Tell a best experience dealing with a cuemaker

[ivicafranic]

Tell the best experience dealing with a cuemaker

I would like to hear a few best experiences that you had with a cuemaker.
So,I am looking for some happy stories in which cuemaker made amazingly great impression on you.Any nice story is great to hear!
Thanks

 

[Quesports]

Done business with Joe Gold and Dave Kikel absolutely flawless, on time and professional. Both guys are great to do business with.

 

[mholmes1218]

diveney

Bought a second Diveney cue. Delivery date was to be the first week in December. I received an email that the cue was to be delayed. i received it about ten days late with an extra shaft made to my taper.

I cannot give enough props for my two experiences having cues made by Pat.

Mike

 

[cubswin]

Emailed with Bob Dzuricky about about a cue, got the specs down, paid a small deposit. He quoted a time frame, finished it up early, and the cue was a very nice playing cue.

Bob really is easy to work with, and no worries when you order from him, and the only one to deliver earlier than promised.

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

DZ cues

Emailed with Bob Dzuricky about about a cue, got the specs down, paid a small deposit. He quoted a time frame, finished it up early, and the cue was a very nice playing cue.

Bob really is easy to work with, and no worries when you order from him, and the only one to deliver earlier than promised.

Unbelievable service and ready almost to the day. Great pics of every step of the build. He even put my cue in his gallery. Easy to pick it out as it is the most unconventional cue in the line up. Dealing with Bob was literally an education in cue building. Had it not been for AZB I would not have a DZ and a Murry Tucker.

 

[bbb]

i have 2 chris nitti cues which i bought from chris
he was the best guy to deal with
always available to answer questions
the cues were delivered in a reasonable time
the quality of the work is IMPECCABLE
the cues play great
i owned and played with other "famous" cues gina/searing/tad /tasc/josswest/scruggs
but i still have my nittis because they play the best for me
...............
also want to give paul dayton a plug
i have kept a cue from him because it plays great and again he was great to work with
he is also a cuemaker to put on your list to buy a cue from

 

[garczar]

Always had good luck w/cuemakers. Best one was when i ordered a coco-curly sp from AndyGilbert and got it in 7 days! World class cuemaker and all-around great person to deal with. Pat Diveney, Mike Durbin, Bob Owen and Eddie Farris are also great to work with.

 

[DJSTEVEZ]

I got to know Paul Drexler (of PFD Studios) when he was just starting out, or at least before he rocketed into Rock Star status of Cue Makers. He made shafts for me and did some work on my Huebler HA. On multiple occasions he had me up to his studio and workshop in CT. He was happy to teach and educate for as long as I was happy to listen & soak up cue maker science...which was easily for a couple of hours each time. Even after Paul's cues became world famous and highly sought after, he continued to to work on my cues (which were not made by him). He did kid me about that once, but then added that since I was customer before he earned a name he would continue to work on my stuff.

Paul is an absolute gentleman and is so quality obsessed it borders on sheer madness. He truly has a passion for what he does. Success could not have found a nicer, more deserving guy.


ps His wife is a real sweetie too.

 

[MCP]

Paul Drexler

Paul Drexler --- I bought a pretty beat up palmer from a fellow Azer and he recommended
Paul. I was reaching out to the usual suspects all fine craftsmen and Then I gave Paul a call.
We chatted a bit about the cue and pool and he invited me drive to his place In ct.
so he could see the cue and we could discuss what to do with it.
He acted as if the cue was his personal player looking it over making recommendations
Asking what I would like and what my thoughts were. A collaborative effort.
He also shared how he got into the cue Buiss. And his love of creating pieces of art etc.
I was sold.
I left the palmer and waited for the call, a few weeks later I picked up a GEM
Paul Drexler is a PRO. In every sense of the word.
MCP

 

[MCP]

Paul Drexler

Duplicate post sorry

 

[nobcitypool]

I have two Cues each from Travis/Blackcreek and Mike Durbin. Got a cue a couple of months ago from Mike. The butt cap split in a week or two. It didn't show evidence that I hit it but I must have. Sent it back to Mike, he promptly fixed it ... No charge.

