JB Custom Case "The Palace Garden"

John,

This case is stunning. Great tooling, great layout and design, great coloring! It truly is a masterpiece and a one-of-a-kind case for which both you and the new owner should take great pride. Another unbelievably well done case !

I appreciate you sharing with the pictures.

Will Prout
 
ibuycues said:
John,

This case is stunning. Great tooling, great layout and design, great coloring! It truly is a masterpiece and a one-of-a-kind case for which both you and the new owner should take great pride. Another unbelievably well done case !

I appreciate you sharing with the pictures.

Will Prout
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John,

I also meant to say that I thought it was a very, very nice touch to show the picture of you with the artisans who collectively worked on this (and other) world class cases.

Will:wink:
 
That is some serious work there Mr Barton, you are right to be proud. Certainly have taken it up a notch with this type of work. I have paid very close attention to cue cases over the last fifteen years and the last two to three years have been very telling. There is a 'no limits' attitude to products and it is something I admire, in both makers and commissioners.

Were these cases the special thing you mentioned, John? Truly magnificent if so.

Si
 
I know of no other sport that has as much Art and Craftsmanship involved in it as pool does. Cases like this and the many cues that we are honored to see on a regular basis. Absolutely Wild!
 
manwon said:
John, I truly think it is a great case, what more can I say John. I did not post to start a contest, you already know my thoughts on that subject and I was only trying to pay you a compliment.

But since you want a contest, I think your people did a great job John, and maybe everyone who had a hand in building it should have signed the case. :)

As far as how it ranks in my opinion, it is not something I would buy for myself, like I said I thought the case was built for a women. However, the detail is very eye catching and unique which is what custom should be. The design and colors along with the theme also are very nice, but like I said above it not something I would appreciate for myself. In the end I am still waiting for something entirely unique to come along that is in no way is similar to anything else.

John, when some one pays you a personal compliment take it for what it is, instead of looking between the lines for something that is not there.

Have a great night John.:)
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It's cool Craig. I know how you feel. It's completely unique and in no way similar to anything else in both design and construction. It is a contest though, if we didn't all push each other then all cases would be black nylon.

There are things that were done on this case that no other cue case maker has ever done as far as I know it. There are construction points on this case that no other cue maker does or has done as far as I

When I see great cases like Rusty's and Jack's and Jim's and Marc's then it inspires me to do more and try harder.

How do you know that everyone didn't sign it? :-) It definitely takes a team to put a case like this together. Whether we did it as a team or whether one person does it all the hours are still in it the same way.

I was just ribbing you about where you rank it on the "list" you know that. The only thing that really matters is the customer's opinion and since he is already talking to me about the next case and how we top this one it's all good. For me this one and the Doc Case, this one in case you forgot it, are the best we have done to date and I couldn't be prouder of my staff and the great work we are turning out.

Best to you Craig and thank you for the compliment, I will take all of them I can get :-)
 
thediamond said:
That is some serious work there Mr Barton, you are right to be proud. Certainly have taken it up a notch with this type of work. I have paid very close attention to cue cases over the last fifteen years and the last two to three years have been very telling. There is a 'no limits' attitude to products and it is something I admire, in both makers and commissioners.

Were these cases the special thing you mentioned, John? Truly magnificent if so.

Si
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Thank you Si. This is the monster case I was dying to show you. I agree with you that the last few years have really been good for case makers and case customers. It's really nice to get a free hand in the design, it allows one to think well outside the box. For me it makes me really try hard to come up with more and more unique aspects and invent new ways to do things.

This is what I wanted to do when I started Instroke and it's been an 18 year journey since then but I feel that it's all been a good education. I have often dreamed of making cases like this one and cases like Doc's. I am truly grateful for customers like yourself who are willing to work with me and wait until it "comes" to me on your design.

And in case anyone thinks I didn't or don't work on the cases believe me I was there just about every minute of this one's construction and did plenty of work on it. Every detail, every part of the design came from me and and my direction.

Zhen Hai Lee is our tooler and he researched the orchids going through nearly a hundred before we settled on the ones which are on the case. Then we spent a week drawing out designs to go around the pockets and around the case. He made a wonderful pattern that wraps and winds it's way around the pockets and the inlay on the back. I said I wanted the finger carving and we came up with the places that compliment the case without overpowering it. Finger carving is when the decoration is made by just using the knife to make cuts of various depth and widths.

