Favorite cuemaker for finishing a Rounceville or John Davis blank

[HyperioN]

Here is the dilemma...some cuemakers don't like finishing someone else's work even though the full splice blank is beautiful and well made.

I have a slight obsession with full splice cues with or without veneers. As far as custom projects go, I just purchased my third Andrew Rounceville full splice blank and I'm considering which cuemaker to work on it. I have had one converted by Pete Ohman (Omen Cues) and the second is being finished by Guido Orlandi. I have also had a John Davis blank finished by Rick Howard.

Here is the question...
If you have had a nice full-splice blank converted by a custom cuemaker, who is your favorite with the following things considered: playability, communication with the maker, fit/ finish and length of waiting time?

Thanks!

 

[ugotactionTX]

You should check out Shelby Williams

If you're not familiar with Shelby's work, its easy to find if you're interested. It think he's pretty good friends with Andrew and his work is amazing... Easy guy to work with too.

Here is the dilemma...some cuemakers don't like finishing someone else's work even though the full splice blank is beautiful and well made.

I have a slight obsession with full splice cues with or without veneers. As far as custom projects go, I just purchased my third Andrew Rounceville full splice blank and I'm considering which cuemaker to work on it. I have had one converted by Pete Ohman (Omen Cues) and the second is being finished by Guido Orlandi. I have also had a John Davis blank finished by Rick Howard.

Here is the question...
If you have had a nice full-splice blank converted by a custom cuemaker, who is your favorite with the following things considered: playability, communication with the maker, fit/ finish and length of waiting time?

Thanks!

 

[Ken_4fun]

Here is the dilemma...some cuemakers don't like finishing someone else's work even though the full splice blank is beautiful and well made.

I have a slight obsession with full splice cues with or without veneers. As far as custom projects go, I just purchased my third Andrew Rounceville full splice blank and I'm considering which cuemaker to work on it. I have had one converted by Pete Ohman (Omen Cues) and the second is being finished by Guido Orlandi. I have also had a John Davis blank finished by Rick Howard.

Here is the question...
If you have had a nice full-splice blank converted by a custom cuemaker, who is your favorite with the following things considered: playability, communication with the maker, fit/ finish and length of waiting time?

Thanks!

A few years ago, I saw a John Davis blank that was used and it was one of the worst forearms I had ever seen. I felt bad for the poster on here that posted pictures of it, as it struck me that he didn't even notice. If I remember right, the blank was sent to the cue maker and the cue maker just used it without questioning it.

IMO, Davis might have made a great forearm when other cue makers couldn't or didn't make their own (Balabushka and others). But there are so many cue makers that make their own blanks, I guess I question why you wouldn't want to use one of theirs?

Ken

 

[pwd72s]

Give Keith Josey a ring. I dunno who did the blank, but I have a beautiful cue with four even needle point sharp points & veneers done by him.

 

[SeaBrisket]

I really enjoyed working with Ned Morris on the same project. Gave him a Davis blank and a Tiger LD blank shaft, and asked him to make his own shaft as well. Ended up preferring Ned's shaft. He was awesome to work with, happy to take my input but also offer his own advice without being pushy. Great communication, delivered on time and kept me informed throughout.

My only advice is to work with the cue maker on selecting the blank. I just bought the one I liked best from Superior Cues which left Ned to deal with a blank with its own specs and me saying I wanted such and such specs and he had to make it work. The cue maker would know the questions to ask the blank seller to make sure you end up with the right weight, balance point, etc.

 

[measureman]

Send it to Schmelke and mention Deans name.

 

[SamShaddey]

Tim Prince

 

[lfigueroa]

When I bought my Davis blank a few months ago from Superior cues I was warned: you'd be surprised how many cuemakers don't know how to turn down a blank.

They gave me a few recommendations and I went with Paul Drexler.

Lou Figueroa

 

[PRED]

why you wouldn't want to use one of theirs?

