where to get shaft wood?
- Thread starter tlcff8
- Start date
why is this such a big secret
I really don't get why everyone is so secretive about cue making, I mean if you want people to be interested in pool, fill them in. Pool is dying and maybe if you were interested in telling a 20 year old how to do a few things and where to get some materials to start maybe it wouldn't be full of you old geezers who chastise someone if they don't own at least a 1,000 dollar cue. And what is with alot of you not liking DZ cause he makes them in an attached garage, so what his cues are awesome. But enough ranting, would one of you be kind enough to disclose where you get your shaft wood? Please? Thanks.
I really don't get why everyone is so secretive about cue making, I mean if you want people to be interested in pool, fill them in. Pool is dying and maybe if you were interested in telling a 20 year old how to do a few things and where to get some materials to start maybe it wouldn't be full of you old geezers who chastise someone if they don't own at least a 1,000 dollar cue. And what is with alot of you not liking DZ cause he makes them in an attached garage, so what his cues are awesome. But enough ranting, would one of you be kind enough to disclose where you get your shaft wood? Please? Thanks.
tlcff8 said:
Sources are very valuable. You sometimes hear about a place and order some material only to find out it isn't so good. Spend a lot of time and money trying out different materials, seeing what works and what doesn't, where are the best prices and so on. Years ago before the Internet you had to go to the Thomas Regester and spend dozens of hours doing research, ordering samples waiting weeks for deliveries only to find it isn't what you wanted. You wonder why people don't just want to give away the results of all their time and research just like that because you ask. If someone on here gives you some information that is fine but it is not an entitlement, they are not obligated to do it. I am afraid the tone of this post would not inspire most people to help you.
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where to buy shaft wood
I didn't respond, because I buy my shaft wood in 100 piece lots & they are round dowels, not square. If you are looking for shaft wood to practice on, I can help you. If you are looking for real good shaft blanks.......GOOD LUCK. About 1/3 of the blanks I get are not shaft quality. E-MAIL me for some names...JER
I didn't respond, because I buy my shaft wood in 100 piece lots & they are round dowels, not square. If you are looking for shaft wood to practice on, I can help you. If you are looking for real good shaft blanks.......GOOD LUCK. About 1/3 of the blanks I get are not shaft quality. E-MAIL me for some names...JER
tlcff8 said:
That's some funny stuff, A good way to get info is to call the people your asking OLD GEEZERS. I also must have missed the part where someone said something about DZ Cues.
Bob is a very good cuemaker and quite the gentleman.
I understand...
I do understand why they are so unwilling to divulge such information. I really do but I am not asking them what there secret is or anything all I am asking is for a company or individuals name that sells decent maple. Good wood is very hard to find, and I understand that they don't want people buying what they need. But all I am looking for is some squares or rounds that I can make 10 good shafts out of. I don't really think that if the best cuemaker in the world gave out where he got his wood, that everyone would rush to go buy it. Plus there are alot of people that start to make cues and give up. It is rather frustrating to me because I have asked this question to many cue makers and also have asked to apprentice in a way that was a lot nicer than my previous post, and their answer was along the lines of my previous post. I would of thought that people would have been excited to know that someone was interested in their work and willing to show them a thing or two. So I apoligize for the previous post but all I am looking for is a little help. Thanks, and sorry.
I do understand why they are so unwilling to divulge such information. I really do but I am not asking them what there secret is or anything all I am asking is for a company or individuals name that sells decent maple. Good wood is very hard to find, and I understand that they don't want people buying what they need. But all I am looking for is some squares or rounds that I can make 10 good shafts out of. I don't really think that if the best cuemaker in the world gave out where he got his wood, that everyone would rush to go buy it. Plus there are alot of people that start to make cues and give up. It is rather frustrating to me because I have asked this question to many cue makers and also have asked to apprentice in a way that was a lot nicer than my previous post, and their answer was along the lines of my previous post. I would of thought that people would have been excited to know that someone was interested in their work and willing to show them a thing or two. So I apoligize for the previous post but all I am looking for is a little help. Thanks, and sorry.
I buy them 1600 to 3200 blanks at a time. I have only told one cuemaker my current shaft source. When you have a good thing going with a mill and you tell a few other cuemakers and the demand for the mill's highest grade wood goes up then so does the price. Maybe this explains some of the secrecy we must maintain. My prices are pretty much in line with Quality Cut and most others that supply dowels. Dennis Dieckman did a review of my shafts in Inside Pool Magazine. Do a web search and you should find it. He basicaly says my dowels are some of the tightest and cleanest wood over all he has ever bought in dowel form. He also says the dowels were not as straight as some he has had and then explains why that is not a problem and how to move the center hole on the small end over in order to lose very few shafts. I think his review was fair.tlcff8 said:
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
Has anyone here tried the $6 dowels from bellforestproducts.com? They are in Michigan's upper peninsula a great source area for hard rock maple. One local cuemaker that ordered 50 said he'd need to return at least 10 but that overall they weren't too bad. I don't know why they don't sort them and sell the better wood for a little more.
Martin
Martin
tlcff8 said:
jazznpool said:
I bought 100 a few months ago. I threw out 50. A few more will probably go after the first cut.
Murray Tucker said:
I love the woods I get from Bell Forrest but I got 50 shaft blanks a couple months ago and they aren't much. I culled 23 out of the 50 as the grain ran off so bad and out of the 27 I have left, if they all hold up, only about 5 or 6 would go on my cues and the rest might be O.K. for break cues or 2nd shafts for Trappers.
