Cost of a shaft

[Guerra Cues]

So which is it? Either you have something to prove or you don't. No matter. You are right & I am wrong. It's just that I had aspirations of someday building a cue that other people could appreciate. I guess I should put in the time to research & develop something that stands out among the crowd & is desirable to players. I imagine what it would be like.

Imagine spending half of your days answering emails & phone calls from players all over the world, only to tell them that you cannot accept their orders due to you being solid booked indefinitely. Imagine doing that day after day, year after year. Imagine them telling you it doesn't matter how long it takes, just please keep their name on record so if & when you have time in the future, you might consider building them a cue. Imagine getting order requests from not only pro players, but hall of fame legends. I'm not talking about sponsor requests, but paying orders. Imagine what it would be like to come home from a two week family vacation to see 300 emails & your answering machine maxed out with folks wanting cues. Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? That would be the shizzle. How much confidence & sense of accomplishment would that give you knowing that you have cue orders for the rest of your life & as many as you can build? That would be awesome. I mean, isn't that the dream that drives aspiring cue builders? Big imagination I have, I know. What can I say? I'm a dreamer.

If you reach that point, i'll accept your challenge gladly. You'll be in my league & might have something i'm interested in learning. Until then, you got nothing for me to compete for.

Yep, yep, yep. Eric has nothing to prove John. You need to do a bit more research before you challenge somebody, that you do not know, that you have never seen his work, that you have never hit a ball with his cues, that you have never saw his wood, that you will never be as knowledgeable in wood as Eric, that you will probably never have his etiquette and his believes.
John, you are not that far away from me and we might find each other other on some tournament, some day, but your speech scares me to travel 20 minutes to meet you. Maybe someday, after you improve your people and public skills...
At this point I rather travel 18 hours 10 mins, around 1,155 miles to Eric's place than 34.8 miles to your place in Merced.

Let's talk about shafts now. The quality of shafts that Eric offers for example should be at $200.00+. I have seen shafts from big, big names in the cue making world that do not have 1/10 of your shafts quality for 4 or 5 times more the price - in those cases the name dictates the price. The problem with you is that you are more than honest and fair with your decisions. I guess that is a good problem to have for players that have cues on order from you.
Besides honesty and market value I do feel that the cuemakers name dictates a lot the price of a shaft.

 

[poolplayer2093]

Yep, yep, yep. Eric has nothing to prove John. You need to do a bit more research before you challenge somebody, that you do not know, that you have never seen his work, that you have never hit a ball with his cues, that you have never saw his wood, that you will never be as knowledgeable in wood as Eric, that you will probably never have his etiquette and his believes.
John, you are not that far away from me and we might find each other other on some tournament, some day, but your speech scares me to travel 20 minutes to meet you. Maybe someday, after you improve your people and public skills...
At this point I rather travel 18 hours 10 mins, around 1,155 miles to Eric's place than 34.8 miles to your place in Merced.

really man? that whole first sentence works both ways.

anyway i'm pretty sure there isn't a pool hall in merced so you'd have to go to modesto or something

 

[Guerra Cues]

How ever I did go to College and passed my PC832 which enabled me to serve two years with the Atwater Police Dept. Talk about a career change!!!

Typical behavior of a small town cop. Nothing but California stop traffic tickets. Atwater is not that much bigger than Newman (about 10,000 people).
John, when I spoke with you a few weeks back you seemed friendly... But now, you have burned bridges instead of building them. The word on AZ spreads out faster than you think and can hurt you a lot, unless you want to reach your local friends there, than it is fine... But beware because even local people that I talked to have a very bad and sour taste on their mouths with your posts. People in California are a lot better than that...

 

[qbilder]

Hey Eric, Being an ex-boxer I have to ask. Which do you prefer When you punch do you take short jabs at the body or do you like to punch 1ft behind there head (follow through). Because I could feel the earth move on that one. OUCH.

Yeah, wasn't my most thought out & polite post. I usually delete posts like that once I get past the initial defensive urge & realize it's pointless & serves no good purpose. But this one got captioned pretty quick so I guess it'll just have to be.

 

[CMD]

So which is it? Either you have something to prove or you don't. No matter. You are right & I am wrong. It's just that I had aspirations of someday building a cue that other people could appreciate. I guess I should put in the time to research & develop something that stands out among the crowd & is desirable to players. I imagine what it would be like.

