Customer furnished material
- Thread starter rhncue
- Start date
What kind of wood?
A running joke with a cuemaker friend is that every time I call him I start with this:
"I have this tree in my back yard that feel down, can you make it into a cue for me??"
If its suitable wood for a cue, I would let it age in your shop for a while. Months?
You just dont know how its been handled and in what environments.
A running joke with a cuemaker friend is that every time I call him I start with this:
"I have this tree in my back yard that feel down, can you make it into a cue for me??"
If its suitable wood for a cue, I would let it age in your shop for a while. Months?
You just dont know how its been handled and in what environments.
First, the cue will cost the same.
Lemme turn your wood round ( if it's at 6-8% mc ) then get back to you in a few weeks.
Lemme turn your wood round ( if it's at 6-8% mc ) then get back to you in a few weeks.
rhncue said:
For me, it would depend on what kind of wood it is. IF it were a piece of rosewood, with some special figure going on I may consider using it.
The price of the cue remains the same. But I may do something a little extra special and not charge extra. I think a situation like this has to be handled on an individual basis.
Has the person bought from you before?
Is it a species of wood that you might normally use in one of your cues?
Does the person think they should get a discount because they are supplying some of the material?
Are YOU comfortable using this piece of wood?
Is it dry? Where did come from? How long was it there before they got it?
Does person want you to start building with it right away?
These are things that all have to be considered IMO.
The reason for me asking this question, as I already knew of the answers given, was to ease into this question. What do you say to a customer, who you have built cues for before so really don't want to up-set to badly, designs a cue, picks out the inlays he wants and you both settle on a price. Then when all is settled he says " Instead of using the materials agreed to he would bring his own ivory slabs, joint, butt cap and ferrules" to replace the normal material and to use them instead.
Dick
Dick
"Sorry...I have to put my name on it so I prefer to use my parts as it represents my work".rhncue said:
Just say NO!
Its like taking your car to a auto mechanic and asking him to repair it but you'll provide all the parts. In all fairness to the mechanic he would mark the parts up so he could make a little money off them as well. The same with a cue builder you should make a fair mark up on your raw materials as well. Not to mention quality control issues with the customer bringing in there own stuff. Dave
Its like taking your car to a auto mechanic and asking him to repair it but you'll provide all the parts. In all fairness to the mechanic he would mark the parts up so he could make a little money off them as well. The same with a cue builder you should make a fair mark up on your raw materials as well. Not to mention quality control issues with the customer bringing in there own stuff. Dave
Simple.rhncue said:
Knock off the cost of the raw materials at the cheapest possible prices. Tell him if the quality is suspect, there will be no guarantee on them.
Most times, people just want more involvement in the process, they are not usually being cheap, or they wouldn't come to a custom cuemaker in the first place.
rhncue said:
Your customer has changed the original agreement if this happens. You have the right to change the agreement accordingly. Thats the way I see it as what you have explained. It's not the same agreement anymore.
I'd agree with Sheldon and Dave 
I was fortunate to have Scott Whisler agree to use some ivory a friend of mine's father salvaged from a Walrus in Alaska a very long time ago....I wanted to use it for something unique; however, Scott did the machining with no guarantees -- trust was just part of the equation for me
P.S. -- I'm very happy with the end results....thanks again Scott
I was fortunate to have Scott Whisler agree to use some ivory a friend of mine's father salvaged from a Walrus in Alaska a very long time ago....I wanted to use it for something unique; however, Scott did the machining with no guarantees -- trust was just part of the equation for me
P.S. -- I'm very happy with the end results....thanks again Scott
rhncue said:
It's your business. You're at risk. If he wants to commission a cue using his materials, that needs to be on the table prior to any price settlement. How can it not be? He wasn't looking for a discount too, was he?
I've had a cuemaker make a cue from my material, but that's how it was stated ahead of time, and the first thing he did was to check to make sure it was a quality piece.
