Opinions on flaws in a new cue?

I have a meucci diamond that I have played with for over 20
years & it is still straight & has the original tip & ferrule.
It's a shame how Meucci's rep has fallen. He REALLY did make
a great cue at one time.


I've had MANY meucci,mcd,etc. and MOST move a little to a lot in a short time frame. Wonder why? The straight factor is more of an issue being bought to play with,and, if it's not the customers cup of tea,resold. Minor warpage or runout is not,IMHO, as large a factor on vintage collectables. Back to the topic of the thread---2 to 3 dimes is a lot to pay for a cnc'd cue which has the amount and kind of flaws I envision based on the owners description.Based on the disappointing performance of these types of cues on the secondary it will be difficult to recoup his/her investment if the cue was perfect. I would be a VERY nervous owner. I would have the cue corrected,replaced or I would get a price adjustment/refund. Cost of materials on this cue is probably betwwen 3 and 6% so there is a lot of room for adjustment. If I received satisfaction I would post that on this forum (not the maker's name) and everyone would go their happy ways. If I did NOT receive satisfacation I would disclose the maker in order to help other potential buyers make informed decisions.:)[/QUOTE]
 
monski said:
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I do appreciate the point that Sean made about wood. Someone (I dont' remember who ) told me that his shaft is straightest during summer.
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Astute observation--however I don't think it's 100% correct. Based on our blood thinning in the heat of summer it might be HARDER, a little swollen, but necessarily straighter;)
 
I know!

iconcue said:
nothing bad! just meant that you probably didnt figure on all these replies :)
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I was not expecting the number of people who responded. It is a good topic though and I really did want to know. Now I know. I got a new cue in today and I need to inspect it. Ringwork and no inlay so it should not be too tough. It's a new b/j that Pete Omen made for me. Ebony and BEM with b/w ringpack. I actually got it to sort of match the cue that is the topic of this discussion.
 
cueaddicts said:
Absolutely.



That's simple...that's because you are talking about premium cuemakers who know a thing or two about shaft wood selection, seasoning, and turning. More than likely your average $550 custom made cue in today's market is not being constructed by someone with those qualifications.



I agree and think we are in agreement on most points, but I'm trying to at least make the point that cues are hardly ever perfect.

Sean
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I have tremendous respect for your acumen with regards to the cue game. However many wonderfull makers (Mcdaniel,Brick,Johnson,Mordt,Etc.) know about as much as their is to know about wood and making cues. Entry level cues can be procured from them, and MANY makers for apprx $550. The fly in the ointment is that these cues, as of this writing, don't do as well on the secondary market as some of the hotter,trendier names. Who knows if the hot names will be hot in the future. MEUCCI was the hottest cue on the planet for about 6to9 yrs starting in about 75. More tournements,$, was won by players using MEUCCI cues than all the other brands combined. Many of us sold our SZAMS and BUSHKA'S to buy MEUCCI'S. I apologize for my rambling--the point I am trying to make is that when the top tier makers are selling cues for thousands of $ and making hundreds of $ per hr all the players in the cue game should stand togethor in pursuit of excellance. If we demanded more they would deliver more. There are ,IMHO, 2 or 3 makers who are as close to consistent perfection as I have seen since the fifties.:)
 
ribdoner said:
There are ,IMHO, 2 or 3 makers who are as close to consistent perfection as I have seen since the fifties.:)
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i'm sorry! i didnt catch that! who did you say? :p
 
iconcue said:
i'm sorry! i didnt catch that! who did you say? :p
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Can't say. If this were common knowledge the chances of getting these HOT cues on the secondary market would go from "slim to none" to "none". Sorry about the demotion. I assume some of the perks you lost as a result of functioning as a Moderator vs Chairman would include,but not limited to: your co plane,yacht,condo,car,sexsatary,etc. Some advise--You can rise to the top again if you do a good job and maintain a positive attutide. Been there-done that:rolleyes: :rolleyes: PS--TX. is NOT home to the makers I
m referring to:)
 
ribdoner said:
Can't say. If this were common knowledge the chances of getting these HOT cues on the secondary market would go from "slim to none" to "none". Sorry about the demotion. I assume some of the perks you lost as a result of functioning as a Moderator vs Chairman would include,but not limited to: your co plane,yacht,condo,car,sexsatary,etc. Some advise--You can rise to the top again if you do a good job and maintain a positive attutide. Been there-done that:rolleyes: :rolleyes: PS--TX. is NOT home to the makers I
m referring to:)
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yes, it's quite a step down and i'm not even sure how it happened. i guess the stockholders got together and voted me out :confused:
what's next? registered user?:(
 
