Wow. I was basing my posts on pure logic - and as always, I was correct. (Ok, this was the first time I was correct)
Good stuff.
What is a Black Boar?
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Wow. I was basing my posts on pure logic - and as always, I was correct. (Ok, this was the first time I was correct)
Good stuff.
I have a Varney, its 57" or 57.5". plays good-better than the average cue for sure.
I have a cue here in LA I could send you-its not my worst cue. I will send it to you if you like, on one condition-if you get tired of it or dont like/want it, I get it back. Its a real real nice cue-cocbolo. I wont say who made it-but I will say that they have build cues up to $20,000. If you want that I will glady send it to you. You dont owe me anything-I just am in the mood to send you a cue, you have made me laugh on here so many times that I want to give you a cue to use. You will like it, if not ship it back and we will try something else. Your my friend and I just want to make you happy-simple as that.
I'm going to have a Velvet wrap put on my next cue, no matter what it is. I might re-wrap all my cues with velvet, boy is Barry gonna get mad
:grin-square:
they start at 20K now, because he is making less cues but more intricate like Tikklers last 2, he can only build 8 cues a year at theat level, and the 4 plan janes this year. The plane janes were the result of alot of trial and error to get the hit he was looking for. When you have his nut to crack and only so many hours in the day-he has to start the cues at $20,000 and he gets that much, so more power to him. Its a success story, He didnt like what was out there and took to task building the perfect cue using less than perfect materials(wood, ivory etc) are all a bit different from piece to piece.
That persuit of perfection Drives him. Some cue makers are driven by $$$, others to continue the family tradition. They all have their reasons and I admire them. in my mind Gus should be credited as the man who made cues important and not just a tool, and also Geroge Bslsbushka to a lesser extent. those 2 men put the art of cues on the map. Tony was influenced by Gus, Barry has kept his dad's legacy alive in the best of ways by building the best cues in the world. Its this dediacation that I admire by the second generation cue maker ledgends.
I'm going to have a Velvet wrap put on my next cue, no matter what it is. I might re-wrap all my cues with velvet, boy is Barry gonna get mad
You never know, he might start using the idea! lol! Velvet might just be the wave of the future! I was going to suggest burlap for a better grip, but the velvet might be the way to go.
Joe
funny you say that, When I made that post I was just "Busting ball's". then I got to thinking about it, and I'm going to look around for the right kind of velvet, like they used to paint on in Mexico in the 70's, not to thick and schithed down evenly. I'm going to take a old McDermott and have it wrapped in velevet. It should work. It's worth a try. Wouldnt it be funny if in 3 years most players had velvet wraps....
Eric,
you can send me/not send me anything you like. I will play with whatever you send me. I just appreciate the amazing gesture. And trust me, it will go with me to my grave and if I die before you then I'll leave instructions to my family on how to get it back to you. Maybe we can make Jay or Ktown the executor of the will, lol.
Tommy,
First of all let me say that as you know, Tony, Tim and Mike are all Great friends, their relationship goes back probably 30+ years and they have each helped each other out with various things, both personal as well as business over the many years. I think that there is nothing that they would not do for each other.
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That said, here is the shortest and best evolution that I can give:
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I have checked with Tony, and what I said before was not wrong, here is further clarification:
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-Tony started doing repairs and cue work in his billiard supply store.
-Tim asked Tony if he would help them with spraying the Finish and wrapping some 79 cues that Tim was trying to get out the door.
-Tony helped Tim with those cues every day until they cought up.
-In the interim Tony and Tony jr. bought a CNC machine and Tony jr. set it up in Tims shop
-At the time Tim was doing inlays by hand
-Tony jr. cut a bunch of circles for Timmy on the CNC machine
- Tony jr was in the early stages of learning how to use a CNC machine, all they could cut at first was circles and straight lines, but he was learning.
-Timmy and Bill Mcdaniel were good friends at that time, and at Tonys request Tim asked Mcdaniel for 10 blanks, and Tony wrote out the exact specs he wanted on the blanks.
- The cues were delivered, Tony and Tony jr inlaid the cues, (Tony thought Timmy might have done the linen wraps on the cues)
-The cues went to the trade show, and promptly sold to Japan
-After the show, Mcdaniel wanted more control and money for future blanks, he sent 10 more blanks to Tims shop, because there was a standing order for 10 more to go to Japan.
-The partnership fell apart with Mcdaniel, there was supposed to be a meeting with Tony, Timmy and Mcdaniel--well Tony was uncomfortable with changing the agreement as it stood, so he cut up the second set of10 blanks and never showed up for the meeting.
-Tony went to Mcdermott to see if they could supply blanks- that did not work out well, they wern't able to get the points as even as Tony had asked for.
-At this point Tony found a new machine shop in College Park, MD, closed his billiards supply and moved everything to the new shop.
-At this point Tony started making a 1 piece blank from birdseye, he was experimenting and testing many variables, he played around with building the blanks for about a year and then he finally started selling them to the public.
-The way Tony builds the blank is totally different from Timmy and Mike. Both build great cues and I have some of both, but after the first 10 Mcdaniel blanks they have been built totally different.
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I think that this is concise and accurate enough, if you feel that anything is wrong, you (Tommy) should check with any of the three ( Tony, Timmy or Mke). And if you feel that you want to sit down with any or all of them and Myself, just let me know when it fits your schedule.
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Thanks
Black Velvet with ScotchGuard wrap. :grin:
You confirmed the facts I stated with your reply.
Without the tutelage of 2 master cue makers, willing to share their knowledge , expertise, help in getting him started, and introduce him to the players in the cue collecting game, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
In 1992 I was at a tournament in Manasass Va, a McDermott tour stop. I met the Parrott guys, Hodges (?) and someone else. But then I met a guy named Vince, slender dude with glasses. He preceeded to tell me he was the programmer for Tony and even had a blank he said was going to be his personal cue with a very intricate inlay pattern. He was telling me how great BB's were and that they were going to be the next great cue. So I don't think a guy that wasn't involved would go to great lengths to pump up something he wasn't involved with.
However I have never seen this guy again, any place. Is he chained up in Tony's basement or something?
JV
However I have never seen this guy again, any place. Is he chained up in Tony's basement or something?
JV
Yes Joe, Tony keeps him locked in a coffin like the dude in Pulp Fiction. It really is sort of scary when he unlocks it and the guy pops out...LOL
That was Vince, back in the mid 80's he ran the billiard supply store and once Tony opened the first BB shop Vince helped make and produce some of the first BB cues. His history in the BB company is talked about in greater detail here:
http://www.blackboarcustomcues.com/build/default.asp?CTID=210&IID=
I believe Vince left around 1993, he had some health problems and had to deal with those.
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Tommy,
Now you are the one who is overstating the facts,
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-There wasn't "Tutelage" going on, they were 3 friends, Tony was helping them sand, and spray the cues so they could get them out the door. Tony was not working for them, he was helping them.
-They have always shared their knowledge and expertise- It has ALWAYS been a two way street, you are implying that information only flowed from Tim and Mike to Tony.
-As far as introducing Tony to the "players in cue collecting" - you sir, are mis-stating those facts, Tony had many relationships with many of the areas great players as well as some of the pros at that time from his work with the Cue work that he was doing at the Billiard supply store (years) before he starting helping Timmy, You have to remember that these guys were always great friends and they have always introduced each other to new people in the industry.
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As far as confirming the facts that you stated, I have no idea what you are refering to,