Cuemakers......REAL...or.....PHONY ?

[tikkler]

I'm confused here.....What point are you trying to make here....Is your beef with cuebuilders buying pre maid forearms, and butts, and passing them off as their own, or is it the fact that they don't give you information if you don't ask? Are you taking this a step further, and talking about cuebuilders that don't make their own joint pins, inlays, and venners, or is it about the guy that puts a sneaky up forsale, and doesnt mention its a Schmelke blank? This same thread is listed in 3 different parts of the forum.....there must be a underlying story here? Did you find out one of your custom cues was made from pre made parts by a components dealer??

I am very happy with every cue I own. Again, as proven by some of these posts, I think that when you are buying a cue that is being sold as a handcrafted custom, you should be aware of what you are really getting. To me it is the cuemakers obligation to be honest and upfront. For the ones who are not thats their decision to make. I was just bringing to light that this goes on too frequently, and I personally dont agree with it. Will I lose any sleep over the whole thing, hahahaha, dont think so...Steve

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

I am very happy with every cue I own. Again, as proven by some of these posts, I think that when you are buying a cue that is being sold as a handcrafted custom, you should be aware of what you are really getting. To me it is the cuemakers obligation to be honest and upfront. For the ones who are not thats their decision to make. I was just bringing to light that this goes on too frequently, and I personally dont agree with it. Will I lose any sleep over the whole thing, hahahaha, dont think so...Steve

YOU WERE ONE OF THOSE KIDS IN SCHOOL THAT GOT THE OTHER KIDS TO DO BAD/STUPID SHIT, AND JUST SAT IN THE CORNER LAUGHING AS THEY GOT IN TROUBLE.

MARCUS<----WAS ALSO ONE OF THOSE KIDS

 

[JoeyInCali]

So I guess you are saying that buying a chevy is the same as buying a so called custom handcrafted pool cue.....LOL...and its also okay to be deceptive to your customers. That is good info to know, Thanks...Steve

IT's not ok to be deceptive to clients at all.
If the blank came from Schmelke, Prather, Davis, house cue , Duc, Adams or so, the maker should not deny it.
There are a ton of Prather shortsplice floating around with different signatures. I don't know if all makers admit them or not.

 

[tikkler]

I do not believe i have ever seen a cue where all the parts were made by the cue maker. If you have ivory in a cue, unless the cue maker has an elephant then he used materials that he had to buy. If you do not make your own rubber bumpers, pins, the paint you use for a finish, grow your own animals for the leather tips. make from scratch the wax you use, then you are just like many others who assemble cues. I sometimes make cues doing all the woodwork from scratch then use a tip made by morri, use a rubber bumper, linen rings, and ferrule made by atlas, does this mean this cue was not made by me? I have used both schmelke and prathers products in my cues, and see no problems with doing so, they are both great. chuck starkey

So I guess if we nitpick every little screw and bumper, we can justify anything at all. You left out a few like making your own electric to run your equiptment and lights, or building your own lathe from metal that you dug up and proccessed yourself....lets be real...you want to justify being deceptive to your customers....go to it....Steve

 

[tikkler]

YOU WERE ONE OF THOSE KIDS IN SCHOOL THAT GOT THE OTHER KIDS TO DO BAD/STUPID SHIT, AND JUST SAT IN THE CORNER LAUGHING AS THEY GOT IN TROUBLE.

MARCUS<----WAS ALSO ONE OF THOSE KIDS

Marcus.....you sneaky SOB....you talked to my teachers didnt you...hahahaha
at least you admit you were the same way.....Steve

 

[tikkler]

IT's not ok to be deceptive to clients at all.
If the blank came from Schmelke, Prather, Davis, house cue , Duc, Adams or so, the maker should not deny it.
There are a ton of Prather shortsplice floating around with different signatures. I don't know if all makers admit them or not.

Joey...this is all I am saying...I agree with you 100% thanks Steve

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

Marcus.....you sneaky SOB....you talked to my teachers didnt you...hahahaha
at least you admit you were the same way.....Steve

CAUSING TROUBLE WAS THE ONLY THING I WENT TO SCHOOL FOR.....

 

[ribdoner]

WATCH WHAT YOU SAY WITHOUT GOOD INFORMATION.......

SOME.... NOT MANY, MANY YEARS WORTH WERE PURCHASED BLANKS. UNLESS YOU CONSIDER THE JAMES CANNON BLANKS AS PURCHASED.

