Research and Development

[Ken_4fun]

All -

I'll make my suggestion and let the cuemakers tell me if I'm off base. The cuemakers really make some minor changes or evolution of improvements on each cue. I can't really see a cuemaker spending alot of time doing what an engineer would concider research and development as these cuemakers are doing good just keeping their heads above water.

Based on the above premise, your (cuemakers) cues are getting better and better. So the best cue you have ever made is the latest cue you ever made. Or is it more like everything went together great on a particular cue and by chance or luck or whatever and I sure wish I could duplicate that for next cue?

So....cuemakers is the best cue you have ever made the last one, or have you had a cue that just went together and was killer?

Thanks
Ken

 

[cueman]

Both are true in some aspects. Yes we all get lucky and produce a cue once in a while that plays even better than our normal cues. The "chance and luck" there is in the pieces of wood themselves. Some pieces just hit better than others. Experience and knowing how to choose the woods makes it happen more often for some than others. The last cue I built contained some rubies that were installed better than any rubies I have done before. But I experimented with putting in Aquamarine stones (the customer's birth stone) also that were larger than the rubies and they looked okay, but not as nice as the rubies. The cue hit great, but maybe not as good as a few of those "chance and luck" cues. But one part of the cue was the best I have ever done and another part was just acceptable in my opinion. It is the last cue in my cue gallery pages if you want to judge for your self.
Many of us build some cues just like we have built them for a long time and tried nothing new on the newest cue and executed the cue nicely. So that would not make it our best ever. So the last cue does not have to be the best ever by any standard used. It could just fall into the category of "excellent" and I would hope that is the goal we are trying to achieve. If the last cue I built was the fanciest cue I ever built then I might say it was the best cue I ever built. But let's face the facts. We all build different price range of cues all the time and therefore can't be held to "chance or luck" verses "the last was the best". That just doesn't work. The art is to build a great cue everytime.
Chris
www.hightowercues.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com

 

[cuesmith]

All -

I'll make my suggestion and let the cuemakers tell me if I'm off base. The cuemakers really make some minor changes or evolution of improvements on each cue. I can't really see a cuemaker spending alot of time doing what an engineer would concider research and development as these cuemakers are doing good just keeping their heads above water.

Based on the above premise, your (cuemakers) cues are getting better and better. So the best cue you have ever made is the latest cue you ever made. Or is it more like everything went together great on a particular cue and by chance or luck or whatever and I sure wish I could duplicate that for next cue?

So....cuemakers is the best cue you have ever made the last one, or have you had a cue that just went together and was killer?

Thanks
Ken

What you say in regards to refinements is very true. We all make improvements as we go along. Sometimes we try new methods for a while and end up returning to our "tried and true" way of doing it, but when we find a better way of doing something, naturally, we progress. There's also a couple of other factors that come in to play. As Chris mentioned, no 2 pieces of wood are alike. No 2 cues are exactly alike either! Each cue has it's own personality. We can use the best materials and cuemaking techniques but must realize that even so, each cue will have it's own special characteristics. My dear old dad was in the auto business, most of his life. He was at one point, the used car manager at a large Oldsmobile dealership. He used tell me that all people are a little different. His job was matching up people with the best car, for them! He was very sucessful at this and he oftern said that there was an ass for every seat! It's just a matter of matching up the right ass, with the right seat! What may be the perfect cue for one person, may be entirely different for the next guy!

just more hot air!

Sherm

 

[hadjcues]

Just a folow up question for the experienced cuemakers :

If let's say 5 cuemakers would build a plane jane cue, of the same type of wood, equal specs... same pin, etc. The only difference maybe in the the way a cue was joined (A-joint in particular... threaded all wood, with a bolt etc.) Would there be a difference in hit and the way a cue would play?