First I want to say it was a pleasure working with Leon. He really is great to work with on a new build and treats his customers very well. If you're wanting to do your first like I did or your 100th build I highly recommend him.
I have to say he exceeded my expectations on this build and he made me one great hitting cue. I talked with Leon about designs and came up with what is below but most importantly I was looking for a specific hit.
My search story:
I hit a few racks with a fellow tournament player's custom cue about 13 years ago and it had what I would call a sweet hit (soft enough to not be jarring but went through the ball well, not harsh to the ear and gave enough feedback to know I did what I was intending to do) and put appropriate action on the ball for my stroke. I was so impressed with the cue that I offered the cue's owner $1000 which was a lot for me plus my Schon SL-8 with two shafts which was brand new at the time. The only thing I can equate the sound of the hit to in relation to pool is the sound of a ball making a clean pocket drop off the back of a gold crowns pocket. It just resonated clearly and cleanly. The cue's owner must have known how special the hit was because he wouldn't part with the cue no matter what I was able to offer him and I know I exceeded what the cue went for at the time by a nice margin. Disappointing as it was that he wouldn't part with the best hitting cue IMO I had ever used I was convinced I could find that hit again. I tried purchasing a cue by the same cue maker with a somewhat similar setup and it is a great player but still not that singularly impressive hit.
Extraordinarily Happy Results:
So since then I've been searching like a lot of people on here are and finally after explaining what I was looking for to Leon, I was extremely surprised to find that he had delivered a cue with the elusive hit and feel I remembered loving in only one cue before.
When working out the details with Leon, I remembered a lot of what was in the cue that I played with that impressed me so much and ended up using the same forearm wood but instead of the 5/16 x 14 piloted joint that was on the original I went for a flat bottom 3/8 x 10 pin and a half joint which was an experiment that payed off. It has tight fitting shafts and a solid hit which Leon attributes to the way he forms the spine of the shaft. As Leon is also a pool player as well as a cue maker and not just an artisan, I asked for his opinion as a player on shaft tapers and he suggested his most popular taper which sounded quite a bit like what I had hit with and was very impressed with before. It's got a nice stroke area, isn't whippy at all and gives a really appropriate amount of action for your efforts. I opted for 3/4 inch Juma ferrules instead of the LBM which were on the cue I used as 'THE HIT' reference point and for moori medium tips which I've been playing with for years. The balance of the cue was also just about spot on and to be able to fine tune it forward a bit Leon sent me an aluminum weight bolt with a bumper screw. For years I thought I was playing with 19.25 ounce cues but in reality due to moisture loss over the years and a lack of a scale or any real reason to verify it besides doing a custom cue build I was actually playing with 18.5 to 19.1 ounce cues. I realized that the weight I requested needed to be about half an ounce lighter and the balance I requested needed to be about .5 inches forward of where it was to feel absolutely perfect for my game and that new bolt did the trick although as it's aluminum it sure isn't as polished as that beautiful stainless steel one if I was to use the cue bumper-less. It has more of a brushed look which I also really like. I now have a cue that I really enjoy playing with and can't wait to break it in further.
I can't thank Leon enough for hitting the mark so well and for giving me one finely tuned cue. Now I just have to work on getting out to play more.
Here are some build and finished cue pics! Thanks for reading along and checking out my new cue.
Kevin
Sorry so long and awkwardly wide. I'll figure this forum formatting out yet.
I have to say he exceeded my expectations on this build and he made me one great hitting cue. I talked with Leon about designs and came up with what is below but most importantly I was looking for a specific hit.
My search story:
I hit a few racks with a fellow tournament player's custom cue about 13 years ago and it had what I would call a sweet hit (soft enough to not be jarring but went through the ball well, not harsh to the ear and gave enough feedback to know I did what I was intending to do) and put appropriate action on the ball for my stroke. I was so impressed with the cue that I offered the cue's owner $1000 which was a lot for me plus my Schon SL-8 with two shafts which was brand new at the time. The only thing I can equate the sound of the hit to in relation to pool is the sound of a ball making a clean pocket drop off the back of a gold crowns pocket. It just resonated clearly and cleanly. The cue's owner must have known how special the hit was because he wouldn't part with the cue no matter what I was able to offer him and I know I exceeded what the cue went for at the time by a nice margin. Disappointing as it was that he wouldn't part with the best hitting cue IMO I had ever used I was convinced I could find that hit again. I tried purchasing a cue by the same cue maker with a somewhat similar setup and it is a great player but still not that singularly impressive hit.
Extraordinarily Happy Results:
So since then I've been searching like a lot of people on here are and finally after explaining what I was looking for to Leon, I was extremely surprised to find that he had delivered a cue with the elusive hit and feel I remembered loving in only one cue before.
When working out the details with Leon, I remembered a lot of what was in the cue that I played with that impressed me so much and ended up using the same forearm wood but instead of the 5/16 x 14 piloted joint that was on the original I went for a flat bottom 3/8 x 10 pin and a half joint which was an experiment that payed off. It has tight fitting shafts and a solid hit which Leon attributes to the way he forms the spine of the shaft. As Leon is also a pool player as well as a cue maker and not just an artisan, I asked for his opinion as a player on shaft tapers and he suggested his most popular taper which sounded quite a bit like what I had hit with and was very impressed with before. It's got a nice stroke area, isn't whippy at all and gives a really appropriate amount of action for your efforts. I opted for 3/4 inch Juma ferrules instead of the LBM which were on the cue I used as 'THE HIT' reference point and for moori medium tips which I've been playing with for years. The balance of the cue was also just about spot on and to be able to fine tune it forward a bit Leon sent me an aluminum weight bolt with a bumper screw. For years I thought I was playing with 19.25 ounce cues but in reality due to moisture loss over the years and a lack of a scale or any real reason to verify it besides doing a custom cue build I was actually playing with 18.5 to 19.1 ounce cues. I realized that the weight I requested needed to be about half an ounce lighter and the balance I requested needed to be about .5 inches forward of where it was to feel absolutely perfect for my game and that new bolt did the trick although as it's aluminum it sure isn't as polished as that beautiful stainless steel one if I was to use the cue bumper-less. It has more of a brushed look which I also really like. I now have a cue that I really enjoy playing with and can't wait to break it in further.
I can't thank Leon enough for hitting the mark so well and for giving me one finely tuned cue. Now I just have to work on getting out to play more.
Here are some build and finished cue pics! Thanks for reading along and checking out my new cue.
Kevin
Sorry so long and awkwardly wide. I'll figure this forum formatting out yet.
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