We are adaptive creatures when we have to be, and a hobbyist has the advantage of not needing to make a profit from his craft. Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and every mother loves her own child, then we will love the cue we make no matter how crude! I see one camp here of that opinion.
I also see many well intentioned craftsmen that want to turn out very well made products, and earn a living doing it. They wish to see things done right so as not to lower their art. I attempt to be one of them, and only time will tell if I deserve to be.
By elevating the craft as we use more hi tech equipment and materials, we wince at crude attempts by amateurs who do not wish to invest the many hours of time to learn woodworking, machinist skills, and spray painting techiques. The casual craftsman does not want to drain his savings in order to purchase quality lathes and mills. But he wants a decent cue as the end result of his casual endevour. Some may succeed. And many will quit after that shaft cracks at 1200 rpm and gives them that cleft chin that they never could get from family genetics!
I guess my wish here is that the amateur does not rush in, and he visits the local library and learns of some basic skills needed to ensure his safety and a knowledge of craft to at least give him a fighting chance to have some success. As far as cost effectiveness goes, it is cheaper to ask a cuemaker to make a good players cue for you, and ask for some specific features like taper and balance point, shaft diameter, etc. You have the satisfaction of owning a well crafted cue that you had input into, and us cuemakers have a chance to feed our families, and maybe have enough left over to put away a little towards the next wood purchase. But you know something? I got started as that stumbling amateur...