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.
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Nice advice
 
gforce1911 - Are you the REAL Mr. Peepers? You wait your whole life to buy a cue that you always wanted and it comes in F'd up! Yes, we have all been gentlemen throughout this thread but now it is time to stand up let this so called cue maker know that you really mean business when you say I WANT THIS CUE REMADE! NOTHING LESS IS ACCEPTABLE! This is plainly insane to accept this type of work. Waiting two weeks before you say something has nothing to do with it. He knew he made a bad cue and decided to sell (read steal your money) it to you anyway.

If I were you I would give him 24 hours to make a decision and then contact my credit card co. and stop payment, AT THE LEAST.
 
Dawgie said:
gforce1911 - Are you the REAL Mr. Peepers? You wait your whole life to buy a cue that you always wanted and it comes in F'd up! Yes, we have all been gentlemen throughout this thread but now it is time to stand up let this so called cue maker know that you really mean business when you say I WANT THIS CUE REMADE! NOTHING LESS IS ACCEPTABLE! This is plainly insane to accept this type of work. Waiting two weeks before you say something has nothing to do with it. He knew he made a bad cue and decided to sell (read steal your money) it to you anyway.

If I were you I would give him 24 hours to make a decision and then contact my credit card co. and stop payment, AT THE LEAST.
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You're over a year too late.
 
Rep Points

GFORCES, just thought I'd throw some rep points your way for not jumping out there with both guns blazing, firing away at this cuemaker. As we all know people make mistakes, let something slip by on accident, etc... I commend you for taking it to the cuemaker and discussing the cue issue with him, before opening up a big can of worms on AZ with some hasty and harsh criticism.

Hope it all works out.

I too will be getting my first one-of-a-kind cue, made specifically for me, within the next couple of months and hope I don't have any issues with it. I'm pretty positive I won't, he's a pretty stand up guy.
 
gforces1911 said:
Not from Florida. I have had a lot of successful purchases from FL- Justis, Nitti, Howard and Omen.

I did contact the cuemaker and he basically said that it was not his ideal and that he does the best that he can and that he is only human. Did not offer to fix or replace. Said that the lip would wear away with play and use and that he hoped that this did not effect my appreciation of the cue.

And yes it is the single most expensive cue that I have ever bought. I usually buy on the low end because I don't have that kind of money laying around and because I consider myself more of a player than a cue collector. I do have cues- but oftentimes I sell them if the fit is not right for my play or if a friend fits the cue better. I am not a reseller or dealer of any sort. I just went on a quest this year to find a cue that made me happy and would make pool balls go in the pockets. This particular cue was one that I have pined over for a number of years but just never had the dough to get one. I figured that I should get one before time passed me by or passed the maker by.

I told him that I understood that he was human and I would play on.
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I am glad to hear that it is not a cuemaker from FL, since I have a nice Nitti on the way. Hey could you post some pics of your Nitti? Sorry to hear about what happened. That is a real shame. I know to definitely inspect the cue mm by mm, and then contact the maker before I say anything in any public forums. $2000 is not chump change in my opinion, but opinions are like a**h*oles, everyone's got one. I know in your situation I would have definitely brought it up with the cuemaker once I noticed it played or not. Cues rarely come out perfect but the inlays and ringwork should line up right. I would think the cuemaker would want to rectify this and seeing that he does not would definitely disappoint me. I would definitely not purchase a cue from that maker again seeing that the cuemaker doesnt want to work with you on that. Hope things work out for you in the future and good job for not disclosing the cuemakers name even though I am dying to find out who the cuemaker is.
 
