nick serdula said:
You might not believe this but Palmers had no tendons! The were of a very primative conctruction. That is in my opinion why they went the way of the dinosour. Think about it. No tendons.
The cues made in Japan though knock off were made basicly by Helmsterre in the Adams factory. To collectors they have less value. But the funny thing is and it just hit me reading Tates comments is their construction was very far superior to the Americian made beauties that did not have the advantages of tendon consctuction!
Although the materials and quality of workmanship weren't there. The construction techniques on these cues were light years ahead of the collectable production predecessors.
Nick : PS
I like that cue!
Nick,
Palmers made extensive use of tenons and splices in their construction techniques including handle to forearm if that's what you're referring too, and pioneered many of the joint improvements and techniques used to build cues. Don't forget, Palmer also sold parts to the cue makers of the day including Balabushka, Szamboti, and most other custom makers.
Most of the older Palmer I have have held up extremely well compared to other 40 year old cues. They also used hidden splices but abandoned the technique in favor of internal tenons, some of which were very complex. If you look at the way the way a Model M or a Model L or a Model 20 are put together, take them apart and see the multiple tenons throughout the cue, you would see why they were difficult to make.
Their inlay work was the best of their era and they used quality materials throughout. In fact, they used tenons and splices for all their internal connections and I have never seen a Palmer splice or connection come apart.
In general, the weakness of Palmers and other cues of their ilk was the use of decorative plastics, which was a fad at the time and are not a solid thing to use on a cue that gets knocked and banged around.
The earlier Palmers were not "production" cues. They were made to order catalog cues. They just were able to make them faster than other cue makers. What Palmer would do is prepare a quantity of unfinished handles for each style, including joint parts. Then, on order, they would finish, inaly, fit shafts and wraps, all custom to order. This is why there are so many variations.
The PB and PM line were true production cues - not made to order, mass produced, and sold "as is" off the rack. They were built to Palmer's specs by Adam and there was definitely quality oversight by Palmer. The forearms Adam supplied to Palmer in the mid 1970's were really nice quality.
Chris
PS. Just wanted to add that Palmer used either tenons or splices for their forearm connect on all their cues until the later cues, starting in the 1980's they went to either a steel or aluminum screw and to a shortie spliced forearm. Very few of their cues had a forearm connection, most were full splice or solid.
.....nice score dude 
