Opinions on flaws in a new cue?

I know

iconcue said:
you waited 2 weeks and then you emailed??? he probably doesnt understand the way you feel about the cue. CALL him on the telephone!!!
if he gives you the same reply then - posts some pics and let us know who it is so we will know his business practices.
Click to expand...

I know. There are many lessons here that I have learned. The first and most important is to accept a cue delivery like a new car delivery. You have to inspect it and check it for flaws and errors. I wanted this one made because I have wanted a cue like this for a long time. When I got it I was anxious to hit balls with it because it was different than most of my cues- this one has a piloted ivory joint. I did look at the finish and some particular inlays that I wanted in there. I have been playing with an piloted ss joint most of my playing career. So, error one would be not going over it mm by mm to inspect it. In my defense, the cue is a level 5 cue with over 50-60 inlay in it if you count the rings. It is intricate and geometric and the flaws are pretty minor on the whole.

The second lesson would be not contacting the cuemaker prior to the post. My original intention was to learn about acceptable tolerances for complaints. Basically, I did not want to sound like a nit.

I have no interest in divulging the cuemaker's name.

He is not from Tennessee for the person who had the hypothesis that he is a TN cuemaker.

To some degree it is irrelevant as this is one particular cue in a lifetime of wonderful cues and contributions to the game we all love to play. To even come close to hurting someone's livelihood is a very senstitive issue. I would never want to do that to anyone -cuemaker, breadmaker, or pizza delivery person. Just not my style.

The cue plays great and I really do not grip on that particular area that often and if it does not wear down I am sure he would rewrap the cue with irish linen (it is black leather). Leather wraps are tricky. This year was my first time buying cues with leather wraps. When I first started playing most leather wrapped cue were the McDermotts with the floating points (at least in my area). The cue was built for me and I planned on keeping it. No change in plan.

I want to thank everyone for their advice and offers or help. This is a great community and I posted because a lot of people on here are savvy about cues and dealing with cuemakers.
 
gforces1911 said:
To some degree it is irrelevant as this is one particular cue in a lifetime of wonderful cues and contributions to the game we all love to play. To even come close to hurting someone's livelihood is a very senstitive issue. I would never want to do that to anyone -cuemaker, breadmaker, or pizza delivery person. Just not my style
Click to expand...
it's not a matter of "style"!
you are talking about business. there are two sides. what about the livelyhood of future buyers of this makers cues that you would be hurting by not exposing bad business practice?
i'm not saying this is the case. we dont know because we havent seen any evidence.
but you owe it to yourself AND this cue maker's FUTURE livelyhood to discuss your concerns with him.
you would be better off posting your concerns in the "ask the cue maker" forum if he doesnt respond to you in a proper manner.
 
Last edited:
iconcue said:
... because we havent seen any evidence.
but you owe it to yourself AND this cue maker's FUTURE livelyhood to discuss your concerns with him.
Click to expand...

------------------
Yes there are 2 sides. People who pay/buy (I assume) work hard for their money. I don't suppose that the dollars paid had something wrong with them right? The cuemaker (specially if he's made a name for himself) must be morally and duty bound to provide what is expected specially if he's paid correctly. So it's really objectively looking at it as a simple (not complicated) transaction... though the question on acceptable tolerances is really subjective.
 
Last edited:
If I guess the cuemaker do I get to keep the cue? HA HA

I agree with you Ken...and I got 20 bucks says I know who you were referring to.

Shorty
 
gforces1911 said:
I wanted to gather some opinions on what is acceptable in a new custom cue in regard to flaws.

The cue was made for me- I chose the woods- colors etc. The cue was over 2k but under 2500. I consider myself more of a player than a collector. I would not know a glueline if I saw one.

The first flaw is where the leather wrap meets the buttplate. There is a small lip at one point that I can feel. It is pretty noticable. The lip does not go the entire way around

The second flaw is pretty big. I cannot disclose the entire scene or post a picture because the cuemaker would be identified from the design. Basically there are inlays in a ring above the wrap. There is a matching set below the wrap that is off center from the ring at C. Additionally- below the D ring there are veneered boxes and the inlay in the ring does not match up to the box. It appears that the D ring was offset. Basically, each ring has an inlay and the inlays do not match up for the C and D rings and then the windows in the buttplate area.

The third flaw involves different spacing between the windows. It is pretty minor so I won't get into it.

I must say that the hit of the cue is fantastic. Just great.

Do you think I should say something? I have had the cue for about 2 weeks now. It would seem that the wrap could be fixed, but the alignment issues are there to stay.
Click to expand...

So who made this wonderfull cue tell me tell me!!!!
 
Last edited:
matthew staton said:
LOL so give blud a call and tell him to fix your cue.
just kidding just wanted some fun :D :D
Click to expand...

not funny. i think you might owe an apoligy to leanord. :confused:
 
Response

iconcue said:
it's not a matter of "style"!
you are talking about business. there are two sides. what about the livelyhood of future buyers of this makers cues that you would be hurting by not exposing bad business practice?
i'm not saying this is the case. we dont know because we havent seen any evidence.
but you owe it to yourself AND this cue maker's FUTURE livelyhood to discuss your concerns with him.
you would be better off posting your concerns in the "ask the cue maker" forum if he doesnt respond to you in a proper manner.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't know if it is "business practice" as it is only one cue out of thousands this cuemaker has made. It would be really unfair to the cuemaker to have his whole lifes work summed up for one cue with minor flaws. I would hate to be judged like that. All cuemakers have put out something or the other that barely met the test.

