitered veneers, how complex is the design of the cue being ordered since there are Level ratings for cue designs.......and the same applies to other cues underway and other cue orders received before yours..........And I am not a cue-maker so rest assured I am only touching the surface of the variables involved.

Obviously a custom cue order typically takes longer but it doesn't have to when the design is a player cue. Then the constraints become the backlog and with some custom cue-makers, that's an eternity. I am searching for a Hercek cue right now because if Joel was still accepting new cue orders, the wait is ??????? Last word was that his wait list was approaching over a dozen years..........just imagine waiting more than a decade,,,,,,,,,,he doesn't make a volume of cues, nor does Szamboti, or Searing, Prewitt, Mobley, Haley, et al.

The average production time for my last 3 custom was 9-10 months. Veneer dry time is very long....2 1/2 to 3 mths......one of my cues underway right now from the same cue-maker I've used is 14 months.....it depends on your design..........lots of knowledgeable Azers can chime in and give you more insight to the nuances of custom cues and production cues that can involve some customization as well........everyone doesn't order a catalog type cue design. Keep in mind custom designs involves extra CNC programming for a specific cue design........one of the cues I had made required >20 hours programming my design cue........if the cue-maker has programs already suited for the cue design you want, there's a plus, i.e., time savings. All too often those programs need to be tweaked to accommodate the design of your cue order and sometimes a lot of extra hours can get incurred.

I hope this post gives you more insight about why some cues and cue-makers take a very long time.


Matt B.
 
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63Kcode

63Kcode

AKA Larry Vigus
Silver Member
picture.php


picture.php


I estimate the cue above took 50 hours. I build three or four at a time. Would take about twice as long if I built them one at a time. A lot depends on the tooling the builder has.

Larry
 
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Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

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Silver Member
Bavafongoul said:
It varies with the cue-maker, the backlog of orders, the complexity of designs underway, the similarity of these various designs for organizing work into groups for scheduling the different phases of construction, how much CNC involvement, will there be hand mitered veneers, how complex is the design of the cue being ordered since there are Level ratings for cue designs.......and the same applies to other cues underway and other cue orders received before yours..........And I am not aa cue-maker so rest assured I am only touching the surface of the variables involved.

Obviously a custom cue order typically takes longer but it doesn't have to when the design is a player cue. Then the constraints become the backlog and with some custom cue-makers, that's an eternity. I am searching for a Hercek cue right now because if Joel was still accepting new cue orders, the wait is ??????? Last word was that his wait list was approaching over a dozen years..........just imagine waiting more than a decade,,,,,,,,,,he doesn't make a volume of cues, nor does Szamboti, or Searing, Prewitt, Mobley, Haley, et al.

The average production time for my last 3 custom was 9-10 months. Veneer dry time is very long....2 1/2 to 3 mths......one of my cues underway right now from the same cue-maker I've used is 14 months.....it depends on your design..........lots of knowledgeable Azers can give chime in and give you more insight to the nuances of custom cues and production cues that can involve some customization as well........everyone doesn't order a catalog type cue design.


Matt B.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Matt.
 
Woof Biscuit

Woof Biscuit

and gravy
Silver Member
63Kcode said:
picture.php


I estimate the cue above took 50 hours. I build three or four at a time. Would take about twice as long if I built them one at a time. A lot depends on the tooling the builder has.

Larry
Click to expand...

Beautiful cue, Larry! Thanks for the insight. Makes a lot of sense.
 
Corwyn_8

Corwyn_8

Energy Curmudgeon
Silver Member
Woof Biscuit said:
This may be a better question for the "Ask the Cue Maker" section, but it doesn't get a lot of traffic. We always bellyache when we don't get our cue on time, so how long does it really take?
Click to expand...

Actual work time is swamped by wait time. Custom cue makers are likely to use slower finishes, many coats, and long drying times. Similar with glues. You might figure a day for every sub-part assembly, a day per coat of finish, etc.

You can probably watch the entirety of a cue building process in a few Youtube videos. That is, actual manipulation of actual parts.

Thank you kindly.
 
P

pdcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Woof Biscuit said:
I see what you mean if you have to build the splice. Thanks for the response. Most cue makers have a "stock pile" of splices and shafts to work with. The only problem is you may not be able to pick out the veneer colors and woods you want. So if you had it all ready to go and you'd done all of your seasoning on the front end, 12 hours is about right?
Click to expand...

"Most cue makers have a "stock pile" of splices and shafts to work with"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is that so?

If you know this much about the process - why did you need to ask the question??

In point of fact, actually building the cue is only part of what we have to do to produce cues.

IMHO - most cuemakers who do it for a living would consider 40 hours a week to be
'on vacation'

YMMV

Dale
 
Mikey Town

Mikey Town

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
These days, with current construction methods, advancements in machinery/glues/materials, wait times between turns, glue/finish drying, etc... The time it takes, from start to finish, will be a minimum of 2 months longer than the cue maker originally quoted you.
 
A

Ak Guy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Endless?

Ya got me. A cue maker is like a gun smith. They finish when they finish. They are one of the professions that rarely gives a date for completion.

Drop a car off and they say pick it up tomorrow. Order a part and it will be here next Wed., etc. Any time a cue is ordered one should take a deep breath.

Folks that like a standard 58" cue have the option of buying a used custom cue that can be theirs in a day.
 
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