Jerry Rauenzahn Bushka Tribute Cues

[sonny_burnett]

Great thread and thanks!
I'll ask a stupid question.
Did GB ever use stainless joints?
What was his favorite joint material?

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[WildWing]

Great thread and thanks!
I'll ask a stupid question.
Did GB ever use stainless joints?
What was his favorite joint material?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Not a stupid question at all. Yes, he used mostly stainless steel for joints. Some early cues especially with Titlist conversions were done.with brass joints. I'm not aware of any with nickel silver, but its possible with some of his early cues.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Sonny.....there are a lot of experts on the Forum re: George Balabushka.......Mark Kulungian is very knowledgeable
and Jerry Rauenzahn is a master cue-maker that's studied George's workmanship and approach to cue-making,

As far as I know, GB primarily used and relied upon the piloted 5/16x14 steel joint in his cue-making and while he did make some cues
using a different joint, nearly all the original George Balabushka cues you see, or encounter, have piloted steel 5/16x14 steel cue joints.

Having said that, the majority of the cues just made by Jerry in the first Bushka Cue Project were ordered with ivory joints because there
are some pool players that prefer playing with an ivory joint, such as myself, and apparently a whole bunch of other Azers as well.

The cue Jerry will be making for me will use either a 3/8x10, or radial pin, flat ivory joint. Bob Owen is currently building me another custom cue & it
also has a flat ivory 3/8x10 joint. I realize there's controversy attached to using ivory but my cues contain legal ivory supplied by highly respected cue-makers.

Matt B.

 

[DunnM1]

I am in as well Dean

 

[petes6ss1120]

Hey gentlemen just wondering does everyone still have the cues from this Jerry R build done by Dean? Man I wish Jerry was still making cues ..

 

[Bavafongoul]

Hey gentlemen just wondering does everyone still have the cues from this Jerry R build done by Deano ? Man I wish Jerry was still making cues ..

Yes….I still have four cues from Dean’s projects. I ordered two cues from Bob Owens and two cues from Jerry R.

Those projects were so much fun and I wound up becoming great pals with both cue makers whom are truly very
talented craftsmen. Their pool cues play great and the workmanship is outstanding. Jerry was a pool cue historian
of sorts and we discussed cues at great length, especially George Balabushka and Gus Szamboti. Jerry is just a
fine person to know; his cue making was equal to others that are considered to be masters at making pool cues.

The two Jerry R. Cues are the 2nd cue of the left and the 2nd cue on the right in the photos. The cues took over
a year to complete and Jerry kept me apprised of my cues’ progress with periodic emails, photos and phone calls

 

[johnnysd]

Yes….I still have four cues from Dean’s projects. I ordered two cues from Bob Owens and two cues from Jerry R.

Those projects were so much fun and I wound up becoming great pals with both cue makers whom are truly very
talented craftsmen. Their pool cues play great and the workmanship is outstanding. Jerry was a pool cue historian
of sorts and we discussed cues at great length, especially George Balabushka and Gus Szamboti. Jerry is just a
fine person to know; his cue making was equal to others that are considered to be masters at making pool cues.

The two Jerry R. Cues are the 2nd cue of the left and the 2nd cue on the right in the photos. The cues took over
a year to complete and Jerry kept me apprised of my cues’ progress with periodic emails, photos and phone calls

In my recent custom cue making experiences anything around a year is exceptionally fast.

 

[Bavafongoul]

J

In my recent custom cue making experiences anything around a year is exceptionally fast.

The actual time for my cues was 14 months except for the last two Bob and Jerry made.
One of the designs was really labor intensive but both reached me before CA’s ivory ban
became effective. Once the CA state legislature enacted a de facto date for the ban, my
cues were estimated to be completed in September & the ban took effect on July 1, 2016.

So in December 2015, I let Bob & Jerry know my cues needed to reach me before the ban
took effect. Well, both cue makers acknowledged my predicament and said don’t be
concerned. They adjusted their production routines to accommodate finishing my cues
ahead of schedule before the CA ban became effective. Memorial Day weekend 2016 both
cues arrived three months earlier than was originally forecasted. The cues turned out A+++.

I was already familiar with the reasons why my cues required this long to complete. Bob & Jerry
discussed their cue making approach with me before I placed my first order so I already
understood the importance of allowing adequate time for veneers, rings and inlays. The last
design Bob made for me has lots of inlays; just the matching three joint protectors use over a
100 inlays in the design. Bob and Jerry made my cue building enjoyable, exciting and satisfying.

 

[johnnysd]

J

The actual time for my cues was 14 months except for the last two Bob and Jerry made.
One of the designs was really labor intensive but both reached me before CA’s ivory ban
became effective. Once the CA state legislature enacted a de facto date for the ban, my
cues were estimated to be completed in September & the ban took effect on July 1, 2016.

So in December 2015, I let Bob & Jerry know my cues needed to reach me before the ban
took effect. Well, both cue makers acknowledged my predicament and said don’t be
concerned. They adjusted their production routines to accommodate finishing my cues
ahead of schedule before the CA ban became effective. Memorial Day weekend 2016 both
cues arrived three months earlier than was originally forecasted. The cues turned out A+++.

I was already familiar with the reasons why my cues required this long to complete. Bob & Jerry
discussed their cue making approach with me before I placed my first order so I already
understood the importance of allowing adequate time for veneers, rings and inlays. The last
design Bob made for me has lots of inlays; just the matching three joint protectors use over a
100 inlays in the design. Bob and Jerry made my cue building enjoyable, exciting and satisfying.

My most recent custom from Drexler took 31 months. You got your customs very fast.

 

[Bavafongoul]

Jeryy was slowing down his cue making because he was thinking about retirement.
Bob still hadn’t yet purchased Shurtz Cues from Jack and his custom work was not
recognized and praised like today. So his wait list to start cues was not like it is today.
I caught both cue makers at the right moment entirely thanks to my buddy, Dean C.