Imagine spending half of your days answering emails & phone calls from players all over the world, only to tell them that you cannot accept their orders due to you being solid booked indefinitely. Imagine doing that day after day, year after year. Imagine them telling you it doesn't matter how long it takes, just please keep their name on record so if & when you have time in the future, you might consider building them a cue. Imagine getting order requests from not only pro players, but hall of fame legends. I'm not talking about sponsor requests, but paying orders. Imagine what it would be like to come home from a two week family vacation to see 300 emails & your answering machine maxed out with folks wanting cues. Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? That would be the shizzle. How much confidence & sense of accomplishment would that give you knowing that you have cue orders for the rest of your life & as many as you can build? That would be awesome. I mean, isn't that the dream that drives aspiring cue builders? Big imagination I have, I know. What can I say? I'm a dreamer.

If you reach that point, i'll accept your challenge gladly. You'll be in my league & might have something i'm interested in learning. Until then, you got nothing for me to compete for.

It's like you're describing Bigfoot or the Lochness Monster or something. Does that actually happen to real live cuemakers?

This has to be the single best post I have read on any forum regarding any subject.

Mr. Barioni, you seem to have lost your way into the wrong schoolyard. You picked on one of the biggest kids for no apparent reason. There are many friendly and helpful craftsmen on this forum. Show a little respect in your new environment.


Chris <---- has paid a lot more for a lot less in the past...

 

[Barioni Cues]

really man? that whole first sentence works both ways.

anyway i'm pretty sure there isn't a pool hall in merced so you'd have to go to modesto or something

Your right bro! Ferroni's closed down about three months ago after being in business about thirty years. The city or state bought him and the property out to widen the overpass to the university. Also the Merced Billiard Club went out about 5 years ago after being in business seven years. There is talk that a new Billiard room is coming. They bought all of Ferroni's tables. I play mostly in Modesto now.

 

[desi2960]

i try to stay out

of these type of threads, but when someone makes a statement like it can't be done, and i am doing it , i have to stand up for myself.
just because you tried to build a shaft with no ferrule and was not able to do so, then you think its impossible. YOU ARE WRONG. when you start telling my potential customers that the product i am building cannot be made, then you are getting on the wrong side of me.
i am a rookie i have only been building cues for 8 - 9 years, to date i have made just over 300 cues, so obviously i do not have your vast experience in the area of cue building, but i think you just might want to research the no ferrules cues i have sold here on azb and find out what my customers think them
i have been breaking with mine for a couple years and no problems, and as to the dozens of no ferrule shafts i have sold, none and i repeat none have ever split, broken or been returned.
sometimes when you say it can't be done all you are saying is " i can't do it "
chuck starkey " builder of no ferrule shafts "

 

[Barioni Cues]

Typical behavior of a small town cop. Nothing but California stop traffic tickets. Atwater is not that much bigger than Newman (about 10,000 people).
John, when I spoke with you a few weeks back you seemed friendly... But now, you have burned bridges instead of building them. The word on AZ spreads out faster than you think and can hurt you a lot, unless you want to reach your local friends there, than it is fine... But beware because even local people that I talked to have a very bad and sour taste on their mouths with your posts. People in California are a lot better than that...

At that time thirty thousand, not that it matters. Newman is much smaller. I believe Atwater has closer to fourty thousand. Remember Castle Air Force Base is there.

 

[desi2960]

and i forgot to add

it pissed me off so much i forgot to answer the question. $125.00

 

[Barioni Cues]

of these type of threads, but when someone makes a statement like it can't be done, and i am doing it , i have to stand up for myself.
just because you tried to build a shaft with no ferrule and was not able to do so, then you think its impossible. YOU ARE WRONG. when you start telling my potential customers that the product i am building cannot be made, then you are getting on the wrong side of me.
i am a rookie i have only been building cues for 8 - 9 years, to date i have made just over 300 cues, so obviously i do not have your vast experience in the area of cue building, but i think you just might want to research the no ferrules cues i have sold here on azb and find out what my customers think them
i have been breaking with mine for a couple years and no problems, and as to the dozens of no ferrule shafts i have sold, none and i repeat none have ever split, broken or been returned.
sometimes when you say it can't be done all you are saying is " i can't do it "
chuck starkey " builder of no ferrule shafts "

Didn't mean to step on your toes! I remember saying I tried with little to know success. I don't remember saying it cant be done. Where can I see these shafts. Oh you know what, I just remembered, when I did it, it was on a hollow shaft. Mine are hollow like preditor. That is why I can get it to hold up. I am assuming yours are solid. So it is like a solid ferrule. My shafts have a total different construction. Once again I didn't mean anything towards you.