Ken

They didn't make blanks for Balabushka. John Davis was the last, direct connection to George Balabushka.

 

[jalapus logan]

Kelly Peterson, aka MVP Cues is my pick. He finished my rounceville blank out for me. I love it and shall not ever sell it.

http://mvpcues.com/

Edit:. Kelly is trustworthy and his communication is second to none in the cue making business as far as I know. If I ever do another cue project, it will be with Kelly.

 

[Terry Aeschliman]

Blank finishing

Concerning your blank, will you have sharp points up and down both? The reason I ask is that sharp top and bottom are not easy. One of the best would be John Nemec in Dallas.

 

[HyperioN]

If you're not familiar with Shelby's work, its easy to find if you're interested. It think he's pretty good friends with Andrew and his work is amazing... Easy guy to work with too.

Shelby's cues are awesome looking. I think that if I ever got a cue from him, I'd want him to do the blank. Do you have a cue from him? How does it play? The cue he created for the full splice cue challenge was amazing.

 

[HyperioN]

A few years ago, I saw a John Davis blank that was used and it was one of the worst forearms I had ever seen. I felt bad for the poster on here that posted pictures of it, as it struck me that he didn't even notice. If I remember right, the blank was sent to the cue maker and the cue maker just used it without questioning it.

IMO, Davis might have made a great forearm when other cue makers couldn't or didn't make their own (Balabushka and others). But there are so many cue makers that make their own blanks, I guess I question why you wouldn't want to use one of theirs?

Ken

Ken,

I actually had a funny experience with a John Davis blank. I really wanted to get one because of his connection to Balabushka. I got the okay from Rick Howard that he would convert it to a player. The first one I picked out was a birds eye front and purpleheart back. I had it sent to Rick but he disapproved if I wanted to make the cue wrapless as planned. I sent it back and got a different one. The new one with rosewood and bubinga turned out great. I love the hit and finish. Rick did a great job with the points. The shafts are great and I have no complaints. I feel like John Davis did have a few not so perfect blanks and sold them anyway. I have not seen a blank from Andrew Rounceville yet that hasn't looked absolutely amazing.

To answer your question, I would love to have a full splice blank from a cuemaker but very rarely do I see ones that are as incredible as Rounceville and Davis's blanks. Who would you recommend on that front besides Keith Josey? I have one on the way

John

 

[HyperioN]

Give Keith Josey a ring. I dunno who did the blank, but I have a beautiful cue with four even needle point sharp points & veneers done by him.

I completely agree with Keith Josey. I have a cue coming from him in a couple months. I currently have one of his "Zero" LD shafts and I'm getting one of his "roasted" LD shafts with the new cue. Depending on how much I love it, I may get him to do the conversion as well. The only thing that sucks is the 2+ year wait list. Good choice none the less!

 

[cuesblues]

A few years ago, I saw a John Davis blank that was used and it was one of the worst forearms I had ever seen. I felt bad for the poster on here that posted pictures of it, as it struck me that he didn't even notice. If I remember right, the blank was sent to the cue maker and the cue maker just used it without questioning it.

IMO, Davis might have made a great forearm when other cue makers couldn't or didn't make their own (Balabushka and others). But there are so many cue makers that make their own blanks, I guess I question why you wouldn't want to use one of theirs?

Ken

The long splice ebony John Davis blank I sent to Eddie Cohen was spectacular.
I've had over 20 Davis blank cues by various makers, even Sugartree.
There were some early blanks that were considered seconds, but John Davis changed his construction and wood treatment methods and put out some very nice blanks.

 

[HyperioN]

Tim Prince

I understand he had a good relationship with John Davis and did a lot of his blank conversions. I just haven't heard much about how they play. Opinions?

I really enjoyed working with Ned Morris on the same project. Gave him a Davis blank and a Tiger LD blank shaft, and asked him to make his own shaft as well. Ended up preferring Ned's shaft. He was awesome to work with, happy to take my input but also offer his own advice without being pushy. Great communication, delivered on time and kept me informed throughout.

