Issues with imported cues during repair?

JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
When do you not back-up the "damage" when reparing imports?
Ryan, looks like he was a victim of one import imploding.

How about this one?
Some finish peels off after your chucked it up on Delrin or Teflon collet?
 
Unless u buy a cue from me or are a friend I don't do repairs. My time is valueable so if I spend 4 hours in my shop I don't want to do it doing tips and ferrules.

So my answer is just don't do them. :-)

a story on topic is once I did a leather wrap on a cheapy and when I went to take the blue tape off the edges the finish came off with it. I was not happy at all. I've turned away alot of work on import cues. I know we all can't be like that but that's my advantage of having a real job.
 
That's a tuff one Joey, Doing tournaments is fun and can be rewarding as well as un-rewarding. Every decision is dealt with on a individual evaluation.

For those who do repairs and haven't worked any real events, STEP UP, the water is great. I talked to one guy who wanted to do work at V/F but in his hotel room, My first thought was, NO BALLS. He decided not to, Good decision grasshopper, you would have gotten fried.
 
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what about the "killer" figured maple decal peals off of a scorpion cue when it got a little wet..good stuff
 
JoeyInCali said:
When do you not back-up the "damage" when reparing imports?
Ryan, looks like he was a victim of one import imploding.

How about this one?
Some finish peels off after your chucked it up on Delrin or Teflon collet?
Click to expand...



Great point Joey, in fact when you work with imports as often I do, I have had to drawn the line, but if you take a job there is no backing out onceyou start and find additional problems. There are certain imports that I will no longer work on other than tip replacement and that is very risky, because far to many times you also have to replace a cues ferrule because they come lose your own expense. I beleive that if you take the job you are committed, and if other problems arise you have to fix them and learn a lesson from it.

I have made comments about this subject many many times, and their are far to many individuals who want to argue the subject saying that their brand is as good if not better than American made production cues. So I have lost interest in the subject, because it appears that know one cares, which is OK with me.

I would also like to add that high priced imports can be just as bad as lower end cues, some of the cues that have these problems are big name brands that are very popular. I have also seen like Joey, the finish peel or come loose from the surface under it, in addition I have seen many many other problems occur, many that are due to poor quality adhesives, materials, and craftsmanship.

Now I will not ever stop working on all import cues, only certain brands like I stated above because I do make a decent amount of money off repairing them. But, my advice to those doing cue repair work on imports, expect to do some additional work at your own expense, because it is a crap shoot and you never know what else can go wrong. Quality is not the watch word for a very high percentage of the import cues coming into this country, profit is and that will never change.

Oh and by the way, please don't ask me to identify any brand names of cues that I have had problems with, I am in no mood for long drawn out debates, but never forget you always get what you pay for!!:smile:


Great thread Joey:smile:
 
Import

I don't usually see eye to eye with a certain Joe in Florida, but on this we concur.

NOTICE: We will not make any repairs such as wraps, tips and ferrules on any imported cues. If you need repairs we suggest that you get them done in China where they were made. :-)

Would love to see a chemical analysis of some of the goodies they are using to build there cues.

I know it's hard to say no to a pretty girl, but just remember this
The _______ you get isn't worth the _______ you get.
 
JoeyInCali said:
When do you not back-up the "damage" when reparing imports?
Ryan, looks like he was a victim of one import imploding.

How about this one?
Some finish peels off after your chucked it up on Delrin or Teflon collet?
Click to expand...

This is tough, thats the problem when repairing, even me has already encountered this kind of situation. every cuemaker is not exempted on this kind of problem. Thats why i limit my self doing repairs, specially when the cue was not made by me..
 
I took on a rewrap once on a cheap import. I think it was a Viper. Regardless, I peeled the linen off starting at the front and as it pulled apart from the back end, the entire butt sleeve and cap & all fell off. It was easy enough to glue it all back on before rewrapping, but it was enough to steer me away from any more el-cheapo repairs.
 
The one experience that I had was with a promo cue, very much akin to the
type of import cue mentioned here, most likely an import.
Every time I touched something, something else loosened or fell off.
People get these cues from the pawn shops or where ever else.

They come to me for an estimate and are shocked that my charge for said repair is more than they paid for the cue. So, to devalue my trade, they expect me to charge proportionately to the cost of the cue.


If you have a 76 Chevette and take it in for repairs, the mechanics labor rate is the same for that car as it is for a 09 Avalanche.

The only thing I'll do in the future is a tip and thats stretching it.
 
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I have been doing repairs for about 12+ years, and the things I have encountered have caused me to limit what imports I will repair. The problem is that when you start working on one you dont know what "can of worms" you might be opening. I finished a shaft clean and when I unscrewed my maintenance pin, the whole insert came out. If anyone has been doing repairs for long enough, you learn that sometimes you just have to say "pass" because of the potential for problems.
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
The one experience that I had was with a promo cue, very much akin to the
type of import cue mentioned here, most likely an import.
Every time I touched something, something else loosened or fell off.
People get these cues from the pawn shops or where ever else.

They come to me for an estimate and are shocked that my charge for said repair is more than they paid for the cue. So, to devalue my trade, they expect me to charge proportionately to the cost of the cue.


If you have a 76 Chevette and take it in for repairs, the mechanics labor rate is the same for that car as it is for a 09 Avalanche.

The only thing I'll do in the future is a tip and thats stretching it.
Click to expand...


My answer has always been, I do not charge based on what you paid for your cue.
 
I only do shaft repairs on Asian imports. I roll ALL shafts, before I do any repairs. Too much warp or other problems, that could be trouble for me & I refuse to do the repair. I've been burned too many times & then they try to say I DID THE DAMAGE. NO THANK YOU. I don't care where you take it, just not me...JER
 
Once a cue mechanic gets a good reputation and builds a clientèle, very large money can be made. There is much more money in repair than there is in building cues. You can't expect everything to be gravy however and sometimes you lose time on a job as something unexpected happens but to get and keep that reputation that you are building you just have to eat it. You very seldom lose any money however as usually it just takes time and few materials to correct the mistake. Big deal, you just make 20.00 an hour instead of a 120.00. The more experience you get in repairs however, the less surprises you will encounter. You can see trouble before hand and let the customer know what to expect. I love doing cue repair and would never build another cue if I had enough of it.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Once a cue mechanic gets a good reputation and builds a clientèle, very large money can be made. There is much more money in repair than there is in building cues. You can't expect everything to be gravy however and sometimes you lose time on a job as something unexpected happens but to get and keep that reputation that you are building you just have to eat it. You very seldom lose any money however as usually it just takes time and few materials to correct the mistake. Big deal, you just make 20.00 an hour instead of a 120.00. The more experience you get in repairs however, the less surprises you will encounter. You can see trouble before hand and let the customer know what to expect. I love doing cue repair and would never build another cue if I had enough of it.

Dick
Click to expand...

Very well said Dick!!!!!
 
uh huh

Michael Webb said:
My answer has always been, I do not charge based on what you paid for your cue.
Click to expand...

WHAT?? I PAID LESS THAN THAT FOR THE CUE......

My reply was then you should have bought two for when stuff like this happens.

Not discriminate I will work on almost anything but it may cost you.....

John
 
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