Has Your Filipino or Overseas Cue Stayed Straight?

Has Your Filipino or Overseas Cue Stayed Straight?

  • Yes.

    Votes: 50 34.2%
  • No.

    Votes: 32 21.9%
  • I only buy from US makers.

    Votes: 55 37.7%
  • I am SC5.

    Votes: 9 6.2%

  • Total voters
    146

Fast Lenny

Faster Than You...
Silver Member
I am curious as to how many people on cues from out of the country and if they stay straight? I play with a JD from the Philippines and its the best cue I have owned, its been over a year and its still in great condition even after being to NY, Derby, California and Vegas along with me living here in AZ which is a drastic change in humidity. This could work both ways so if your outside of the US and have bough US made cues then let me know your experiences.

I have had cues from several US makers and some well known that were not abused but ended up having the rings pop, shafts warp slightly and some even the butt. I feel if a cue is properly built using quality materials and taken care of then the chances of it warping are very slim but ultimately its still wood and things can happen with all the variables.
 
The only two American cues I've bought - a viking and a McDermott - have both warped, although it's true to say they took some hammer first.

I must say, I love the hit of my friend's JD, especially since changing the tip to a triangle. I'd buy one if I can work out a LD shaft for it.

I am SC5.

:grin:
 
I had a brand new Joss butt warp by 1/2" within 90 days of being new. I sent it to Joss and even they agreed it was warped too badly for repair. They offered to replace the butt for $195. I asked about new cue warranty and was told by Danny James himself "Once you chalk the cue, its out of warranty."
I promised him I would badmouth his cues forever and have so far, lived up to my promise.
 
I've bought and sold a couple of JD cues and only have one big complaint
about them.The hit is great and designs are well done and are very
solid cues,but I don't think he lets his wood cure long enough.He puts alot of clearcoat on the finished product but the wood does shrink and
causes a very un-smooth feeling if you feel the inlays.To the naked eye
the cues look and play great but when its right in front of you,the mistakes are there, and quite easy to spot.The butts of his cues stay straight due to all the clearcoat and bigger diameter but the shafts are hit and miss.
 
YES, my Philippine cues are still straight, even in this humidity.

The best pool players in the world reside in the Philippines. Good cue artist breeds good cue makers? Not much "advertising" , but bang for the buck...you won't find a better place to buy a quality cue at rock bottom prices.
Anastacio Bautista for one.
 
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I voted for a friend.. I've actually never owned one but he had a beautiful Philipino cue that warped pretty bad after a year..
 
YES, my Philippine cues are still straight, even in this humidity.

The best pool players in the world reside in the Philippines. Good cue artist breeds good cue makers? Not much "advertising" , but bang for the buck...you won't find a better place to buy a quality cue at rock bottom prices.
Anastacio Bautista for one.
I will agree some of the cuemakers
in the Philippines are awesome but not all, just like American,Canadian,
and European cuemakers.Just like the players,I wouldn't go as far
and say the best players reside there, cause the history of pool might
beg to differ.Granted Efren might be the best pool player thats ever
played and comes from your neck of the woods,but i like to be realistic
and say theres some pretty sporty American,Canadian,European and
Asian players out there.Not sure what makes somebody the best but
if I based it on results from various tournaments over the past 10 years
I would have to say the Americans and Europeans have it pretty locked
up,with a splash of Asian and Filipino.Trust me I'm Canadian and
Canadians don't lie:thumbup:
 
I have bought two cues from the late Dindo Perez. They are not only beautiful but play fantastic. There have been no issues and also were guaranteed against defects..R.I.P Dindo
 
Is it common for a cue to warp?
My cue (longoni) is over 20 years old and it's perfectly straight.
I agree,some cues are just built to last.I just bought off a buddy a SE16
Predator and let me tell ya,even put together with either shaft,it rolls like
a one piece steel rod with no variance of light when rolled.If it is common for a cue to warp over time,it shouldn't be!
 
I bought a Viattorre cue made by Jackson Tan a couple of years ago. It was made in 2003. Going on a decade now and still straight as an arrow. Not to mention that it is a better playing cue than some of the high end, very expensive cues I have purchased. I don't play with it anymore, but it is in a case and it will not be sold.
 
Hi,

I am an american Cue Maker and have committed to building fully core cues because IMHO joining 2 pieces of wood with a mechanical joint between the fore arm and the handle is the reason that butts warp. If the forearm or the handle warps just a little, the whole cue warps when rolled on the table.

It is a structural engineering fact that using a very straight and seasoned 3/4 dowel while coring all elements of the cue with a gun drill gives the cue a centerline structural member that act as a rigid skeleton. Using expanding polyurethane glue fills the internal gap annulus and forms a solid and very hard bonding area that prevents the "W" word.

