I am having a cue built locally. The cue has been under construction for over three years. Is it common for a cue to take this long? The cue has six points of purple heart into ebony with one black and one white veneer. The cue has 28 inlays some of which are made of silver. The cue has decorative rings at the joint and on the butt sleeve. Every time I ask the cue maker whether he has worked on my cue he says it is too humid. Bear in mind this is in Oklahoma. Thoughts please.
How long does it take?
- Thread starter deanosdino
- Start date
He has a dehumidifier.
He told me 9 to 12 months but may take longer. I assumed that was maybe 18 months or 24 worst case.
Well, from my perspective:
You said the cue has 28 inlays. That means he has 28 inlays to cut out and 28 pockets to cut into the cue in which to insert and glue those inlays. He only gets one chance to do them all right, or it will probably show.
Also, the cue has decorative rings at the joint and on the butt sleeve. Rings, especially if they are metal, and perhaps the silver in your inlays, are all possible candidates to pop out over time as the wood dries out due to age. If his experience is that it is problematic to cut and install those features in the current humidity, I would respect his instincts.
My 2 cents,
Gary
You said the cue has 28 inlays. That means he has 28 inlays to cut out and 28 pockets to cut into the cue in which to insert and glue those inlays. He only gets one chance to do them all right, or it will probably show.
Also, the cue has decorative rings at the joint and on the butt sleeve. Rings, especially if they are metal, and perhaps the silver in your inlays, are all possible candidates to pop out over time as the wood dries out due to age. If his experience is that it is problematic to cut and install those features in the current humidity, I would respect his instincts.
My 2 cents,
Gary
He needs to move to a drier climate or come up with better reasons as to why it is taking so long.The butt end of the cue minus the shafts has been turned down and sealed for 6 months so the inlays should not pop out. Work on this cue began in September of 2010. Supposedly the shafts need another half mm taken off to be to spec. I've heard it takes two years to cut maple shafts so that they don't warp after being cut. (from a dowel, not a pre-cut shaft) Of course we are three years in now. In his defense Oklahoma has had the wettest year since statehood. That being said the previous three years were the biggest drought in state history. (worse than the dust bowl) I'm not the only one waiting. There are several other people who have been waiting up to 5 years. This particular cue maker is experienced and makes excellent cues. They are clean, play well and are very consistent from cue to cue. My concern is that he is not being diligent and working in a timely manner. Every time I talk to him I hear about how humid it is. At this point I'm ready to call BS on this.
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This may be a dumb question but how much was the cue and how much have you paid him?
The cue cost $1600. The deal involved a couple of cues in trade plus $850 cash. The cue has been paid in full for a year and a half.
Sounds like the time of being nice about it is over. I'd tell him I want my cue or I want my money back. Every time I have a cue made I never pay for it in advance. I usually pay a deposit like a couple of hundred dollars. If you pay for it in advance it doesn't give them any incentive to get it done.
Case closed. I had a feeling that was the case.
My opinion, he is BSing you and not working on the cue. If he was it would be done.
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The OP is being abused by his cue-maker.......no one should be treated like that.
When you hire a cue-maker, you form a contract.....there are terms and conditions to every contract....when you can't fulfill what was promised, you need to explain why and provide updates on the actual progress. Who the _uck does this cue-maker think he is........no cue-maker is entitled to be discourteous and rude and if the OP poster hasn't kicked the cue-maker in the ass, he needs to grow a set of balls and do that right after Thanksgiving.
I am having a cue built right now.....more than 50 inlays.......my cue-maker quoted me a lead time of 9 months and I'm holding him to that. If he encounters problems with build and keeps me apprised, then I don't mind if it takes longer but my limit is one year of waiting......25% miss on his completion date.........that's more than fair and generous.....after that I'm on a plane heading to the cue-maker's shop for a face to face battle.
As long as the cue-maker isn't neglecting my order and is pushing forward "Busting " his ass to make the completion date or as close as possible, I'm willing to wait.....that assumes he keeps me abreast of the cue's progress since he missed the agreed upon completion target date. Remember, I have a contract....I hired the cue-maker to do something and he to has a responsibility to deliver what we agreed upon.......that's keeping your word and if he doesn't, then I will make it right regardless of it costing me a cue......no one mistreats me and it shouldn't happen to you....and you are being mistreated by your cue-maker.
I know people post things like.....I would never give a cue-maker a down-payment....or.....I would never wait 4 years to have a cue made.....etc. Well, I did and I would.........as long as the cue-maker holds up their end of the contract. Tell me the cue will be completed in 4 years, I'm holding you to that....or you have to explain why it's late and don't friggin' tell me 6 mths before the cue should be finished that's the cue is still 18 months away......BULLSHIT.
If you allow someone to walk all over you....take you for granted....then you have earned and deserved the treatment and just shut up and take it or else suck it whatever nerve and courage you may have left and do something about it.
