What luck!

Buddha Jones said:
I researched local community colleges here and found on that offers a full Machining Technology Degree. I called them up yesterday and asked the director when classes start, and he promptly replied "This morning." Next classes don't start until January :( oh well. Phase one of my journey will have to wait.

Here is what I am going to be taking if interested to know.
Click to expand...

Buddah,
You don't need any of this... buy the tapes and the books, get a lathe and a week later you change your first ferrule and bingo... you can call yourself a cuemaker. Its happened.. recently in Texas..

But congrats.. you'll like it... :)

Joe
 
Thanks for the advice Joe, but I don't want to be a fly by night cuemaker. There are many levels to being a good cuemaker, and one is knowing how to use the tools that you are going to be using. That is what I hope to attain by taking the classes, not how to change a ferrule.
 
That's going to be a good foundation that you'll be setting, BJ. In the meantime, do a research on woods and related processes. Also, start making a database of suppliers.
 
Thanks guys, I was going to take the next 3-4 months of free time that I have here to do some reserch on wood types, their origins and their hardness. I found one supplier online that has a good database for this kind of material. I'll look into getting some books to read also, may hit the college book stores too. Thanks again.
 
classiccues said:
Buddah,
You don't need any of this... buy the tapes and the books, get a lathe and a week later you change your first ferrule and bingo... you can call yourself a cuemaker. Its happened.. recently in Texas..

But congrats.. you'll like it... :)

Joe
Click to expand...

Buddah Jones ..... I fully agree with Joe about this.
An intellegent person with some background in machine tools, a fair amount of appitude, a bit of experience working with his hands, and a strong desire to learn the craft can learn how to make a cue in about a week, if he has good guidence and the proper tools.
Chris Hightower is an excelent source for both guidence and tools.
Course ... it might take someone a little slower a longer period of time.

The hard part is selling them.
Seems like everyone and his brother has a used cue for sale and all the good hype and sales pitches have been used up.
Joe should know about that also as he buys and sells used cues.

However, if a cuemaker makes a quality product and sells it for a reasonable price he should have no problem as there many educated buyers waiting to judge his work by its quality alone and really dont care to hear a bull pucky sales pitch.
Course this is just my opinion based upon a bit less than five years of cuemaking experience so I could be misinformed.

About wood .... you should go to Dennis Dieckman's web site as he has a LOT of good information on wood for cuemaking.
Wood is THE HEART of a good cue and you cant learn to much about it.
After reading all he has to say about wood you should have some idea about what you will need to do and many questions.

First thing Dennis will tell you is that is you need a cat.
You do have a cat dont you?
 
Willee,

An intellegent person <-- That I am
with some background in machine tools <-- That I am not
a fair amount of appitude <-- Don't know what that means
a bit of experience working with his hands <-- That is relative
and a strong desire to learn the craft <-- That I have
can learn how to make a cue in about a week <--- The basics, yes
if he has good guidence and the proper tools. <-- Have neither

Lets just say that I am green. I agree with you and then I disagree with you. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Yes I can do it, but I want to do it right. I could learn how to use a lathe, fugure out the dimensions of a cue inch by inch and widdle me a cue no problem, but at the end of the day, I am not going to want to put my name on it. It's like building websites, I can do it but I am constantly learning. At the end of the day, if I don;t like what I have done, it is not getting posted. Even if it is what the customer wants. [hehe]
 
Buddha Jones said:
Willee,

An intellegent person <-- That I am
with some background in machine tools <-- That I am not
a fair amount of appitude <-- Don't know what that means
a bit of experience working with his hands <-- That is relative
and a strong desire to learn the craft <-- That I have
can learn how to make a cue in about a week <--- The basics, yes
if he has good guidence and the proper tools. <-- Have neither

Lets just say that I am green. I agree with you and then I disagree with you. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Yes I can do it, but I want to do it right. I could learn how to use a lathe, fugure out the dimensions of a cue inch by inch and widdle me a cue no problem, but at the end of the day, I am not going to want to put my name on it. It's like building websites, I can do it but I am constantly learning. At the end of the day, if I don;t like what I have done, it is not getting posted. Even if it is what the customer wants. [hehe]
Click to expand...

