How long does it take to make a cue?

[Woof Biscuit]

I am calm Shirley...

You said MOST - so, exactly how many cuemakers inventories have you seen, personally?

Again - anyone who knows as much about cue making as you are implying you do
wouldn't need somebody else to guess for him.

So what are you really trying to find out?

Dale

I've seen the following shops: Dayton, Searing, Ted Harris, Espiritu, and Mike Johnson (Jensen). Not everyone does things the same.

I have no idea how you ascertained from my comments that I am implying I know anything about cue building. Quite the opposite. I'll be the first to admit I know very little, hence, why I asked the questions. I just find it interesting. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Bavafongoul]

If you have never owned or managed the bottom-line for a small business, then you will be challenged to understand the many direct and indirect business costs affecting fixed &variable expenses that dictate profit margins and determine why time is so valuable.........hrs only help decide the price of the cue.........margins have to be met come hell or high water........materials have to be marked up........time is money.........it's really very simple and basic..........I previously spelled this out in a different thread last year explaining overhead costs, breakage, inventory carry cost, cost of borrowed funds, depreciation, etc.

Pool cues are worth as much one can charge in any given market........that's the law of supply and demand.


Matt B.

 

[Woof Biscuit]

Matt, all of that is kind of irrelevant to my original question. At least it wasn't my intended question. Very simply put, if you were a skilled cue maker with no distractions, had all the tools and materials you needed, how long would it take to build the cue I described? Forget all the other business stuff, waiting lists, phone calls, your honey-do list, taking the kids to school, or whatever.

 

[pdcue]

Don't worry too much about his opinions. He's just like that.

JC

Yeah I am. Just like wishing people had some connection to reality - logic would be
an overwhelming bonus.

Thanks for stopping in

Dale

 

[pogmothoin]

Steve Lomax quoted me 4-6 months last month when I ordered, starting from Feb 1 when he got back from DCC. Said it could possibly go a little quicker. With his reputation I'm not too concerned. I know with his health he had backed off production for awhile, but now that he's doing a lot better he's ramping up again -- maybe I caught him before he had much of a backlog built up.

I bought a plain jane cocobolo break cue from Mr. Lomax two years ago. He said it would take three months. It took three months. I'd say he is man of his word.

 

[skins]

The answer that the OP is looking for is a combination of what Larry, Paul, and Gus said.... Will that help him? I dunno. I don't know their motives. I hope it did. Should it, could it, would it, get a cue to them faster? No.

 

[slide13]

Matt, all of that is kind of irrelevant to my original question. At least it wasn't my intended question. Very simply put, if you were a skilled cue maker with no distractions, had all the tools and materials you needed, how long would it take to build the cue I described? Forget all the other business stuff, waiting lists, phone calls, your honey-do list, taking the kids to school, or whatever.

I once posed the same question you have and got the same types of answers, so don't get your hopes up for finding the info you're looking for. I too was motivated simply by curiosity and it had nothing to do with cost.

I just wondered what the minimum turnaround time was to produce a quality 4pnt/4 vnr cue if the maker was absent the other issues and had shaft blanks ready to go, all the forearm wood ready and available (but not yet laid up with the veneers and everything). For example. In the hypothetical scenario where he builds a cue for a customer and its damaged in shipping (unreparable) so now it needs redone. He wants to turn it out as quickly as possible for his customer and the priority of this supersedes all subsequent orders because this customer is the oldest one waiting on his books still due to his cue being damaged. He will not sacrifice quality though. Under those circumstances, how long would it take for him to get out said cue?

I understand it would vary some from maker to maker, but I beleive there would have to be a fairly narrow range between minimum and maximum. Most cue maker follow the same basic processes as I understand it.

Everybody seems to be looking for a motive to this question and I don't have one and don't think the OP does either. I don't have a cue on order and don't have plans to put a cue on order. I already got my custom ordered cue and in a time I was more than happy with.

 

[Woof Biscuit]

I once posed the same question you have and got the same types of answers, so don't get your hopes up for finding the info you're looking for. I too was motivated simply by curiosity and it had nothing to do with cost.

I just wondered what the minimum turnaround time was to produce a quality 4pnt/4 vnr cue if the maker was absent the other issues and had shaft blanks ready to go, all the forearm wood ready and available (but not yet laid up with the veneers and everything). For example. In the hypothetical scenario where he builds a cue for a customer and its damaged in shipping (unreparable) so now it needs redone. He wants to turn it out as quickly as possible for his customer and the priority of this supersedes all subsequent orders because this customer is the oldest one waiting on his books still due to his cue being damaged. He will not sacrifice quality though. Under those circumstances, how long would it take for him to get out said cue?

I understand it would vary some from maker to maker, but I beleive there would have to be a fairly narrow range between minimum and maximum. Most cue maker follow the same basic processes as I understand it.

Everybody seems to be looking for a motive to this question and I don't have one and don't think the OP does either. I don't have a cue on order and don't have plans to put a cue on order. I already got my custom ordered cue and in a time I was more than happy with.

