Original 314's made in USA?
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I visited the Falcon plant many times over the years and as far as I know Falcon never "made" the 314 shafts. Blanks were brought in from overseas and were cut down into shafts by Falcon. They were finished except for the 6" hole in the shaft, ferrule and the tip which were done in Florida.
An interesting aside is that Dufferin was asked to make the shafts but decided not to.
An interesting aside is that Dufferin was asked to make the shafts but decided not to.
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Funny about dufferin, I recall Jim Oswald at Billiards N Bagels had 4 or 5 dufferins with 314-esque shafts in them. They had the dufferin split joint and pin in shaft IIRC. $89 for the cue and shaft. One of the 4 played amazing. He had stated dufferin made them so you didn't need to worry about the shafts warping. This was 7/8 years ago and he had them from the 80's still.
It's my understanding that the shafts were originally produced in Clawson, Michigan.
At that time, the company was named Clawson Cues.
Then the entire operation was moved to Florida, for whatever reason and is headquartered there to this day.
A bit of irony here with this move because shortly thereafter, Predator had a difficult time securing quality Maple.
The irony is that Michigan has an abundance of Maple and to my knowledge, Florida has none.
However, many of the early shafts were produced in Florida as well as other locations in USA & Canada.
Something that apparently not many people are aware of is that some of the shafts are still made in the states.
I'm not at liberty to say who is making them here or where they are located.
This is due to the fact that Predator shafts made in China are not run 24/7.
Predator has to wait their turn while the factory is running someone elses work.
Demand is such that rather than wait, they've contracted US companies to handle the excess.
Now having said all that, I defy anyone to tell the difference btwn the two shafts.
KJ
At that time, the company was named Clawson Cues.
Then the entire operation was moved to Florida, for whatever reason and is headquartered there to this day.
A bit of irony here with this move because shortly thereafter, Predator had a difficult time securing quality Maple.
The irony is that Michigan has an abundance of Maple and to my knowledge, Florida has none.
However, many of the early shafts were produced in Florida as well as other locations in USA & Canada.
Something that apparently not many people are aware of is that some of the shafts are still made in the states.
I'm not at liberty to say who is making them here or where they are located.
This is due to the fact that Predator shafts made in China are not run 24/7.
Predator has to wait their turn while the factory is running someone elses work.
Demand is such that rather than wait, they've contracted US companies to handle the excess.
Now having said all that, I defy anyone to tell the difference btwn the two shafts.
KJ
I may be wrong on some of this. I believe Jim Lucas of Lucasi was involved with Predator before he started Lucasi cues. Where the original 314's were built I do not know. I visited the Samsara facility in Rugby, ND and at one time I think they were cranking out about 500 shafts a month. I believe their relationship ended about the time the p2 was introduced. Since predator and lucas have had relationships in the past it may be an indication why they are about 20 miles apart in florida now.
This is somewhat/mostly true.
Jim Lucas was involved with Predator for a brief period but he already had 'Cue & Case' up
and running for many years before entering that relationship.
Mr. Lucas may also have had some influence in the decision to move Predator's mfg. to China.
Anyone who sees as many shafts from the different manufacturers as I do would likely agree
that the Lucasi taper and Predator's taper are just a little too similar.
I'm not privy to all the details of the relationship but it's safe to conclude that both parties have benefited.
KJ
Jim Lucas was involved with Predator for a brief period but he already had 'Cue & Case' up
and running for many years before entering that relationship.
Mr. Lucas may also have had some influence in the decision to move Predator's mfg. to China.
Anyone who sees as many shafts from the different manufacturers as I do would likely agree
that the Lucasi taper and Predator's taper are just a little too similar.
I'm not privy to all the details of the relationship but it's safe to conclude that both parties have benefited.
KJ