Customer Brought In A Very Interesting Cue, Made By George Balabushka

manwon

manwon

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Hello, thought that I would share some photo's of a cue a customer brought into my pool hall today.

The cue was made for him by George Balabushka in 1970. This was the last cue that George made for this gentleman. The first two were made in the 1960's and they were stolen.:eek:

This cue I would suspect has a Burton Spain forearm due to the date of purchase. However the negative side to this cue, is that it was refinished, and not even by a professional.:eek:

This is a good example of why you should never allow rare collectable cues to be refinished, unless you pay to have the best do it and it really needs to be done.;)

1) The cues original wrap was completely sealed during the refinishing process.

2) The cue appears to have been sealed with a clear coat finish, unknown type.

3) The cue appears to have a Burton Spain Forearm.

4) The forearm wood is Curly Maple, with no Birdseye effect.

5) The forearm inlays are small scalopped diamonds and dot's made from real mother of pearl.

6) The cues butt is Ebony also with diamond and dot mother of pearl inlays.

7) The cue has a milk white delrin butt cap.

8) The cue also has the tipical Balabushka bumper attached to the weight bolt with an allen screw.

9) The cue has two 13 + mm shafts with black phenolic collars and metal rings and it weights 20 oz.

10) The cue has a stainless steel joint with a black phenolic collar with a metal ring below the joint and a 5 1/6 -14 pin.

Sorry for the poor photo's, I suppose I need to get another camera.

Pictures are below, enjoy!!!!

Bushka 1.jpg

Bushka 2.jpg

Bushka 3.jpg

bushka 5.jpg

Bushka 7.jpg

Have a nice night!!!!!

Manwon
 
Fast Lenny said:
With the finish on the wrap it seems like maybe he wanted a Meucci,lol,nice cue though.
Click to expand...

I suspect your right, it is really a shame.!!

Manwon
 
Tell him he can't shoot straight with that thing.
I'll give a Preadator cue for it.
Plus a breaker.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Tell him he can't shoot straight with that thing.
I'll give a Preadator cue for it.
Plus a breaker.
Click to expand...

I tried that myself, but he is old and very set in his ways so it did not work!!

Have a great night!!!!

Manwon
 
Refinishing a Balabushka

I will admit to having my 'orginial' Balabushka cue refinished.

It was a long and difficult decision for me but the forearm just below the s/s joint had lost it's protective clear coat finish. And the chaulk was starting to get inside of the maple's grain.
The biggest factors in my decision were: it was my daily player, it's condition bothered me and I knew I would NOT sell my cue, ever.

The refinshing was done by the best - Pete Tascarella. And the cue turned out goregous! When Pete completed the refinishing he said "It's just like the day George made it".
And it did not cost anything near $2500. In fact, the shipping and insurance to and from Pete's shop cost more than the actual refinishing.

In the end I am very happy with my decision.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas,
Hal

Manwon - Was there any discussion of the precieved value of his Balabushka? Are the veneer colors black, red, red, white?
 
Last edited:
Hal2 said:
I will admit to having my 'orginial' Balabushka cue refinished.

It was a long and difficult decision for me but the forearm just below the s/s joint had lost it's protective clear coat finish. And the chaulk was starting to get inside of the maple's grain.
The biggest factors in my decision were: it was my daily player, it's condition bothered me and I knew I would NOT sell my cue, ever.

The refinshing was done by the best - Pete Tascarella. And the cue turned out goregous! When Pete completed the refinishing he said "It's just like the day George made it".
And it did not cost anything near $2500. In fact, the shipping and insurance to and from Pete's shop cost more than the actual refinishing.

In the end I am very happy with my decision.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas,
Hal

Manwon - was there any discussion on the precieved value of his Balabushka?
Click to expand...

You certainly made the right decision on yours by sending it to Pete. When finish is gone, failing to protect the wood in the cue, then IMO it should be refinished, but on something like this, you need to have it properly done. My point was the manner in which this one was refinished probably decreased the cue's resale value by $2500...maybe more.
 
Judging by the curly maple and the veneer colors, the date it was made, it's probably an early Szamboti forearm. That also makes it a rare cue and even more valuable if it can be documented.

Chris
 
Hal2 said:
I will admit to having my 'orginial' Balabushka cue refinished.

It was a long and difficult decision for me but the forearm just below the s/s joint had lost it's protective clear coat finish. And the chaulk was starting to get inside of the maple's grain.
The biggest factors in my decision were: it was my daily player, it's condition bothered me and I knew I would NOT sell my cue, ever.

The refinshing was done by the best - Pete Tascarella. And the cue turned out goregous! When Pete completed the refinishing he said "It's just like the day George made it".
And it did not cost anything near $2500. In fact, the shipping and insurance to and from Pete's shop cost more than the actual refinishing.

In the end I am very happy with my decision.

Best Regards and Merry Christmas,
Hal

Manwon - Was there any discussion of the precieved value of his Balabushka? Are the veneer colors black, red, red, white?
Click to expand...
His point was how much it devalued the cue!
 
Customer Brought in a very Interesting Cue

The curly maple gets my attention. How many Gus or George cues have you seen with curly maple. All that I've seen have been straight maple.
Could really make it a collectable, any documention to go with it.
Steve

www.kleincues.com
 
cueaddicts said:
My point was the manner in which this one was refinished probably decreased the cue's resale value by $2500...maybe more.
Click to expand...

if it were mine i would not only talk to pete but try to contact an antique restoration/conservation company through referrals from local museums and the like. there might be a way to to carefully remove the finish from the original wrap using chemicals. then the original wrap could be re dyed, if necessary, and saved. with a careful refinish around the wrap the cue could be as good as new and retain close it's full value. the problem is my guess would be it could cost upwards of $2500 to have it all done. that be the "catch 22" but worth it if it could be done imo.
 
Value

cueaddicts said:
You certainly made the right decision on yours by sending it to Pete. When finish is gone, failing to protect the wood in the cue, then IMO it should be refinished, but on something like this, you need to have it properly done. My point was the manner in which this one was refinished probably decreased the cue's resale value by $2500...maybe more.
Click to expand...

Now, I understand completely and I agree with you.

Hal
 
cutter said:
The curly maple gets my attention. How many Gus or George cues have you seen with curly maple. All that I've seen have been straight maple.
Could really make it a collectable, any documention to go with it.
Steve

www.kleincues.com
Click to expand...

Steve,

That's why I think it's a Szamboti forearm. The ones Spain provided were straight grain maple but Gus used a lot of curly. Also, Spain's blanks were mostly black, orange, geen, natural veneers with ebony prongs. The year the cue was acquired is the beginning of the Szamboti blank era.

The refinish on this cue makes it look like a Meucci, but if it's a real Szamboti Balabushka, well... it may not hit like a ton but it's worth a ton.

Chris

Ps. If you're Steve Klein, welcome to the boards!
 
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