THERE IS NO TASCARELLA/CCC AFFILIATION, AND THE FOREARMS ARE MADE IN HOUSE BY PETE SR AND JR.

I'M NOT TRYING TO BE A DICK, BUT DON'T SPREAD FALSE INFORMATION.

I take exception to this comment. I'll edit my post to reflex "some/many/many,many" until the # of yrs imported blanks were used is quantified and we define "some" vs. "many" vs "many,many".

Also, note the "?" after "CCC" in my post.

Adam<==========wants to get it right

suggested definitions:

some...............less than a handfull
many...............more than a handfull but less than two handfulls
many,many.......more than tow handfulls

 

[nick serdula]

Steve, funny stuff.

You so silly! I love talking to friends that are amazed that Schmellkie has built special order blanks for builders with wood provided by them.
They do make pretty blanks that can make your jaw drop. You can't really fault them. But it might be a good idea to ask a builder before they start your cue if you are getting a pretty conversion or a custom.
Nick

 

[ribdoner]

This is an awfully dangerous thing to say.

Pete Tascarella when he first started making cues, made them just like George Balabushka. Since Balabushka wasn't making forearm blanks, Pete purchased them as well from the same people George purchased them: Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain. That's all. Never did he tell me anything about buying blanks from Richard Helmstetter.

He soon thereafter with help from his brother-in-law ( a machinist) started making his own forearm blanks. Today, the Tascarellas continue to make their own blanks, some of the absolute best in the business. And, they're one of cuemakers who started along the recent trend of making full-spliced blanks for those customers who want that.

Maybe you're confusing the Karella Cue company, which had some connection with Tascarella, but nothing more than that.


The Tascarellas helped this fledgling company out (Carolina Cues) early on, but not tooday. Today, as far as I know, there is no business relation between the two companies.

Fred

See post # 111 and # 128.

In closing, does where blanks made (and for how long) effect how his cues performed on the table and in the market place?

 

[kvinbrwr]

My List of Two

Barry

Ernie

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

I take exception to this comment. I'll edit my post to reflex "some/many/many,many" until the # of yrs imported blanks were used is quantified and we define "some" vs. "many" vs "many,many".

Also, note the "?" after "CCC" in my post.

Adam<==========wants to get it right

I'M SORRY, THAT MY POST IS WORDED THE WAY IT IS, BUT I'VE HEARD SO MUCH BAD INFORMATION ABOUT CUEMAKERS THAT IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME ANGRY.

NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER OF BLANKS THAT WERE PURCHASED FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES BUT, I CAN SAY THAT OUT OF THE 50-60 TASCARELLAS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH MY HANDS, 4 OR 5 HAD NON TASCARELLA BLANKS. (NOT INCLUDING CONVERSIONS) SO THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE RATIO.

ABOUT THE CCC PART..... WHY EVEN POST THAT REFERENCE, (QUESTION MARK OR NOT) WITHOUT HAVING INFORMATION??? THERE IS NO TASCARELLA/CCC RELATIONSHIP. AND PARTS WERE NEVER INTERCHANGED BETWEEN THE TWO. THE TASCARELLAS WERE INVOLVED IN SETTING UP THE CCC SHOP AND GETTING THEM RUNNING, THAT'S BASICLY WHERE THE CUE RELATIONSHIP ENDS.


THE TASCARELLAS NOW MAKE ALL THEIR BLANKS IN HOUSE, INCLUDING MY FIRST/ONLY 6 POINTER, AND THE REMILLED POINTS, AND THE 8 POINTERS.

P.S. I'VE NEVER HEARD PETE CLAIM THAT HE BUILT ALL HIS OWN BLANKS, WHICH IS WHAT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT.

 

[BLACKHEARTCUES]

IT's not ok to be deceptive to clients at all.
If the blank came from Schmelke, Prather, Davis, house cue , Duc, Adams or so, the maker should not deny it.
There are a ton of Prather shortsplice floating around with different signatures. I don't know if all makers admit them or not.

Hi Joey; It seems to me that there is a big difference between DENIING, that you have purchased pemade parts & providing a list of parts to each customer. If a customer asks, I will be more than happy to inform the customer, if the part is purchased or made in my shop. I probably won't tell him my suppliers name, because that's just none of the customer's business. This whole finger pointing by some of the posters, is part of the intertainment of some people who are bored & probably have no real talent of their own. Therefore, they take pleasure in running down those of us who can produce a quality playing intrument. This thread, like so many here is just a bore. I'm done with it. A GOOD DAY TO ALL...JER

 

[JoeyInCali]

this is gettin ugly.

