Expensive old growth shafts

[CuesDirectly]

Yes, you have pointed that out. However, you're completely missing my point, while insistently attempting to argue as if I have a different opinion. Yes the guy ordered a shaft and expected it to be straight. Perhaps if he'd ordered it from a cue maker, it would have been. But he didn't. He ordered it from a raw material supply, yet expected it to be finished product quality. My point is that the buyer missed the point. When you buy from a raw material supply, it means you're supposed to be the one who turns that raw material into a finished, STRAIGHT, product. As I said, it's a matter of miscommunication and wrongful expectations. Both parties have to accept partial blame.

On this point I agree with q.

Where I disagree with q is the percentage of acceptability. We both know what it's like to order say 100 shaft blanks and lose 30% right off the top and more as they are turned.

Who in their right mind would accept that percentage of loss at $80 each? At a 50% loss, they now cost $160.00 each?

 

[qbilder]

On this point I agree with q.

Where I disagree with q is the percentage of acceptability. We both know what it's like to order say 100 shaft blanks and lose 30% right off the top and more as they are turned.

Who in their right mind would accept that percentage of loss at $80 each? At a 50% loss, they now cost $160.00 each?

Who in their right mind would pay $80 for a shaft blank? Furthermore, who would want anybody else cutting on their wood, let alone pay them to do so? As a maker, I personally want only my taper, and I want to be the one who makes all the cuts because I like to monitor the wood throughout the process. In my shop, that blank would have been trashed long before it got to that size. That's because I'm a cue maker. Obviously, the guy who began this thread isn't yeta cue maker. He tried his hand at playing the role, thought he could buy his way past the work involved, and is now upset feeling ripped off because it didn't pan out 100%. It panned out only 66.6%.

Spiral the apple or cut it in slices, it's still apple & you still only get the yield an apple will produce. Roughly 70% yield in my shop or yours or his. The only difference is how we get there. I don't feel sorry for him because he thought he could avoid the time & work by throwing money at it. It's also no secret that certain supplier & me don't like one another. We've fought it out many times on this forum, and my opinion of him isn't very high. But fair is fair & I don't see either participant in this scenario being particularly fair. The OP tried buying his way to being a cue maker, and the supplier no doubt recognized it for what it was & tried capitalizing by moving some crap out of his store. As I see it, it didn't work out well for either of them. The OP learned an $80 lesson that he'll never mistake again. The supplier lost what potentially could have been a long term buyer who obviously doesn't mind spending. Aside from the OP being butt hurt over losing $80, he did just fine as far as I can tell. His yield was typical if not above average, while at the same time revealing a snake in the grass to avoid in the future. He now knows there's no substitute for knowledge, experience, and getting your hands dirty. Cues aren't as easy or cheap to make as people seem to think. When i'd make a mistake & cry or whine about it, my dad would say, "it's only a mistake if you do it twice, otherwise it's experience".

 

[Koop]

my dad would say, "it's only a mistake if you do it twice, otherwise it's experience".

Very wise man!

 

[$TAKE HOR$E]

Perhaps if he'd ordered it from a cue maker, it would have been. But he didn't. He ordered it from a raw material supply, yet expected it to be finished product quality. My point is that the buyer missed the point. When you buy from a raw material supply, it means you're supposed to be the one who turns that raw material into a finished, STRAIGHT, product. As I said, it's a matter of miscommunication and wrongful expectations. Both parties have to accept partial blame.

Just for what its worth, I have delt with Joe in the past and had a similar situation arise. Without knowing the detail for detail facts between them its hard to say but Joe does build cues, I dont know if I would call him a cue maker or a cue builder but he sells finished cues and will send you a product thats ready for a final finish. I ordered a butt from him that was tapped for a pin and ready for completion a few years ago. He is a raw material supplier but also sells anything in between raw and ready to play with. Lots of things can happen in shipping and I once flew to Vegas from Indiana and had a cue warp, when I returned home it was straight a week or so later. I cant pass fault either way but Joe has sold more shafts than most cue makers will ever turn in their lifetime, so if its a final turn shaft and him being a cue builder himself it should have been as described...but im no cue maker I just try and sell a few here and there and not take a complete mugging on them lol

 

[JoeyInCali]

I bought 3 old growth shafts from Joe Barringer at $80 each. He claimed they were final turns. 2 were straight but one was significantly warped. I had trouble reaching him but finally sent him a video taken on the day I received them. He gave me a bunch of BS about 3 day return policy. Said the warp would come out if I turned it more. What does final turn mean anyway? I finally let him know I was done with him for good. It's a shame he doesn't stand behind what he ships because he really does have good stuff.

Even the straight shafts showed so much grain pattern on the surface that I regretted ever falling for the hype.

We don't know for sure what was said or promised but that bottom shaft does not appear to be a "final" cut .
No decent cue maker uses a dull cutter or takes way too much wood that it would look like that after a small pass.

 

[Cezar Morales]

I bought 3 old growth shafts from Joe Barringer at $80 each. He claimed they were final turns. 2 were straight but one was significantly warped. I had trouble reaching him but finally sent him a video taken on the day I received them. He gave me a bunch of BS about 3 day return policy. Said the warp would come out if I turned it more. What does final turn mean anyway? I finally let him know I was done with him for good. It's a shame he doesn't stand behind what he ships because he really does have good stuff.

Even the straight shafts showed so much grain pattern on the surface that I regretted ever falling for the hype.

I can't be sure but to my understanding from my experience with cuemakers, old growth shafts tends to have extremely tight grain and the color tone lean towards a darker brown shade looking like a used shaft , or a dirty yellowish brown .
Your shaft seems a little too white for old growth but i cld be wrong.
Tried a few old growth n they tend to hit stiffer than the normal maple.


Just my 2 cents
Good luck