I bought one of the Blackcreek cues used from Worminator. Got a few chips in the ivory butt cap over time, thankfully, at the bottom edge. Sent it to Travis, he worked down the edges of the ivory butt cap, replaced the ring tailed lizard wrap and refinished the cue. Did an incredible job, looks better than new. $200 and turned around quickly.

The other thing about these two cue makers is they make a superb playing cue at a very fair price. Both fantastic guys to boot!

 

[Shooter08]

Awesome experience

Growing up in Wisconsin I always wanted a Schon cue, but didn't ever have the cash to buy one as a kid. After a 15 year or so layoff from pool I got back into it and began to learn about the history of Schon. A buddy of mine found a custom Schon on AZ he had to have so we went to pick it up and I'll be damned I was at one of he owners of Schon cues house. A few thousand later we were dealers and I had my first Schon and a new business endeavor. We have be treated wonderfully by Schon cues. However I still had a desire for a Runde, Bob was at Schon when I fell in love with them. I called him up told him my story and he said he would build me a cue but was not looking for any resellers at this time. He gave me a time frame I think of 9 months or so, when I saw his number on my caller ID at least 3 months early I thought to myself he had changed his mind, nope not the case, my cue was done. I will never be able to thank both Schon Cues or Bob Runde enuff for the joy they have both brought me.

 

[Type79]

Paul and Ellen Drexler - PFD Studios

I got to know Paul Drexler (of PFD Studios) when he was just starting out, or at least before he rocketed into Rock Star status of Cue Makers. He made shafts for me and did some work on my Huebler HA. On multiple occasions he had me up to his studio and workshop in CT. He was happy to teach and educate for as long as I was happy to listen & soak up cue maker science...which was easily for a couple of hours each time. Even after Paul's cues became world famous and highly sought after, he continued to to work on my cues (which were not made by him). He did kid me about that once, but then added that since I was customer before he earned a name he would continue to work on my stuff.

Paul is an absolute gentleman and is so quality obsessed it borders on sheer madness. He truly has a passion for what he does. Success could not have found a nicer, more deserving guy.


ps His wife is a real sweetie too.

I echo these comments 100%.

In addition, Paul's experience, creativity, and equipment allows him to do almost anything. Every custom I requested from Paul was done per my specs and design without hesitation.

He is currently working on two cues for me, one of which I expected some push-back on due to the material involved, ring design, and shafts. His answer on the rings was "Yeah, we can that." and the requested material:"Not a problem." and the complicated shafts: silence. He never said a word.

In addition to the PFD's he has made for me, he has corrected some really screwed-up work that was done to a few of my Palmers by people inexperienced in cue repair/refinishing.

And last but certainly not least, Ellen is also a joy.

 

[coalcracker]

Robert Harris Cues

I had Robert Harris make me a cue and he completed it back in the fall and all I can say is that it is absolutely magnificent. The veneers are titlist colors and they are vibrant, the points sharp and exactly all the same length from the collar, inlays are perfect, the finish is impeccable and the balance is spot on. Rob made the cue just the way I wanted it. As for playability, WOW, it has an incredible hit, it can't hit any better. Now a little about my experience with Robert Harris in making the cue.

I always wanted to see how cues were made and I got turned onto Robert Harris through postings about Harris Cue Company in the Cue and Case Gallery forum on AZ. I called him to see if I could come to his shop and see how cues are made first hand. He eagerly agreed. I took the three hour drive to Panama City, Florida, and spent about three hours with him. I really had no intention of having another cue made, hell, I just had one made last year.

The shop was larger then what I expected. He showed me around and explained about what goes into making a cue. He had various stations in the shop where there were cues in particular stages of completion and he explained what goes into the work at each stage, how he does his inlays, finishes, joints, shafts, etc., etc., etc. It is a very impressive operation and it was evident that he takes cue making very seriously and is a perfectionist. OK, I couldn't stand it any more so at that point I decided I was going to have him make me a cue.

As far as dealing with him, he could not have been a nicer guy, easy to talk to, very accommodating, open to my ideas, provided his thoughts about the cue and made suggestions as to what would look and work best, but most importantly though, he was patient. I can be one of those quirky guys that is very particular about things and change my mind quickly. Actually, we made two revisions to my cue while it was being made and Rob had no problems changing course and making them. I almost thought I was becoming a pest, but if I was, Rob never said anything. Oh yeah one more thing, Rob is also a pretty funny guy and answered my phone calls and actually returned my messages.

I say all that to say this, if you are looking for a custom cue, you need to give him a call. I can't say enough about him. He'll be making my next one for sure.

 

[Sealegs50]

Every time I needed to talk to or work with Bill Schick has been great. He built my favorite cue and he is my favorite cuemaker.

 

[macguy]

I would like to hear a few best experiences that you had with a cuemaker.
So,I am looking for some happy stories in which cuemaker made amazingly great impression on you.Any nice story is great to hear!
Thanks

Tim Scruggs would have to be at the top of my list. Even when he got very busy he ran an efficient shop. Usually met delivery times and never told you BS just because he knew it was what you wanted to hear.

That may be the biggest mistake with many cue makers. I don't think they are actually knowingly lying, but they allow the customer to corner them and find themselves making commitments to the customer because they know what they want to hear and not necessarily the truth.

 

[nineballsafety8]

I have two answers for this, mainly because the way in which I interacted with each maker was entirely different.

The first is AZb's own Jim Baxter.

I contacted him, and explained what I wanted, he and I discussed potential options, a resolution was determined, and he started the build. The timeframe was great, and he communicated with me (be it either email, phone, or pictures) every time my cue went in the lathe. If a tool touched a piece of wood meant to go in my cue, I knew about it. Great cue, great guy A+++

My other experience was one that represents a less than traditional cuemaker experience. And as a warning this portion is likely to be a little lengthy.
When I was stationed at Fort Huachuca (Sierra Vista, AZ) I spent a fair amount of time riding my motorcycle all of the state, and checking out the different pool halls I could find. One of the pool halls that I came across was Mainstreet Billiards in Tucson. I was there on a weekend, mid afternoon (maybe 2 or 3 O'clock), and was just banging balls around.
As I was banging balls around, a guy approached me and asked me what kind of cue I was using (at the time it was a cheap Players cue that look like a meucci... perfect cue for throwing on my back when I was on the bike so if something happened to it, I didn't really care, it was a $80 stick), so I showed it to him.

He asked why that was my cue of choice, and I explained that it was my "bike cue" and my nicer cues stayed at home while I was on the bike for fear of something happening to them. He offered to play me some cheap sets of 8 ball, and we played for several hours. I don't even remember who ended up ahead in money, as we were both having fun and just enjoying playing together.

At the end of our playing he asked if I would be interested in coming to see some of the cues that he has made (this was the first reference of him even being a cuemaker, I had no idea). So I jumped on the bike and followed him to his house, and he showed me around and let me look through the cues that he had on hand.

Oh... LOL... his name is Glenn Graham

Anyway, I pick out a cue that I kinda liked, and paid him for it, not expecting to ever see him again.

Well fast forward a couple of months, and I went home to IL on leave and was playing a buddy, and after taking his money he threw a tantrum that resulted in my new custom cue being broken... pretty badly.

So when I got back to AZ, I got ahold of Glenn and asked him to take a look at it and see if he could fix it. When I got there, he offered me a beer and asked to see the cue. When I handed it to him, without evening batting an eye, he turned around and threw it in the trash can.

I was standing there dumbfounded, and he just smiles and says, "I don't want to fix it, you have a full credit of what you paid for that cue, and I will build you another one"

So, if I wanted I could have an identical cue made, from scratch at no cost... WOW

I decided to go with a more elaborate design, and we settled on a final cue design.

He said I was welcome to come by anytime during the build and check on the cue, which was AWESOME!!!

