What determines ...?

T

TheBasics

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Howdy All;

Pop always said; "If ya got a question go ask the experts."

Okay, I'm askin', What and how is the price of a couple of chunks of wood and a few other
materials (simple things not gems an such), determined? I mean how is the price of a cue
determined. What makes the same cue worth so much from one and perhaps 1/2 as much
from the 'other guy' down the road or in the next wherever. All basic items (overhead), the
same or within a few $'s .

Not complaining, just curious is all.

hank
 
I would think that for in demand makers, it's not the cost of the materials but the demand for the finished product that dictates the price.

Also by far the biggest cost component is work (invested time) not materials, and the more experienced the person the more expensive their time is.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk
 
TheBasics said:
Howdy All;

Pop always said; "If ya got a question go ask the experts."

Okay, I'm askin', What and how is the price of a couple of chunks of wood and a few other
materials (simple things not gems an such), determined? I mean how is the price of a cue
determined. What makes the same cue worth so much from one and perhaps 1/2 as much
from the 'other guy' down the road or in the next wherever. All basic items (overhead), the
same or within a few $'s .

Not complaining, just curious is all.

hank
Click to expand...
I'm not a cue maker.

Demand. Precision. Playability. Intricacy.

It can be deceiving when looking at the final product. A cue may appear simple, but can take many steps such as wood seasoning that the end user wouldn't think about.
 
TheBasics said:
Howdy All;

Pop always said; "If ya got a question go ask the experts."

Okay, I'm askin', What and how is the price of a couple of chunks of wood and a few other
materials (simple things not gems an such), determined? I mean how is the price of a cue
determined. What makes the same cue worth so much from one and perhaps 1/2 as much
from the 'other guy' down the road or in the next wherever. All basic items (overhead), the
same or within a few $'s .

Not complaining, just curious is all.

hank
Click to expand...

Price is determined by seller.

Value is determined by buyer. I wouldn't pay $50 for a Southwest except to sell it to one of the million suckers who will pay thousands for it.
 
DeeDeeCues said:
Price is determined by seller.

Value is determined by buyer. I wouldn't pay $50 for a Southwest except to sell it to one of the million suckers who will pay thousands for it.
Click to expand...

Why are you down of Southwest? Because they are not made any longer by Jerry Franklin?

Or another reason, curious?
 
boogieman said:
many steps such as wood seasoning
Click to expand...
Viking claims they age their shaft wood 5 years and turn their shafts in several stages over a year and a half. Keeping that kind of inventory adds a cost. I'm sure custom cue makers do the same. Also, I'm sure they cull a bit of wood, too.
 
tomatoshooter said:
Viking claims they age their shaft wood 5 years and turn their shafts in several stages over a year and a half. Keeping that kind of inventory adds a cost. I'm sure custom cue makers do the same. Also, I'm sure they cull a bit of wood, too.
Click to expand...

Can not speak for all Cuemakers, one said to me long ago they took little cuts off shaft wood, hung to see if it moved for months, and repeated process.

Had not reason to question truth, or not true. I was have Tipd installed.

Asked what are those, length of wood handing in shop, like 100 plus pieces.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
took little cuts off shaft wood, hung to see if it moved for months
Click to expand...
Yep. Just like when you cut a carrot and the stick bends, wood can do the same. And then move more as the stresses equalize. Hopefully the wood is properly dried so moisture isn't a factor. Machinists call it a "spring pass". When you remove material, the residual stresses aren't balanced and the workpiece moves a bit to rebalance them. Then you take off that last thousandth of an inch to correct that movement.
 
CocoboloCowboy said:
Why are you down of Southwest? Because they are not made any longer by Jerry Franklin?

Or another reason, curious?
Click to expand...

Worst feeling cues I have played with. I've hit with both Jerry era and Laurie error...oops, era. I had an Adam cue that felt better than the SW's I've played with.
 
more often than not people pay big money for cues made by a big named cue maker........... and never take into account that there are many un named cue builders that make a cue that is a fantastic player
 
tomatoshooter said:
Viking claims they age their shaft wood 5 years and turn their shafts in several stages over a year and a half. Keeping that kind of inventory adds a cost. I'm sure custom cue makers do the same. Also, I'm sure they cull a bit of wood, too.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised they only take 1.5 years in cutting . Letting them sit for 3.5 years at 1" round is a waste of time .
Cutting should take 3-4 years imo. Get them down tapered from 1" after months in the shop then take it from there .
That way , you'll have plenty of time letting them sit at 13.5mm and 13.25mm.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Letting them sit for 3.5 years at 1" round is a waste of time
Click to expand...
Probably. The moisture content should stabilize much quicker than that. It's probably good when they get the wood, unless they are close to the sawmill. After that might as well start cutting. I got that from a blurb on their website so I don't know what their actual process is.
 
JoeyInCali said:
I'm surprised they only take 1.5 years in cutting . Letting them sit for 3.5 years at 1" round is a waste of time .
Cutting should take 3-4 years imo. Get them down tapered from 1" after months in the shop then take it from there .
That way , you'll have plenty of time letting them sit at 13.5mm and 13.25mm.
Click to expand...
lol............ I buy them ... hang them........ cut them in a week or 2.......... make a shaft in another week or 2................. replaced one shaft in 10 years.................. I have made 400 or so................... just buy good wood


Kim
 
whammo57 said:
lol............ I buy them ... hang them........ cut them in a week or 2.......... make a shaft in another week or 2................. replaced one shaft in 10 years.................. I have made 400 or so................... just buy good wood


Kim
Click to expand...
Are you sure it's not 800 shafts?
 
I remember when Danny Tibbitts had only been making cues for a few years. A local said why would someone pay $400 for a Tibbitts cue with 4 points when they could get a Schon for that price. I bet that guy now wishes he had bought that cue. I sure wish I had.
 
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