The Future for American Cue Makers ...?

WilleeCue

WilleeCue

The Barefoot Cuemaker
Silver Member
So what do you think?
With all the new cue makers competing for the business and the influx of quality low price cues from overseas, do you see a future for the American Cue Maker?

Do you think most of the new cue makers are hobbiests or people trying to make a living at it?

I cant help think the 60's 70's and 80's were the golden years of cue making in the American Market but that era has past.

I started eight years ago and good wood was available on eBay at a reasonable price. There were very few specialty houses catering to the cue maker. Now it seems there as many sources for materials as there are cue makers.

With all the competition is there anything in the future that will revive the business like "The Hustler" movie did?
 
I thnik Cue Cue from Off shore will continue to flood the US Market. If a guy want a CUSTOM, there are people like you, and other still doing that.

Also you might refused to work on Cues from off shore.
 
i dont think many were raking in the cash back in the day. they were everyday guys hustling. 60's and 70's prob were the golden age bc cues were reinvented then. technology is much better now but good wood may be harder to find.

i think no matter how many cheap cues are made over seas there will always be guys like mottey and tasc. i personally wont even look at a production made cue. making as many cues as possible is mot apealing to me. 200 cues a year is too many. there are many like me out there that share my feelings.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Also you might refused to work on Cues from off shore.
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Ya Know, that might be one way to stave off the flood but how in the world are you gonna get all the American Cue Makers to do that.
Perhaps if members of the cue makers associations were to endorse that and its members actualy refused to repair offshore cues then other independents would do likewise .... but I dont think that is gonna happen.
 
I think the comeptition should be welcomed, and we should strive to continue to out perform them with quality, price, service, design, and innovation.
Mr H
 
WilleeCue said:
Ya Know, that might be one way to stave off the flood but how in the world are you gonna get all the American Cue Makers to do that.
Perhaps if members of the cue makers associations were to endorse that and its members actualy refused to repair offshore cues then other independents would do likewise .... but I dont think that is gonna happen.
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That's like getting everyone to boycott buying gas. It ain't ever going to happen. Comparing the mass produced cues to custom cues is like apples and oranges.
 
Allison Fisher plays with a cuetec. Go figure. Skip to step 2.

1. Make the absolute best great hitting, beautiful, quality cue.
2. Get endorsements from the greatest players in the world.
3. Promote the players.
4. The world will beat a path to your door.
 
So what do you think?
With all the new cue makers competing for the business and the influx of quality low price cues from overseas, do you see a future for the American Cue Maker?
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If you make consistently great hitting cues, you will have a market.
If you make really outrageously pretty cues, you will have a market.
If you do both, you can do it full-time.

Do you think most of the new cue makers are hobbiests or people trying to make a living at it?
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Part-timers.


With all the competition is there anything in the future that will revive the business like "The Hustler" movie did?
Click to expand...
I doubt it.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
I thnik Cue Cue from Off shore will continue to flood the US Market. If a guy want a CUSTOM, there are people like you, and other still doing that.

Also you might refused to work on Cues from off shore.
Click to expand...

Foreign made cues are here to stay. A person could make a stand and refuse to work on the cues but that will only create more competition. Somebody would step up and become a "foreign cue" specialist and make more money than the guy that's doing the boycott. I do enjoy watching someone that just paid 60 bucks for a sticker cue squirm when they find out that replacing that loose wrap and ferrule is gonna cost them more than they paid for the cue originally.
 
I have seen some of the CHEAP Stuff WARP reall Fast, our community room just bought 24 NEW HOUSE CUES for under $4.00/Cue.

Two week later they all are WARPED. Think we got what the MGR. Paid for CRAP IMHO.
 
I refuse to work on the junk cues, but for a different reason. If you work on the cue once for some reason the guy that bought the crap cue thinks you are responsible for everything that goes wrong with the cue. The same guy that wanted to buy a cheap cue expects you to fix it for close to nothing. If someone else wants that business they are welcome to it.
 
dunkelcustomcue said:
I refuse to work on the junk cues, but for a different reason. If you work on the cue once for some reason the guy that bought the crap cue thinks you are responsible for everything that goes wrong with the cue. The same guy that wanted to buy a cheap cue expects you to fix it for close to nothing.
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Great point.
 
how in the world are you gonna get all the American Cue Makers to do that.
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Theres already a trend in that direction from a few cue makers. Some wont even allow an import in their shop.