So as the cue was built, on several occasions, I got to hang around in the shop and drink beer with the guy building my cue, while he built it... never had any cue experience that came close since, and likely never will.

Unfortunately, Glenn came into some hard times and kinda fell off the map and doesn't make cues anymore, but regardless he will always be held very high in my mind!

This info is no longer valid, but have always kept it... as a keepsake lol

 

[stevekur1]

I have had many dealings with Pete Tonkin, in the past he had sponsored our 14.1 challenge at SBE and recently he sponsored our Straight Pool League at Bay Shore Billiards.

Pete in my opinion is one of the best in the business, a real stand up guy, easy spoken and one hell of a cue maker !!!

Also i would like to recomend Dave and Brandon Jacoby of Jacoby Custom Cues they are a real pleasure to deal with, and really make a hell of a cue !!

-Steve

 

[Jim Baxter]

I have two answers for this, mainly because the way in which I interacted with each maker was entirely different.

The first is AZb's own Jim Baxter.

I contacted him, and explained what I wanted, he and I discussed potential options, a resolution was determined, and he started the build. The timeframe was great, and he communicated with me (be it either email, phone, or pictures) every time my cue went in the lathe. If a tool touched a piece of wood meant to go in my cue, I knew about it. Great cue, great guy A+++

My other experience was one that represents a less than traditional cuemaker experience. And as a warning this portion is likely to be a little lengthy.
When I was stationed at Fort Huachuca (Sierra Vista, AZ) I spent a fair amount of time riding my motorcycle all of the state, and checking out the different pool halls I could find. One of the pool halls that I came across was Mainstreet Billiards in Tucson. I was there on a weekend, mid afternoon (maybe 2 or 3 O'clock), and was just banging balls around.
As I was banging balls around, a guy approached me and asked me what kind of cue I was using (at the time it was a cheap Players cue that look like a meucci... perfect cue for throwing on my back when I was on the bike so if something happened to it, I didn't really care, it was a $80 stick), so I showed it to him.

He asked why that was my cue of choice, and I explained that it was my "bike cue" and my nicer cues stayed at home while I was on the bike for fear of something happening to them. He offered to play me some cheap sets of 8 ball, and we played for several hours. I don't even remember who ended up ahead in money, as we were both having fun and just enjoying playing together.

At the end of our playing he asked if I would be interested in coming to see some of the cues that he has made (this was the first reference of him even being a cuemaker, I had no idea). So I jumped on the bike and followed him to his house, and he showed me around and let me look through the cues that he had on hand.

Oh... LOL... his name is Glenn Graham

Anyway, I pick out a cue that I kinda liked, and paid him for it, not expecting to ever see him again.

Well fast forward a couple of months, and I went home to IL on leave and was playing a buddy, and after taking his money he threw a tantrum that resulted in my new custom cue being broken... pretty badly.

So when I got back to AZ, I got ahold of Glenn and asked him to take a look at it and see if he could fix it. When I got there, he offered me a beer and asked to see the cue. When I handed it to him, without evening batting an eye, he turned around and threw it in the trash can.

I was standing there dumbfounded, and he just smiles and says, "I don't want to fix it, you have a full credit of what you paid for that cue, and I will build you another one"

So, if I wanted I could have an identical cue made, from scratch at no cost... WOW

I decided to go with a more elaborate design, and we settled on a final cue design.

He said I was welcome to come by anytime during the build and check on the cue, which was AWESOME!!!

So as the cue was built, on several occasions, I got to hang around in the shop and drink beer with the guy building my cue, while he built it... never had any cue experience that came close since, and likely never will.

Unfortunately, Glenn came into some hard times and kinda fell off the map and doesn't make cues anymore, but regardless he will always be held very high in my mind!

This info is no longer valid, but have always kept it... as a keepsake lol
View attachment 373561

Jay , Thats a very cool story about Glen , you do not find that kinda person often , maybe a once in a lifetime . You were blessed . Jim

 

[FranCrimi]

Mike Miller ---- Michael Morgan cues in New York.

Beautiful work, stand-up guy. Always does what he says, which is a rare thing these days.