Does it say something about a cuemaker if his point work or veneers don't line up?

[macguy]

I think it depends on what you are looking for. I 've seen some "big" cues, SW, TAD, HALEY, SCRUGGS- all with a flaw or two that were noticable. Does that mean they don't know what they're doing? Please...They are all built by masters of their trade. If you want a museum piece, then it's not acceptable-if you want a great cue that plays like a bat out of hell, it's easier to overlook a mistake. I'd take a flawed "big dog" cue any day. just my $222.23...

You are exactly right. Like anything, some come out more perfect then others and should be worth a little more, even by the same cue makers. I have had great looking cues that could be gone over with a jewelers loupe that played like crap. Others that looked like nothing that played great. I had a $40.00 Palmer that played like it had radar. It was not just my opinion everyone wanted to buy it. I loaned it to a player and he won $2000.00 with it and offered me $250.00 for the cue, "A $40.00 cue". Sometimes the stars just aline I guess. I still have what is left of the cue, it was destroyed in a hurricane. It is sort of a poetic end to a great cue to go out like that.

 

[conetip]

My view is quite different.
I think it is like American Indian jewelry. It all looks hand made with all sorts of imperfections, even though every similar piece has the same dents etc.The mass produced stuff has very similar looking flaws just like the handmade stuff.
Others like silver jewelry to be smooth shiny and almost optically perfect profiles.
Both are big sellers.
To me it is not that important that the points line up perfect , It is alot easier to get them right with a mill and dividing head, but hand made stuff, is alot more difficult to get right. Time is money, so to manually make perfect points the cost would be alot just for the esthetic's.
As said before playability for me is far more important.There is a big difference between poor workmanship or craftsmanship and someones ability to make it look nice.
CNC does not automatically mean that everything is going to be perfect.There still is alot of knowledge and methodoligy to get the product right.
In short , just because the points don't line up or the joint detail does not align,Is not always a reflection on that persons ability to make something. It could be their particular style that makes it what it is.

 

[Cue Guru]

My old Richad Black has imperfect points. It plays great.

The cue I made has REALLY imperfect points, and it plays great too (much to my suprise).

Let us not forget that if a 'short splice' is done on a mil with a dividing head (which seems to be the way these days) as opposed to on an angled block with a radial arm saw, you can understand why some points line up better than others.

Plus, with a full-splice, the center is lost in the forearm- the maple is cut to a razor sharp edge and there is no place for a center any longer. Then another piece of wood is spliced on. Determining the center of that "mass" is quite dificult, and if it is off even the slightest amount, the points are VERY difficult to allign.

To those who full-splice and make dead even points, I salute you.:thumbup: I've been there, and it is NOT at all easy...

 

[Michael Webb]

I was explaining some of the logic of even and uneven points to a friend/customer, he's a very logical, computer kind of guy, He said interesting in a confused kind of way, then I showed him with and old blank, I did a turn, then I tapped one side about .005 or less and did a cut, He said HOLY CHIT.
I said:
To fix a problem, you must first define the problem.

 

[Pete Tonkin]

Points

Keeping the top of the points even is very easy.Keeping the top of the points,the top of all the veneers and the point stock even is where skill, accuracy and craftmanship come in. The longer and deeper the points the harder this becomes. In my opinion a cuemaker who has mastered this the rest of there cue construction with out a question will have just as high of accuracy and craftmanship built with well seasoned wood.

 

[BHW]

I had a cuemaker show me one time, what was involved in trying to even up points. He had a chart of measurements and calculations used to move his center point to accomodate unevenness. It was mind boggling, but still made a lot of sense. It obviously takes a lot of skill and knowledge. But honestly, who gets their panties in a wad over 1/16" or so?

 

[ScottR]

Add in overlapping points (6 or 8 pointer) with veneers and get the tips, each veneer tip, points, top and bottom to line up. Now you are talking exacting machining, stock consistency and build.

Scott

 

[Gwen's up]

**** oops****

 

[Arnot Wadsworth]

My old Richad Black has imperfect points. It plays great.

The cue I made has REALLY imperfect points, and it plays great too (much to my suprise).

Let us not forget that if a 'short splice' is done on a mil with a dividing head (which seems to be the way these days) as opposed to on an angled block with a radial arm saw, you can understand why some points line up better than others.

Plus, with a full-splice, the center is lost in the forearm- the maple is cut to a razor sharp edge and there is no place for a center any longer. Then another piece of wood is spliced on. Determining the center of that "mass" is quite dificult, and if it is off even the slightest amount, the points are VERY difficult to allign.

To those who full-splice and make dead even points, I salute you.:thumbup: I've been there, and it is NOT at all easy...

I can even up the points on any cue that is oversize in about 20 minutes. Of course when I had only built one cue things were much more difficult than they are now. I learned by listening instead of speaking.

Good Luck,

 

[Cue Guru]

I learned by listening instead of speaking.

Excellent advice, and one I should follow more closely...

I am still learning! And I expect I will continue to learn until I die. Once you stop learning, you basically have given up... I hope that never happens to me!:smile: