Before reading this, just know that I understand there are those who will defend Joe till blue in the face. I just want to ask one thing, "Why are there so many complaints against him?"
I just watched Chris Hightower's dvds and read his book. I want to say that they are what I've been looking for all along. The video appears to be done by himself and for that reason, it was a 'home video production', but that is just fine by me. The content of the DVD makes up for that fact so well, that you just get lost in watching this real master at work. His knowledge of machines is so incredible. The content of these videos covers as much as possible that could be packed onto a dvd. There is very little 'wasted time' on the dvd. He covers the entire repair process, and the entire cue building process, and the rhythm of the video just hums along. Simply put, he covers the basics of what you need to know. It satisfies all of the basic curiosities I had about joint rings, points, veneers, assembly, and even lathe operation. I think he filmed the dvd with the knowledge that you could just rewind if he went too fast. Joe Barringer's dvd's don't gallop along like that. He will sit there on camera describing the one time he ran across this guy in a pool hall and took in an apprentice, eating up tape time trying to 'squeeze out' every last drop of video time on just 'one subject'.
The nature of the Cue Component dvds are somewhat informative and it did satisfy my curiosity somewhat, but I feel he is long winded in a way that I don't care for. I felt like there was something missing. He will just sit there and BS about this, and BS about that. When you finally do get to see some action, it is not well planned. The finishing dvd for instance, is repetitive. You get to watch him rub CA glue up and down a spinning cue over, and over, and over. The repair dvd is actually good, but the others are explained in way too much detail. You get to watch him smoke cigarettes and act 'cool', like a Mickey Rourke wannabe or something. That's the overall impression I get when I watch Joe. When I watch Chris I feel like I am watching a real gentleman, who is someone who truly cares about my well being. I can tell the Holy Spirit is driving him to do what he does. It is a funny thing how the Holy Spirit works to reach out to those who are willing to receive him.
The content Chris Hightower has in one video is equal to four Cue Component videos. The object here is that I am not trying to bash, just reveal my honest feelings to those who may be looking to spend their hard earned dollars wisely. I want people to know that if you had to make a choice and were going to spend your money wisely to learn this stuff, I would buy from Chris. Joe Barringer obviously does not appear to want to do business with a gentleman like me simply because of how he treated me. I wanted to exchange a dvd that didn't work right in my computer, and he resisted me. I would highly advise that anyone planning on ordering from Joe Barringer do so with caution. He seems like a person you need to 'get to know' before he will do anything for you.
His outward expression that ineptly puts an exclamation point on his expertise is what makes him appear to be arrogant and 'All knowing'. His apparent lack of self esteem has created a 'tough guy attitude and I feel it comes off the wrong way. I am sure the man know his stuff and I am sure he loves pool, but man, he is somethin' else. I know he has a bad reputation and I also know others who are dissatisfied with him. If only someone could let him know that he needs to enroll in a traditional martial arts class so he could improve on his character, 'Oh what a difference that would make!' I knew this before I ordered, but wanted to give it a chance. I don't feel like my money was a total waste, cause I got to compare two methods.
If you were a beginning cue maker or were simply curious about how the cue building process was done, I would highly recommend doing business with this Chris Hightower. He is an apparent brother in Christ and a fine gentleman. I will most likely be ordering a Deluxe Cue Smith Lathe from him and as well as doing most or all of my repeat business with him. I also want to add that if not for some of the people on this forum, I may not be quite as far along as I am now. Since joining late last year, I have found that I am blessed to be in the presence of some incredibly knowledgeable people. The help I have received is worth one hundred times the price of my club membership if not more.
I only wish that we could focus more on being objective as opposed to seeing the 'negative' in some cases. After all, this is a pool forum for discussion. Let's try to get somewhere with it.
I just watched Chris Hightower's dvds and read his book. I want to say that they are what I've been looking for all along. The video appears to be done by himself and for that reason, it was a 'home video production', but that is just fine by me. The content of the DVD makes up for that fact so well, that you just get lost in watching this real master at work. His knowledge of machines is so incredible. The content of these videos covers as much as possible that could be packed onto a dvd. There is very little 'wasted time' on the dvd. He covers the entire repair process, and the entire cue building process, and the rhythm of the video just hums along. Simply put, he covers the basics of what you need to know. It satisfies all of the basic curiosities I had about joint rings, points, veneers, assembly, and even lathe operation. I think he filmed the dvd with the knowledge that you could just rewind if he went too fast. Joe Barringer's dvd's don't gallop along like that. He will sit there on camera describing the one time he ran across this guy in a pool hall and took in an apprentice, eating up tape time trying to 'squeeze out' every last drop of video time on just 'one subject'.
The nature of the Cue Component dvds are somewhat informative and it did satisfy my curiosity somewhat, but I feel he is long winded in a way that I don't care for. I felt like there was something missing. He will just sit there and BS about this, and BS about that. When you finally do get to see some action, it is not well planned. The finishing dvd for instance, is repetitive. You get to watch him rub CA glue up and down a spinning cue over, and over, and over. The repair dvd is actually good, but the others are explained in way too much detail. You get to watch him smoke cigarettes and act 'cool', like a Mickey Rourke wannabe or something. That's the overall impression I get when I watch Joe. When I watch Chris I feel like I am watching a real gentleman, who is someone who truly cares about my well being. I can tell the Holy Spirit is driving him to do what he does. It is a funny thing how the Holy Spirit works to reach out to those who are willing to receive him.
The content Chris Hightower has in one video is equal to four Cue Component videos. The object here is that I am not trying to bash, just reveal my honest feelings to those who may be looking to spend their hard earned dollars wisely. I want people to know that if you had to make a choice and were going to spend your money wisely to learn this stuff, I would buy from Chris. Joe Barringer obviously does not appear to want to do business with a gentleman like me simply because of how he treated me. I wanted to exchange a dvd that didn't work right in my computer, and he resisted me. I would highly advise that anyone planning on ordering from Joe Barringer do so with caution. He seems like a person you need to 'get to know' before he will do anything for you.
His outward expression that ineptly puts an exclamation point on his expertise is what makes him appear to be arrogant and 'All knowing'. His apparent lack of self esteem has created a 'tough guy attitude and I feel it comes off the wrong way. I am sure the man know his stuff and I am sure he loves pool, but man, he is somethin' else. I know he has a bad reputation and I also know others who are dissatisfied with him. If only someone could let him know that he needs to enroll in a traditional martial arts class so he could improve on his character, 'Oh what a difference that would make!' I knew this before I ordered, but wanted to give it a chance. I don't feel like my money was a total waste, cause I got to compare two methods.
If you were a beginning cue maker or were simply curious about how the cue building process was done, I would highly recommend doing business with this Chris Hightower. He is an apparent brother in Christ and a fine gentleman. I will most likely be ordering a Deluxe Cue Smith Lathe from him and as well as doing most or all of my repeat business with him. I also want to add that if not for some of the people on this forum, I may not be quite as far along as I am now. Since joining late last year, I have found that I am blessed to be in the presence of some incredibly knowledgeable people. The help I have received is worth one hundred times the price of my club membership if not more.
I only wish that we could focus more on being objective as opposed to seeing the 'negative' in some cases. After all, this is a pool forum for discussion. Let's try to get somewhere with it.
