McDermott & Stinger Lifetime Warranty
Lifetime Warranty covers manufacturing defects, including warpage :thumbup:
If I don't care about artistics and the looks of the cue, how to choose?
- Thread starter asbani
- Start date
McDermott & Stinger Lifetime Warranty
Lifetime Warranty covers manufacturing defects, including warpage :thumbup:
No they are not all plastic sleeved forearms. Just the PP ones.
And I don't think warpage is an issue. Don't know how you'd get sufficient air exchange to create that problem. Anyway, the 4 Meuccis I have had that have PP tech are as straight as the day I got them. But I'm weird like that. I've owned nearly 2 dozen Meuccis over 33 years and only had one warp at all. Had a couple that had inlays pushing out and once a butt cap came off, but the other 20 or so were all just fine.
Yes I've seen those promises from Viking and Players possibly Schmelke too but I they don't guarantee the straightness in the first place. That's a QC thing and you get a lemon you have to go through the RA thing, moar shipping, restocking, etc... anyway. Frankly though I was thinking a level below those models. Valhalla, Lucky etc. I've handled a couple Luckys and they didn't pass the aerial roll test. Not that I wouldn't buy a straight one...
I got lucky and got one of those Lucky cues for free one time.
It was brand new and the retail on it was somewhere around $100-125.
The butt was nice and the finish was nice, but the shaft wasn't what I was used to from McDermott. I have seen and played with plenty of American-made McDermotts and own two, but this was the first Chinese one I'd ever seen. My McDermotts are decades old and are high-end models, this was a Chinese lower end model.
The cue was butt heavy and the shaft was very thick and stiff with not the best quality wood in the shaft. I tried to smooth it up some, but it seemed the wood was grainy to the touch a bit. Nothing like my other shafts.
Still, it was a good beginner cue and I'm sure I could have tapered the shaft, put a new tip on it and got it playing better than it was stock, but I gave it to my doctor's son as a Christmas present. He was wanting to learn pool and I gave him a couple lessons and I figured a personal cue may inspire him to play a little better.
Of course they stand behind the straightness from the beginning. What they don't do on the Star's and Lucky's which are built overseas, is warrant the shaft against warpage.
They're cheap cues. a get what you pay for thing in longevity. I've had McDermott's (made in Wisconsin) for 30 years that roll as straight today as when they were new.
Everyone has their preferences, I lean toward McDermott (not Star's and Lucky's) because of the value, their staff, their history, their choices. All mine have felt fine, hit great and lasted a long time.
But you're right, a $100 cue and quality shafts/cues aren't roommates.
Good to get first hand info. I don't mind doing the taper. I don't own a single cue I haven't dicked with the taper. I do 'em as long as possible even if they get a little whippy. I'm a little far sighted and I see pretty good with a 16" bridge. Not the most consistent way to shoot actually but way better than a prosthetic bridge. Did you win the cue in a raffle?
As long as they don't skimp on the nelsonite lol. I have a Players somebody gave me. It's not perfect but it hits pretty good. I'm told that every Players Cue and Case ships is dead straight and issue free. Not crazy about their current line though. Just the look. metal butt caps, unbalanced visual aesthetics blah blah...
Maybe get a Jackpot cue.
There seems to be a lot of talk about them on the forums here.
There seems to be a lot of talk about them on the forums here.
lulz. An actual Schmelke doesn't sound too bad though.