Rest in peace Mr. Schick.
I visited his place back in 2018 when I was in Shreveport for work. I had a shaft that needed a tip, and suggestions from this site led me there. After asking for him, I was led to a side room where Bill was working, but he stopped and we spent the next couple hours BSing while he did my tip. He also brought the diameter down from the 13mm stock diameter, to a bit under 12, on this sander that he said he got from a broom making factory. Took about 5-6 passes and that shaft had a nice consistent pro-taper just like my other shafts. I'm sure the preceding 50 years taught him how to make that happen so easily. He showed me a couple custom cues he was working on, a matched set for a couple, with scrimshawed horses on hers, and private aircraft on his.....gorgeous cues. He couldn't have been nicer, and I was just a northerner that walked in off the street. I won a tournament at Secrets while I was there using that cue, just a weekly 9-ball tournament, but it was my first ever win like that. Thanks Bill Schick, and God speed.