buddha162 said:
That certainly makes sense. Cuemakers should make customers sign a waiver before working on risky operations (if the customer insists on getting it done). I guess the cuemaker could still get a bad rap from word of mouth...you guys can't win!
Thanks again for replying, much appreciated.
-Roger
Glad to see some one understands. Unfortunatly, I don't think the waiver would save a cuemaker from the bad rep caused by word mouth, just the nature of the way things work. I have heard a few including MW, and sheldon mention this in several posts, and must aggree It is very true. When you start cutting into a cue, you really have no idea what you will run into, the glue lines are also an issue as mentioned, more so then one might think. I just did a retaper on a shaft. started with a little over 13mm, and customer wanted 12.5, I started out light and worked down to be safe, I ended up stopping at 12.7 for 2 reasons, 1 the shaft was starting to pick up a little whip, and I did not want to go anymore, and 2 the "ferrule was started to show a unsightly glue line", and this one was a famous make cue. When I put a ferrule on, I can cut it down as far as I want without showing a line, But I can't control that in a exsiting cue without replacing the ferrule. Point being, that was just a shaft, Imagine what all could go wrong with a cue butt. Another thing, to be honest all cues are not always perfect, sometimes they could have had a cover up or patch job of some sort done when It was made, this is not uncommon, and just comes with the territory. As mentioned in another post, when turning a existing veneers down, all kinds of problems can occur. Gluelines in those also, as well if not carefull the veneers can actually sometimes pull out if not prepped properly before returning. And the list goes on and on. Most cuemakers here have at one time have probably grinded many a tooth over these kind of things going wrong, It just can't always be helped, and the odds are not in their favor. That is the reason I only do It on junk cues with no value, mainly for the learning experience, as they all have their drawbacks to learn, and some cannot even be seen, as there are too many variables.
Some of this I have to re-evaluate if I even want to take them on. here's the thing, I do not claim to be the quickest, farthest from the truth, but not the slowest either, with that being said. all in all with poping the tip off, center drilling, taking the first part down to 12.7, running it between centers, hand tapering the rest to match because the shaft was not turning true enough to use taper bars, then I had to finish and burmish 3 times to get the grain under control, fill the center hole with epoxy and let dry, face, glue tip, cut, shape, then another finish on the shaft, and a final on the tip. With wait time included, I had 4 to 5 hours in this. At 50 an hour, how can I charge someone 200-300 for a retaper? even if I get faster, and especially if something goes wrong. This just does not seem cost effective, so don't even think there are worth doing as far as I am concerned, to me or the customer. I guess that's the way I see It anyhow. I won't let anything thing out of here unless the work is done correctly, and sometimes that can just take too long, and be too risky. I am assuming this is the case with the other makers, and why they feel the way they do about It. I guess alot can be done, but they can't be certain what they will run into until in there, and would rather not steer the customer down a money pit. It would not be right for the cue guy to take that big of a loss, as he is just trying to make a living like others, and has overhead to pay himself. feel free to Correct me If I'm wrong guys. just the way I see it.
I heard jer mention spraying done for 50-75 in the other post i believe. If any of you are willing to finish some cues at 40-50 a pop, let me know I might just have to send you these 4 I am working on now, and let you finish them for me LOL. I am using a water base/acrylic now, and It does get very hard, stays very clear, with UV. it does not scratch, and looks almost as good as auto clear, I am happy with the final results, problem is there is alot more labor involved in the finishing proccess to get it perfect with the stuff, and takes more coats to build it up, then spraying the auto. I could spray auto clear with the equipment I have, but don't have the space to set up a booth at this time. Might have to see If I can work a deal out with a body shop for some night time spray action, or something until I get setup properly, ofcoarse would need more then one night for wet sanding between coats.
Greg