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I would send the cue back and ask that the problem be corrected. The reason he told you to just accept it is because he knows most people probably will.

Several years ago, I ordered two cues by a well known cue maker. One was ordered as 6 points and I think cost me a little over $2,000 and the other was a matching cue with no points which cost me about $1,000. I waited a year for the cues to arrive. I was quoted 3 months, but I knew that 3 months on this makers clock could be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, so the year wait didn't bother me. When the cues finally arrived, I was so excited to get them. I pulled them out and the 6 point cue only had 4 points on it. There was also an error on the other cue, which went in my favor, making it worth a bit more than what I had ordered.

I called the cue maker to thank him for the cues and pointed out the error. I already decided I was going to keep the cues and not complain, but I wanted him to know. There was no way I was going to wait another year to get my cues. His reply was that there was no error, the cue was ordered as a 4 point cue. I however, still have every single email I have ever sent or received in my life. I went back to my emails and sure enough, it was ordered as a 6 point cue. I probably should have sent it back to get what I had ordered, but the maker knew that after my long wait, I would more than likely just keep what I got.

Now, several years later, I decided to try my hand at cue making. I haven't built that many cues and have probably burned as many as I have finished. There is no way I would knowingly let a mistake as severe as you're describing leave my shop and I'm just starting out. Somebody with that much experience shouldn't either.

If people keep letting things like that slide, the flaws are just going to get bigger and bigger. I also know that I will never build a perfect cue, but in my opinion, obvious mistakes like that should end up in the fireplace.
 
wow,,,,,someone dug up a 1.5 year old thread !!!!!

the ring misalignment isn't so much a mistake or oversight as i've seen many cues done that way. so it is a matter of preference, or attention to detail,,,but not a mistake. THE BIG MISTAKE is the spacing between the windows which is inexcusable.
 
> If there were issues with the cuemaker taking the cue back on a refund,or fixing it,I'm sure the original poster has means at his disposal to get better results than most of us would without paying one of his colleagues. Tommy D.
 
Thank you

s'portplayer said:
GFORCES, just thought I'd throw some rep points your way for not jumping out there with both guns blazing, firing away at this cuemaker. As we all know people make mistakes, let something slip by on accident, etc... I commend you for taking it to the cuemaker and discussing the cue issue with him, before opening up a big can of worms on AZ with some hasty and harsh criticism.

Hope it all works out.

I too will be getting my first one-of-a-kind cue, made specifically for me, within the next couple of months and hope I don't have any issues with it. I'm pretty positive I won't, he's a pretty stand up guy.
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I appreciate the post. When I posted this (which was about a year and a half ago) I really just wanted to know what was acceptable and what was not acceptable. I was not looking for a solution of how to get my money back or get a refund. I know how to do that. I just wanted to know if this was the norm. Trust me, I rock the boat for a living but I view cues a little differently- I like the function level and then the art level. I still like this cuemaker and his work.

I have had many more cues since this purchase. I currently play with a southwest and I really like the simple utilitarianism of it all. Plus it plays good.

Good luck with your cue. One thing I have learned from all of this is that it is relationships. Developing a relationship with a cuemaker gets it out of that widget mode and into the art mode.

Thanks again. Peter
 
What was the end result? Did the cuemaker ever take it back and refund you your money, or otherwise resolve your issues, or did you eat it?
 
on old cues(70's) i'm not to worried if the rings line up, but on new cues made in the past few years there is ZERO excuse for rings, inlays etc to not line up, and I had one with a lether wrap like yours that I could feel and I hated it, it was just made fast with-out regard to perfection or near perfection, the cue maker is just letting them go, its BS. I was talking to a pro player about one cue maker who does this-sometimes, i have one of his cues thats perfect and a few others i had that were shoddy at best. If your that pissed and the cue-maker wont fix it i'd tell the worls who he is-its on him. I wont mention the cue maker i had troubles with cause i didnt buy the cues from him, infact i wouldnt have accepted them if i ordered them and saw them look like that,
 
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