Shaft blanks or dowels

secretsquirrel said:
How many does the average cue maker have? Am I unrealistic in thinking many hundreds or even thousands?
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i've only got about 50 right now, and that's barely eeking by.
another 50 and i'd be more comfortable.
thanks for reminding me to get my butt in gear and get some more ;)
 
i usually buy 110 at a time,but i am small.i would imagine most of the bigger guys buy pallets at a time.you can also get a nice price break buying in 1000's.
 
I Am More A Supplier Then Cue Builder We Bought 6500 Dowels This Winter I Have A Small Shop Were We Do The Shafts So I Rented A Climate Controled Storage Shed $45.00 Month. I Cant Keep More The 400 Hanging Here When There Sold We Bring More Over I Also Keep Other Wood Products There Only 5 Mins Away And Works Out Great
 
secretsquirrel said:
How many does the average cue maker have? Am I unrealistic in thinking many hundreds or even thousands?
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I have the smallest operation of any of the others who have posted. Currently I have around 40 finished turned shafts, and about 100 others in different stages. I personally would like to be able to maintain a stock of around 100 to 150 finished turn shafts ready for use on any given day. However, it will take me around three years to get to that point, but that is my goal.
 
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I buy 100 30" and 50 32" dowels each year.
I have right at 100 at 14MM and about 200 in stages from first cut on down.
It may be over kill but I take right at 2 years to get a shaft from 1" dowel to a finished product.
Some of that wood will end up as coring dowels when they dont meet what I want for a shaft.
Others make good starter wood for the fireplace.
David
 
Currently 600, 1 and a half years ago I had 1000, I'm in the middle of ordering 2000 right now.

about 180 of those were playing cue's the rest B/j's. Some of the shafts I'm using on cue's now are shafts I've had since starting building cues 7 years ago, b/js and jump cue shafts aren't as good quality, and I only take 1 year of turns on them. I take a turn every 2-3 months and lets sit. No shaft is used until atleast one year of turning happens.

I've been in the shops of other cuemakers, I know for a fact there are alot of cuemakers right now that order them and one month later there finished:nono: to each there own.

Bryan Fisher "small time shaft whore"
Fisher Cues
 
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if your a total nutcase for shaftwood like some of us it isnt unrealistic to see someone with alot of blanks. you may only get a few truely special shafts out of 100 total. i made 5 shafts for my player before i got the right one. i feel i got lucky there also
 
dave sutton said:
if your a total nutcase for shaftwood like some of us it isnt unrealistic to see someone with alot of blanks. you may only get a few truely special shafts out of 100 total. i made 5 shafts for my player before i got the right one. i feel i got lucky there also
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Thats right, for playing cues there usualy is a small yeild out of 100, say 20-40 (40 being very high and very lucky), the rest get used as b/j, and jump cues, the ones that warp I give away as gifts at pta meetings :thumbup:
 
RFisher said:
Thats right, for playing cues there usualy is a small yeild out of 100, say 20-40 (40 being very high and very lucky), the rest get used as b/j, and jump cues, the ones that warp I give away as gifts at pta meetings :thumbup:
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I have a Termite Farm in my shop, I recycle everything including bad shafts, I kinda think it's good Karma!!!!!!:D
 
I have about 30 1 cut away from being used. I have about 30 more 2 cuts away from being used. I just ordered 30 more dowels that will be here this coming week. I am ordering 55 more in the next week or so. You have to keep the process going. Never have to many shafts!!!!
 
who are you guys mainly using for your dowels? ive been using bell forrest. im not in the finished stages on anything with them yet but seems ok so far
 
I try to keep around 500 on hand in various stages. I always have between 50 and 75 ready to go. I'm running a little low right now at around 375 as I just a few weeks ago I tossed out around 50 or so. There really wasn't much wrong with them except coloring or some sugar but I've done passed over them so many times that I know I'll never use them. I buy my blanks between Dec. and March and this year I'll probably get around 350 or 400 and with what I got now that should last me until I quit doing cues as I'm getting tired out.

Dick
 
McDermott must use thousands.
Same for Viking and other production makers.

Dick, you know you are not gonna quit making cues until the day you cant make it to the shop.
 
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I have about 400. 80 are ready for use right now...JER
P.S. the last figures that I saw put Mcdermott at 60,000 cues a year. Meucci was at 40,000. Viking & Schmelke were making around 20,000 a year. THAT'S A LOT OF SHAFT WOOD.
 
secretsquirrel said:
How many does the average cue maker have? Am I unrealistic in thinking many hundreds or even thousands?
Click to expand...

I've got about 300 that I haven't started cutting and probably about 50 in various stages of finishing. I usually split a shipment with a fellow cuemaker and I think it is about 500 shafts.
 
What do you think the price of the dowels would be if every shaft was a keeper?

I order my dowels in March every year after I get back from the Super Billiard EXPO.
David
 
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