Exactly.

Like Skins said, I kinda got the info I was looking for. All the other noise may be beneficial to someone else. I don't have a cue on order and don't have immediate plans to do so.

 

[TATE]

Exactly.

Like Skins said, I kinda got the info I was looking for. All the other noise may be beneficial to someone else. I don't have a cue on order and don't have immediate plans to do so.

I was wondering how long it takes to *****-slap someone asking a question about cue making?

Answer: Not quite as fast as someone asking a question about table mechanics.

 

[CuesDirectly]

Reminds me of an old ad campaign, it went on for years and the question was never answered.

How long does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

 

[plhlolelnlilx]

I recently ordered a PFD using a John Davis blank and Paul said that April was not necessarily out of the question. If he delivers by the end of May, I'll be 100% satisfied.

If you're a seasoned custom cue builder, quote a realistic time frame, hit your mark and collect your payment.

If you're the customer, deal with cue builders who are known for delivering high quality in a timely fashion. Lower your initial time expectations and you will almost always be happy with the results.

 

[fastone371]

It would be beyond preposterous waiting 10 years for a cue no matter the cue maker. A custom cue maker in my neck of the woods has if I remember correctly 24 lathes set up all to do a different job in the cue building process. He has a pretty substantial inventory of forearms already very close to size and cut out for veneers and also many handles in a near finished state in many variety of woods. Same with shafts. He has a cart of butts he keeps the "in process" cues on that holds probably 20 cues that he wheels from station to station. He uses no CNC equipment to build his cues so I would not call it a production cue. He also does not build the same cue over and over like many of the common production cues. He can build a cue to my specs in 3-6 months depending on what I want in a cue.

 

[MVPCues]

... He uses no CNC equipment to build his cues so I would not call it a production cue.....

Lack of CNC equipment and not calling it a production cue have nothing to do with each other.

 

[desi2960]

i build cues

I can build a cue in one day. it will not be worth a crap, but I can build it.

there are dozens of variables in the building process, I have been building only 20 or so years, but have never timed myself. it will be done when it is done.

having said all that, if the builder has all the woods dried, I think a year is an acceptable time frame.

 

[skins]

Lack of CNC equipment and not calling it a production cue have nothing to do with each other.

Good luck "educating" those on that one Kelly... Been there, done that.. Still lots of ignorance out there...

 

[Woof Biscuit]

Good luck "educating" those on that one Kelly... Been there, done that.. Still lots of ignorance out there...

Maybe it's the approach? Cue makers seem to be paranoid any time you ask a question. View it as a teachable moment. You should be flattered that people are interested in what you do. After all, everyone's favorite subject is themselves.

 

[MVPCues]

Maybe it's the approach? Cue makers seem to be paranoid any time you ask a question. View it as a teachable moment. You should be flattered that people are interested in what you do. After all, everyone's favorite subject is themselves.

Easier said than done with some subjects. Skins is an articulate guy, I'm confident he did approach those moments has teachable.

If fastone asks me why he is wrong about his assumption I would be glad to explain it to him in a few ways he can understand. But, that wasn't the point of your thread, so I don't wish to hijack either.

 

[skins]

Maybe it's the approach? Cue makers seem to be paranoid any time you ask a question. View it as a teachable moment. You should be flattered that people are interested in what you do. After all, everyone's favorite subject is themselves.

My experience is it's the other way around. Many you "preach" to don't want to feel like they don't know something OR they've been fed wrong information for so long they're unapproachable. Of course it's impossible to tell who those ones are until it's too late. You can only hope for a few receptive ears..

....... I'm confident he did approach those moments has teachable.

I'd like to think lesson learned in one way or another..:grin:

 

[Black-Balled]

24 lathes is precisely wby tbere is no answer to, "hlw long does it take"

Does your biulder have 1 lathe? 2?3?4?55?

A lotta tbd tbd before it can bd.

It would be beyond preposterous waiting 10 years for a cue no matter the cue maker. A custom cue maker in my neck of the woods has if I remember correctly 24 lathes set up all to do a different job in the cue building process. He has a pretty substantial inventory of forearms already very close to size and cut out for veneers and also many handles in a near finished state in many variety of woods. Same with shafts. He has a cart of butts he keeps the "in process" cues on that holds probably 20 cues that he wheels from station to station. He uses no CNC equipment to build his cues so I would not call it a production cue. He also does not build the same cue over and over like many of the common production cues. He can build a cue to my specs in 3-6 months depending on what I want in a cue.

 

[Cuebuddy]

I just trashed a shaft
I am with in .008 of being perfect on the shaft collar and decide to graze the shaft joint collar with a tool bit because it leaves the plastic collar cleaner then sand paper.

My tool catches and gouges the joint collar, ring and a little of the shaft to about .010 under what I wanted.

I had cut a really nice piece of hard maple, made my own threaded insert, cut and glued a ferrule that I made from a cue ball and glued the shaft collar and ring on to the shaft.

Turned it down and sanded everything to 600 grit when this happened.

Tomorrow night I will start again.