Can anyone give me or direct me to information regarding National brand cues?
National cues
- Thread starter 60inchcueguy
- Start date
Depends on the "National Cues you're refering to. There were those made in a custom shop in Cincinnati, there were cues imported from China, Japan, and there are also the National cues made today. This is a completely different company, (National Merchandice of Va. I think). I purchased all of the remaining assets of "National's Custom Shop" many years ago.Ohplayer said:
just more hot air!
Sherm
I also have an old cue with a small (1/2")red circle with an N inside it on the butt end. I was told that it was an old National cue,but not the current value (if any)...
cuesmith said:
Sherm,
I didn't know that. Are you talking about the equipment that Helmstetter used in the 1960's?
I have an old original National cue. It looks like the plain birdseye Tad's with black dacron wrap. I have the receipt from 1969. These cues weren't marked.
The original operation was started by Richard Helmstetter out of Chicago in 1967 -1968. Richard was a custom cuemaker at the time, before there was Viking he was working with Gordon Hart. He was hired by National Chalk to build cues. He went the custom/production route and hired Bob Meucci among others. I had heard that Craig Peterson also made cues for them. Their original place was moved to Georgia in about 1970 and shut down. Richard went to Japan with David Forman and joined Adam. Meucci went his separarte way, landing at Huebler and then his own company.
The later National Cues with the N look to me like Imperial's.
Chris
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TATE said:
The equipment and materials I'm refering I purchased from Bobby Nickerson, who was originally from Chicago, I believe. He had worked for "National Billiards" from Cincinnati. They manufactured pool tables, cues and bar equipment starting about 1880 here in Cincinnati. When Brunswick closed their Manufacturing facility in Cincinnat, National bought out all of their cuemaking equipment and materials. Bobby ran the cue shop until they closed it in the early 80's and started importing all of their "National" branded cues. Bobby did cue repair here in Cincinnati for many years and finally due to economics decided to get a "real job" in about 1985. That was when I bought out all of his stuff, primarily to keep it from starting up a flock of new local cuemakers to compete with. I still have a lot of the old repair stuff, nylon & dacron wraps (some two tone striped), ferrules of all types, colors and materials. I have some ferrules that look like the old "celluloid" with thick screw on tips I was told that Paradise invented and was using or a while. Used to have a few old mace heads and a lot of old brunswick cues, but unfortunately I sold most of that stuff long ago. Had a bunch of the old ebony spliced shaft blanks and a few with rosewood spliced in at the tip end. I still have boxes full of stuff that I'm not sure what it was used for, and some old tennoning machines and wooden hand made tools for cue work. Some of it's probably just junk, but I'm sure there's a few treasures still floating around among the rubble.
just more hot air!
Sherm
larrynj1 said:
Larry, those are actually not from the "National Chalk Company". Those are some of the Taiwan imports that "National Billiards Co" of Cincinnati marketed for many years. I've worked on hundreds of those cues over the years! They were what replaced the cues built in the "National Billiards" custom shop. The "National Chalk Company" is, I believe, a subsidiary of Tweeten who make the LePro tips and all sorts of, mostly, cheap billiard products.
just more hot air!
Sherm