Searing Cue

Quesports said:
He needs a business manager and an accountant. Also he should stop accepting any repairs until he completes his back log. No new cue building nothing until he clears up the mess his mismanagement has created…
Click to expand...
Usually a bad manager stays a bad manager. I understand a one person shop to keep the quality consistent. I agree with you about having an organized work ethic with proper professional support.
Maybe merge with a big name company or association. Usually when things back up they stay backed up. Another hitch is poor communication on his end. Does not have the necessary skills. Disappointing customers takes fun out of owning a Searing or anything.
 
Last edited:
mr magoo said:
JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH

The Searing......HOSTAGE CUES......Believe it or not.........but you should.
My intentions are not to bash or slander Mr Searing, but to just tell an honest event that I went through.
Also i am telling my hostage cue story in hopes of making myself feel better as I have held it in way to long. And is a really sad part of my life. and to inform others of what not to do. Maybe save someone the fiasco i went through. I will make this as short as possible and leave out names.
As a well seasoned player, I quite playing for ten years. I was ready to start playing again so i was on the hunt for a good custom quality investment grade playing cue. Narrowed my search Down to P Motty, R Hailey J Buss and D Searing. Yep, I chose Searing. (Big mistake) Its 2002. I order a 4 point hoppe player, was to be done in 6 or 7 months. And a fancy 4 pointer with inlays to be done in a couple years. Meantime, I bought 4 or 5 custom cues while waiting for the Searing cue. Not happy with any of the 5 i bought. Now it's 2005 im tired of waiting on the Searing cue and still looking for a good player. I found a cue I just had to have from one of the top 5 cuemakers or that era . It was on Billiard cue.Com, From Dick Abbott. The cue was like it was custom made just for me. Maxed my CC and bought it. The cue had a bad superficial flaw in the forearm.(at this time Dennis is still taking my PH calls) the defect is so bad I didn't want anyone to see it. So me being me, I wanted to protect the cuemakers reputation and have it repaired. I talked to this cue maker about the defect, to my surprise he didn't seem to care. He may have took it in for the repair but i thought i could get a faster turnaound sending it to Dennis. I talked to Dennis about making the repair, He said ship it and he would make the repair. I shipped the big dollar cue along with another cheaper custom cue to reset a loose butcap. And a Searing shaft he made me previously. It was too stiff so he was to lighten it up a bit.
After Searing received the cues and shaft, we talked a few times, maybe more, to go over the repairs to be made. So I waited. i don't remember how long. Then, however many months later with no rusults, Dennis just quit answering my calls for the next 18 years??? Living 1700 miles away from his shop, I planned 6 or 7 times to go get the cues but money would'nt allow me to make the trip. He travels a lot also so if I make it to his shop he may be out of town. It was a gamble not knowing if he was there or out of town. I had no contacts in his inner circle to give me that information. Maybe a wasted trip and money.
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

Note...I really considered Dennis as a friend, spending very many hours on the phone with him during the first 3+ years of this nightmare.
I didn't want to write a book about my hostage cues, so I left a lot of information out during the 17 years i constantly tried diffent things to get the cues returned.

I am stll mystified as to why all this sh..t happend. But I do give Dennis credit for at least still having the 2 cues and one shaft for 17 years.

I have a lot of opinions and strong speculations as to whats going on with Searing, but I will keep those to myself.

If anyone has questions for me, please fire away, bash away or whatever. If I get bombarded with negitive feedback from Searing followers, or fellow AZers, I honestly don't give sh...t. there loss, or will be.

Rememer this:
Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Inventory of loss......not having my cues in my posession for 17 years.
2000 dollars paid for retrieving my cue.
The loss of an unattainable Penn linen wrap.
300 for a new cortland wrap.
A lot of frustration and unable to ever get any real answers.
Or understanding of this kind of treatment.

Andy70 in my opinion. Dennis is not a crook, but the only way to retrieve your cue is to go to his shop yourself. I am sure the cue is still there. Good luck whatever you do.
I wish I was able to make the trip there myself.
Lucky rolls to you all. Danny
Click to expand...

First off who is the piece of shit charging $2000 to recover cues?

