How many cue makers are there?

jayman

jayman

Hi Mom!
Silver Member
It seems like almost every day lately I see a custom cue by "Joe Blow custom cues" for sale That I have never heard of. Since none of them ever even seem to be in the Blue Book or Encyclopedia, I figure most of them are fairly new to the business. So it has me wondering, How many cue makers are there today?
 
Thats a good question. It could be like mice, if you know of one there is nine more that you don't know of:wink:
There must be hundreds and hundreds. I make a few cues and I don't even count myself:o
 
jayman said:
It seems like almost every day lately I see a custom cue by "Joe Blow custom cues" for sale That I have never heard of. Since none of them ever even seem to be in the Blue Book or Encyclopedia, I figure most of them are fairly new to the business. So it has me wondering, How many cue makers are there today?
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I bought one from a fellow member here on AZB called either a Whitefish or Whitewolf cue (60" wrapless w/ a skinny diameter butt). I can't remember the cue maker OR the name of the cue. I later wanted to get some info about the cue and cannot find info anywhere, whichever name I type in. I cannot even find the FS thread that was posted here about the cue.

You're right, every time I turn around there's another cuemaker that I've never heard of.

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
I bought one from a fellow member here on AZB called either a Whitefish or Whitewolf cue (60" wrapless w/ a skinny diameter butt). I can't remember the cue maker OR the name of the cue. I later wanted to get some info about the cue and cannot find info anywhere, whichever name I type in. I cannot even find the FS thread that was posted here about the cue.

You're right, every time I turn around there's another cuemaker that I've never heard of.

Maniac
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I have a friend that bought a Cuesmith deluxe and has made around 200 cues now but he also has a full time job. He started making cues to pass time when he lost his drivers license. My Dentist has more and better equipment than most full time cuemakers. He has never built one to sell as far as i know. I think he just wanted to learn something new.
 
There are A LOT of cue assemblers out there. Not many cue builder IMO. less than 100 in the states. There are a lot of guys that can order blanks and finish them, not many guys that can make custom rings, splice their own stuff, etc. Basically there aren't many that can start from bare materials, and build a GOOD cue.

Just my $.02,

Justin
 
jayman said:
It seems like almost every day lately I see a custom cue by "Joe Blow custom cues" for sale That I have never heard of. Since none of them ever even seem to be in the Blue Book or Encyclopedia, I figure most of them are fairly new to the business. So it has me wondering, How many cue makers are there today?
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ernie natiello aka claymont had a list on here somwhere a couple years ago
was about 1200 i beleive
 
How many gross more than $30k per year?

I think the collective intelligence might get a better number on that.
 
Usa

I can only give you numbers for American Cue makers, as of May 15th 2013 there are 266,721, all of them are making cues that hit a ton and are very collectible.
 
Oh heck, 'bout a bazillion? that sound about right? I think you would need to define "Cuemaker". I have done repairs and have ordered parts or cut a Valley in half and put a joint in it and assembled a cue, but in no way would I consider myself a cuemaker. I know 50 guys out here that do what I do, but I only know two that can take some raw wood and turn it into a cue that someone would like to have in their collection, those guys are artists.
I suspect it's like that in a lot of places
 
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jayman said:
It seems like almost every day lately I see a custom cue by "Joe Blow custom cues" for sale That I have never heard of. Since none of them ever even seem to be in the Blue Book or Encyclopedia, I figure most of them are fairly new to the business. So it has me wondering, How many cue makers are there today?
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well thats a overly broad question(no I'm not picking on you), the real question(s) are

How many cue builders

and

How many cue assemblers

there is a big difference, Bushka was a assembler, so its not a knock. its just a different thing.

The answer is lots, more than can be counted the reason i say this is i meet new people every year who get into building or in most cases assembling cues and then some fall off and stop. A good one has popped up here in Germany, his cues play great.

