Wow if I put everyone I ever learned something from I would have a big tree. But if I narrowed it down to watching someone in person do something that would narrow it down to about four or five in a hurry. Leonard Bludworth showed me how to do tips and ferrules. Kevin Wright helped me put my first joint in. We made the pin from scratch out of brass with a dye. Danny Tibbits gave me small pieces of advice like tapering with a router instead of wood turning tools, like I had been, and showed me how important doing really clean work was. Dale Hoke showed me how to do inlay work and set up my first Gorton pantograph. David Kersenbrock convinced me to put taper bars on my early Cue Smith Lathes. Dennis Dieckman's early videos helped a little also. Dennis also showed me in person how to criss-cross butterflies in the cue a much easier way than I had thought of.