Dick
rhncue said:
I agree. Boone is great to work with and his woods are first class. He is new to the shaft biz. I have hopes that the quality gets better as he learns more about what we want in shaft wood.
Bellforrest is just breaking into the shaftwood business. I think the biggest problem is that the person cutting the wood needs to know what makes a good shaft. I've never had a problem with Bellforrest and have bought thousands of dollars of wood from them.
If you just looking for a few good shafts then I would recommend going with Chris. It's very hard to grade a shaft from a dowel, so I would atleast go with initil tapers.
I've also had people offer to apprentice with me, although the help would be nice, to me it just doesn't make sense to teach someone everything that I've learned and then have them compete directly with me in my area. If you want to learn buy Chris's books and videos and then look to go to one of the cuemakers who give a one or two week course on cuebuilding.
If you just looking for a few good shafts then I would recommend going with Chris. It's very hard to grade a shaft from a dowel, so I would atleast go with initil tapers.
I've also had people offer to apprentice with me, although the help would be nice, to me it just doesn't make sense to teach someone everything that I've learned and then have them compete directly with me in my area. If you want to learn buy Chris's books and videos and then look to go to one of the cuemakers who give a one or two week course on cuebuilding.
tlcff8 said:
tlcff8,
In my opinion you need to sincerely thank every cuemaker who replied to you. I don't know you, so perhaps you just had a momentary lapse of judgement brought about by your frustration in getting started with cue work. I humbly asked a local cuemaker if I could look over his shoulder some to learn a little of the craft. I offered to make it worth his while. He replied a fairly polite no way would he help me learn what he had to learn the hard way. Some look at cuemaking that way, some don't. It can get frustrating, but your post was fairly rude and insulting to the ones who generally fall on the side of the fence that is for helping seriously interested people get a start in the business.
I have never heard any cuemaker chastise anyone for not owning a $1,000 cue. As for calling them old geezers, I don't consider many of them that old, and some of the ones that have been making cues for decades deserve a better title than you bestow upon them.
As for DZ cues, I found your comment really strange. I have never read anything negative about Bob or his cues here, or anywhere else for that matter. Perhaps you personally know Bob and was rushing to his defense from some perceived attitude. Bob has been very helpful to me when I have emailed him with questions. Much thanks to you Bob!
I am not a cuemaker, heck, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express, but I hope to be one one day. If I succeed, it will be from some initiative (if you can't open a web browser and go to a search engine and find at least a few possible sources for shaft material you may be expecting a little too much handed to you) from myself, a LOT of screwing up, and a LOT of help and assistance from those willing to lend a helping hand or advice. During that process, I hope I never resort to insulting those who have paved the way and those we give their free time to reply to posts such as yours.
Kelly
Murray Tucker said:
I agree. I knew going in that the blanks would be chancey as I talked to Boone before ordering them and he explained that they were mixed. He recommended that I get 5 or 10 to see what they looked like and I opted for 50 shaft blanks and 50 coring dowells to get a better comparison.
I hate to pass up a bargain but at the same time it has always been false economy as the blanks are never up to specs of what I'm used to getting and they aren't that much cheaper. Although good shaft blanks are cheap individually, it is a chunk of change to tie up for a good supply. I've always got 4 or 500 blanks in stages and a couple dollars here and there add up.
Dick
Shaft sources
I think its interesting that most people don't hesitate to ask a cuemaker for their sources, but that would never cross their minds in virtually any other business. If you wanted to start making shoes, would you ask Nike or Adidas for their sources. They would laugh you out of the room!!! Thats why they call it trade secrets.
A round of applause for those willing to help out in any capacity. I talk to collectors and a couple of custom cuemakers on a regular basis, and we normally speak in generalities; i.e. shaft taper, inlays, points and veneers, what we like, don't like, etc.
As far as looking down on anyone else's cues, I have come across that, and think that many people who have the low, low end stuff (sporting goods store cues), don't really care if you like their cues or not. If you like what you have, who cares what others think. I do feel sorry for anyone who pays more than $100 for a cue like a Players, Cuetec, or Lucasi when you can get them really cheap if you shop smart in pawnshops and have a little time to be picky. This is especially true in larger cities with a diverse pool playing population.
I think its interesting that most people don't hesitate to ask a cuemaker for their sources, but that would never cross their minds in virtually any other business. If you wanted to start making shoes, would you ask Nike or Adidas for their sources. They would laugh you out of the room!!! Thats why they call it trade secrets.
A round of applause for those willing to help out in any capacity. I talk to collectors and a couple of custom cuemakers on a regular basis, and we normally speak in generalities; i.e. shaft taper, inlays, points and veneers, what we like, don't like, etc.
As far as looking down on anyone else's cues, I have come across that, and think that many people who have the low, low end stuff (sporting goods store cues), don't really care if you like their cues or not. If you like what you have, who cares what others think. I do feel sorry for anyone who pays more than $100 for a cue like a Players, Cuetec, or Lucasi when you can get them really cheap if you shop smart in pawnshops and have a little time to be picky. This is especially true in larger cities with a diverse pool playing population.
Anyone in the south east have a doweling machine? May know a source for NM hardrock, but they only sell roughs by the truck load. From what I was told, they do no business with any cuemakers, but I have not seen the quality or how the logs are sawn. Greg