$ cue(no pics yet, i will later) I'm going to write about it(very long read)

Fatboy

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As I said I will take pics of the cue and have a friend post them up, because I'm just not capable of learning how to post pics, sorry:sorry:


It all started like this, There was a thread going here on AZ in the main forum I believe, I recall it was along the lines of what do you expect from cue maker or what is your idea of the best playing cue or something like that. As I remember on about the 3rd or 4th page I put up a post that described what I like and wanted. The post I made was what IMO would make a great player if not the best possible player, I made a detailed post. Hangemhigh made a comment and I replied "Go for it", I wasnt sure if I really ordered a cue or just made a post. As it was just commentary in a thread.<------all this is kinda fuzzy to me cause it was a while back so it might not be 100% accurate.

Also I have one other $ cue, I have made lots of posts about it. The fit/finish is as good as it gets. They are up there with Barrys, Sugartrees,Tascerllas, and other top cue makers work. I was very impressed with the first one I bought, its a 30 year old piece BEM, I think they made about 4 or 5 of them. I got the first one. I dont know exactly who is doing the work on them. I know its the McDanials shop, but I dont know anything else. I wanted to buy a cue and support them in the earily stages, My expectations wernt high-when that first cue came in I had no idea the quality was going to be so high. I knew it was going to be good but had no idea it would be as good as it is. I have seen other reviews and they have made alot of cues since I got my first one.


I got a call recently saying my cue was about ready, I was very happy that it was built, I want sure if I made a order-I was hopeing it was understood to be just that.

It came today, Its straight grain maple forearm(real tight and real straight) just like the maple in Balabushkas. The wrap area is cocbolo straight grain and light colored(I didnt want the dark-I think the dark is a bit heavier and more oily, i'm not sure) and the butt sleve or heel is matching straight grain just like the forearm. Its a very basic looking cue-exactly perfect. a ivory ring and its bumperless with a highly polished screw thats counter sunk a hair so it wont scratch up. I wanted matching shafts, that sound the same when you tone them, and weigh the same-takes alot of wood to be able to pair up shafts like that. Ivory ferrels thin black pad and Traingle tips cut short. And a 3/4" SS joint to tak a little weight off the front of the cue.

I got that exact cue right here-except they didnt cut the tips thin as I perfer, LOL:wink:

the grain of the forarm and wrap are lined up, little details like that are important, it shows that who ever built the cue, or any cue maker for that matter takes the time to be sure that whats going out the door is right.


The only thing missing is a compression fit, when you screw the shaft onto a Bushke or Black Boar when the tennon(is that what its called??) on the male end of the shaft gets to the joint its a tight fit and takes a little pressure to make the last couple turns when you put the cue together. I really think that makes a cue play better, I could be wrong and I'm not out there running 100's playing 14.1 so its not a big deal anyways.

I put the cue together and palmed it and it feels great, same with both shafts the shaft wood looks like what Eric Crisp(Sugartree) uses, the grain goes end to end with no run off, and has little sugar marks. Alot of the Gus Szams I have similar shafts. The rings are thin rings like nickle rings on a diet, micro-metal rings less than 1MM thick. The taper of the shafts is great. After I palmed it with bothe shafts I believe this cue will be much like A Szamboti Softer than a SW and harder than a Muecci. Which is what I like-probably like a Tad is my best guess.


There isnt one thing wrong with this cue, the craftsmanship is 10/10, the finish is perfect, I took it out in the sun and there isnt any thick or thin spots in the finish, no drips, runs or errors.<----remember that commercial with Johnny Bench.

Its a beatiful cue, basic as it gets, and wont look like much here but in real life when you hold it, the quality speaks for itself. I havent hit a ball with it, I cant imagine it not playing good-when I palmed it it held the vibration for a long time and I have noticed that cues that play good hold the vibration longer than duds, no matter who makes them. The vibration held up and it went down slowly to nothing, some cues just kinda stop and they dont play good at all, I just noticed that a few months ago-I should have made a post on that topic.

ok thats enough,
 
Hey Eric, when I read your post about the cue you envisioned , I knew I could get it done. I had already grown fond of what I call "minimalist" cues after we did the first BEM for you. Since then, I have seen this cue come to life as well as several others even more spartan, I love the no-frills, Player style. Me and an overseas friend are working on what may be the ultimate minimalist style, more to come on that later.

