Meaning communications, good relationship, quick shipping, quality of workmanship, and price? Thanks for your input.
Many Regards,
Lock N load.
Many Regards,
Lock N load.
Best experience you have had with a cue maker?
- Thread starter Lock N Load
- Start date
I have had the pleasure of working with some very nice cuemakers.
Mike Webb and I have become really good friends for many reasons. He built me a fantastic playing cue. Regrettably I sold it. I talk to him about many things. Some are even pool related...
Joey Bautista delivered exactly on time as he said he would. That means a lot to me. So much so, I ordered another cue due by the end of this year.
Eric Crisp has done many favors for me in regards to repairs. I have had over a dozen of his cues and am looking forward to my completed build direct from him.
Murray Tucker has built me two cues and love them both. He was attentive to my likes and dislikes and built me one of the best playing cues ever. His communication was exceptional.
I would have to say the best experience has been with Dennis Searing. I bought a used cue from an AZ member and had it shipped to Dennis for a complete refinish, new EE wrap and joint protectors. He called me several times after I received the cue to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. I have talked to him many times on the phone and in person since then. He engraved my initials in the weight bolt and slightly changed the weight. He made me feel as if I was important even though I was not the original owner.
Good topic,
Chris
Mike Webb and I have become really good friends for many reasons. He built me a fantastic playing cue. Regrettably I sold it. I talk to him about many things. Some are even pool related...
Joey Bautista delivered exactly on time as he said he would. That means a lot to me. So much so, I ordered another cue due by the end of this year.
Eric Crisp has done many favors for me in regards to repairs. I have had over a dozen of his cues and am looking forward to my completed build direct from him.
Murray Tucker has built me two cues and love them both. He was attentive to my likes and dislikes and built me one of the best playing cues ever. His communication was exceptional.
I would have to say the best experience has been with Dennis Searing. I bought a used cue from an AZ member and had it shipped to Dennis for a complete refinish, new EE wrap and joint protectors. He called me several times after I received the cue to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. I have talked to him many times on the phone and in person since then. He engraved my initials in the weight bolt and slightly changed the weight. He made me feel as if I was important even though I was not the original owner.
Good topic,
Chris
I've only had three experiences with cuemakers and all three were positive. By far the best was Larry Vigus (63Kcode on AZB). He accepted my order (my specs), gave me an approximate finish date, kept me up to date with pics of the progress, kept in contact with PM's, and delivered the cue at the time it was promised. And.....I mean delivered.....literally. We live about 60 miles apart, so we met halfway at Wizard's Sports Bar in Richardson, Texas where I paid him his money (and no, there was no money asked for up front) and he delivered me my cue. We had lunch, shot pool for a couple of hours, threw back a few cold ones and generally had a grand 'ol time. And I must add that the cue was way better than I expected it to be. From that day on it has been my main player. I later had him build me a custom break cue which I also love, all handled in the same fashion as posted above for the first cue.
I wish everyone could have that type of experience with their chosen cuemaker!!!
Maniac
I wish everyone could have that type of experience with their chosen cuemaker!!!
Maniac
I can not really saw I have ever had a truly BAD EXPERENCE with a Cuemaker. I would recommend in no special order, John "Jackie" Madden, Jim Buss, Tony Zinzola, Chad Carter, and last the late Bert Schreger:sorry: all of who I ordered from, and got what I ordered.:wink:
Add to that some Cues from other Cuemakers that were just quality that I got new, or in pristine condition from agents, Cue sellers, or??? NOWELA, Ted Harris, & Cory Barnhart. Who all make great Cues for playing Pool. Not just pretty Cue for looking at.
Add to that some Cues from other Cuemakers that were just quality that I got new, or in pristine condition from agents, Cue sellers, or??? NOWELA, Ted Harris, & Cory Barnhart. Who all make great Cues for playing Pool. Not just pretty Cue for looking at.
I have had the pleasure of working with Jeff Olney on serveral cue builds.
Jeff is very very easy to deal with, excellent communication through out the building process. Excellent work & attention to detail is spot on. Heck sometimes Jeff will call me out of the blue just to see what I have been doing lately. He is a good person, great cue builder & I`m just honored to have him as a friend. As far as price goes, he will build you one hellva cue at a very reasonable price. Thanks for starting this thread
Lock N Load
Jeff is very very easy to deal with, excellent communication through out the building process. Excellent work & attention to detail is spot on. Heck sometimes Jeff will call me out of the blue just to see what I have been doing lately. He is a good person, great cue builder & I`m just honored to have him as a friend. As far as price goes, he will build you one hellva cue at a very reasonable price. Thanks for starting this thread
Lock N Load
DrOnePocket
Banned
Alex Brick was very easy to work with! It has been 10 years but when he was in Memphis he let me come in to his shop and pick out the wood I liked, drew everything out that I described in front of me, allowed me to come by and see the cue in stages, was fun and he made it exactly how i wanted in a reasonable time frame. Still miss that cue today
Two good ones stand out in my mind out of many.
Some will laugh at my first one, but it is what it is. Kevin Varney was a pleasure to work with and built me exactly what I wanted back in 2009. Still use them today. Best hitting cues I have ever had out of hundreds.
The second would be Jerry Rauenzahn. Cant say enough good things about that guy. Fantastic to work with.
Russ...
Some will laugh at my first one, but it is what it is. Kevin Varney was a pleasure to work with and built me exactly what I wanted back in 2009. Still use them today. Best hitting cues I have ever had out of hundreds.
