I have one that I play with at the tattoo shop on Sunset, I tried a Boar and a a Barry but they didnt seem to like the heavy(and I mean heavy CB) So I switched over to my -R-, that he built for KOINKID/troy and it plays just great with the heavy ball, I havent hit a ball, not one ball on a bar box in about 15 or 16 years. I forgot how easy they are, the cue plays great,
however I have to be honest here, I'm not mad at anyone(not my nature anymore) but -R- rushed the cue out the door to troy IMO. The shafts were much thicker than the ferrel, they had some chatter in them and they wernt sealed, they were raw maple. The quality of the shaft wood was very good considering the price point of the cue, and they both play close enough to each other that when you switch shafts it dosent feel like a new cue. Good taper as well
The paint job(Dont get mad me Mr. Richard Neighbors) or finish was great no wavy areas it wasnt to thick, too thin, it was perfect on the butt cap(its a bumperless hopie) he finished it in a way that it wont chip, but I cant tell where the finish ends, perhaps he feathered it-its the BEST finish on bumperless cues I have seen, it is better done than Gus did on the 2 hopie cues I have from Gus, now the best finish is on the GSB I own. I sure would like to get some pics of this to show everyone what a good job -R- did.
the wrap was a lizard skin wrap and at the seam there was 2 areas where they made a slight upsidedown "V" shape. It looked rushed to me.
Ring work is 10/10 they all line up and look great,
Now I will get to the real problem with the cue,
so i get it right, better yet here are the pics:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=166587&highlight=green+machine
I wasnt going to make it public knowlege that I bought this cue, I dont put all my biz in the street, I want to say first off I love this cue and am keeping it to play with at the tattoo shop, or bar pool, but I never go to bars. LOL.
The prong is ebony then natural veneer, double green veneer, natural veneer. They are all even, its a very very good forearm, I have a friend who happens to have the same color combo on a Bill Stroud cue he bought in in 74 and has played with it since. He paid something like $270 brand new(who says cues are a abad investment?)
OK back th the problem, Somewhere along the painting process lots of the saw dust from the ebony made it on to the veneers, they are pouris veneers not hars wood like tulip, or a dark wood that would cover up the saw dust. If you look closely at the pics in the above link you can see what I'm talking about, its much worse in real life. I had a friend make me a cue when he was just starting out and on the BEM you can see his finget prints, this too can happen when your repainting a cue where all the finish has wore off and dirt is penetraited into the forarm or butt sleve.
I know the brighter the wood the harder it is to keep clean, however the butt sleve is 90% perfect.
So the issue's with this cue are very easy to solve, and dont think for a minute I wouldnt recommend -R-, It looks like he got to a point on the cue, and let it out the door in a before it was properly finished. All the hard work was done, he needed an hour to work on the shafts(there was some chatter so he needs to look into the machine he is taking them down with) and just be a bit more careful before you paint the cue. And the wrap being green is very un forgiving, and it wasnt cut perfectly-you would have to see it to see why.
I am very impressed with the cue overall, the defects are irratating at most. I dont know Mr.-R-, so I let Mr. Lomax take the cue at the derby and he will sort it out. I know thats the wrong move, but Steve is a good friend and I wanted to give him some work.
But again please dont take this as a knock, I would have bought the cue had I knew of these minor issues, this is where the internet fails all of us, i tell a simple story about a couple minor mistakes and it sounds like I got robbed buying this cue. I'm very very happy I bought it, I liked it so much I didnt even ask for a discount-I wanted to make sure Troy KOINKID had a good payday(I need a payday).
I dont expect prefection on any cues I buy, they all have a imperfection, So long as it plays good and it does i'm happy
Without a doubt, when you look at it, in your head there is only one thought: I want to play immediately! 