It is not bludworth. I have had a blud sneaky pete that was a solid cue. I really liked that cue and sold it this year.

Perhaps we should switch the theme of this thread to positive experiences with cuemakers. In 2005, I bought a Rick Howard, Omen and Josey that were all fantastic. All three were great to deal with- Rick will talk to you about cues and playing pool just because he likes to. Josey really went the extra mile on my sneaky and Pete Omen is really fun to buy a cue from.
 
You are on the right path

newo9277 said:
Hi,
I am new to cue making, i just started this April.
I have found that none of my cues are perfect. There allways seems to be some minor imperfection. But as posted before minor is the key word here. I made a cue a few months ago that had d & e rings that did not line up with the reverse points and i just refuse to sell it. Every cue maker has to decide what quality of work is good enough to go out the door with his name on it.
It sound like he dosen't care about his name. If i were him i would do everything i could to make it right with you.
To fix the alignment problem is not easy. He would have to redo the butt sleeve section of the cue. If he used the same piece of wood to make the butt as he did for the forearm the new piece might not match the old forearm. The other option is to make you a new cue. I don't think someone selling $2000+ cues should have problems with aligning windows or rings. If so he souldn't be charging $2000.
Just my opinion,
Owen
Click to expand...


Thanks for the response and for your thoughts. You sound like you are on the path to being a success at this.
 
gforces1911 said:
To be honest, I don't know if it is "business practice" as it is only one cue out of thousands this cuemaker has made. It would be really unfair to the cuemaker to have his whole lifes work summed up for one cue with minor flaws. I would hate to be judged like that. All cuemakers have put out something or the other that barely met the test.
Click to expand...
just to be fair to myself and i will have no further comment on the matter. you misunderstood what i was trying to say. of course humans make mistakes and there is no such thing as a perfect cue.
by business practices i was referring to what kind of service he gave his customers after the sale if they were not satisfied.

best wishes!
 
Sorry

iconcue said:
just to be fair to myself and i will have no furthet comment on the matter you misunderstood what i was trying to say. of course humans make mistakes and there is no such thing as a perfect cue.
by business practices i was referring to how what kind of service he gave his customers after the sale if they were not satisfied.
Click to expand...


Sorry. I understand and it was not my intent to miscontrue or sound remotely argumentative. I just wanted to be fair and some people were asking for his name and I got the feeling a mob was starting. I see your point- trust me.

My bad was not inspecting promptly and bringing issue to bear. I just wanted to hit balls and expected something perfect because of the maker. I honestly, and naively, thought that if it shipped it would be completely flawless.
 
for the amout of money that you paid for this custom cue it should be right..after all it is Not a Meucci.....OR is it ???????
 
Not

Not a Meucci.

Strangely enough there are some really pretty Meucci cues out there- the older ones were really original at the time.
 
For that kind of money, the cue should be flawless. Every time I have bought a new custom cue (3 directly from Richard Black....) I have been stunned by the quality, craftsmanship, and playability of the cues... they have all EXCEEDED my expectations right out of the box. Even the other two cues (RB and Black Boar) that I have purchased from Ebay have exceeded my expectations.

And for more than $2000, this cue should have exceeded the buyer's expectations. I would send it back, because you will never be satisfied with it now.
 
Thanks

BillYards said:
For that kind of money, the cue should be flawless. Every time I have bought a new custom cue (3 directly from Richard Black....) I have been stunned by the quality, craftsmanship, and playability of the cues... they have all EXCEEDED my expectations right out of the box. Even the other two cues (RB and Black Boar) that I have purchased from Ebay have exceeded my expectations.

And for more than $2000, this cue should have exceeded the buyer's expectations. I would send it back, because you will never be satisfied with it now.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your insight. I told the cuemaker that I understood and decided play on. I think that if I had gotten it and never hit a ball with it then I would think about sending it back. It hits great and plays great. Sure, I bought this one for asthetic reasons as well as playability. I have a lot of players cues and this one was to be my fancy cue- an heirloom of sorts or to mark a milestone in life. Sure, there is some disappointment but it is not all disappointment.
 
My .02

I would have the cuemaker replace it or fix it period! I have been in your position before. I didn't trust the guy enough to send it back to him so I had another cuemaker fix the problems. That's right, problems, 7 of them for a $3,000 cue. $3,000 was the wholesale price!
Purdman
 
I know

Charlie Edwards said:
It's your cue, so you are entitled to do as you wish. But another thing to think about (if you keep the cue as it is) is the resale value. If you put the cue up today on ebay, and in the description you listed its flaws, how many bids (of any decent amount) do you think you would get? IMO, not many. A $2000.00 cue should appreciate, not depreciate if it is kept in very good condition. If it doesn't go up in value, a buyer just paid to much to start with, or got a faulty cue. When I buy a new cue, I never have any plans for selling it. But I still want my collection to always be worth at least what I paid for it, and hopefully more. And if that happens, I know I've made smart moves, and that's reassuring too know. Good luck with your decision.
Click to expand...

Trust me I know as I was thinking about the resale value. This one was for me for the long haul. When you first see the cue you probably would not notice- it is fancy- black and white- ebony and ivory with white maple veneers. A closer study would reveal it. This is a good cuemaker- well known and respected- hopefully it will not drive it down too much when I kick the bucket.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top