The second would be Jerry Rauenzahn. Cant say enough good things about that guy. Fantastic to work with.
Russ...
DrOnePocket
Banned
Two good ones stand out in my mind out of many.
Some will laugh at my first one, but it is what it is. Kevin Varney was a pleasure to work with and built me exactly what I wanted back in 2009. Still use them today. Best hitting cues I have ever had out of hundreds.
The second would be Jerry Rauenzahn. Cant say enough good things about that guy. Fantastic to work with.
Russ...
That -R- is SWEET!
I'm glad you had a good experience with KV, you know how many people had a nightmare of a time. I will say this, i had one of his "factory second" break cues and it was an absolute monster. I have had Mace's, SH's, Original Stinger, BK, BK2, Gilbert's, etc etc etc and that cue that KV made was the best breaker of them all. No lie, I sold it for 3.5x what i paid for it
Anyway nice cues
Two good ones stand out in my mind out of many.
Some will laugh at my first one, but it is what it is. Kevin Varney was a pleasure to work with and built me exactly what I wanted back in 2009. Still use them today. Best hitting cues I have ever had out of hundreds.
The second would be Jerry Rauenzahn. Cant say enough good things about that guy. Fantastic to work with.
Russ...
Hey Russ
I have always liked the looks of those 2 KV cues ever
since you first posted them awhile back. I`ve heard Kevins break cues hit a ton. That -R- is pretty sweet to. Thanks for posting them again.
Take care
Jeff
3 names in no particular order :
Keith / Sherry Josey
Bob Danielson
Jim Baxter
Keith / Sherry Josey
Bob Danielson
Jim Baxter
Keith Josey including his beautyful wife Sherri.
Silvio Zugec aka Gloria Cues from Austria.
And of course Hans-Joerg Bertram in the late 80 s/90 s and at the same moment Dan Prather with his son. Was a pleasure to meet both in germany in Bertram s *rooms* and seeing them live at work
Silvio Zugec aka Gloria Cues from Austria.
And of course Hans-Joerg Bertram in the late 80 s/90 s and at the same moment Dan Prather with his son. Was a pleasure to meet both in germany in Bertram s *rooms* and seeing them live at work
Just a few experiences
The most pleasurable experiences were with Bill Schick. He is always accessible and friendly on the phone. He will do whatever he can to meet my needs. When I bought my cue used, I wanted new shafts made. He talked me into using his taper and that we could change it if i wasn't happy. I am still happy. I used to send it back for tips annually. He was the same great guy to talk to every time. Sometimes it can take some time to get my shafts back (a great reason for owning more than one cue). One time a 2-week job (more that tips) took 8 months. Apparently, he had some intervening health issues that kept him from getting work done. He felt so guilty that the repaired shafts were returned "No Charge". How can you get upset with that?
I have had multiple great experiences with Laurie Franklin. I did not buy my SW cue directly from them. But I sent back my shafts annually for retipping and have had some othe minor upkeep done by them. South West have their work very organized. They tend to actually know how long it takes to get work done. Estimated times were always spot-on. Quality is always great as expected.
Barry Szamboti was very helpful when I bought my Gus. He inspected the cue, rewrapped it, and made me two new shafts. I asked to have one shafts tapered to match my favorite Schick shaft. Of course, he matched it perfectly and it is my favorite shaft for the Szamboti.
I have had a few minor experiences talking with John Showman. I bought one of his used shafts. He was very friendly to talk to and insisted on trimming the pilot tenon to match the butt I was going to use. Great guy, great shafts, great cues. I am too old to order a cue from him. But I still want one.
A couple of years ago, I wanted to lighten the butt of a Joss that I bought from Dan Janes in 1985. I called Dan a few years back about having a new bolt made. We communicated back and forth to identify the screw thread. He made an aluminum bolt and mailed it to me. I owe him a beer.
Greg
The most pleasurable experiences were with Bill Schick. He is always accessible and friendly on the phone. He will do whatever he can to meet my needs. When I bought my cue used, I wanted new shafts made. He talked me into using his taper and that we could change it if i wasn't happy. I am still happy. I used to send it back for tips annually. He was the same great guy to talk to every time. Sometimes it can take some time to get my shafts back (a great reason for owning more than one cue). One time a 2-week job (more that tips) took 8 months. Apparently, he had some intervening health issues that kept him from getting work done. He felt so guilty that the repaired shafts were returned "No Charge". How can you get upset with that?
I have had multiple great experiences with Laurie Franklin. I did not buy my SW cue directly from them. But I sent back my shafts annually for retipping and have had some othe minor upkeep done by them. South West have their work very organized. They tend to actually know how long it takes to get work done. Estimated times were always spot-on. Quality is always great as expected.
Barry Szamboti was very helpful when I bought my Gus. He inspected the cue, rewrapped it, and made me two new shafts. I asked to have one shafts tapered to match my favorite Schick shaft. Of course, he matched it perfectly and it is my favorite shaft for the Szamboti.
I have had a few minor experiences talking with John Showman. I bought one of his used shafts. He was very friendly to talk to and insisted on trimming the pilot tenon to match the butt I was going to use. Great guy, great shafts, great cues. I am too old to order a cue from him. But I still want one.
A couple of years ago, I wanted to lighten the butt of a Joss that I bought from Dan Janes in 1985. I called Dan a few years back about having a new bolt made. We communicated back and forth to identify the screw thread. He made an aluminum bolt and mailed it to me. I owe him a beer.
Greg
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Very good write up about your cue maker experiences. I like it. Thanks for the input/sharing.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.