Caution with Bebot Bautista Cuemaker

A

angelfireman

Registered
I have to post this to warn other people against this cue maker. Please move this thread to any appropriate forum category . I apologise if it is in the wrong place.

https://www.facebook.com/mervinborjabautista/?fref=ts


Firstly, when i ordered i mentioned 3/8x10 pin. However when it came, it was his own special version of 3/8x10 pin. And when i asked him bout this he said it was a custom pin that custom cue makers use.

Secondly, his cue doesn't roll straight, the interface at the joint is not fully flat as both the butt and shaft rolls straight, but when you join them there is a small gap in between.

Thirdly, his own poor workmanship, his error and he expects me to pay for shipping back to him to fix. In addition, he asks for money to change to the common 3/8x10 pin.

What cuemaker doesn't try to fix his own fault and breaks his own promised warranty against warping?

Untitled.png
 
Last edited:
angelfireman said:
I have to post this to warn other people against this cue maker. Please move this thread to any appropriate forum category . I apologise if it is in the wrong place.

https://www.facebook.com/mervinborjabautista/?fref=ts


Firstly, when i ordered i mentioned 3/8x10 pin. However when it came, it was his own special version of 3/8x10 pin. And when i asked him bout this he said it was a custom pin that custom cue makers use.

Secondly, his cue doesn't roll straight, the interface at the joint is not fully flat as both the butt and shaft rolls straight, but when you join them there is a small gap in between.

Thirdly, his own poor workmanship, his error and he expects me to pay for shipping back to him to fix. In addition, he asks for money to change to the common 3/8x10 pin.

What cuemaker doesn't try to fix his own fault and breaks his own promised warranty against warping?

Untitled.png
Click to expand...


Seems like u're pretty new to custom cues .
Heres some advice for you.

Firstly, U ask for 3/8-10 pin n apparently theres a variation of 3/8-10 from the flat ones to the sharp ones and the smallers ones that japanese cuemakers uses n different cuemakers select one that believe its a best fit to their construction method.
So in the future, be precise n show the cuemaker the specific pin u want as he may or may not choose to work with that pin.
For example, i 've ask Keith Josey to use a 3/8-11 n he refused n told me that the best fit for his cues r radial which i respect him for that.
However certain cuemakers like Andy or Pat diviney work with a variations of pin from3-8-10 to radial to 5-16-14.
Nobody's fault here , just miscommunication .
And yes, if u ask for it to be changed, u r liable to pay for it unfortunately.

Secondly, if bebot has a warranty against warpage, yes hes responsible in making things right n fix the problem till he delivers a straight shooting cue.
However, the customers which are US are on the losing end as we are expected to foot the shipping bill to ship it back and in return the cuemakers will fix it n pay for return shipping even though its his fault.
However we also have to take into consideration that cuemakers r human beings too n mistakes do happen from time to time for wood, climate n humidity is a big factor when shipping overseas.

There are the standard practice for custom cues unless smth else was worked out n agreed on both ends.

With that being said, i will strongly advise you to work with reputable makers from the states whose cues r known to stay exteemely straight n they stand behind their products.
I wld recommend Keith Josey of josey cues, andy gilbert, sugartree ( 2nd hand market ).
Otherwise shld u choose pinoy cuemakers, stick w the more prominents ones like Linds or al bautista ( blackpearl on azb ).

Good luck resolving ur issues :)
 
Just curious how the cue order went down? When was the order made and how long until delivery?

Bebot did have a big problem with a dealer here. It became a major AZ soap opera. Glad to see he was able to get back on his feet after that.

My suggestion - get the joint changed or refaced locally and POLITELY ask him for the funds (the messenger conversation was antagonistic). I am pretty sure the cost will be less than the round trip cost of shipping. If he says "no", consider the aggravation saved.
 
Last edited:
You should be able to get the pin replaced and have the cue faced properly at the same time pretty cheaply and in a lot less time if you are sending the cue overseas.

I actually had a cuemaker (another plug for Joe Callaluca from NH) replace the pin in my son's cue and clean up the facing and he did not want to charge me for it :thumbup2::joyful: The pin is pretty cheap, and I don't think it was even 30 minutes to do the work. Of course this depends on the cuemaker how much they would charge and also if you have any history with them but I don't see it costing that much. I was actually surprised how fast it took to replace the pin, I though he may need to replace the joint but just heating up the pin to loosen the glue made it come out easily.
 
Made the mistake of buying one of his cues, what a piece of shit it turned out to be. Had to have a top USA cuemaker rebulid it. Then sold it.
 
Call me old-fashioned but I have to think a more formal tone of conversation in that exchange would help. I get the chat convention of speak but this looks like two 14 year olds in a tiff. It is a business transaction after all.
 
It might not be the facing that's throwing it off.

TATE said:
Just curious how the cue order went down? When was the order made and how long until delivery?

Bebot did have a big problem with a dealer here. It became a major AZ soap opera. Glad to see he was able to get back on his feet after that.

My suggestion - get the joint changed or refaced locally and POLITELY ask him for the funds (the messenger conversation was antagonistic). I am pretty sure the cost will be less than the round trip cost of shipping. If he says "no", consider the aggravation saved.
Click to expand...

a shaft can roll straight and still not roll straight when joined, even if the pin is straight and the facings are flat.

It might require redrilling the shaft, gluing in a dowel and re cutting the threads in the shaft.

Or if it has an insert, getting out the insert, recoring it with a dowel and redrilling it for a new insert.

It just depends what's the actual cause of the rolling straight apart but not together.

Jaden
 
I was told that cues made in high humidity areas often warp once in the states.
 
