Deanoc Is The Source.......Like a Portal To Better Cues
Dean is definitely like a portal for access to better cues. He helped me select a cue-maker to build a cue I've designed. And hopefully by end of 1st qtr. of 2014, I'll be able to post photos of my finished cue.
Before ordering my cue. I searched and looked for another cue everywhere high and low. Admittedly, I'm a very finickity about my pool cues but here's how I see things. If you know what you want, you should get what you want, especially if you're spending thousands of dollars for it. Sellers of cues sometimes become a wee bit defensive if you reject their offer and mention something that doesn't sit well with them.
Have you ever had a discussion with a seller about "straight" shafts which somehow turns into a debate/quarrel or maybe the shafts are too thin, or the cue weight is too heavy, etc. When you are spending a lot of money for a cue, and a lot of money can be a few hundred bucks for some of us, then you deserve to get what you want and not have to settle. If you want shafts that are < 13mm, or a specific shaft size, don't settle for less. The same applies to the cue's playing weight, ferrules or joint type, etc.
What's my point? Great question.....thanks for asking. My point is I wasted a lot of time searching for a cue I couldn't find that met my cue specs. I had a list of seventeen (17) cue-makers posted on the Forum and was unable to locate a cue. I engaged seven (7) cue dealers to locate me a cue without success. The only good thing that came of that was I developed a really close relationship with Bill Grassley @ Cornerstone Cues and I'm still counting on him to find me the right cue at the upcoming Windy City Cue Show.
Anyway, 18 months ago Dean and I were discussing cues. In fact, I've purchased a cue from Deanoc which was Schon's 1st Tribute cue. Back then, Dean urged me to lay out what I specifically wanted in a cue and he'd could hook me up with one of several cue-makers he had very close ties with. As he said..."Get what you want."
But no.........I resisted and kept looking a and posting threads and sending PMs to sellers asking for details about their cue for sale on the Forum......alas, months and months went by without any success but I am stubborn so I persisted. I browsed cue dealers sites every day and as I stated, this continued for a year and a half. So I reach out once again to Dean who doesn't mention anything like......."Finally made up your mind or took you long enough. "Nope, first thing he asks is "Describe once again for me what you have in mind for your cue. " and the next thing was "Do you have information you can send me?".
Dean took the time to work with me on deciding which cue-maker to use that really was my choice. I researched each possible cue-maker as best I could, checked out their workmanship and then told Dean whom I had in mind. We concurred on the cue-maker, and I subsequently made a drawing of my cue design etc., including detailed cue specs for the cue-maker. I gave this packet to Dean, as well as my down payment made out to the cue-maker and not Dean.....or analogously, he doesn't have any skin in this game.
That's why I referred to Dean as a portal....like.a doorway so to speak of.....to better cues. He's gone out of his way to help me over the past two years and well, he's just a prince of a guy in my book. When Dean says he has a cue for you to consider, or to contact him about a cue he has, if you're in the market actively looking for another cue, or even if this happens to be your first cue, do yourself a genuine favor and make sure to touch bases with Deanoc via the Forum. You have absolutely nothing to lose or risk whatsoever but the up side might be a whole lot better than you ever imagined.
Take it from me.....I could have ordered my cue well over a year ago but I kept thinking to myself that tomorrow I'd find the right cue which as I've written never did happen. And by the way, I'll be getting a gorgeous cue if I do say so myself and at what I consider is a really good price thanks to Dean.........you can't go wrong doing business with Dean.
