No arguement from me, either. You have a rock solid point, just not one that involves me. I don't depend on cues for income, so there's no need for me to feel pressured. If I never sold a cue, i'd still build them. I don't build for customers, I build for my own sanity & enjoyment, then accept compensation for my materials & a little extra in trade for the finished product. If the buyer gets tired of waiting then i'll sell the cue to somebody else, no big deal, no hurt feelings, nobody lost money. My family eats whether I sell a cue or not. Cues have absolutely no place in my bills or groceries.
I am prior military & went to war once at the same time as my wife, who is also military. It was a very tough situation for everybody. Luckily we both made it home safe. So we decided one of us would get out of the military & devote themselves to the kids, so they would always have a stable home with a parent no matter what was going on. I'm the parent, Mr. Mom. So cuemaking for me is a release, a getaway from the world, a place I can be a man & work with my hands. But my number one priority is my kids. My wife is at war again, and I am home giving my kids stability & hugging them when they cry for their mommy. Believe me, for a former soldier it is a tough life, but neccesary & rewarding. So if I bust my time limit on a cue, so be it. It's nothing but a wooden toy for grown ups. I deal with children all day everyday, and don't want to deal with whining grown ups, too. They can find another builder. Don't burst my little bubble of fun over a cue. Trust me, the time I spent building that cue means more to me than the finished product will ever mean to anybody else!!!! Might be a bit too personal & deep for a public forum. But it's my position in the cuemaking world. I keep very little secrets, especially from somebody who is spending money on very expensive toys.