Just got your wrap on. All done now but polishing shafts. I appreciate your patience.....and subtle hints :thumbup:
John Davis Blanks
- Thread starter Ken_4fun
- Start date
Just got your wrap on. All done now but polishing shafts. I appreciate your patience.....and subtle hints :thumbup:
I just figure if the JD blanks were good enough for Balabushka, I'll try and make em work.
Points being uneven aren't John's fault. He didn't build the cue. Your cue maker is the one to blame for that. As for shaky veneers, again, your cue maker's fault for not bringing that to your attention before the cue was completed. John stands behind his blanks and with a 5-minute phone call, you could have had a new blank. With a full splice, nobody knows for sure what lies beneath the surface until you make the cut to find out. If that blank looked clean when it left John's shop, then how is an ugly cue his fault? Once your cue maker began cutting & realized the blank had internal flaws, he or you should have contacted John & gotten a new blank. I'm guessing John will only find out about now that this thread exists, rather than when it was relevant & he could have done something to keep things right. No doubt he would have found it helpful to know that something was amiss inside his blank, so that he could locate the cause of the flaw & prevent it from happening again.
This confuses me. Why is it ok to have someone convert a titlist when many cuemakers could just build a 4 point hoppe cue with titlist veneers? How come its ok to take a titlist blank to someone but not a Davis blank?
Most cuemakers aren't set up to build full splice cues, thus the reason people outsource the blanks from guys like Jon Davis, Prather, Emori, etc..
Several years ago I wanted a daily player cue, nothing fancy, just the best combination of engineering and construction. After researching the cue makers section of AZ BIlliards I decided a full splice cue, bucote butt, ebony forearm and with an OB Classic shaft is that combination. In the research I found it interesting that so few people really understand what is a full splice cue.
I asked cue maker Alex Brick to make a full splice cue for me. He suggested John Davis make the blank for the same reasons suggested in earlier posts. After a great discussion with John, he sent about 30 different veneers and samples of ebony and bucote. I matched up the veneers and John started the process.
It took over a year for both the butt to be made and for Alex to step down the blank. This much time is crucial to reduce warping. Alex completed the cue with an OB Classic shaft.
I got exactly what I wanted: a quality cue.
Ps. I think it is a sin to cover a full slice cue with a wrap. And the converse is also a sin: to cover a butt with a wrap so people think it is a full splice cue when it is not.
I asked cue maker Alex Brick to make a full splice cue for me. He suggested John Davis make the blank for the same reasons suggested in earlier posts. After a great discussion with John, he sent about 30 different veneers and samples of ebony and bucote. I matched up the veneers and John started the process.
It took over a year for both the butt to be made and for Alex to step down the blank. This much time is crucial to reduce warping. Alex completed the cue with an OB Classic shaft.
I got exactly what I wanted: a quality cue.
Ps. I think it is a sin to cover a full slice cue with a wrap. And the converse is also a sin: to cover a butt with a wrap so people think it is a full splice cue when it is not.
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That also opens a whole new can of worms. Many of the "full splice" cues also have a hidden splice under the wrap ala Joel Hercek. Seems like John has migrated away from that, thank goodness. I agree that my preference is to show off the workmanship by not wrapping the cue. (I don't like wraps anymore anyway) but if they have that extra splice, cover that ugly thing up!
Burton Spain also did some blanks with that extra splice. Here's a cue Drexler made with one of those blanks, and it shows a bit of that extra splice even though it is a wrapped cue: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=345059
That was an outstanding treatment of that joint!
Your confusion, confuses me.
Titlist cues were made by Brunswick and nearly every cue maker has used them for conversion.
I like Schick veneer work very much but I would never ask Bill to make a blank to have someone else finish it.
Seems like every time you comment on one of my threads I am left confused. I guess you are just a lot smarter than me....
Ken
Full Splice
I really like the romantic idea of buying a cue built from scratch, ie their own blank, from a custom cue builder. However it sounds like this is not a cost effective option for most custom cue builders. I guess this leads me to think maybe I should buy a well made cue butt that I like and buy shafts from every builder that I want to try before having a actual cue built out of possibly a Davis, Prather, or Schmelke blank or maybe just using the butt that I have decided to test shafts with. Does this make sense to anyone else or am I missing something. Also in theory wouldn't veneers detract from a full splice cues resonance, seems like you are adding a lot of glue to a cue? Opinions appreciated but please don't blast another persons opinion, just state your own. THx. PS as a side note, is there a thread with a list of cue builders who primarily build their own personal blanks?
I really like the romantic idea of buying a cue built from scratch, ie their own blank, from a custom cue builder. However it sounds like this is not a cost effective option for most custom cue builders. I guess this leads me to think maybe I should buy a well made cue butt that I like and buy shafts from every builder that I want to try before having a actual cue built out of possibly a Davis, Prather, or Schmelke blank or maybe just using the butt that I have decided to test shafts with. Does this make sense to anyone else or am I missing something. Also in theory wouldn't veneers detract from a full splice cues resonance, seems like you are adding a lot of glue to a cue? Opinions appreciated but please don't blast another persons opinion, just state your own. THx. PS as a side note, is there a thread with a list of cue builders who primarily build their own personal blanks?
It doesn't make sense unless you want to own a full splice cue made to your specs. You're going to spend $300 to $400 on the blank and approximately another $500 to $600 for the cue work. You will have a very basic entry level cue for $900 to $1000 and you could probably buy the cue maker's entry usual level cue for $600 - $700.
The exception is maybe Prince cues. He seems to sell the Davis conversions at a nice price and obviously does nice work. He would be my pick if I wanted a custom.
The straight grain maple blank he made for me (to make a GB tribute cue) had an excellent aged patina. Not snow white like a modern cue. I have no regrets in my Davis blank. And it serves a tribute cue better than ANY.
I don't know why cuemakers say it is not cost effective. I figured out how to make full splice blanks with about $500 worth of equipment. When I get the return points dialed in like I want, I will show you.
alanvo
Banned
Exactly what I've been wondering. What makes those blanks more desirable ?
What's your thought on the old titlist?
I'll add that there has been no price increase in 5 years! And, there is additional structural integrity beyond the wood joinery you see with your eyeballs in the recent era John Davis blanks. I cannot say more about this. John is also innovating by making some second splice fullsplice blanks with purpleheart handle wood. He is also creating new veneer combos as with the black paper. I'm fortunate to have a good business and friendship relationship with John. I've had about 24 blanks made for myself. The John Davis blanks are the best ever right now. He's at the top of his game. I have a short list cuemakers I can recommend for a John Davis build, including Tim Prince. People would be shocked if they knew the cuemakers who cannot work well with a blank.
I'm shock by the list of cuemakers that won't touch a Davis blank, when i had one, and was looking for someone to build it, lots turned me down. Didn't help that the blank had an 1/4 inch wobble.
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Blanks of any origin take a good number of cuemakers out of their comfort zone. Some don't now how to keep points running true or have the patience necessary to cut the blank down gradually. Some cuemakers may perceive you're trying to be cheap (like bringing your own steak to a steak restaurant). If you bought the Davis blank from me and was unhappy the blank could be returned right after you got it if there was a problem with it. The blanks are greatly oversize and small wobbles are harmless to the end product. It should also be known that there are a good number of esteemed and award winning USA cuemakers who will indeed build out a John Davis blank and are beyond qualified to do so. Here's a one off near exhibition grade golden brown curly koa Titlist style longsplice blanks just in. High figure hard curl nose.
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