Cue Maker's former playing cues.....

One of these. Yes, it is what it looks like, not a copy.

tuckers4.jpg
 
One of these. Yes, it is what it looks like, not a copy.

Nice.
But, the cueball is nowhere near the tip. :grin-square:

I've owned Viking, Guffey, McDmt, Morris, Judd and Zylr.
 
I played pool from when I was a kid with various cues on up to when I started building cues in the late 80s. I had many cheap cues. Then I got a Brunswick which was a little better. In the late 70's I bought a Viking, traded it for a McDermott then bought another Viking some months later. I tried an Adam for a short time. Later I played with a Meucci and then a Schon. Then with a special line of by Viking that they built just for me called Sceptre. All those are the ones I played at least a number of months with. I traded around during the times and played a few days or weeks with Black, Benson, Joss, Josswest, Huebler and others. Then I started building cues and playing with my own.
 
Very interesting, Mason..... there are some old fogies around Tulsa that could prolly tell me some stories about when Bill lived here.

I thought I heard that Dennis Searing was a pretty sporty champ around the Florida area.

Joel Weinstock from Tulsa, Oklahoma could hang with the best of em back in his day. He used to play up at the Tulsa Billiard Palace and just spank 'em all. He is one of the more senior cue makers around here. He is not making cues anymore, just tinkering with CNC. He pretty much gave Eddie Farris his start and showed him a great deal of things.
 
Stroud and Hunter would be the best player turned cue makers players i could think of.
I am pretty sure the best player to become a cuemaker would have to be Mike Sigel. Stroud and Hunter are both up there, but probably never were at Mike's peak speed.
 
I started with a Willie Hoppe that I paid 17.95 for. I was still in high school.
I took the wrap off and replaced it with linen.
My next cue was a Rambo that I bought from "Boot" Maples in Johnson City.
It had a linen wrap that went all the way to the buttplate. Paid 100.00 with a Brunswick case.
After that I bought a Balabuska from Ritchie Ambrose in LA. Paid 110.00.
I had beaten him playing pool a few months earlier in Houston.It was new but not a very good cue. Too thin. I played with it for awhile and also bought a Zimmerman in SF for 75.00. Never could play with it.
I then bought another Balabushla similar to the one Jimmy Moore had. Paid 115.00.Thicker butt. I used it for years. Great cue. Never booked a loser with this cue. Used it when I was on the road with Eddie Taylor.
Then Danny and I both ordered cues from Dick Helmsteder in Chicago. Willie Hoppe style with linen wrap. Paid 125.00. Most expensive cue I ever owned. Beat everyone I played for 5 years except Eddie Kelly. Used it until I started making cues myself.
Bill Stroud

Bill -- how in the world do you remember what you paid decades ago for that many old cues? Either you have an absolutely amazing memory, or you're a record-keeping pack rat!
 
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Searing does play jam up and Joey Gold has been known to take peoples lunch money.
 
This is quite an interesting thread..... I had the chance to sit down with Brad Simpson again, and even though he is not a cue maker, he is very knowledgeable, and I just gotta brag on his cue.

It is a 15K SW with scrimmed ivory points into coco with a linen wrap.... he and I sat down and discussed the 'hit of a cue', and it was quite interesting. He said that a cue is a percussion instrument and we agreed that harmonics play a very important role in a cue...... I respect Brad's opinion greatly and also had a wonderful time knockin em around and visiting with a fellow AZer. Very intelligent, very pleasant to converse with.......

Brad, if you read this, I hope you're doing those stretches!
 
> Alex Brick was also a SW/Kersenbrock fan. He had a SICK one,6 ebony points into birdseye with gigantic ivory points all around than ran together,and scrimshawed columns in the ivory ring above the wrap. Tommy D.
 
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