Model 26 1/2 ebony - Rauenzahn Restoration

runscott

runscott

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Jerry recently restored this cue for me. It started off as a highly-figured ebony Model 26 1/2 butt - old 1910-ish veneers, brass joint, wedge veneers but no mop wedge. It was a beater! I only bought it because it was incredibly rare - usually when you find these they have the Titlist veneer colors and the butts have been lathed down for a wrap.

Jerry and I decided on a "playable" restoration; i.e - a cue that would look and play like the original. So he kept the butt fat, it's balanced at 16.5 as a result, because the butt was really messed up we had to decide on a design and chose an ivory ring with black buttcap to match Willie Hoppe's personal cue design, replaced the brass joint with ivory (no collars!) to match the ring, used an circa 1960 shaft, slightly less-shiny polish, and added a replica of the original decal. The cue plays lights-out, but that doesn't surprise me since I play quite well with the fat-butted 1940's Hoppe Pros. Here it is - great job, Jerry!
 

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runscott said:
Jerry recently restored this cue for me. It started off as a highly-figured ebony Model 26 1/2 butt - old 1910-ish veneers, brass joint, wedge veneers but no mop wedge. It was a beater! I only bought it because it was incredibly rare - usually when you find these they have the Titlist veneer colors and the butts have been lathed down for a wrap.

Jerry and I decided on a "playable" restoration; i.e - a cue that would look and play like the original. So he kept the butt fat, it's balanced at 16.5 as a result, because the butt was really messed up we had to decide on a design and chose an ivory ring with black buttcap to match Willie Hoppe's personal cue design, replaced the brass joint with ivory (no collars!) to match the ring, used an circa 1960 shaft, slightly less-shiny polish, and added a replica of the original decal. The cue plays lights-out, but that doesn't surprise me since I play quite well with the fat-butted 1940's Hoppe Pros. Here it is - great job, Jerry!
Click to expand...

Scott, I am Jealous, that cue really turned out out great man!!!!!!!!!!
 
manwon said:
Scott, I am Jealous, that cue really turned out out great man!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Hey Craig! I have to get back down to Tacoma.

I had the benefit that Jerry had done similar work for John Marshall - this restoration work is flawless in my opinion. I have another similar cue, but a 1-piece - brownish-orange with the old veneers and mop wedge is missing. It is really tempting to send that one in to Jerry as well, but I'll probably sell it.

I look forward to seeing what you think of the hit - because of John's raving about it, Jerry pushed me toward the radial pin and I'm sold as well. We were going to go with the original 3/8x12 piloted joint, pin-in-shaft design, but I figured - you can't see it when it's screwed together, so let's make it play.
 
Looks like Willie's old time cue

I think the joint on that cue was very much like this cue. It has to play like the old cues too. So if you miss just rember he didn't!
Nick :)
 
That is probably the most beautiful restoration I have ever come across. What a cue that is! If Craig is jealous then I can't tell what am I... I've seen many amazing works of -R- here, but this is probably the best - no kidding. I love the design - that decal is astonishing too...

I am here with no words just with my chin on the floor. I'll certainly return to this thread many times - and save the pics now!

Congratulations!!!
 
runscott said:
I had the benefit that Jerry had done similar work for John Marshall - this restoration work is flawless in my opinion. I have another similar cue, but a 1-piece - brownish-orange with the old veneers and mop wedge is missing. It is really tempting to send that one in to Jerry as well, but I'll probably sell it.

I look forward to seeing what you think of the hit - because of John's raving about it, Jerry pushed me toward the radial pin and I'm sold as well. We were going to go with the original 3/8x12 piloted joint, pin-in-shaft design, but I figured - you can't see it when it's screwed together, so let's make it play.
Click to expand...

DO NOT sell that cue!!! jerry can replace that mop wedge like it was neverMISSING. you will not be sorry.

you may NEVER another one!!!
 
Sell It Sell It!!!

dave sutton said:
DO NOT sell that cue!!! jerry can replace that mop wedge like it was neverMISSING. you will not be sorry.

you may NEVER another one!!!
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Heck Dave......let the guy sell the darn thing :eek: :D -- what was that price anyways Scott ;)
 
dave sutton said:
lol. i was thinking the same thing but i wanted to give him a fair shake :D
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You are right that they are tough to find - someone sold 3-4 of them, really beat up, on ebay a few months ago. I already had two mop-wedge M26 1/2 cues, so I didn't need more, but I bought the brown-orange one because the veneer colors were unique - natural,emerald,natural,blue-black. I cleaned it up a bit so that I could see the veneer colors, and now it's gathering dust. I bought extra mop blanks, so I'm covered for 6 more cues :). If I sell this one, I'll include a blank - same as the one Jerry used for the ebony restoration.
 
Enjoy that one. It's definitely the most beautifully figured 26.5 that I can ever recall seeing. Who's doing those replica decals and are they just transfers ??
 
cueaddicts said:
Enjoy that one. It's definitely the most beautifully figured 26.5 that I can ever recall seeing. Who's doing those replica decals and are they just transfers ??
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It's a real decal - Mark Stelinga has them, both this one and the older white/gold one. They require a sanded surface to adhere, and/or a coat of finish over them. This one is beautiful, but it's already coming off and I'm trying to order another one.
 
Wow

That is one sweet piece of work. How much did you say for the other all beat up with all those parts missing 26 1/2????:D :D :D
 
i'm jealous............................yea.......... that's all i have to say about that......
 
Scott,

Glad to see and hear you like the hit. Hit is so subjective, but I knew from the way mine plays you would love it. It's a keeper!!

Great job Mr. Jerry -R- of saving another junk yard dog.

LOL,
John
 
dave sutton said:
how many cues has jerry saved that someone should have just thrown in the garbage.

im amazed everytime.
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I'm certainly hoping none of those old BBC's. Anyone throwing them in the trash would be a moron !!
 
Addendum

Here's the story on the decal: I applied after the cue had been finished by Jerry, so it had a very smooth surface. The decal still broke in several places and I was able to fit it back together on the cue using a magnifying glass. It has since rubbed off - I have applied this type of decal to slick surfaces before and never had a problem, but apparently there wasn't much, if any, glue on it. The instructions did say to sand, which I wasn't going to do, and I have no confidence that it would have had any effect. I asked Mark Stellinga for another at a reduced price and basically got my wrist slapped and told I needed to come up with another $45.

I wouldn't have considered ordering another, except Jerry Rauenzahn graciously offered to apply a new decal and refinish the cue at no charge - that is customer service that was totally unecessary on Jerry's part.

i'll do without the decal.
 
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