Well, a while ago I picked up one of those Mosconi limited edition Joss cues.
Not a bad looking cue either. Numbered and with a certificate yada-yada...
Anyway, the guy who owned this (or who used it- I don't know if I got it from the user or just a middle-man) but anyway, he was a slob. This thing was a mess.
At first I thought it was interesting that it had a blackwblue wrap. Well, it doesn't. It WAS black with white, but the chaulk dust took care of that.
The finish has some light scratches and a couple dings, but not enough to warrant a re-finish. I clarified the finish and put a coat of wax on it (probably the first in its life) and if feels nice and slick now. Done.
Then we come to the bane of my existance- the shaft.
This was an absolute disaster. I have not EVER seen a worse ferrule and shaft outside of a neglected bar cue, or second-hand sub-$50.00 cue in the hands of a brain donor. A total disaster.
In fact, what I learned today while attempting to salvage it, is that that piece of scotchbrite in the case was used OFTEN. So often, 1/4mm was removed from the shaft about 6" from the tip! So, this shaft has gone from a 13.1 to a 12.75mm shaft. It is still a couple thouthanths low at the 'spot' but I was able to cut all the damage out of the ferrule and make it presentable again.
If you go to my site now, you can see it under collectable cues. That was a cleaning of the shaft and tip groming only. I will post new pics (and revised tip diameter) later tonight.
No, it's not the end of the world, but how does someone, who obviously paid a fair sum for this cue, let it get this bad? At least was your hands once in a while for god's sake!
OK. I'm done ranting. Just needed to get that off my chest after a couple hours at the lathe!
Not a bad looking cue either. Numbered and with a certificate yada-yada...
Anyway, the guy who owned this (or who used it- I don't know if I got it from the user or just a middle-man) but anyway, he was a slob. This thing was a mess.
At first I thought it was interesting that it had a blackwblue wrap. Well, it doesn't. It WAS black with white, but the chaulk dust took care of that.
The finish has some light scratches and a couple dings, but not enough to warrant a re-finish. I clarified the finish and put a coat of wax on it (probably the first in its life) and if feels nice and slick now. Done.
Then we come to the bane of my existance- the shaft.
This was an absolute disaster. I have not EVER seen a worse ferrule and shaft outside of a neglected bar cue, or second-hand sub-$50.00 cue in the hands of a brain donor. A total disaster.
In fact, what I learned today while attempting to salvage it, is that that piece of scotchbrite in the case was used OFTEN. So often, 1/4mm was removed from the shaft about 6" from the tip! So, this shaft has gone from a 13.1 to a 12.75mm shaft. It is still a couple thouthanths low at the 'spot' but I was able to cut all the damage out of the ferrule and make it presentable again.
If you go to my site now, you can see it under collectable cues. That was a cleaning of the shaft and tip groming only. I will post new pics (and revised tip diameter) later tonight.
No, it's not the end of the world, but how does someone, who obviously paid a fair sum for this cue, let it get this bad? At least was your hands once in a while for god's sake!
OK. I'm done ranting. Just needed to get that off my chest after a couple hours at the lathe!