With the number of start up guys and guys throwing in the towel its really difficult to say,
 
I will chime in by offering to test drive cues for any aspiring cue makers out there, simply pm me and I will be more than happy to give you my address. :D
 
nostroke

i cannot answer for everyone, but i own a jewelry store, an do NOT build cue for a living. but build cues a lot. in the past 10 years i have built from scratch, converted older cues, or made from blanks that i purchased 394 pool cues at an average of $400.00 each thats a total $157,600.00 or $15,600 per year.
i have bought 3 hightower deluxes, 1 customcuelathe, one hightower inlay machine, built another setup for drying, sanding machine, scroll saw, table saw, drill press, bandsaw, table saw, a climate control room, and a zillion little things, sandpaper, joint pins, rings, tips, glue, finish, drill bits, router bits, screwdrivers, pliers, cresent wrenchs, razor knives, linen, lizard skin, python, cow and pig hides for wraps,
now lets get around to a very small thing WOOD, i have stacks and stacks of wood waiting for its time to be cut, i have between 100 and 200 old one piece house cues waiting for me to cut them up for shafts, i have about 60 or 70 shafts precut and hanging.
i have zero idea how many builders there are out there, i think a lot of guys like me doing it because of the love of the game, but i think very few that really make a great living. and those that do have all my respect, because i personally know its not easy.
 
Eric,
Whats the difference? What makes Bushka an assembler vs a builder? Before you answer though, lets take a look at something. If he built a cue with a piece of birdseye as the forearm, no points, is he a builder or an assembler?

People who want to classify Bushka as an assembler because he didn't make forearms, are off the mark. If making all the pieces makes you a builder, then all the pieces must be included. Which means NO ONE qualifies. If a cuemaker of today needs to make himself feel better by saying Bushka was an assembler, and wants to pound his chest because he makes his own forearms, well when you have Bushka's clientele list, come talk to me.

JV

Fatboy said:
well thats a overly broad question(no I'm not picking on you), the real question(s) are

How many cue builders

and

How many cue assemblers

there is a big difference, Bushka was a assembler, so its not a knock. its just a different thing.

The answer is lots, more than can be counted the reason i say this is i meet new people every year who get into building or in most cases assembling cues and then some fall off and stop. A good one has popped up here in Germany, his cues play great.

With the number of start up guys and guys throwing in the towel its really difficult to say,
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classiccues said:
Eric,
Whats the difference? What makes Bushka an assembler vs a builder? Before you answer though, lets take a look at something. If he built a cue with a piece of birdseye as the forearm, no points, is he a builder or an assembler?

People who want to classify Bushka as an assembler because he didn't make forearms, are off the mark. If making all the pieces makes you a builder, then all the pieces must be included. Which means NO ONE qualifies. If a cuemaker of today needs to make himself feel better by saying Bushka was an assembler, and wants to pound his chest because he makes his own forearms, well when you have Bushka's clientele list, come talk to me.

JV
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I don't think this is a fair statement. I would classify him as in between, as he could build his own fore arms if he wanted to. I think arguing about Bushka's clientele isn't fair either. When he built cues there were maybe 20-50 true custom cue builders in the WORLD. With options that limited of course you're going to be in high demand if you build a good product. I've never seen a monster bushka I was over the top impressed with. It's not my favorite style of cue, but he did build good stuff.

I think we have had this conversation before about a builder vs. assembler. I can tell you that my builder can build EVERY piece in my cue. In fact, on my next cue, he is making the pin. (left handed threads...)

Either way you look at it, you have to admit there is HUGE difference between builders and assemblers. Every one and there mom can buy blanks and assemble them with a little online help and some practice. It take some serious training to learn how to splice in point PROPERLY, make intricate rings, butterflys, program a CNC machine, make a cue concentric the whole way through, etc. There are a lot of guys that can do all of this, but there are also 10x more that can't, but assemble some nice sneaky petes, plain jane, even some good looking 4 pointers.

I think most people in the know, know the difference between the two.

best,

Justin
 
jhanso18 said:
.... It take some serious training to learn how to splice in point PROPERLY, make intricate rings, butterflys, program a CNC machine, make a cue concentric the whole way through, etc. There are a lot of guys that can do all of this, but there are also 10x more that can't, but assemble some nice sneaky petes, plain jane, even some good looking 4 pointers..........

Justin
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The ability to program a CNC, Interesting, is that skill set needed to be a cue maker?
 
Maxx said:
The ability to program a CNC, Interesting, is that skill set needed to be a cue maker?
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No, but it is a skill that many builders use, vs a guy that buys blanks and puts a cue together...

I personally don't care for CNC use in cue construction.
 
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