My only advice is to work with the cue maker on selecting the blank. I just bought the one I liked best from Superior Cues which left Ned to deal with a blank with its own specs and me saying I wanted such and such specs and he had to make it work. The cue maker would know the questions to ask the blank seller to make sure you end up with the right weight, balance point, etc.

I don't know a lot about Ned Morris but I will do some research. I'm not super picky on my specifications. I haven't had any issues thus far when it comes to cuemakers making the blank a certain way.

When I bought my Davis blank a few months ago from Superior cues I was warned: you'd be surprised how many cuemakers don't know how to turn down a blank.

They gave me a few recommendations and I went with Paul Drexler.

Lou Figueroa

Paul Drexler is the man. He's definitely on the short list already.

Kelly Peterson, aka MVP Cues is my pick. He finished my rounceville blank out for me. I love it and shall not ever sell it.

http://mvpcues.com/

Edit:. Kelly is trustworthy and his communication is second to none in the cue making business as far as I know. If I ever do another cue project, it will be with Kelly.

Haven't seen much about Kelly yet but thank you for the recommendation. I will check out his site.

 

[JC]

Here is the dilemma...some cuemakers don't like finishing someone else's work even though the full splice blank is beautiful and well made.

I have a slight obsession with full splice cues with or without veneers. As far as custom projects go, I just purchased my third Andrew Rounceville full splice blank and I'm considering which cuemaker to work on it. I have had one converted by Pete Ohman (Omen Cues) and the second is being finished by Guido Orlandi. I have also had a John Davis blank finished by Rick Howard.

Here is the question...
If you have had a nice full-splice blank converted by a custom cuemaker, who is your favorite with the following things considered: playability, communication with the maker, fit/ finish and length of waiting time?

Thanks!

Kudos to cue makers who can start with a blank made by someone else and make cues to fulfill peoples dreams and remain sane.

The difference between custom cues made to order and the cues I make is light years.

There is no price I could be paid to entertain that market.

 

[HyperioN]

Kudos to cue makers who can start with a blank made by someone else and make cues to fulfill peoples dreams and remain sane.

The difference between custom cues made to order and the cues I make is light years.

There is no price I could be paid to entertain that market.

Mr. Chaplin,

I completely agree that it takes a certain kind of person to take someone else's work and transform it. I feel like you have to put your personal goals of how you want to cue to turn out in favor of someone else's thoughts. Some people are fantastic at it and some people do it because it makes them money. I'm sure a lot fall short too.

I also feel like it really depends on how you started out. The only cuemaker I have watched in person is James "Whitey" Spach of Hurricane Cues here in Charleston, SC. He started by buying blanks and figuring out how to make cues that way. Because of that, converting blanks is in his DNA.

You have a very unique way of coring your whole butt. It is your style and there is no good way of translating that style to a full splice blank. Having played with one of your cues, I think it works very well. Keep doing what you're doing John! I would recommend you and your cues to anyone!

John

 

[alphadog]

Concerning your blank, will you have sharp points up and down both? The reason I ask is that sharp top and bottom are not easy. One of the best would be John Nemec in Dallas.

I would second this. Not that others cant but he is a great guy that does great work.

 

[ShootingArts]

usually can't tell who is at fault

When you get a finished cue it is pretty much impossible to know who is responsible for poor quality sometimes. Points can both be corrected to even out while turning, made uneven, or completely wiped off. A standard full splice has points that are are just as thin as they are narrow. More than one classic cue builder was an expert with a sharpie!

I have read that Davis has gotten picky about which builders he will sell blanks to just because their work can help or damage his reputation. Although Davis isn't selling the blank directly, a phone call to him after a builder is tentatively selected might reveal if the builder is on the Davis preferred list. Not that every cue builder that builds quality cues is on the Davis list but if one is you can be pretty sure he will do a quality job.

Hu