Welcome to the world of Asian cues.

I purchased one of these ambitious Asian cues at what seemed like a bargain price. This beautiful cue cost me $100 in repair costs to be able to sell it.

Never again.
 
measureman said:
Ordering a custom cue from a third world country 7000 miles away.
What could go wrong with that? LOL.
Click to expand...
And I don't get how distance or where its from plays a part in this issue? If you haven't heard about Jessy Bundalian, Linds, Edwin Reyes, and AL BAUTISTA (Black Pearl) - there's more but I just mentioned the cream - then I guess that's the first problem, but nothing held against you if researching is not a strong suit.

Second problem is there are more known US custom makers that have been called out because of different issues - from crooked cues to being flat-out jerks - so does that mean that if someone from a third world country buys a problematic cue from the US, then ALL US cuemakers suck? No? I dont think so.

So don't bash the origin because the cue can come from Antarctica and stay problem-free but I don't think you'd be gushing about it.

To the OP, good that you are trying to resolve it before posting here, but bad that you have to threat posting here. Thanks for the warning and I hope this issue has been resolved. Please also note that you are not really dealing with Bebot Baustista anymore, it's probably one of his sons. But I do believe they are still a member of the International Cuemakers Association. So they have quality standards too.

I have a friend who has 2 cues from their shop and unfortunately, some cues are being handled by their "juniors". My friend's cues are personally handled by Bebot and one of his sons. If you haven't resolved the transaction yet, talk it out more, find options like splitting the cost with him. And unfortunately, as someone earlier mentioned, there's lots of 3/8 x 10 pins. If the standard, full threaded wasn't specifically ordered, then probably you are getting one machined from the cuemaker's shop. Moat do this to save costs.

+ 1 for Josey and Al Bautista of Black Pearl cues. Personally handles and oversees ALL cues coming to their shops.
 
There are certain risks one takes when ordering a cue from the other side of the world. The first post in this thread is an example of an issue.

Patiktik said:
And I don't get how distance or where its from plays a part in this issue? If you haven't heard about Jessy Bundalian, Linds, Edwin Reyes, and AL BAUTISTA (Black Pearl) - there's more but I just mentioned the cream - then I guess that's the first problem, but nothing held against you if researching is not a strong suit.

Second problem is there are more known US custom makers that have been called out because of different issues - from crooked cues to being flat-out jerks - so does that mean that if someone from a third world country buys a problematic cue from the US, then ALL US cuemakers suck? No? I dont think so.

So don't bash the origin because the cue can come from Antarctica and stay problem-free but I don't think you'd be gushing about it.

To the OP, good that you are trying to resolve it before posting here, but bad that you have to threat posting here. Thanks for the warning and I hope this issue has been resolved. Please also note that you are not really dealing with Bebot Baustista anymore, it's probably one of his sons. But I do believe they are still a member of the International Cuemakers Association. So they have quality standards too.

I have a friend who has 2 cues from their shop and unfortunately, some cues are being handled by their "juniors". My friend's cues are personally handled by Bebot and one of his sons. If you haven't resolved the transaction yet, talk it out more, find options like splitting the cost with him. And unfortunately, as someone earlier mentioned, there's lots of 3/8 x 10 pins. If the standard, full threaded wasn't specifically ordered, then probably you are getting one machined from the cuemaker's shop. Moat do this to save costs.

+ 1 for Josey and Al Bautista of Black Pearl cues. Personally handles and oversees ALL cues coming to their shops.
Click to expand...
 
How many Bautista's are there making cues? I have a cue made by Tony Bautista that plays good, looks nice and rolls straight. Came straight to me from Dennis Orcullo and it's a well made cue. Dennis praised him highly as a cuemaker as well. Pretty sure Efren has played with his cues also.
 
Funny thing is, somehow this statement supported what was claimed. If I was in the PI or Thailand or Vietnam, I am on the other side of the world. But if I am the one buying from any one of these countries from the US and had some problems and the maker treats me badly, then probably different conversation eh?

This incident is just ANOTHER example of the many issues buyers experience ALL AROUND THE WORLD. Buying from across the globe is not the problem here, let us not get caught up with our orientation on where we sit on the map.



Black-Balled said:
There are certain risks one takes when ordering a cue from the other side of the world. The first post in this thread is an example of an issue.
Click to expand...
 
Tony is one of the 4 Baustista brothers. Al, Tacio, and Corsino are the other three. Al Baustista is THE Black Pearl maker. His works are a personal favorite of mine - already have 2 with a third one in the works. Tony's cues are great as well, they are Jazz Cues.

Bebot Bautista is another maker but not related to the 4 above. He is based in the Rizal province. He is a member of the International Cuemakers Association. I have a friend who owns a couple and we play frequently. Fit and finish on his cues are great and definitely worth their cost. Please note, Bebot is the Patriarch, if you contact Bebot Bautista cues now in Facebook, most likely it is his son, Mervin, you'd be dealing with.

Al still oversees every order that comes to their Black Pearl shop. I know personally that my cues were done by Al.

Hope this helps. :)


jay helfert said:
How many Bautista's are there making cues? I have a cue made by Tony Bautista that plays good, looks nice and rolls straight. Came straight to me from Dennis Orcullo and it's a well made cue. Dennis praised him highly as a cuemaker as well. Pretty sure Efren has played with his cues also.
Click to expand...
 
axejunkie said:
Call me old-fashioned but I have to think a more formal tone of conversation in that exchange would help. I get the chat convention of speak but this looks like two 14 year olds in a tiff. It is a business transaction after all.
Click to expand...

I agree...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top