Colorado Mentors?

[RobustBrad]

Hey all,

Probably a long shot but I'm looking to get into the cue building hobby. I have access to all the tools but am in need of a mentor to show me the process once or twice.

I'm located in the Denver metro area and would travel if anyone was able to assist me with this.

If no one is available locally, could you possibly point me in the right direction. Videos work best second to hands on learning. I really appreciate any help

Cheers,
Brad

 

[Varney Cues]

First thing is to buy Chris Hightowers book...and read it. Then you can start purchasing dvd's & such. Finding a cuemaker to just let you in their shop & teach you trade secrets may not be the easiest task. Hightower as well as Unique products have multiple dvd's that will take you through the basic steps of repair & basic building. If you are ready to build cues tomorrow...you should of started buying wood 10 years ago.

 

[GBCues]

Hi Brad

There are a few cue builders, repair guys, and novices in the Denver area.

Chris Byrne, Russ Schilling, Tokyo-Dave, Ernie Martinez (he doesn't post here). There may be others that don't come to mind. I've not actually met any of these guys, but not because I haven't had invitations, just never seem to find the time between work and family.

But the other posters are correct, you need to do some homework first. Start working on cleaning shafts, install tips and ferrules first to get your hands dirty (on your OWN shafts) or even with non-shaft quality wood.

Read every post in this forum every day and you'll learn a LOT, these guys are very generous with their time and knowledge, but it helps to be able to say "I tried this and got this bad result, what should I have done differently?" as opposed to "How do you build a cue?" And given how LONG it takes to build a cue to completion, you would have a very sore butt from sitting and watching.

I will be happy to show you my set up - I'm just a novice and have only done a few shafts and refinished a butt or two. But I'll show you what I've got to work with. PM me - timing will be tight as I leave on a 2 week business trip to Europe on Saturday, but I'm off this week. I'm down south in Highlands Ranch.

Hope this helps!

Welcome to the ADDICTION!

Gary

 

[rhncue]

Hey all,

Probably a long shot but I'm looking to get into the cue building hobby. I have access to all the tools but am in need of a mentor to show me the process once or twice.

I'm located in the Denver metro area and would travel if anyone was able to assist me with this.

If no one is available locally, could you possibly point me in the right direction. Videos work best second to hands on learning. I really appreciate any help

Cheers,
Brad

Anyone who desires to build cues needs to have a good foundation to build on and in my opinion, that would be a few years of cue repair. Others may have other opinions but that is mine. There are things that need to be learned well before other steps can be made. A heart surgeon doesn't become one with watching another a couple of times. First he must be a surgeon, before that he must be a dr., before that med school, before that pre-med and before that a college education with subjects that are needed for later progression.

I, as others, have explained a lot of techniques on this forum that can save a new cue maker time in not making as many mistakes as I have in the past. However, I would never take someone into my shop and teach them. I wouldn't let anyone touch one of my machines let alone run one. He can be in your shop for two months, learn what he needs to get by, cut his finger and sue and then he owns your shop to work out of. That's not for me. You do know that Eugine Balner, the creator of Palmer cues, worked for Frank Paradise for a period, quit and then opened a shop across the street from Paradise, in direct competition.

Dick