 

[desi2960]

answer my question

So I guess if we nitpick every little screw and bumper, we can justify anything at all. You left out a few like making your own electric to run your equiptment and lights, or building your own lathe from metal that you dug up and proccessed yourself....lets be real...you want to justify being deceptive to your customers....go to it....Stev would you please answer my question, if i build a cue using all wood parts that i have cut from scratch, then use tips, rubber bumpers, clear coat finish, sealer, glue etc etc that i bought from a supplier, is this a custom cue?

 

[cuenut]

I think the terminology you used in your original post, Steve, regarding "led me to believe" is the key. If the intent of the cuemaker was to deceive you, shame on them. I think we would all be interested, or shocked, to know how many "custom" cues are out there from a wide number of "custom" cuemakers. I like the way many cuemakers, assemblers, whatever have been describing "Davis made blank" when trying to sell a cue. I doubt that we will ever truly know all, but I don't like the deception issue if it is deliberate. I don't always make it a point to ask if any parts on the cue were purchased pre-made, machined, etc. I don't think, at least in collecting the mainstay kinds of cues, that it would make a difference, but I would like to know. On a vintage cue, like one 6 point Spain blank conversion by Guffey that I have, it is quite important. Similar to a Balabushka with WICO, Spain, or Titlist, the origin of the blank can make a difference, and being deceived into believing that it is one vs. the other would really piss me off if it were intentional.

 

[ribdoner]

I'M SORRY, THAT MY POST IS WORDED THE WAY IT IS, BUT I'VE HEARD SO MUCH BAD INFORMATION ABOUT CUEMAKERS THAT IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME ANGRY.

As i'm approaching my "golden pond" yrs I've learned to not sweat the small stuff and ESP. things I can't control.

NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER OF BLANKS THAT WERE PURCHASED FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES BUT, I CAN SAY THAT OUT OF THE 50-60 TASCARELLAS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH MY HANDS, 4 OR 5 HAD NON TASCARELLA BLANKS. (NOT INCLUDING CONVERSIONS) SO THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE RATIO.

ABOUT THE CCC PART..... WHY EVEN POST THAT REFERENCE, (QUESTION MARK OR NOT) WITHOUT HAVING INFORMATION??? THERE IS NO TASCARELLA/CCC RELATIONSHIP. AND PARTS WERE NEVER INTERCHANGED BETWEEN THE TWO. THE TASCARELLAS WERE INVOLVED IN SETTING UP THE CCC SHOP AND GETTING THEM RUNNING, THAT'S BASICLY WHERE THE CUE RELATIONSHIP ENDS.

Nothing more than SPECULATION and I think that it was interpreted as such by those who read it. In no way was it intended as a statement of fact.


THE TASCARELLAS NOW MAKE ALL THEIR BLANKS IN HOUSE, INCLUDING MY FIRST/ONLY 6 POINTER, AND THE REMILLED POINTS, AND THE 8 POINTERS.

And the ones I've seen for MANY/MANY, MANY yrs are as GOOD as it GETS.

P.S. I'VE NEVER HEARD PETE CLAIM THAT HE BUILT ALL HIS OWN BLANKS, WHICH IS WHAT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT.

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!


Take care and enjoy the finest TASC collection I know of...:thumbup:

 

[Hidy Ho]

this is gettin ugly.

Because this is a worthless thread ... without any substantiation ...

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!


Take care and enjoy the finest TASC collection I know of...:thumbup:

AGREED......

THANKS....

 

[Cornerman]

See post # 111 and # 128.

In closing, does where blanks made (and for how long) effect how his cues performed on the table and in the market place?

Performance-wise, I think the Tascarellas like every cuemaker fine-tuned their design and process until it was exactly the way they liked it. I don't know how long that took, but if I were to guess, I'd say that they got to something (feel-wise) very quickly, even if they continued to change the internal design somewhat. Pete was a poolplayer long before he was a cuemaker, so I'd think he knew what he was looking for in terms of feel.

There doesn't seem to be any downside to the notion that he used Szamboti or Spain blanks, playability or collectibility speaking.

As for the market place, Marcus is going to be one of the better sources for that answer. I'd guess that to some collectors, a Tascarella with a Szamboti forearm is going to go for a bit more money just from the rareness/collectibility point of view. But any Tascarella commands a pretty penny.

Fred