Is this offensive to cuemakers?

classiccues said:
The issues associated with people who want to supply their own parts is they want you to make good when their part fails. In what I do, when people want me to supply a just labor price, I make sure that its spelled out ad nausem in my quotes and contracts that if they supply substandard material, the onus is squarely on them. I know alot of plumbers and electricians that won't do this because ultimately if you buy a cheap faucet and it leaks, or your light fixture goes poof, you call them back expecting a no charge change. Trust me for every person that would expect to be charged for this, their are 100 that would want the replacement for free. By charging a premium on the part, it does two things, covers a little overhead and may help with any material defect change they will need to support.
Ultimately its the end consumer that whines about the high price, yet it is the end consumer that dictates said price. Brutal cycle.
I wouldn't have an issue if the cuemaker rejected the idea, because I have been on both sides of the argument.

JV
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I understand this point very well, Joe. And yes, there are those who will use crap parts to cut costs....I am not one of those...just avoiding the charge to cover the replacement of the part to stock. The ol' man is a plumber, and I get it completely. Mine is a case of simply knowing too much...lol.

As far as a cue goes, and supplying the wood....I'm not sure that I would consider going that route, but if I was considering it, I would contact the cuemaker prior to any discussion of design and cost, just to see what their particular guidelines might be, as to how long that particular variety required to be seasoned before it was viable for use in a cue. But it certainly would not be to cut costs, but rather, because perhaps I wanted a particular wood type, that perhaps the cuemaker currently did not have stocked, seasoned, and ready to go....it's the only reason I could think of for myself making such a request.

Lisa
 
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Jack Madden said:
I built two cues for a friend. He asked if I would build them from a tree he played in as a kid. His 70 year old mother had the local preacher (in Texas if I remember correctly) help her cut limbs of the tree (it had blown down) and send them to Arizona. He brought them over leaves and all. Told him I would build a cue for him but only when the wood stopped moving and splitting. He asked many times but he understood I was not building any cue until I was happy with the wood. About 3 years later I had just enough for 2 cues (and a whole lot of firewood from Texas). I built them - and he was thrilled.
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I hadn't thought about sentimental wood. I am glad it worked out for him. He gets to play with the same tree he once played in as a kid. That is a great story.
 
i saw areference to auto mechanics and ithink it is a good analogy for the most part.i used to run a highline service shop,and i would use customer supplied parts,but i refused to warranty the parts or the labor.the cuemaker is in an even more precarious situation in that,his reputation is on the line.if the wood moves or is bad or whatever his name is on the cue and he is not there to say "wlee the customer gave me that wood.i tried to talk him out of it,but he insisted i use that piece of wood."i also think the cuemaker should try to make his customer happy,and i figure most great cuemakers can look at the wood and tell if it is ok to use or not.but all this doesn't mean much b/c i am not a cuemaker and know very little about making cues.
 
Similiar story

Jack Madden said:
I built two cues for a friend. He asked if I would build them from a tree he played in as a kid. His 70 year old mother had the local preacher (in Texas if I remember correctly) help her cut limbs of the tree (it had blown down) and send them to Arizona. He brought them over leaves and all. Told him I would build a cue for him but only when the wood stopped moving and splitting. He asked many times but he understood I was not building any cue until I was happy with the wood. About 3 years later I had just enough for 2 cues (and a whole lot of firewood from Texas). I built them - and he was thrilled.
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One of my favorite cuemakers is Andy Gilbert. He once made a cue for a guy and it came from the guys tree (or maybe a fence post) from the guys farm.

It obviously had some sentimental value. It was purely custom with some stuff on it I didnt care for, but it wasnt my cue so thats okay. It played like all of Andy's cues --- AWESOME!----

IMO - THAT WAS A CUSTOM CUEMAKERS DOES! He makes a cue for the customer!

JMO

Ken
 
I doubt that I would have any problem with that if the wood was suitable for use in a cue.
A custom cuemaker should be flexable and compenent enough to go off the beaten path for a customers special wants.
There are some players out there with some crazy ideas about personalizing their cue.
If they got the money ... I got the time.

Isnt that what custom cuemaking is all about?
 
I am alergic to some woods,so I refuse to make cues out of materials that make me ill.
Sentamental wood is nice to be a part of. The interesting thing is , when I did a final cut and there was a flaw in the wood. I was thinking the worst. When I showed it to the customer he was very happy with it , and called it character building and a talking point for the wood in his cue. So sometimes bad bits in wood are not always bad.
I can also see where sometimes you are just better off to refuse some work.Especially when they are only suppling materials to cut corners.
Neil
 
ratcues said:
If a customer has a nice piece of wood, then I may consider it, given certain parameters.

If a customer brings me parts in an attempt to cut costs, then the answer is no.

There is no way to cut corners when building cues. Not machines, not wood, not time.
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Very good point.

Mario




Be the change you want to see in the world.
 
I would tell them to send me the wood and I would check the moisture content.
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Interesting, how would you check for moisture content.
I have a bit of wood I have been hoarding. I have no idea what the content may be or how old it is, other than the time I've had it.
 
Using Wood Someone Sent You

Personally I do not see a problem providing the piece met my criteria. A quick visual inspection should tell you whether to proceed or not. Next, like Arnot said, use the moisture meter. Turn it round and check for mechanical deficiencies. Next I would drill the full length core hole and let it set 90 days
and then run my plug gauge thru it to see if it was still straight. If not I would scrap it. If still straight check again in another 90 days. If straight you should be good to go.

I am in the process of building a cue from a piece of a "witness tree" that is
honey locust. According to the person from whom I received the wood the tree blew done many years ago. It was located near the Gettysburg civil war battlefield and was over 200 years old. Hence the term "witness tree".

I have made cues from all kinds of wood. And since I core everything you can just about use any wood you want in the handle or as a butt sleeve.
Tree of Heaven and Maiden Hair (Ginko) are two woods I have used that people have sent me.

Send me your odd ball wood and I can probably make a good hitting cue from it.
 
Here's an odd one I did from a piece of wood a customer brought.....
willow.jpg
 
Sheldon said:
Here's an odd one I did from a piece of wood a customer brought.....
willow.jpg
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I really like that. I like the three dimensional look it gives the cue.
 
Sheldon said:
Here's an odd one I did from a piece of wood a customer brought.....
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I like that Sheldon ... you did a very good job on a difficult piece of wood.
Very unique and definitely custom!

Personally ... I will use anything that will make into a cue.
I can see why other cue makers with a more well known reputation to protect would have second thoughts.
Cant see a top end cue maker like Richard Black or Barry Szamboti doing that.

But me ... bring it on ... if I can do it ... I will!

Willee
 
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