Hand made cues?

Hey Doc,

Do you concur that Bruce / measureman needs to stay out of the Ebay cues section for the next 30-days?
The poor guy is obviously suffering from stress, generated by the dynamics in the imported cue market.
It's confusing enough trying to keep up with the imported LD market, not to mention
the imported decal cue market, or which plant in China is doing what to who.
Repeated imported cue viewing in the Ebay cue section can make you go crazy.


:smile:



Indeed. And I am perfect evidence and I am certifiably bonkers. LOL! :grin-square:



.
 
Hey Doc,

Do you concur that Bruce / measureman needs to stay out of the Ebay cues section for the next 30-days?
The poor guy is obviously suffering from stress, generated by the dynamics in the imported cue market.
It's confusing enough trying to keep up with the imported LD market, not to mention
the imported decal cue market, or which plant in China is doing what to who.
Repeated imported cue viewing in the Ebay cue section can make you go crazy.


:smile:

I need help.
Maybe I should talk to Doug about tips?
 
Depends on the design & cue-maker.

The inlays & veneers in my cue were manually trimmed, had to be inserted and finished....no machine did that.
Some designs involve lots of hands on labor from the cue-maker.......I won't bother mentioning how many hours
of labor were involved completing some of my cues' designs.......and there was a lot involved.
.
 

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Dearest of dear mesureman,



I have a custom one-of-a-kind handmade unique vintage individually inspected and visually approved Schmelke Sneaky that I have made unique custom individual modifications to using my own hands along with various one off walls, hand laid carpeted floors, and custom craftsman installed, covered, and hand leveled pool tables as props to do the individual modification with.



These modifications are so specifically designed by me using chairs, drink rails, and metal corner braces of specifically chosen GC II’s that the last time a knat laid a turd on my custom hand rubbed parabolic shaft contour it threw my game off so much that due to my unique hyper-precious sensativity I lost 10 to 4 when clearly I was the better player and had the better custom one-of-a-kind handmade unique vintage individually inspected and visually approved Schmelke Sneaky.



Does my cue count?



My cue by the way is named “Art” and the last time I shot with Grey Ghost (he’s always thinkin’, ya know) even he acknowledged that my cue was “Art”. It don’t get any better than that.



Oh, and Doc, my cue is professionally certified, by the way.



Did I really? I am always thinking but I'm dense as ironwood here and there.

I'm just opinionated...of course. It's not like bb doesn't do mind blowing work....I just can't get into the disconnect.

It's like offshore......guys pull a bunch of wire and its hidden in a cable tray and looks like a rat nest....it terminates in a panel and looks ok.....they code it all purdy on the Plc and shows up on a screen yay!

I go out there and group in symphony bunches of stainless steel tubing everywhere as well but it's neat and beautiful. It neatly turns into the panel with indicators all over that go red and green and click shift click click Boom ....service

There is just nothing in the world like doing something under manual manipulation.

I don't want to run group on the spaceship with an automated bender......lil kee is gonna use a magic tape measure......lmfao

Magic tape measures rock

I'm also of the age where I have this real love hate relationship going on with computers. I see gem for their service uses but I also see how lazy it makes everyone.

Hence my dislike of the disconnect.

I'm just scared of the days when Wally comes true is all ;)

-greyghost


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Depends on the design & cue-maker.

The inlays & veneers in my cue were manually trimmed, had to be inserted and finished....no machine did that.
Some designs involve lots of hands on labor from the cue-maker.......I won't bother mentioning how many hours
of labor were involved completing some of my cues' designs.......and there was a lot involved.
.



That's true very true.

Isn't that bobs last ivory work???


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If one wants high tolerances then hand fitting is often needed in the end, even with CNC cut pockets and inlays. There may be a little sanding or de-burring left to do.

In the old days when it was always all done with basic hand tools those inlay pockets were generally cut large. The gaps were filled with black epoxy and the inlays were done in ebony so you can't see the gap anyway. This is very common on very highly regarded old cues.


My 2003 Dayton cue has ivory inlays from when he was still doing them all "by hand". He later went to CNC. I really don't think it was a compromise in quality either way. It just depends on the skill and diligence of the person doing the work regardless of method.

Dayton is really a wood guy, excellent at selecting his woods and he dyes his own veneers.




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Thank God for CNC and those who had the guts to step out of the box and take cue making beyond dots, diamonds, barbells and propellers. It may not be your cup of tea, but you can't deny its impact on the cue market. Try making this with a hammer, chisel and a sharp pocket knife. These guys and others who are turning out some of the best work on the planet these days are also the most talented with their hands and their minds. Don't kid yourself.

Paul
 

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Greyghost.....actually it was not the last one.........that privilege belongs to another of his cues posted in the Cue Gallery.

Since it appears to be my final new custom cue order, I am enthralled with the way it turned out, especially the joint caps.....the cue design is mine but the joint caps were Bob's creation & really turned out splendid.
 
You would not want a manually made cue ( if it was even done these days ).
You want shafts that were slowly turned in a lathe/turning center.

Shafts that were turned with chisels and sandpaper ( LOTS of sanding ) will not be stable .
 
RickLafayette and Mortuarymike. Just to keep the crappy Brit bike thing pool related, did you know that Randy G flat tracked Norton's back in the day?

I asked him who went around the track picking up his fallen parts. I think that's why he started teaching pool.
 
Thank God for CNC and those who had the guts to step out of the box and take cue making beyond dots, diamonds, barbells and propellers. It may not be your cup of tea, but you can't deny its impact on the cue market. Try making this with a hammer, chisel and a sharp pocket knife. These guys and others who are turning out some of the best work on the planet these days are also the most talented with their hands and their minds. Don't kid yourself.