When you hire a cue-maker, you form a contract.....there are terms and conditions to every contract....when you can't fulfill what was promised, you need to explain why and provide updates on the actual progress. Who the _uck does this cue-maker think he is........no cue-maker is entitled to be discourteous and rude and if the OP poster hasn't kicked the cue-maker in the ass, he needs to grow a set of balls and do that right after Thanksgiving.
I am having a cue built right now.....more than 50 inlays.......my cue-maker quoted me a lead time of 9 months and I'm holding him to that. If he encounters problems with build and keeps me apprised, then I don't mind if it takes longer but my limit is one year of waiting......25% miss on his completion date.........that's more than fair and generous.....after that I'm on a plane heading to the cue-maker's shop for a face to face battle.
As long as the cue-maker isn't neglecting my order and is pushing forward "Busting " his ass to make the completion date or as close as possible, I'm willing to wait.....that assumes he keeps me abreast of the cue's progress since he missed the agreed upon completion target date. Remember, I have a contract....I hired the cue-maker to do something and he to has a responsibility to deliver what we agreed upon.......that's keeping your word and if he doesn't, then I will make it right regardless of it costing me a cue......no one mistreats me and it shouldn't happen to you....and you are being mistreated by your cue-maker.
I know people post things like.....I would never give a cue-maker a down-payment....or.....I would never wait 4 years to have a cue made.....etc. Well, I did and I would.........as long as the cue-maker holds up their end of the contract. Tell me the cue will be completed in 4 years, I'm holding you to that....or you have to explain why it's late and don't friggin' tell me 6 mths before the cue should be finished that's the cue is still 18 months away......BULLSHIT.
If you allow someone to walk all over you....take you for granted....then you have earned and deserved the treatment and just shut up and take it or else suck it whatever nerve and courage you may have left and do something about it.
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The pay in advance doesn't help the problem. That money is long ago spent and now he gets nothing when he delivers the cue. Quick hypothetical although not really so hypothetical.
A player come in his shop needing two new shafts. He doesn't have shafts in the rotation ready to be finished for a few weeks at least. What to do he has a paying customer with cash in hand?
Oh wait! Here is a couple of nice shafts ear marked for "Your" cue and they are ready for final turning and finishing. No big deal he has shafts that will be ready in a few weeks so you can just wait. He sells your shafts for cash in hand and make say a quick $240.00 and your delivery time keeps on running. The next day he plans on working on your cue and repair work comes in and your cue is put aside again. As time goes by he is on to other things and your cue just sits. If he had the prospect of you handing him the $1600.00 tomorrow, he would he far more eager to deliver the cue.
I am sorry for seeming so cynical.
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That was not cynical at all. It's the truth. In every profession there are bottom feeders.
I appreciate the advice. I made the mistake of confronting this person over the phone a couple of weeks before posting. I was a tad belligerent (not to him personally but about the time taken and excuses given.) He told me f you, refused to refund my money. He has already sold one of the cues that I traded him. The cue is close to completion but he will not release the cue until it is finished by him. (God knows how long that will take.) I had known this person for several years and made the deal on a handshake. Call me foolish but I was brought up honest and want to believe in others. (won't make that mistake again) Would it be worth while to press charges against this person or would I be wasting my time and money?
He won't give you back the money because he doesn't have any to give you. If he did, he would give it to you in a minute and be happy to get you off his back and just complete the cue and sell it to someone else.
I think at this point the best thing you can do is just restart the conversation put all that has happened behind you and just ask him to give you a firm delivery date. I have a feeling if you do this you will get the cue.
Don't try to do anything legally. For one thing he has probably broken no laws. The best thing you can do would be to take him to a civil court that may get you nothing plus these things have a way of taking on a life of their own. Life is too short, at some point you will get your cue I have no doubt. Both of you need to talk, by the way this is what a judge would tell you guys to do even if you went to a civil court to arbitrate this. You are both adults and can resolve this.
I am going to tell you a fast story of how things like this can get out of hand. I cashed a personal check for a guy for a $1000.00. He said to hold the check for a few days so he could make a deposit. No big deal I sort of knew him. After a few days I check with the bank to see if the funds are there and find it is a closed account. This guy lives like 300 miles away and was just in town for the day when he gave me the check.
I call him and he tells me he made a mistake and didn't realize he had an old check in his wallet. OK, sounds good he is going to send me another check. Long story short no check arrives and I can't get him on the phone anymore. After about another month I am telling the story to a friend who is a cop and he says to turn the check over to the police in the town where the check was written. I was at the pool room the next city over so I take it to them and tell them the story.
They contact the police in the town where this guy lives and because the old account belonged to his wife they go after her. Apparent the $1000.00 figure was enough to have them go to her place of work and actually arrest her and take her away in handcuffs. Turns out she knew nothing about this but she paid me the $1000.00. All this because she has a jack off for a husband. I felt very bad for her if I had known what would happen I would have never gone to the police. If the check just bounced thats one thing, but a closed account, thats fraud.
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Thank you for the information. I will talk to him and see if we can do a trade and be done with this.