They all started green, Buddha.
To some people things DO come easier than it does to others.
Think of all the naturals that play sports and musical instruments.

I think you underestamate your abilitys and you will do just fine as a cuemaker.
I think the desire to learn and produce a quality product that will be used and admired long after you have gone is one of the most important atributes of an aspiring cuemaker.
You will run into a lot of resistance along the way from negitive people.
Ingnore them and listen to those that support you with positive advice and you will quickly progess toward your goals.
You have a dream so follow it and become the best cuemaker that you can be.
But as I said before ... this is just the opinion of someone that is actualy making cues. Good bad or otherwise they are still cues.
 
Buddha Jones said:
Charlotte, North Carolina... for now.
Click to expand...
Well then, HELLO, Neighbor of 100+ miles.

Bob Smith (Shaman Cues) is now located in Clemmons (sub. of Winston-Salem.) I haven't ever met him, but you could find his contact info, and see if he could help you out. But remember, i know nothing about him, or his cues. Just that he is here, and is a cuemaker.

Thanks,

Jon
 
Machinists training

> This is one of 2 reasons I am currently taking a machine shop course,to learn how common shop machines operate,and to hone my attention to detail and precise measurement. From what I see,this course you are taking appears to be quite a bit more advanced than the course I am taking,in mine you don't begin the CNC until you finish everything else,including the math course. This is good for you in a way,as it teaches the basic CNC stuff that can be used for inlays and tapering operations,but will still leave you clueless as to how to turn a .400 aluminum rod into your first 3/8-10 joint pin,and believe me that stuff is absolutely necessary. You are definitely onto something with it though. Tommy D.
 
Nope, Thomas Wayne is over in Alaska.

I think this one is 2nd generation cuemaker Wayne Holmes (i'm not sure on that last name though)

Thanks,

Jon
 
BiG_JoN said:
Nope, Thomas Wayne is over in Alaska.

I think this one is 2nd generation cuemaker Wayne Holmes (i'm not sure on that last name though)

Thanks,

Jon
Click to expand...
ALASKA!!! Lucky him, unlucky me. I'd have been most fortunate to learn from him.
 
Buddha Jones said:
ALASKA!!! Lucky him, unlucky me. I'd have been most fortunate to learn from him.
Click to expand...

You would have been, although I might not appreciate TW's attitude I will say that he could teach you more about CNC and its application to cues than you could ever imagine.

Joe
 
Buddha Jones said:
Thanks for the advice Joe, but I don't want to be a fly by night cuemaker. There are many levels to being a good cuemaker, and one is knowing how to use the tools that you are going to be using. That is what I hope to attain by taking the classes, not how to change a ferrule.
Click to expand...

Buddah,
As someone who not only has seen countless cuemaking fixtures, I have designed many machining fixtures in the industry I used to be in. I can say that I have see many fixtures that do the same function, but were designed and built with a totally different mindset. How they can both do the same thing is amazing. A mechanical apptitude is a must because alot of what you are going to be doing, you cannot just go buy a tool to do. No machine shop class can teach you this.
Then there is the whole competition thing.. there are alot of cuemakers and you must know your market. If you try and pull a fast one, say you are a great cuemaker even though you have only been doing it a month, you're going to get called on it. If you stay strictly CNC, your cues will reflect that, they will look like other production cues, like this guy in Texas I was talking about earlier. As a cue dealer I can tell you before I make a choice on who's NEW cues I want to distribute, or represent, or whatever I need to make alot of intelligent decisions. One of the more important things is the integrity of the cuemaker, keep this in mind even with regular people who place orders. I mean you are probably a year or two away, but keep this in the back of your mind. I mean this guy in Texas, no integrity, so no way I would run the risk of dealing his cues. Plus I like traditional pointed cues, so this leaves this guy out anyways.

Anyways you have many choices to make.. good luck...

Joe
 
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