Paul



Don't kid yourself they were putting out as fine and finer looking work 200 years ago.....

Just saying. Just because some are butchers with manual pantos and chisels doesn't mean cnc is some end all be all


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You would not want a manually made cue ( if it was even done these days ).

You want shafts that were slowly turned in a lathe/turning center.



Shafts that were turned with chisels and sandpaper ( LOTS of sanding ) will not be stable .



Don't tell that to a master class turner who knows how to sharpen a chisel scarier than a guy using even the highest quality turning bits on a machine lathe.

Yall equal bad technique and skill with making the machine "better"

It's like saying some guy with an 100k$ lather auto builds better things over some one who bought a package from Chris.

We all know that is far from true.

The market tok it to cnc because people are cheap and cue makers couldn't keep up with a demanding skill they never truly learned to begin with.

For some it was just the keeping up with demand thing and people aren't going to pay necessarily to wait longer.

Remember at the end of the day your talking cues.....I'm taking woodworking.

This chit ain't new. It was here long time before a pool stick ladies and gents.


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Don't kid yourself they were putting out as fine and finer looking work 200 years ago.....

Just saying. Just because some are butchers with manual pantos and chisels doesn't mean cnc is some end all be all


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Never said it was an end all. Like I said, let me know when you or anyone can build a cue like the one in the pic I provided earlier using a pantograph.
 
Never said it was an end all. Like I said, let me know when you or anyone can build a cue like the one in the pic I provided earlier using a pantograph.



Pantograph? I dunno, but drills, chisels, razors, and other hand instruments have certainly been used to make very complex designs.


http://www.palmercollector.com/InlayPage.html

As for the type of design in the Samsara you posted, such multilayered butterflies have certainly been done with saws. I believe those are multiple veneered butterfly splices, not inlays, to get that effect. Could be wrong.

I am not certain but I believe Ron Daniels (Twisted Turtle) does his amazing designs with traditional woodworking tools and not CNC.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=322614



.



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Don't tell that to a master class turner who knows how to sharpen a chisel scarier than a guy using even the highest quality turning bits on a machine lathe.

Yall equal bad technique and skill with making the machine "better"

It's like saying some guy with an 100k$ lather auto builds better things over some one who bought a package from Chris.

We all know that is far from true.

The market tok it to cnc because people are cheap and cue makers couldn't keep up with a demanding skill they never truly learned to begin with.

For some it was just the keeping up with demand thing and people aren't going to pay necessarily to wait longer.

Remember at the end of the day your talking cues.....I'm taking woodworking.

This chit ain't new. It was here long time before a pool stick ladies and gents.


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Ok. Which one makes.cues as.good.as Searing or TW?
We are.talking wood.cylinders between centers .
Even manually made.snooker cues need a lathe for.screw install.
 
Pantograph? I dunno, but drills, chisels, razors, and other hand instruments have certainly been used to make very complex designs.


http://www.palmercollector.com/InlayPage.html

As for the type of design in the Samsara you posted, such multilayered butterflies have certainly been done with saws. I believe those are multiple veneered butterfly splices, not inlays, to get that effect. Could be wrong.

I am not certain but I believe Ron Daniels (Twisted Turtle) does his amazing designs with traditional woodworking tools and not CNC.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=322614


Yes, I agree that it is certainly possible and there are examples to prove it. I also recall the amazing work by Daniels. The Samsara cue is a form of intarsia and was employed to create the faux butterfly look.

My point is that taking a hand-made approach to some of the higher end cues we are seeing today would be impractical and cost prohibited. And yes, I would be very surprised if such hand-made work could stand up under the same level of visual scrutiny that these current cues are subject to. I'm specifically referring to cues having hundreds of pockets and inlays.

I only mentioned pantograph before because it had been mentioned earlier. IMO, Andy Gilbert has been the most successful in pushing that system to its limit. Once you exceed that point, you'll need another cue maker who works well with cnc.

QUOTE]
 
My point is that taking a hand-made approach to some of the higher end cues we are seeing today would be impractical and cost prohibited.

I think more importantly, there's no value added for the trouble.

But as a student and/or admirer of all sorts of woodwork, metalwork etc, I can say with some certainty that most things can be done equally well by hand or by machine, and things are usually most easily with a combination of both. If you have some experience and an eye for it, you can usually spot where quality was sacrificed for the sake of using a machine where hand work would be better, and vice versa.

My personal feeling, not just with cues, is if you can't make sharp details (just as an example) because router bits have diameter and you don't feel like/can't/don't want to/whatever finish it off by hand, I'd rather you just skip it. I'd rather have it done right, but imperfectly, than perfectly done by cutting corners. I don't demand absolute perfection, just good craftsmanship and pride. A seasoned guitar builder I know calls it "seeing the hand of the maker." I don't mind that.

edit:
Incidentally, for those who don't know him, you need to check out George Wilson's wood and metal work. He's an amazing craftsman.

And if you really want to get blown away by the artsier side of woodworking, check out Randall Rosenthal's work. There are very few things I see that I think are completely jaw dropping and can't even begin to comprehend just how in the hell it happens. Randall's work does it for me.

http://www.randallrosenthal.com/

Please keep in mind when you view this that you're not looking at carvings carelessly tossed in a cardboard box, or hand painted paper or anything like that. The box is part of the carving....money, newspapers, rubber bands, corrugated cardboard, see through envelopes....EVERYTHING is hand carved from a solid block of wood and then hand painted. My jaw literally dropped and I was dumbfounded the first time I saw it.
 
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