What makes a production cue?

[poolshooter74]

yes this is a tricky question. i was looking at a sigel 1 of a kind after doing some searching i found 2 other cues of his with the same design just that he changed the inlays around. IMO any cues built with cnc are production like my jacoby se/le 1 of 6 corey deuel design. then again any cue built uses one machine or another and/or a combination of machines.

 

[J Layer]

I hate the question because most people who answer don't know the first thing about "production" anything.

Production is just something that is produced. You can have mass production, limited production, low volume production, one of a kind production, custom production.

The problem is that someone at some point incorrectly attributed the word "produciton" to "mass production," and the rest is history.

Schuler, Pechauer, Schon, can be considered production cues. Yet, they are some of the best built cues out there. Ginacue are made in batches, sometimes numbering into the dozens. That would be a production of Ginacues. Several low production, one-of-a-kind cuemakers at one point or another have had their cues sold as line items in magazines.

I can name some "custom, one-of-a-kind" cues that are pieces of crap in every sense of the word.

IMO, people should stop asking about the word "production." It's bogus, misleading and escalates inferences of negativitiy.

Fred <~~~ custom mass producer

I have read some great posts in this thread but this is a very good response here.I do understand it's almost a "loaded" question.But this is a fantastic answer!IMO:thumbup:

Thanks-J.R.

 

[mullyman]

Production Cue is one of many made on a Production Line Vs a Custom Cue that is made as a one of a kind or One of a limited number.

Serious question here, not trying to be a jerk, what would you classify a Mottey, Scruggs, Szamboti, Joss West etc.... plain 4 pointer, 3-4 veneers, Irish linen wrap, ebony butt end, silver rings etc... Granted, they aren't made on a production line but those guys did make lots and lots of them.
MULLY

 

[mullyman]

In my opinion a production cue, sorry, Fred, is something you see in a "CueStix" catalog and the like. Mass produced cues at low cost to the consumer. In my previous post I asked about plain 4 pointers from the likes of Mottey, Szamboti, Joss West etc... Sure, they have made tons of them but I would still consider them custom, sorry again, Fred, cues. I don't think using a CNC machine is a fine enough criteria to drop a cue down to the "production" level. If I was going to list some production makers I would say

Meucci, McDermott, Schon, Lucasi, Mezz, Cuetec etc...

Custom cues

Mottey, Gina, Joss West, Tim Scruggs, Thomas Wayne etc...

 

[softshot]

but.. every tree is different.... and parts of the same tree.. are different from one another..

so every single cue ever made.. is one of a kind...

the man working the wood is only as good as the wood to be worked...

it's subjective.. the best cue-maker ever can't make the same cue twice...

and neither can the most advanced production line...

keep hitting till you find it... then quit looking...

 

[manwon]

What would classify a "production" cue?I know this is a vague question,with many opinions.But I'm curious to them.....Thanks-J.R.

J.R in my opinion a production cue is just that a model that is put into production. It is just like anything else that is mass produced multiple components are made and they are assembled either on an assembly line or through the same assembly process. Quality is second to quantity and the faster they can be produced while maintaining a consistent standard the better.

Minor differences such as weight, slight differences in length, differences in shaft length / taper or even the color of the cues wrap do not change the fact that the intent of the item is still mass production again this is in my opinion.

The only way to make a production cue a 1 of 1 custom is to make major changes for an individual.

JIMO

 

[3andstop]

A cue not built to individual specs.

Hmm, now if your individual specs happened to match say a McDermott or a Viking or a Meucci cue that is already built, would they then be considered custom?

When I think of a custom cue I think of a cue maker who works on a much smaller production scale and who couldn't build a half dozen of the same stick in a week on a bet without having bloodshot eyes and a coffee overdose.

 

[Tokyo-dave]

To me is has to be all about the selectivity of the materials involved in making the cue. First and formost, plastics verses verses real inlay materials. Then the selectivity of the woods. How much wood makes it into a cue verses how much gets trashed. Sure, I've never heard the stats on just how much a cue maker had to throw away before getting the perfect piece of cocobolo or whatever, but generally I think that mass production cue makers won't be as picky with their woods (especially shaft material) when it comes to what makes it and what doesn't.
dave

 

[SK Custom Cues]

Production: Making things on a large scale catering to large amounts of people, with the primary intent of financial gain, sacrificing qualities otherwise found in customized production shops.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assembly line

Thus, from the processing of raw materials into useful goods, the next step was the concept of the assembly line, as introduced by Eli Whitney. This was taken to the next stage at the Ford Motor Company in 1913, where Henry Ford introduced the innovation of continuously moving the cars being assembled past individual work stations. This introduced the idea of standardisation.


Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food, fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as fasteners) to assemblies of such parts (such as household appliances and automobiles).

 

[J Layer]

Production: Making things on a large scale catering to large amounts of people, with the primary intent of financial gain, sacrificing qualities otherwise found in customized production shops.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assembly line

Thus, from the processing of raw materials into useful goods, the next step was the concept of the assembly line, as introduced by Eli Whitney. This was taken to the next stage at the Ford Motor Company in 1913, where Henry Ford introduced the innovation of continuously moving the cars being assembled past individual work stations. This introduced the idea of standardisation.


Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk (such as food, fuel, chemicals, and mined minerals) to discrete solid parts (such as fasteners) to assemblies of such parts (such as household appliances and automobiles).

Very good point here.Hard to argue with this.Rep for you!Thanks for everyone's great response's!!

 

[RRfireblade]

All cues made for the sole purpose of retail are production cues.

A production cue can be 'custom'.

Anyone who builds cues for the sole purpose of reselling them will have designated machinery and machining processes , and create thier product using methods and assembly steps that are common to all products in the line. Their shop is setup up to effeciently replicate this process over and over to maintain consistancy and quality to the level of thier specification.

That is production. Volume only dictates the details of this formula.

Custom could be as little as picking the weight all the way up to handpicking the materials to anything outside the 'normal' production process.

Nothing but a clay pot is "Handmade" and anything can be "One of it's kind".

IMO

 

[SCCues]

I hate the question because most people who answer don't know the first thing about "production" anything.

Production is just something that is produced. You can have mass production, limited production, low volume production, one of a kind production, custom production.

The problem is that someone at some point incorrectly attributed the word "produciton" to "mass production," and the rest is history.

Schuler, Pechauer, Schon, can be considered production cues. Yet, they are some of the best built cues out there. Ginacue are made in batches, sometimes numbering into the dozens. That would be a production of Ginacues. Several low production, one-of-a-kind cuemakers at one point or another have had their cues sold as line items in magazines.

I can name some "custom, one-of-a-kind" cues that are pieces of crap in every sense of the word.

IMO, people should stop asking about the word "production." It's bogus, misleading and escalates inferences of negativitiy.

Fred <~~~ custom mass producer

I like your answer and I agree with you 100%.......

James