Broken Schon Cue - Need Advice

MJ_Ro

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First of all i like to say that i am from Romania (Europe).
This is a cue of a friend of mine. I have send emails to Evan at Schon Cues and all i got back was and i quote "I?m sorry, but we can?t guarantee against dropping and breaking..Evan Clarke" .
The cue was dropped with shaft on from table high distance on a carpeted floor, was not thrown or stepped on. (we actually have security camera footage from the poohall where it happend) . At first i didn't believe my friend when i saw the cue, but i saw the video of him dropping the cue.
I can't believe that a butt of a cue can brake like you see in the pictures without a flaw in the wood , i don't know how to put it better in english.

There are some cues makers in this forum, please give me your proffesional oppinion.

And if i don't get a positive response from Schon Cues, where can i go with this problem to make them demonstrate me that the cue didn't have flaw when it was build.

As you can see from the pictures the cue broke WITH NO SPLINTERS! . That is really surprising to me. There are no marks on the cue as the cue was not smashed onto something hard.

I don't want to give bad image to the Schon company but i think in my oppinion that this cue does deserve a guranty replacement.

Please let me know your honest oppinion.


 
I can't give you any advice... but that is a helluva of broken cue! Sorry for my lack of good advice.
 
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Well, it shouldn't have broke like that IF it fell from table high height onto carpet flooring. I would think the wood would be stronger than that. But it was dropped and that is necessarily "abuse." Cue makers cannot warrant abuse.

Have you showed Evan the video?

My sympathy to your friend. I've had my shaft snap in half so I can only imagine how your friend feels. Best of luck.
 
That's a nice cue your friend got. One thing for sure, I will never let my cues fall on the floor again.
 
Wow, That Sucks. I'm sorry To say This But I Don't Believe the Cue maker is at fault. Accedents happen, However they can be repaired.
A flaw In the Wood, If that is the case, Can not always Be detected.
the Cue Could Have Been overly Stressed, Causing Minimal Fracturing. The Fall could have Done the Trick.
Don't Quote Me, I'm Not 100%,
Vinnie
 
Thats the reason why you cannot get so emotional when you miss a shot and must keep a level head. I know you said it wasn't thrown but to be dropped at all by your friend means he messed up. Schon can't be held responsible for that kind of actions. Take it as a lesson learned, and be happy it only cost him a cue.
 
LoGiC said:
Thats the reason why you cannot get so emotional when you miss a shot and must keep a level head. I know you said it wasn't thrown but to be dropped at all by your friend means he messed up. Schon can't be held responsible for that kind of actions. Take it as a lesson learned, and be happy it only cost him a cue.


cues falling is something that happens to everyone. it doesn't mean he got mad and dropped it on purpose.

chacnes are it had something to do with the humidity change. (that's a guess)
 
how did he drop it tho. did it drop it flat or did it come on at an angle on the joint first. if it came down at an angle it doesnt really matter if u dropped it on carpet or hard floor, it will still break. and from the fact that u said it happened at a poolhall im guessing the carpet wasnt some sort of really soft carpet either.
 
I'm still waiting on the oppinion of some of the cue builders around here.

I know that dropping a cue isn't ment to happend on a regular base, and i saw many cues and there are a lot of players that i know who smash/drop/throw there cues in anger, but this is the first time i saw a cue brake this way.

It's not ment in any way to diminish my friends fault of dropping the cue. I'm just trying to find the best advice what to do with this 800$ cue.
 
Unfortunately, I would have to agree that it is just a fluke accident, and not a flaw in the wood. You said it had the shaft on when it fell. The leverage of a cue falling like that can easily snap a cue. There is a lot more weight out on the front of the cue than you would think. I have seen people snap cues simply by striking them on the side of a table.

Personally, I had a Southwest cue knocked over at a tournament, and the shaft split down the middle. I never would have thought it could happen, but I watched it happen, so I know it can happen.

Joe
 
Danktrees said:
how did he drop it tho. did it drop it flat or did it come on at an angle on the joint first. if it came down at an angle it doesnt really matter if u dropped it on carpet or hard floor, it will still break. and from the fact that u said it happened at a poolhall im guessing the carpet wasnt some sort of really soft carpet either.

The cue was dropped with the shaft screwed , at slight angle.
 
did the shaft hit the ground first or the butt? i cant tell from you description if the cue was standing upright then fell over, or it was held horizontally at table height then dropped.
 
juegabillar said:
My friend, I suggest the cue be sent in to a professional cue repair shop.

I have sent several cues to these people from Puerto Rico and they have always done an excellent job.

Please click on this link and you will see the before and after photo.

http://www.proficientbilliards.com/cuerepair.htm

I agree that it's unlikely the manufacturer will do anything for you and I think an estimate from proficient, which does fine repair work, is your best bet.

Good luck,

Joe
 
brittle wood

Maple is a very brittle wood. Especially Birdseye and Burl Maple. It does not have the same type long grain as other woods therefore it does not flex very well and can break easily. It wouldn't take much 'bending' (or heavy vibration) pressure to make a nasty break like that. Maple wood shafts have long grains and are more flexible (yet still rather stiff). That's why you don't see birds eye shafts. I have seen a few cues with breaks just like that.

Sorry for your lose, that does look like a nice cue. Proficient looks to be the route to take. The break in their front page add looks very similar to your break. They just might be able to fix it.

L8R...Ken
 
about 15 years ago I dropped a Meucci on a very thick carpet. It broke just below the joint. I picked up the cue in two pieces.

I glued it, put it between some soft cloth and into a vise.

It was pretty amazing how straight and good it came out. You could just barely see where it broke and from any distance you couldn't tell at all.

I used it for many years after that. I believe I traded it for a Shon that I still have.

I would recommend a professional do it, however.
 
As long as all the pieces are there it should be able to be fixed,its a nice cue and i think its worth saving it. :)
 
poolplayer2093 said:
cues falling is something that happens to everyone. it doesn't mean he got mad and dropped it on purpose.

chacnes are it had something to do with the humidity change. (that's a guess)


I agree, I was playing with a friends custom and the agreement was if anything broke on the cue that was MY fault I had to pay to get it fixed. Well I was just standing there watching him shoot (and was far from mad) and dropped the cue on a tile floor. The tip broke slam in half and I paid for it. So yea I'd agree that if a cue hits the floor, its not always because someone is mad.

And I agree with others that Schon is not responsible for this. Dropping the cue is considered abuse, no matter if it was an accident or not.
 
Bamacues said:
Unfortunately, I would have to agree that it is just a fluke accident, and not a flaw in the wood. You said it had the shaft on when it fell. The leverage of a cue falling like that can easily snap a cue. There is a lot more weight out on the front of the cue than you would think. I have seen people snap cues simply by striking them on the side of a table.

Personally, I had a Southwest cue knocked over at a tournament, and the shaft split down the middle. I never would have thought it could happen, but I watched it happen, so I know it can happen.

Joe
This is right on about the leverage of the shaft creating extra force on it..Man what a freak accident though...:)
 
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