For the life of me, I can't understand why every cue maker does not do this to avoid the problems that people are describing about warps on AZ all of the time.

As part of mu QA/QC Program Procedure specific for building fully cored cue I build and gave away over 40 cues to players and employees at my pool hall as beta cues to track over a 7 year period. Out of the first 70 cues produces only one warped and that was because I tested a different kind of glue.:barf:

Here are some links showing a few cues that I recently built using my refined technique in this construction method. During my build I always post progress pics for my customers so they can watch the build step by step. People like to be a part of the process and help design their cues.

Thanks for looking,

Rick Geschrey

Simple Old School Point Cue:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=264333

High End Art Cue:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=263060

Fancy Player:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=271332
 
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I have a Schon, McDermott, and a Dale Perry. The oldest is 10 years old and the newest is 5 years old. None have warped. I've lived in Tucson for 20 years and moved to California (High Desert country) for the past 5 years. Perhaps I've experienced no warping because of the low humidity. As far as Philippine cues, I've heard a lot of good things about them. I was tempted to buy a highly spalted Dindo Perez cue a couple of months ago - but came to my senses. Why would I need so many cues?
 
I just now went and checked my JD cue. The butt and 2 shafts are as perfectly straight as they were a year ago when I bought them. No rings have popped and the inlays are perfect.

FTR, the 2 Lucasi cues (Chinese???) my wife and I own are going on 6 years old now and both of them are also in perfect condition and still play great!

FWIW, I have had cues probably totalling about 30-35 in number over the years (I'm not a collector, only a player). I have never had one single cue that has warped on me. Not even the cheapest of the cheap cues I have had/still own have never warped.

I feel bad for those of you who have had expensive/semi-expensive cues warp on them. Especially those of you that got crapped on by the maker.

Maniac
 
Hi,

I am an american Cue Maker
...Out of the first 70 cues produces only one warped and that was because I tested a different kind of glue.:barf:

Rick Geschrey l]

Geez, Rick. Any one of us coulda told you vomit is not acceptable for gluig a cue together.

AZB is a massive repository of helpful info. Use us, Man!;)
 
I have bought two cues from the late Dindo Perez. They are not only beautiful but play fantastic. There have been no issues and also were guaranteed against defects..R.I.P Dindo

Yea mine arrived the same day he passed. That was the shortest lifetime guarantee I've ever had. I actually logged in the day after to give an initial review of it for others and saw he passed the night before. That was just sad. I'll never sell it either. Its the one on the bottom.. gets more compliments than my bobby hunter :(

16.jpg


Everyone that sees it loves the cue, and when the shafts are put on a lathe you cant even tell they're spinning its so straight. Not even the slightest shift on either shaft.

However I did buy an Audrick back in 2005 which was a complete POS. Night and day difference between the two. Always good and bad wherever you go. audrick = horrible, dindo = awesome.
 
I have had my Lucasi (China) Cocobolo cue for 3 years and it is still dead straight and still looks the same as when I got it. No finish or ring popping problems.
I bought it brand new 3 years ago but I have no idea how long it was made before I bought it.
Colorado is a very dry state and I would think any cue that was not seasoned long enough would have problems here.
 
I've bought and sold a couple of JD cues and only have one big complaint
about them.The hit is great and designs are well done and are very
solid cues,but I don't think he lets his wood cure long enough.He puts alot of clearcoat on the finished product but the wood does shrink and
causes a very un-smooth feeling if you feel the inlays.To the naked eye
the cues look and play great but when its right in front of you,the mistakes are there, and quite easy to spot.The butts of his cues stay straight due to all the clearcoat and bigger diameter but the shafts are hit and miss.

This is very true !!! I have 2 JD cues, had them for about a year now, and even though they are both still straight as an arrow, I have a 16 pointer wrapless that if you run your hand around the forearm of the cue, you can feel every single point under the clearcoat, the 16 point cue is still brand new, unchalked and unplayed, my other JD cue is one of my main players.


I've also have a McDermott D series that I bought 26 years ago when I was 16 years old, has been left in the scorching hot Georgia sun in the trunk of my car too many times to count and it is still straight as an arrow too.
 
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Warped Vince Puyo

I have two Vince Puyo cues from the Phillipines.
Both are perfectly made with 8 points.

They both butts came in at separate times terribly warped 1/8 inch, ugh.
After 6 months you could feel the raised rings and inlays.
Still the prettiest cue, I have owned.

I had a Z shaft made for it and play with the cue.
It hits great.
Francisco saw it at the Swanee and wanted it.

I have JossWest, Schrager, Stout, Schuler and Burton Spain cues.

Lenny, I will be at Mountain View see you there.
I will bring the cue, 1950 Lincoln "Chocolate", and 49 Ford Convertible "Blondie".

Take Care, Barney
 
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