I wanted to take a minute and speak to your lone objection about the cue:

"The only thing missing is a compression fit, when you screw the shaft onto a Bushke or Black Boar when the tennon(is that what its called??) on the male end of the shaft gets to the joint its a tight fit and takes a little pressure to make the last couple turns when you put the cue together. I really think that makes a cue play better, I could be wrong and I'm not out there running 100's playing 14.1 so its not a big deal anyways."

Our shaft collars are what I call " screwed and glued". We thread the tenon and then screw the collar on, instead of sliding it on the tenon and gluing it together. The LBM is stronger, and more durable that the exposed wood tenon, which will over time shrink, get dirty, and develop chips,cracks, and dents. Our pilot fits with a tolerance of .0005 to .001, and the collar will last well past the life of the shaft as a whole. That is our way, not trying to sway you from your fondness of the old school design, just wanted to let you know our thinking on the design.

Now, tell us, how did the jacket Ralf sent fit you? Need a pic of you sporting it for our brother in Germany. Call me when you have the time.
 
Nice writeup, there Eric. The line will just get longer a few notches. ;)

I'm due to write one... I will in time. :)
 
Jacket fits perfect, and the cue is too.:smile::smile::smile:


I havent had a chance to play with it yet, I had a biz meeting 2 miles from Jay Helferts house, So I took the cue with me. After the meeting I called Jay and said its my turn to buy dinner, I owe you a steak. Jay said he needed 20-30 minutes to get ready....fine no problem....in less than 10 minutes he was there, I think he thought I might change my mind or something, Jay wastes no time when he aint buying. :D . We sat at dinner and got to talking, we havent talked much since the US open so we had alot to talk about-the pool world is still safe, we arnt making many big moves.......yet!!!;)

3 hours later we were done with dinner, I was knida in the mood to play but I was having a wardrobe malfunction(of the worst possible kind), I had on linene pants I have had for 2 years-I actually dressed up for the meeting But I forgot to bring sweat pants to play in, I need elastic pants or I have to tie off the linen panst so tight its uncomfortable, not cause I'm that fat, its a permant hernia I got from 2 back operations my belly sticks out about 2" and pants dont stay up to good. So If I go to Jays house to play with the pants I had on, 100% they would have fell to my ankles while I would have been playing. They almsot fell off walking to the car. GRRRRR. And no one should have to experience such a horrific scene as that would be, Fatboy standing at Jays pootable holding a cue with his pants around his ankles. I cant stand to bear the thought.

No matter how much weight I lose the hernia will be there, its in-operable. So tomarrow if all goes well I'm going to take pics of this cue, and go to Hardtimes and play with it. Jay was impressed too-man that shaft wood is off the chart, we were in a parking garage with halogen, or sodium vapor lights and you could see, really see the grain in the whole cue, especially the shaft wood. Like I said before thats some amazing wood, Jay said the same, thats not just the kind of wood you have laying around and just go grab when your biulding a cue, someone did alot of work to pair up those shafts. Jay was super impressed with the cue, all aspects of it. I dont make a habit of saying things that someone told me, but its fresh in my mind and Jay wont get upset quoting him here. He said "Those guys must really like you, to build you a cue that good, for a basic cue". To Which I replied "Yeah perhaps so on the shaft wood, but otherwise thats just how good they build cues" Then I see Ralfs pair of cues, just now after talking to Jay. WOW.

One thing is almost certain I wont ever sell this cue, unless I cant make it work for me(and thats unlikely) I'm going to put it in the permant collection and play with it. It will be my travelling cue.


thanks again gentalmen for such a great cue, I will make sure that all the champions I know, I will ask them to play with it for their opinion of how it feels to them. this will take a long time but I will make the effort, and I will let you know the responses I get. I'm sure the feedback will be positive, the guys i'm talking about aint going to tell me some BS to make me feel good. Its not really a hard thing to know if a cue is a winner, and plays good. But its interesting to get opinions.

best,

fatboy
 
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Thanks for sharing your rating as compared with the Gus ... some of us will may never get the Chance to make this experiance or comparison personally :)

Take care Buddy

Berny
 
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