Yeah You would be cutting out a heck of alot of makers if that was a deal breaker. And if you go back in time You would be cutting out some big names too, because alot of people used Burton's blanks back then.
I would suggest if someone really wanted the whole cue built by the maker, to either find one of the few that make their own, or order a V-cut cue with an "A" joint, as alot of makers have no issues with building them from scratch that way.
If I use a FS blank in a cue, It still goes through the same seasoning proccess as one I build from a dowel or square minus the "A" joint being installed, and most everything else in the cue minus the bumper is made by hand, in some cases I even make My own Pins. I had a coco blank hanging for years, turned It very slowly, and It moved each time no matter how slowly I turned It. I've had other blanks that were turned within under a years time, and they never moved a bit. It's all in the nature of wood, and it all acts differently. Sometimes they have to be culled like any wood, and there are many reasons for that. I've bought batches of blanks where I was lucky If half of them made My standards or were atleast close enough that I could live with them.
Bar cues like the old valley, brunswicks, and dufferins can make decent conversion blanks too, but the good ones are far and few between. Like mentioned, some have putty or other unsightly issues, and some the centering is off so bad, It can make It nearly imposible to get the points anywhere near close.
I've had the pleasure to see a few old sp's built by some of the big name makers back in their haydays when they were starting out. Have shot with some too, and I could see how some got the popularity that they have now days. I've heard some of them sold for as little a 80 bucks back then. One thing I can say is a good percentage of them, although not always very fancy looking,top of the line, and many times the points are nowhere near even, but they were actually very good player cues. One thing these cues had in common is they were obvioulsy made from one piece cues.
FS Sp's and sp type conversions, are generally lower dollar cues or better put Player cues, although some makers do things to spice them up alittle bit to give the customer more bang for the buck, like custom ringwork and/or inlays. For most people there's just too much time in splicing them theirselves, and It's simply not cost effective when there are people out there that sell blanks for less then they can buy the woods alone for, and are far better set up for that operation.
A good percentage of people could build their own if they devoted the energy and time to It, and I can see some people wanting them to made made by their maker, but as someone put it, for most It's just not worth while unless they are doing a larger production run.
I would say to expect to pay quite a bit more from maker that splices His own. Atleast I know if I went through all the trouble then the prices would be double or more, but that's me.:smile:
Greg
I would suggest if someone really wanted the whole cue built by the maker, to either find one of the few that make their own, or order a V-cut cue with an "A" joint, as alot of makers have no issues with building them from scratch that way.
If I use a FS blank in a cue, It still goes through the same seasoning proccess as one I build from a dowel or square minus the "A" joint being installed, and most everything else in the cue minus the bumper is made by hand, in some cases I even make My own Pins. I had a coco blank hanging for years, turned It very slowly, and It moved each time no matter how slowly I turned It. I've had other blanks that were turned within under a years time, and they never moved a bit. It's all in the nature of wood, and it all acts differently. Sometimes they have to be culled like any wood, and there are many reasons for that. I've bought batches of blanks where I was lucky If half of them made My standards or were atleast close enough that I could live with them.
Bar cues like the old valley, brunswicks, and dufferins can make decent conversion blanks too, but the good ones are far and few between. Like mentioned, some have putty or other unsightly issues, and some the centering is off so bad, It can make It nearly imposible to get the points anywhere near close.
I've had the pleasure to see a few old sp's built by some of the big name makers back in their haydays when they were starting out. Have shot with some too, and I could see how some got the popularity that they have now days. I've heard some of them sold for as little a 80 bucks back then. One thing I can say is a good percentage of them, although not always very fancy looking,top of the line, and many times the points are nowhere near even, but they were actually very good player cues. One thing these cues had in common is they were obvioulsy made from one piece cues.
FS Sp's and sp type conversions, are generally lower dollar cues or better put Player cues, although some makers do things to spice them up alittle bit to give the customer more bang for the buck, like custom ringwork and/or inlays. For most people there's just too much time in splicing them theirselves, and It's simply not cost effective when there are people out there that sell blanks for less then they can buy the woods alone for, and are far better set up for that operation.
A good percentage of people could build their own if they devoted the energy and time to It, and I can see some people wanting them to made made by their maker, but as someone put it, for most It's just not worth while unless they are doing a larger production run.
I would say to expect to pay quite a bit more from maker that splices His own. Atleast I know if I went through all the trouble then the prices would be double or more, but that's me.:smile:
Greg