 

[hangemhigh]

Didn't mean to step on your toes! I remember saying I tried with little to know success. I don't remember saying it cant be done. Where can I see these shafts. Oh you know what, I just remembered, when I did it, it was on a hollow shaft. Mine are hollow like preditor. That is why I can get it to hold up. I am assuming yours are solid. So it is like a solid ferrule. My shafts have a total different construction. Once again I didn't mean anything towards you.

You must be related to that guy Ned in the Fed-Ex commercials because you are always wrong.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3218308/you_always_get_it_wrong_hilarious_fedex_tv_commercial/

 

[rhncue]

Didn't mean to step on your toes! I remember saying I tried with little to know success. I don't remember saying it cant be done. Where can I see these shafts. Oh you know what, I just remembered, when I did it, it was on a hollow shaft. Mine are hollow like preditor. That is why I can get it to hold up. I am assuming yours are solid. So it is like a solid ferrule. My shafts have a total different construction. Once again I didn't mean anything towards you.

"you are better off not to use a ferrule at all". Wow that's funny, why do so many cue makers use them? I'll tell you why. The shaft will splinter apart as soon as the tip gets a little low. Tried it several times back in 2002 and 2003." Your the one that said it.

Dick

 

[rhncue]

Changed my mind

Dick

 

[Cue Crazy]

I guess I'm lucky in that Most of the people I am fortunate enough to deal with say that price is not a factor, and are usually willing to wait however long It takes me to get to It. I don't like to come off My shaft wood for use in cues other then My own, but I do occasionally make them anyway. It's more less talking Me into making them one that concerns Them the most. I have been making them lately though as times are hard and It's a quicker way of helping make ends meet. I usually give a quote $125 on up, so I guess My prices fall into the average. I have built them for less money though, that is when It was a really simple build, and a very close friend. If a shaft just happens to be the same thread I use, there is no brass to fool with, and if the ring work is simple, then I may have the room to bring It in for a few bucks less then My quote, but $100 is the lowest I have sold for, and I always start out at $125 as a base price when making a quote.

 

[JCIN]

So which is it? Either you have something to prove or you don't. No matter. You are right & I am wrong. It's just that I had aspirations of someday building a cue that other people could appreciate. I guess I should put in the time to research & develop something that stands out among the crowd & is desirable to players. I imagine what it would be like.

Imagine spending half of your days answering emails & phone calls from players all over the world, only to tell them that you cannot accept their orders due to you being solid booked indefinitely. Imagine doing that day after day, year after year. Imagine them telling you it doesn't matter how long it takes, just please keep their name on record so if & when you have time in the future, you might consider building them a cue. Imagine getting order requests from not only pro players, but hall of fame legends. I'm not talking about sponsor requests, but paying orders. Imagine what it would be like to come home from a two week family vacation to see 300 emails & your answering machine maxed out with folks wanting cues. Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? That would be the shizzle. How much confidence & sense of accomplishment would that give you knowing that you have cue orders for the rest of your life & as many as you can build? That would be awesome. I mean, isn't that the dream that drives aspiring cue builders? Big imagination I have, I know. What can I say? I'm a dreamer.

If you reach that point, i'll accept your challenge gladly. You'll be in my league & might have something i'm interested in learning. Until then, you got nothing for me to compete for.

You know how in all those 80's movies when something cool would happen people would spontaneously stand up and start clapping?

I just did that.

 

[HDR10]

I had an old man for a boss/mentor once and he beat these two sayings into my head every single day

"for anything you do charge a fair price that'll let you sleep at night" and "IF they dont have enough money get all the money they have"

If you think making a shaft is worth $200-$300 or whatever and can get that for it more power to you!!!

 

[will8834]

I charge $100.00 for a new shaft with a standard collar. If they want the ring matched and I do not have a ring like it I charge $50.00 to make the ring. I will give them a few of the extra rings in case they have another shaft made in the future.

One thing I try and stay away from is to many rings. I think they make a cue look cheap. I do like rings staked when they are thin. Some of my favorite stacked ring work was done by Barenbrugge, I remember seeing a pic of it on another message board but it is no longer there.

 

[lenoxmjs]

If you have a girlfriend that works for the FBI, I definitely having a deja vu.:shrug:

I'm just curious, do you consider this some of your finest work?

I noticed that too........:grin:

 

[lenoxmjs]

Least I ever paid was $80 thats about all it was worth

Average cost with I vory ferrul and simple ring work 200-225

Most I was ever quoted (didn't buy them) was 675 for 2 shafts with simple ringwork (buska ring).

 

[Chris Byrne]

You know how in all those 80's movies when something cool would happen people would spontaneously stand up and start clapping?

I just did that.

Dude! You can't just start a slow clap at any time.