If I buy the parts?

Jeff

Jeff

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
 
If I buy the parts

Jeff said:
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
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The raw materials may only be 25% of the finished product. For example, you could bring me a 1"x30" shaft dowel, but then I would have to turn it 8 times over a 6-8 month period. The inlaying, sanding & spraying is all time consuming, but you are also paying for all of my machinery & most importantly 20 years of experience. It's pretty simple, I know how to do something that you can't do.....& you have to pay for that...JER
 
That sounds pretty reasonable. I know the biggest part of a cues price is the time and expertise of the maker.

I think it would be very interesting to own a cue where you have picked and touched all the parts, plus the idea of deciding the dimensions of the cue and maybe even designing the inlays and where you want them and how many you want.

I've got the picture of the cue in my head right now, it would be fantastic to see it come to life.
 
Jeff said:
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
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A cuemaker then would become a cue assembler.
A cuemaker who takes this undertaking doesn't value his blanks and his name or time. What if that blank turns out to be defective or suddenly warped due to being green?
 
JoeyInCali said:
A cuemaker then would become a cue assembler.
A cuemaker who takes this undertaking doesn't value his blanks and his name or time. What if that blank turns out to be defective or suddenly warped due to being green?
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Or, it could turn out as the best cue the cuemaker ever built.
What statment would that make?

All cuemakers are "cue assemblers" except for the ones that hire others to do all the work or them. A cue should be judged as the sum of its parts not by the equipment it was made on or the name of the maker. It is either a good cue (in your opinion) or it is not. There is not much inbetween.
 
Jeff said:
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
Click to expand...
I understand what you are wanting to do, but, why not visit the cuemaker and choose your wood from his inventory? That would give you the advantage of knowing the wood is of sufficient quality to build with (if it wasn't, he wouldn't have it in his shop). That would also avoid any disagreements (reference warranty) should the cue warp. It can be a lot of fun going through (possibly) hundreds of different pieces of wood looking for the right one.
 
Jeff said:
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
Click to expand...

Many, many would find it insulting and would simply refuse. The ones that might do the work would more than likely not guarantee it (warpage...failure) because after all, they do not have control of the materials. Put yourself in their shoes.....there's just too much potential for headaches.

I would suggest saving your money and placing an order with a reputable cuemaker for their work.

Sean
 
If I buy the parts

I answered your post to be informative, but if you brought this proposal to me, as a cuemaker, I would be as polite as I can, but the answer would be NO. Try taking your own meat, to a restaurant, or your own oil to the service station, for an oil change. The answer there, is also NO. Furthermore you make it sound like we have this magic cookie cutter laying around, that can just pop out a hole for any shaped inlay. To my knowledge , that doesn't exist. I for one will try to accomodate my customers with any SIZE shaft they want. Or any length, up to 60 inches, but to maintain the integraty & playability, that people have come to expect from a BLACK HEART CUE.......
the rest of the cue's shape & size is the same, as ALL of the rest that I make. If I start making cues with a 1" butt diameter & a compound butt taper , it's no longer something that I have spent 20 years perfecting, as my cue. That's a BASTERD, that won't have a BLACK HEART on it's butt...JER
 
providing your own parts

I understand what he is saying. I have provided my own ivory parts to many 'known' ACA cuemakers to cut down on the price of a cue. What some cuemakers charge for an ivory buttcap or joint is really stupid. I was told by more than one ACA member that the reason for the hight prices is because of potential loss of the ivory due to cracking during turning and installation, the price is so high is to protect their investment in case of ivory loss. But if I wanted to 'gamble' and provide my own ivory, they would install the parts at a MUCH cheaper rate (standard cue repair prices) but it was at my own risk, in other words, if the ivory cracked during installation, tough luck.... I would have to buy some more for them to use.

If a cuemaker refuses to use the ivory you provide for them, I would think twice about using them, because it sure looks like they are just out to make a buck.

just my experience and 2 cents
 
Birk1 said:
If a cuemaker refuses to use the ivory you provide for them, I would think twice about using them, because it sure looks like they are just out to make a buck.

just my experience and 2 cents
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Or he could be protecting his name and/or business.
Try going to custom knifemaker and provide him your own Damascus .
 
Jeff said:
What if a person came to a cue maker and already had most of the parts he wanted a cue made from.

A cue blank, ivory butt/ferrules/joints/inlays (raw but turned), raw shafts (ready for turning), and tips.

Would a cue maker take this job and what kind of ballpark price would I be looking at.
Click to expand...