Miss Zhang and Miss Chen are the seamstresses and they worked hard to do all the hand sewing on the case. To close the loop on this case requires that the last seam be sewn blind with one arm inside the case. On top of that the handle and strap retention pieces were also sewn blind to insure that they were in the right position. They are riveted under the leather and then hand sewn so that they are secured at three points. Each one has both metal under the leather and metal inside the case so that the leather does not take the stress.

Long Wei is our apprentice and he does the edge finishing and some construction. Some of his tooled cases will shortly be making their debut. He has been corresponding with a famous Taiwanese tooler and practicing diligently. He is like Bruce Lee in the movies when he goes off to train secretly and comes out later and kicks ass!

Yue Wei is our graphics designer and laser specialist. All the custom parts I dream of are made by him. Sometimes it takes a long time and many revisions to come up with just the right part. Having a CNC laser makes it easier to do these revisions but sometimes you can spend four or five hours on one small set of parts coming up with just the right one. Almost all custom parts are born in my mind and sometimes it's an ordeal to get it out of my mind :-)

And lastly I want to thank all the truly great leather workers I am glad to share a forum with at www.leatherworker.com . Those folks are the cream of the crop when it comes to working leather, from construction to decoration there is more than a 100 lifetimes of experience and knowledge that they willingly share. This case is full of things I picked up from them, tidbits I collected and said to myself that I wanted to do that on a cue case someday.

Wow, this turned out to be long but honestly this is what I dreamed of since I was 20 years old and now it's coming true. Thanks for being such a great audience.

John Barton - Case Maker
 
John, That's one awesome case! I love the way you sewed it together, the finger cuts, the tooling, the list could go on and on. The new owner, you and your staff should be very proud of this case.
 
Simple Nicezzzzz.

I noticed your name/signature located in two areas. Do you stamp or sign your name in other areas or more than twice?
 
billiardshot said:
Simple Nicezzzzz.

I noticed your name/signature located in two areas. Do you stamp or sign your name in other areas or more than twice?
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A while back I started using the JB Cases Logo with month and year of completion that you see on the back of the case. Most cases get only that one. If it's one that I am really invested in personally and I spend a lot of time on the design then I will sign it with my signature carved in with the laser for permanence.

I also have Zhen Hai sign all the cases he tools. His signature is on the bottom of this one in a special way. Pictures later on that part of the case.
 
Now this is what I call a cue case! Beautiful work. The owner of this has got taste I must say. :)
 
I must say that this case is one of your best, it is very detailed. Your employees look very happy also, do they every read the comments on here for your cases? I am getting itchy to get mine brother, cant wait to see what you guys make me! :grin-square:
 
Great new case John with some unique new elements. Your workers and their tooling are coming along quite nicely
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words. It's really a pleasure to have a place like this to show off our work to people who appreciate it. And I also want to thank ALL of our customers for their support in allowing us the opportunity to protect your cues.

I will bump this thread only once more later when I show off the last few pictures after the customer has received the case. There are still a few extras left to show off :-)
 
A Dream Team...

JB Cases said:
The Palace Garden

I am incredibly proud of what our team accomplished with this case. Not only was the design and tooling a great effort but the case is finished with a lot of blind hand stitching to reduce the amount of rivets needed. We invented a new way to do the handles so that they are comfortably contoured to the hand and yet allow a top area for tooling.
Enjoy.
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John,
Your TEAM of Craftsman (AND, Craftswoman) are doing amazingly beautiful work.
So much detail on just about every square inch on this case.
And the colors...
Zhen Hai Lee, Miss Zhang and Miss Chen, Long Wei and Yue Wei,
each one of you deserves high accolates for incredable workmanship.
John, you are so smart... You found the best craftspeople in the world..
So much talent in China...

Alton - Cue Caps
 
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I had a problem with a case I bought from John in the early days of his new line,I mentioned it to him and he insisted that i send the case back,changed the pouch design to make it more user friendly ans sent me 2 cases back to replace the one.

this kind of business practice is why I recomend JB to you at this time.

dean campbell
 
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