Tom......I Would Not Steer You Wrong
Tom,
Do your self a favor and speak with Jerry Rauenzahn. He's amazing to work with on a cue build. Let me share my recent experience.
Jerry is making me a Bushka cue along with the other 7-8 group buyers. I gave him a photo of Kevin Lindstrom's TS Bushka cue to reproduce. Well, the two uf us tinkered with the design and changed the rings, etc. and in the course of the build, it became apparent that my target cue weight wouldn't be achieved following this design.
So here I was 2 weeks ago and the design I wanted and had been looking forward to getting wasn't going to happen unless I wanted to get a cue heavier than I asked for......there really was a lot of thick 3mm rings. And I wasn't sure which way to turn and then Jerry went out of his way to work with me on an alternative design.That lifted my spirits about the cue and we bounced some different ideas around but we never nailed down a final design. My cue is well along in being completed and so I was uncertain about what to tell Jerry to use as a design.
Jerry could sense my frustration and so he took the bull by the horns......he starts sending me alternative designs of cues without rings and I'm mulling over these photos trying to decide if one of them would be what I wanted. A couple of days go by and Jerry sends me a photo of one of Willie Mosconi's Balabushka cues.....it was one I had never seen before.....and believe me when I write that I look for Bushka type designs all the time because it's my favorite style. Well, the design he sent me rocked me.....it's a dandy and it's one he's never made before so it's a fun project as much for Jerry as for myself.
Jerry really does very exact work and can reproduce the design you have in mind with amazing accuracy. My cue will be finished by end of March and when you see how it turns out, I'm sure you'll like at, especially with the design you have in mind. And this new design literally resulted from trying to salvage what I originally specified....I think Jerry literally walks on water. He could have sat on the sidelines and told me to get back to him when I figured out what I wanted to do. Nope, he put my cue issues at the forefront of his "things to get done" list, made sure we arrived at a design I would be pleased with and worked very hard at helping me reach a decision. He went out of his way to work with me on figuring out what would make me happy and that really meant a great deal to me........my cue design really matters to him as much as it does me.
So I strongly encourage you to speak with Jerry about the cue design you have in mind. If you haven't made a decision by the time my cue is finished, I think you'll be favorably impressed with his workmanship when you see what he makes me.
Matt B.