Fred
krbsailing said:I'd agree with Sheldon and Dave
I was fortunate to have Scott Whisler agree to use some ivory a friend of mine's father salvaged from a Walrus in Alaska a very long time ago....I wanted to use it for something unique; however, Scott did the machining with no guarantees -- trust was just part of the equation for me
P.S. -- I'm very happy with the end results....thanks again Scott
I thought WALRUS IVORY was protected & only the Natives could harvest it. I was lead to believe that WALRUS IVORY could only be used in the state that it was harvested in. In other words it can't leave Alaska...JER
I would say to the customer "let's start all over". You and I both know having to machine ivory is more work, than slipping on normal ring work. Also even if you agree any cracking is his risk instead of yours, he will probably still be mad and blame you. And you will still have double labor replacing cracked parts. Unless he makes the deal with him providing ivory up front, I would just say "I can't use ivory that I am not sure about."
A really nice ivory pointed cue with ivory joint and butt sleeve will probably double the value of the cue. Say it is $1000 cue with phenolic butt plate and joint and wood points. It could very well be worth $2000 with all ivory. He might have $300 or so in the ivory. In his mind he is going to get a $2000 cue for $1300 if he negotiates it right. This is just like someone asking you if you will install his tip. You agree to install it for LePro price and he pulls out a Moori. This happens at large shows where people are retailing tips and others are there doing repairs. I guess the only way to stop that type of thing is for everyone to refuse to use the customers materials, unless everything is revealed up front.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
A really nice ivory pointed cue with ivory joint and butt sleeve will probably double the value of the cue. Say it is $1000 cue with phenolic butt plate and joint and wood points. It could very well be worth $2000 with all ivory. He might have $300 or so in the ivory. In his mind he is going to get a $2000 cue for $1300 if he negotiates it right. This is just like someone asking you if you will install his tip. You agree to install it for LePro price and he pulls out a Moori. This happens at large shows where people are retailing tips and others are there doing repairs. I guess the only way to stop that type of thing is for everyone to refuse to use the customers materials, unless everything is revealed up front.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
I would only go with a piece of wood that they wanted for the forearm and buttsleeve if it had a unique grain or something along those lines....anything else I wouldn't touch...
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is it legal ivory?
I would really be concerned about the origin of the Ivory, and also that the customer assumes all liability for materials not up to standards.
I have been commisioned recently to make a cue, and after the customer placed his order, he asked if I might mind if I used a piece of wood that a cue collector friend had. I asked to see it, it was an exquisite piece of Birdseye Maple, so I agreed. He asked for no discounts, nor would I offer any. He actually gave me two pieces , in case one was not up to par, and told me to keep the other for myself. I let both air dry for six weeks to check the stability, and it appears that both are quite useable.
So not all customers are out to chisel us. Just most of them ... LOL.
I would really be concerned about the origin of the Ivory, and also that the customer assumes all liability for materials not up to standards.
I have been commisioned recently to make a cue, and after the customer placed his order, he asked if I might mind if I used a piece of wood that a cue collector friend had. I asked to see it, it was an exquisite piece of Birdseye Maple, so I agreed. He asked for no discounts, nor would I offer any. He actually gave me two pieces , in case one was not up to par, and told me to keep the other for myself. I let both air dry for six weeks to check the stability, and it appears that both are quite useable.
So not all customers are out to chisel us. Just most of them ... LOL.
olsonsview said:
Nicely figured BE......or rosewood for the fore or butt is probably a workable thing.
A piece of ivory..... not a good idea. But chances are.....and your right...
not all are out to put the pinch on us....but you can pretty much guarantee that if something goes sideways(cracked ferrule, joint, whatever doesn't hold up) it will be the fault of the builder(got it too hot when working it,blah, blah, blah) and not the material. In my mind.... the builder has to guarantee the material no matter who supplies it to protect his or her's reputation.(even if you tell them you won't......you still have too!...otherwise, what is going happen?....you'll get bad mouthed for not guaranteeing your work) So you may as well just use your own stock and be sure of where it came from and how it's going to act when getting worked.
BarenbruggeCues said:
Tap, Tap, Dave.