Perhaps if members of the cue makers associations were to endorse that and its members actualy refused to repair offshore cues then other independents would do likewise .... but I dont think that is gonna happen.
Click to expand...
That might happen with one of the associations and may already be their policy I dont know. With the other one though that would be hypocritical wouldnt it? They accept membership of cue makers from other countries so how could they justify that?
 
Craig Fales said:
Comparing the mass produced cues to custom cues is like apples and oranges.
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Well ... let's think about that for a second.

Are mass produced cues made any differently?
I mean Ferrules, tips, "A" joints, butt sleeves, joint pins, shaft tapers, materials, finish, are all done basically the same and the parts could possibly even come from the very same source.

There are some El Cheap-os that are not even close but there are also some very high quality production cues as well both American made and imported.

If you buy a production cue then have the ferrule, tip, and weight changed to your liking, is it now a custom (customized) cue?

Also it depends on the custom cue maker as I am sure there are some that can not make a cue with the same quality as a McDermott (American or off shore).

Most custom cue makers will offer the same identical cue to anyone that steps up with the cash. (there are some exceptions)
I do not do that and with rare exception every one of the cues I have ever made are visually different.
So they are not production cues but I cant call them custom unless they are made for a specific person by his request.

So I think you can compare import cues to American custom cues in all ways. I would hope that most of the time the American custom Cue would win out but you just cant lump all import cues as being inferior quality.

Not wanting to sound anti-American cue maker or anything ... just trying to be objective and fair.
 
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Are mass produced cues made any differently?
I mean Ferrules, tips, "A" joints, butt sleeves, joint pins, shaft tapers, materials, finish, are all done basically the same and the parts could possibly even come from the very same source.
Click to expand...
Not really.
 
I was going to start making cues full-time in 2000. I when to the BCA trade
show to buy some supplies. And I see 3 cnc machines that anyone can put
wood in, Hit a button. Go in the house, come back few hours later have a cue cut with as many inlays you like. I saw the the future of cuemakers!!!!:(
I know I made it sound easy! But In the future, your cue maker will not touch
the wood till it's Done!! The machines work full time, the cuemaker Part Time!!!:yikes:
 
hotcues said:
I was going to start making cues full-time in 2000. I when to the BCA trade
show to buy some supplies. And I see 3 cnc machines that anyone can put
wood in, Hit a button. Go in the house, come back few hours later have a cue cut with as many inlays you like. I saw the the future of cuemakers!!!!:(
I know I made it sound easy! But In the future, your cue maker will not touch
the wood till it's Done!! The machines work full time, the cuemaker Part Time!!!:yikes:
Click to expand...
Yeah, then you'd have a gawdy-looking cue that not too many people want to buy.
 
Mr Hoppe said:
I think the comeptition should be welcomed, and we should strive to continue to out perform them with quality, price, service, design, and innovation.
Mr H
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Me, too. It's all about advancing the game of pool in the way we know how, which is advancing the quality of cues.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Yeah, then you'd have a gawdy-looking cue that not too many people want to buy.
Click to expand...

Yes ... every cue maker would be making the same cue ... the one that came programed into the CNC software.

The real work is drawing, programing, and setup.
Then there is gluing, final tapering, fitting a shaft, sealing, sanding, and finish.
Oh ... I forgot somewhere in there you got to install the joint pin, weight bolt, bumper, ring work, ferrule, and tip.
Yeah ... a real push button operation.
I would sure like to see the machine that can do all that while the cuemaker sits in an easy chair watching TV.

What is better than CNC is to get a bunch of people (preferably cheap labor) to make the cues that carry your name.
That might be the way some do it but that aint CNC.

Its a heck of a lot of work to get the CNC machine to do inlays at the push of a button.
People who think it is push button easy do not understand what CNC is all about and what it takes to program and MAINTAIN a machine.
Anyone that has actualy used a CNC machine to make a cue knows there is no such thing as push a button and go take a break.
 
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I said I made sound easier than it is, but the machines get better every day!
Ask the guy who got laid off from GM if a machine can make a car!!!!! Did you
think you can make a shaft without sandpaper! I know cuemakers that do!
I love cuemakers that make your cue by hand! No cnc. One day you load 100
pins, the machine will install them faster and better than you ever thought.
Watch How it's made some night! See the future of cue making. Thanks Mike
 
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