What a scam Dennis is allowing
 
GoldCrown said:
Usually a bad manager stays a bad manager. I understand a one person shop to keep the quality consistent. I agree with you about having an organized work ethic with proper professional support.
Maybe merge with a big name company or association. Usually when things back up they stay backed up. Another hitch is poor communication on his end. Does not have the necessary skills. Disappointing customers takes fun out of owning a Searing or anything.
Click to expand...
I lost interest in owning a Searing cue years ago which I spoke about then. He’s just another cue maker on my zero interest list.
Very surprised at his behavior towards Mr. Prout though, just shows the depth of his issues.

So happy that their are many other great honest cue makers though.
 
Clearly...there's a market for Gucci-gear in just about every hobby/interest. Appreciation for exceptional work. Fans of intricate execution. Bragging rights. Whatever.

I've owned 3 Searing cues. One made for me, and 2 on secondary market. No question...the fit and finish on a Searing cue is amazing.

But a Joss cue with a GOOD factory shaft...or a Revo...plays every bit as good. And you can get THAT gear in 5 days or less.

Just sayin'
 
8-ball Rat said:
Clearly...there's a market for Gucci-gear in just about every hobby/interest. Appreciation for exceptional work. Fans of intricate execution. Bragging rights. Whatever.

I've owned 3 Searing cues. One made for me, and 2 on secondary market. No question...the fit and finish on a Searing cue is amazing.

But a Joss cue with a GOOD factory shaft...or a Revo...plays every bit as good. And you can get THAT gear in 5 days or less.

Just sayin'
Click to expand...
I know a Joss owner. It’s a head turner. Searing is good for pride of ownership… no magic how it plays.
 
Last edited:
searingcue said:
Hello,
Since this is public, I would publicly like to apologize to anyone who is or has waited for me to finish their work. I'd also like to apologize to you for any lack of communication from me. For me it all gets a bit overwhelming sometimes, and hard specially when I don't feel I have exact answers. I've have had several big setbacks that have effected me due to health, and the passing of family and close friends where I had to be involved to help the family. Considering the amount of time for a few of you it's still not an excuse.
To clarify, I do this full time and it's rare I take even a full day off from working in the shop, my wife would unhappily verify this. It's never been due to not working. The problem is for some reason I've been unable to say no to fixing or maintaining local customers cues specially when so many of them have been a customer from day one and well over 30 years. Might mix in a little OCD too.
This isn't how I want anyone or me to feel, and it makes me really sad. Clearly it's time to get my work day under control. I'm very passionate and love building cues and I genuinely love the good people who are into all nice cues as well as the game itself. Many passionate people have been there for me like Will and many others over all the years and you aren't forgotten. Just please know I'm both honored and grateful to those who had, have, or want a cue I've made.
God willing I'll make a promise here, over the next 12 months to anyone I either have a cue needing work from, or have anything with me monetarily will be made whole. Welcome to check back on this then. Fortunately of the many customers, it's only a small percentage I've excepted deposits or any payment from.
Please don't respond to me here. I won't be back to look, and frankly embarrassed.
Time has gone by so quickly and other than getting work done for those waiting an apology is all I can give at this moment.:(
Thanks you,
Dennis
Click to expand...
Cut the shit and send these peoples cues back to them. Whether you have touched them or not. No one wants another promise from you about what you are "going to do"

You are fully aware of what you have been doing for many years and getting on here and whining isn't feeding the bulldogs. Have you no shame?

You need to shut up and put up. Right away. There are no excuses for your behavior that is going to square the bill.

If you have a person's cue. Send it back. If you took a deposit. Send it back. IMMEDIATELY. If you don't have the money take a 2nd mortgage. Not "in the next 12 months, but Monday morning.

Then go back to whatever it is you do. The pool community is sick and tired of hearing about all the good people you have screwed. Damned disgrace is what you are.
 
