A tribute to the late great mr. Tad leave a nice pot about him or his cues

[cornerstone]

any stories or pics of the incredible Mr.Tad we will keep it up for the family!

Tad was a kind hearted and extremly talented gentleman !!!

he always donated out of his pocket and always had time for any one!!

A great man has passed and the billiard industry has lost a legend!

 

[mbprod]

Here is my first Tad cue - a Willie Hoppe conversion Tad made in 1968. I designed the butt, and Tad did the rest. I have never seen another Tad with Mother of Pearl diamond inlays this large. Took him more than one try - they kept cracking they were so large. When I went back in 1982 to get the joint reworked ( still had the original Hoppe joint ) he remembered the cue, and said that he made cues way better than that then and did not want to work on the Hoppe, and that I had to buy a new cue.

I caved and ordered his basic cue ( see photos ). As I was leaving, he told me to leave the Hoppe anyway, and when I came back, he had the new cue ready, and had put the joint you see on the Hoppe.

And as I left, he casually said that if someone offered me $2000 for the Hoppe to take it. That was in 1982.

I had to quit pool for 28 years, and started back at Hard Times Bellflower in 2011. The ferrules on all shafts of both cues had loosened because they had sat in the case for 28 years.

I took them over to Tad, and he fixed them. When I picked them up, he remembered the Hoppe and said that if someone offered me $6000 for it ( 2011 ) to take it. He knew that it was the only one he ever made just like that.

As crusty as he could be on occasion, he always had a great sense of humor, and loved throwing a dig at you here and there. Great guy!

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Look at those wide rings and diamonds. I'm in love. I have always admired Tad cues and hopefully will get one some day.

So far, the closest I am is having an extended Delrin butt cap on one of my Tru Balance conversions.

I know Tad's ring work was unique and super pretty but to me, that extended cap always set them off nicely.

 

[Ken_4fun]

First I will relay a story one of my favorite cue makers told me about Tad. I don't know if it is true or not, but this cue maker told it to me like it was the gospel. I told him I really liked a Tad M-1 or whatever it is called, but it was base players cue. He told me that the reason was Tad had TONS of shaft wood, lots of it from the 1960's. So you might say what's the big deal about that?

If you didn't know, IMO, shaft wood is fairly scarce now. That makes me think that Tad was smart enough to know how important great shaft wood was to building a great playing cue. Moreover, to know that and to acquire it for years in advance just shows how in tune with knowing what makes his cues great.

The other deal is, and some have mentioned it, is like Ernie and Kersenbrock, he has influenced soooo many cue makers. Harvey Martin would be very proud of him.

Ken

 

[rayjay]

Just saying again what I said in the announcement of Tad's death...

"Just recently, a friend bought an old Tad cue and showed it to me, a plain jane birdseye maple cue, but it had an ebony butt sleeve with a large rainbow ring in the center, a very simple but an exceptionally beautiful and elegant design."

I called this friend, Eric, this morning to let him know of Tad's passing, and he reminisced with a story about how Jimmy Moore, his close friend who used Tad cues, gave Tad a Balabushka or two to cut apart to see how it was made. In return, Tad made a line of cues called the Jimmy Moore line, using what he had learned from bisecting the bushka. This was way back.

 

[fast&loose designs]

The last 2 posters (made 4 total) i made for Tad's event in California - TADCUP. I met him briefly, and I'll never forget that he was proud of my work and happy they captured the cue's look & feel.

 

[fast&loose designs]

50 years of cuemaking. Incredible milestone.

 

[TATE]

At the ICCS in Las Vegas 2006, with Tad in the middle flanked by Bill Schick, Ernie Gutierrez, Richard Black, and Bill Stroud.

I gave him and Fred a copy. Tad was a great talent and a great guy - he will be missed.

 

[Ken_4fun]

At the ICCS in Las Vegas 2006, with Tad in the middle flanked by Bill Schick, Ernie Gutierrez, Richard Black, and Bill Stroud.

I gave him and Fred a copy. Tad was a great talent and a great guy - he will be missed.

The title of the picture is;

The Masters.

What a great line up.

Ken

 

[kvinbrwr]

Good as one piece

My pal Joe and I bought our first TADs in 1978 from Tad in his shop in Stanton. When we came to pay and pick up our cues, Tad screwed mine together, held the butt in one hand and slapped against the joint with the heel of his other hand, looking at us all knowledgable-like and announced "good as one-piece".

To this day, Joe and I use that phrase to describe things we approve of. A nice car or woman or anything really can achieve the high honor of a "good as one-piece" designation from Joe or myself.

Tad of course lives on through his cues.

Best 9 ball instruments made.

Kevin

 

[kvinbrwr]

On one of my trips, Tad was showing me some new material he and his wife were trying to develop for kitchenware. He was way excited (the way Ernie gets when he is showing you a new machine he's building for some cue process) and super fun to be around.

He took me out back of his shop and there was a full-size shipping container completely full of wood. He told me that when that wood was done, so was he with cue making. For all I know, they may have used that same wood for all these years. Their shafts surely have a common characteristic, maybe it was the wood.

Or the taper.

Or maybe it was Tad magic dust. No matter what is was, his cues hit different.

Kevin

 

[Dead Money]

Sorry to hear of Tads passing. Let's see some more cues and do up this tribute post proper like!

 

[George Fels]

VERY talented guy; sorry to hear he's gone. I remember when his solid maple model sold for $30! Last time I priced one, it was somewhere around $1800, and no doubt worth every penny.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

What is a "Nice Pot", sorry I had to do that.

BIMHO Mr. Tad did some unique designs. Hopefully his son Fred wil continue his father work.