Jeff,I know some who would and some who would'nt. My cue Maker does not make the cue I want,so he told me to find the various parts and he would assemble the cue for me.He had no problem doing this as the construction process for my desired cue was way too time consuming.He in no way considered it to be out of the question,and was not concerned about the perception of an illegitmate cue being born.As for the Ivory,the post that mentioned the fragility of Ivory is a concern and you do roll the dice,hoping that nothing happens during construction. Buying small Ivory pieces is as far as I would go though. The whole deal changes when you start buying Tusks.I bouhgt a Tusk to trade for a cue and I got a great education in Ivory buying!
 
JoeyInCali said:
Or he could be protecting his name and/or business.
Try going to custom knifemaker and provide him your own Damascus .
Click to expand...

let me preface my last post.... as long as you are providing quality materials. i.e using the same supplier they use or the same quality standards the maker stands behind. You are basically cutting out the middle man by doing that and investing / risking your own capital if the materials turn out to be no good and if they are you have saved some money in the process and the maker still has a the quality preserved in the final product.

and I have brought my own steel (warren damascus blank) to a knifemaker
( Allen Elishewitz) and saved about 200 bucks off the price of my folder. But again the risk was my own if he found a flaw in the steel and couldnt use it. Same holds true for ivory parts you provide you cuemaker to use. again just my opinion, but something to think about with your next cue order.
 
TellsItLikeItIs said:
Really????? The word All is very strong. Do you know All the cuemakers?
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Nope, I dont know them ALL.
But I do know cuemakers assemble cue parts into finished cues so the term that you used "cue assembler" would apply to them. Except like I said for the ones that hire others to do the work for them.

Dont you yourself "assemble" cues from bits and parts others have made?

Do you think "cue assembler" is an insult to a cuemaker?
I dont, its just another way of discribing someone that makes cues.
 
Ok, let's say I wanted a full spliced cue with Ebony at the bottom with a 1.3 grip section, with an Ivory butt cap, flat face Ivory joints and Ivory ferrules, with two conical shafts, and Ivory inlays that I designed (simple cut).

Now what am I supposed to do? Am I being told that most cue makers would not do this because they don't make cues with those dimensions and criteria? Am I supposed to find a cue maker who just comes close to what I want? And I can't provide parts that I want?
 
If you want a full splice cue,do you want Veneer? What forearm wood? The 1.30 is going to be a club and you are going to have trouble finding a case for your creation also.Good luck!
 
SPINTHEBALL said:
Jeff,I know some who would and some who would'nt. My cue Maker does not make the cue I want,so he told me to find the various parts and he would assemble the cue for me.He had no problem doing this as the construction process for my desired cue was way too time consuming.He in no way considered it to be out of the question,and was not concerned about the perception of an illegitmate cue being born.As for the Ivory,the post that mentioned the fragility of Ivory is a concern and you do roll the dice,hoping that nothing happens during construction. Buying small Ivory pieces is as far as I would go though. The whole deal changes when you start buying Tusks.I bouhgt a Tusk to trade for a cue and I got a great education in Ivory buying!
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Can you PM with the names of the makers who would for future reference?

About the Ivory, I understand the points some are making about cracking and that makes sense, part of the risk of providing your own parts.

I was looking at this site as an example of getting some of the parts:

http://www.cuecomponents.com/elivco.html

Ivory butt caps turns to 1.350". They have the ferrules and joint material also. Heck, they even have some nice blanks, but I was looking elsewhere at a blank.
 
SPINTHEBALL said:
Chokenstroke,your avatar would be perfect for my post about this forum!
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Well it's kinda what you make of it and how you take it.

If you come here expecting others to do all your research and solve all your problems you will be disipointed.
Your best approach is to try to meet a cuemaker that is willing to help you and then spend a dime and call him on the phone and talk person to person.
If distance permits jump in your car and pay a social visit to his shop.

Blud would be a good one to start with and if he did not know the answer to your question I bet he would try to get it for you.

I do understand your feelings but try to picture what it was like for someone trying to learn about cuemaking BEFORE there was an internet or people making cue machinery. Secrets were learned the hard way and not given away to just anyone that asked. You had to form a relationship with a cuemaker before he would even let you visit his shop.

With people like Blud, Chris Hightower, and a few others like them we sure have it easy now days.
 
SPINTHEBALL said:
The 1.30 is going to be a club and you are going to have trouble finding a case for your creation also.Good luck!
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The Palmer I play with is 1.25 at the grip and it fits into all my cases. I hate the feel of a small grip, maybe my hands are just too big and fat. :)
 
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