mr magoo said:
JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH

The Searing......HOSTAGE CUES......Believe it or not.........but you should.
My intentions are not to bash or slander Mr Searing, but to just tell an honest event that I went through.
Also i am telling my hostage cue story in hopes of making myself feel better as I have held it in way to long. And is a really sad part of my life. and to inform others of what not to do. Maybe save someone the fiasco i went through. I will make this as short as possible and leave out names.
As a well seasoned player, I quite playing for ten years. I was ready to start playing again so i was on the hunt for a good custom quality investment grade playing cue. Narrowed my search Down to P Motty, R Hailey J Buss and D Searing. Yep, I chose Searing. (Big mistake) Its 2002. I order a 4 point hoppe player, was to be done in 6 or 7 months. And a fancy 4 pointer with inlays to be done in a couple years. Meantime, I bought 4 or 5 custom cues while waiting for the Searing cue. Not happy with any of the 5 i bought. Now it's 2005 im tired of waiting on the Searing cue and still looking for a good player. I found a cue I just had to have from one of the top 5 cuemakers or that era . It was on Billiard cue.Com, From Dick Abbott. The cue was like it was custom made just for me. Maxed my CC and bought it. The cue had a bad superficial flaw in the forearm.(at this time Dennis is still taking my PH calls) the defect is so bad I didn't want anyone to see it. So me being me, I wanted to protect the cuemakers reputation and have it repaired. I talked to this cue maker about the defect, to my surprise he didn't seem to care. He may have took it in for the repair but i thought i could get a faster turnaound sending it to Dennis. I talked to Dennis about making the repair, He said ship it and he would make the repair. I shipped the big dollar cue along with another cheaper custom cue to reset a loose butcap. And a Searing shaft he made me previously. It was too stiff so he was to lighten it up a bit.
After Searing received the cues and shaft, we talked a few times, maybe more, to go over the repairs to be made. So I waited. i don't remember how long. Then, however many months later with no rusults, Dennis just quit answering my calls for the next 18 years??? Living 1700 miles away from his shop, I planned 6 or 7 times to go get the cues but money would'nt allow me to make the trip. He travels a lot also so if I make it to his shop he may be out of town. It was a gamble not knowing if he was there or out of town. I had no contacts in his inner circle to give me that information. Maybe a wasted trip and money.
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

Note...I really considered Dennis as a friend, spending very many hours on the phone with him during the first 3+ years of this nightmare.
I didn't want to write a book about my hostage cues, so I left a lot of information out during the 17 years i constantly tried diffent things to get the cues returned.

I am stll mystified as to why all this sh..t happend. But I do give Dennis credit for at least still having the 2 cues and one shaft for 17 years.

I have a lot of opinions and strong speculations as to whats going on with Searing, but I will keep those to myself.

If anyone has questions for me, please fire away, bash away or whatever. If I get bombarded with negitive feedback from Searing followers, or fellow AZers, I honestly don't give sh...t. there loss, or will be.

Rememer this:
Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Inventory of loss......not having my cues in my posession for 17 years.
2000 dollars paid for retrieving my cue.
The loss of an unattainable Penn linen wrap.
300 for a new cortland wrap.
A lot of frustration and unable to ever get any real answers.
Or understanding of this kind of treatment.

Andy70 in my opinion. Dennis is not a crook, but the only way to retrieve your cue is to go to his shop yourself. I am sure the cue is still there. Good luck whatever you do.
I wish I was able to make the trip there myself.
Lucky rolls to you all. Danny
Click to expand...
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

it's your business and yours only....(but you did indeed post it here.....)

has you use the post office to mail payment? that might be federal 18 USC 873 extortion

postal inspection service or fbi might be interested in that low hanging fruit of a case (if the evidence/corroboration is still available....)

------

goes without saying --- (assuming your account of events is all completley on the level, credible, and accurate) --- should't hestitate to say who pulled this....

wow. crazy stuff.
 
Theres been so many cans of worms opened like this but nothing ever stayed on the hook. Nowadays it seems everything is kept on the forefront and maybe people in general are just like MF it. If this was on FB it would probably crash the server… but I dont have FB so I doono 😆 but AZ is still a pretty tight NIT community, and more often than not posters in threads like this arent one hitters and done when the smoke is gone. This thread was days old when Dennis posted and tho its intriguing af it might pay to see if any parties involved in anything step up and contact anyone thats posted in this thread. Im not saying hold anyone's breath but as much attention as this one has gotten, more than likely its made its way off here also...so maybe some kind of communication is at least being thought about. I aint got a dog in the hunt and though names are hella curious it would almost be just as nice to see the OP's of the various posts in this thread reply that they had been compensated or goods returned. Im not saying 12 months nor people if they indeed engaged in some shady cue laundering should get off like an air barrel but maybe a few more days of open airway between the parties involved would help. I think it was a bit on a Joe Rogan podcast where someone said its more embarrassing to face your mistakes in a room full of blind mutes than in a room full of screaming onlookers, because you never know who is looking over your shoulder or talking behind your back.

~ Family will side with family...friends will side with friends...but in the end everyone sides with reality
$H - just made up one of those "you know how the old saying goes"...kinda sayings 😁

On a side note…anyone see that ISU vs Drake game 🏀🔥
 
  • Like
Reactions: fjk
mr magoo said:
Thats what I could not figure out. He would not even turn the cue over to Paul Dayton (RIP)
I am not in the loop of the high dollar cue collectors/dealers, so I could not make contact with Dennis.
Thank you for reply.
Click to expand...
On a positive note, even though Paul Dayton was friends with and connected to DS, he was an honest and reliable cue builder. I never heard anyone say a cross thing about Paul. I have one of his cues and love it. 60" with Super long points on this one. R.I.P. Paul

1707021984730.png
1707022000890.png
1707021967682.png
 
if someone keeps something of yours for such a long time it isnt bad management it borders on thievery. as if you gave up he would get to keep it.

plus and a big plus if asked for it back and he would not send it then it is stealing and a police report might get action. especially if many started doing it if no return. since the mail is involved it may be federal as well.
 
Miller said:
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

it's your business and yours only....(but you did indeed post it here.....)

has you use the post office to mail payment? that might be federal 18 USC 873 extortion

postal inspection service or fbi might be interested in that low hanging fruit of a case (if the evidence/corroboration is still available....)

------

goes without saying --- (assuming your account of events is all completley on the level, credible, and accurate) --- should't hestitate to say who pulled this....

wow. crazy stuff
Miller said:
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

it's your business and yours only....(but you did indeed post it here.....)

has you use the post office to mail payment? that might be federal 18 USC 873 extortion

postal inspection service or fbi might be interested in that low hanging fruit of a case (if the evidence/corroboration is still available....)

------

goes without saying --- (assuming your account of events is all completley on the level, credible, and accurate) --- should't hestitate to say who pulled this....

wow. crazy stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Miller said:
Now it's late 2022. I meat a guy, that knows a guy, that says he can get the cues from Dennis. The guy was going to charge me, I thought 1000 to1500 dollars for retrieving the hostage cues from Dennis. I'm good with the deal. The dude gets the 2 cues and one shaft shipped to him from Dennis in 8 or 9 days. sends me pictures and I verify they are my cues, minus the perfect Penn linebn wrap. Dennis must have needed it for a restore as i don't believe it had to come off for the repairs?? The dude tells me he will ship them to me after he receives 2000 dollars for his effert. I am shellshocked. I have to pay him. Not having enough funds, I borrowed the cash, mailed a cashiers check to him. 2 days later i receive what I call my hostage cues. One with the missing wrap.----‐17 years without the cue i loved. Thanks Dennis. this whole fiasko makes absolutely no commen sense.

it's your business and yours only....(but you did indeed post it here.....)

has you use the post office to mail payment? that might be federal 18 USC 873 extortion

postal inspection service or fbi might be interested in that low hanging fruit of a case (if the evidence/corroboration is still available....)

------

goes without saying --- (assuming your account of events is all completley on the level, credible, and accurate) --- should't hestitate to say who pulled
Click to expand...
Yeah it was my business but after reading the OP Andy70, s story I changed my mind to go ahead and post my story to make it everybody's buisseness. Maybe i can save someone the same shit I went through.
Dennis has a following, and I did not want to here all there drama bashing coments.
I put off writing it for 8+ years as several friends said not to post it because I would be bashed, called a liar and whatever.
Now I don't care.

As far as my story being accurate: it is. I have nothing to gain. I am not trying to recoupe anything other than the satisfaction of letting people know how to retrieve there cue they can't get back. And maybe someone will have second thoughts before shipping a cue to the searing shop.

I have said, I am not out to start more trouble for anyone. So I am still withholding the names of the two guys that got the cue from Dennis.
I haven't revealed the name of the cuemaker (1 of 5 top name cue markers in the world) that has a defect you could see from 3 feet away.
When I called him he tried to justify the defect and said, does it effect the way it plays, I said no, he says, what's the problem??
I ended the phone call.
Not one comment about that on the forum but that is the reason for sending the cue to Dennis.

I would love to reveal all three names, but my intentions are to not hurt anyone.
 
mr magoo said:
Yeah it was my business but after reading the OP Andy70, s story I changed my mind to go ahead and post my story to make it everybody's buisseness. Maybe i can save someone the same shit I went through.
Dennis has a following, and I did not want to here all there drama bashing coments.
I put off writing it for 8+ years as several friends said not to post it because I would be bashed, called a liar and whatever.
Now I don't care.

As far as my story being accurate: it is. I have nothing to gain. I am not trying to recoupe anything other than the satisfaction of letting people know how to retrieve there cue they can't get back. And maybe someone will have second thoughts before shipping a cue to the searing shop.

I have said, I am not out to start more trouble for anyone. So I am still withholding the names of the two guys that got the cue from Dennis.
I haven't revealed the name of the cuemaker (1 of 5 top name cue markers in the world) that has a defect you could see from 3 feet away.
When I called him he tried to justify the defect and said, does it effect the way it plays, I said no, he says, what's the problem??
I ended the phone call.
Not one comment about that on the forum but that is the reason for sending the cue to Dennis.

I would love to reveal all three names, but my intentions are to not hurt anyone.
Click to expand...

it's a double edged sword, keep in mind how unsuspecting people will be harmed by these folks as long as they remain in the shadows

so, it's 3 that deserve to be in check vs who knows how many that are innocent
 
ribdoner said:
it's a double edged sword, keep in mind how unsuspecting people will be harmed by these folks as long as they remain in the shadows

so, it's 3 that deserve to be in check vs who knows how many that are innocent
Click to expand...
You have stated a very good point. I am trying to help out fellow az,ers but at the same time I may be indirectly, possibly letting them get the shaft. I never thought about that.
Thank you ribdoner. I have some heavy thinking to do.
 
Last edited:
$TAKE HOR$E said:
Theres been so many cans of worms opened like this but nothing ever stayed on the hook. Nowadays it seems everything is kept on the forefront and maybe people in general are just like MF it. If this was on FB it would probably crash the server… but I dont have FB so I doono 😆 but AZ is still a pretty tight NIT community, and more often than not posters in threads like this arent one hitters and done when the smoke is gone. This thread was days old when Dennis posted and tho its intriguing af it might pay to see if any parties involved in anything step up and contact anyone thats posted in this thread. Im not saying hold anyone's breath but as much attention as this one has gotten, more than likely its made its way off here also...so maybe some kind of communication is at least being thought about. I aint got a dog in the hunt and though names are hella curious it would almost be just as nice to see the OP's of the various posts in this thread reply that they had been compensated or goods returned. Im not saying 12 months nor people if they indeed engaged in some shady cue laundering should get off like an air barrel but maybe a few more days of open airway between the parties involved would help. I think it was a bit on a Joe Rogan podcast where someone said its more embarrassing to face your mistakes in a room full of blind mutes than in a room full of screaming onlookers, because you never know who is looking over your shoulder or talking behind your back.

~ Family will side with family...friends will side with friends...but in the end everyone sides with reality
$H - just made up one of those "you know how the old saying goes"...kinda sayings 😁

On a side note…anyone see that ISU vs Drake game 🏀🔥
Click to expand...
I hope you meant tight knit, not nit.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
This appears to be a very serious mess, affecting a lot of cues and a man's reputation and livelihood. If nothing happens, there is a lot of potential harm. It is not every day that someone steps up and accepts responsibility. So it is a start -- a good first step. From here, it is definitely worth continuing. Without trying nothing happens. The only alternatives I know of are litigation or giving up -- both of which are equally unattractive. Who wants to go in either direction?
Click to expand...
I’m glad to see Dennis respond and I hope he is sincere. Dennis did reach out to me and told me my cue would be done next week. Im definitely looking forward to that. I hope for myself and Dennis this happens! That is in no way a threat! I hope for his business/ reputation it happens for me and everyone that has reached out to me. I have heard from others that Dennis is a very hard worker and just can’t say no to anyone! Dennis builds one of the best playing cues I’ve ever played with and I just want my cue back! I’ve never had a problem with him personally, just frustrated with his business actions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top