I hand sketched a six point cue design: (ebony points) with 5 classic veneer colors, inlays in all 6 points, flat ivory joint, 3 Bushka collars (ebony & ivory squares with double silver rings), double red boxed veneers with ivory inlays in the butt sleeve, ivory butt cap and I'm struggling to find the best wrap.......most of my current cues have Cortland linen which is my favorite wrap........but there's not much to choose from so I'll probably go with a double stitch white/black Irish Linen.
I think my cue design will be a handsome specimen and the veneers are going to be spectacular. I've seen the piece of curly maple my cue-builder selected and I asked that my BEM stain be dark. A dark curly BEM forearm will highlight and contrast the ebony points and colorful veneers in my cue design. I debated for 6 months which cue-builder to use and price was not an issue on my cue-maker selection, nor was delivery time. I just wanted a cue-maker that would collaborate and buy into my cue design.
I've spoken with my cue-maker and he's just a wonderful guy to deal with and best of all, he liked my design and seems committed to building the best cue he can using my design. I furnished him with detailed specs on the cue & shaft weights, sizes. etc. and my guy doesn't think there'll be any issues building this cue which I'm amazed about since I thought for sure he might have a problem meeting my cue weight goal of 18.5 ozs with 58 ivory inlays and an ivory butt cap. Nope.......my cue-maker said it may not be dead-on at 18.5 ozs but the cue would be within 1/10th of an ounce..........1/10th......OMG.....who could ever hope for a more accurate build?
I was hoping my cue would be built in time for this year's Cue of The Year Contest. Unfortunately my cue's completion date is next March so it won't be ready. But I look forward to seeing progress photos of the cue build in the months ahead. I'm having my 3rd rotator cuff surgery (3 rotator cuff surgeries in the last 4 years) at the end of September. So I won't be playing pool again for 4 months so the wait for my cue won't seem so long.
I had Bob Runde build me a custom Schon back in '85 and he was just a wonderful person to deal with. My current cue-maker may exceed the great experience I had with Bob Runde and I'm really looking forward to revealing my cue on AZ when it's finished, or via progress photos of the cue build. For the moment, I'm not mentioning the cue-builder because I do not want to steal his thunder and he's in charge of the build. But I'm predicting the cue will be a gem............I studied lots of cues over the past 3 years and came up with a design borrowing from other cue-makers' workmanship. This cue will be a grand slam and not just an ordinary home run.......uh oh.............I better be careful or this might become a unexpected outcome and I wind up eating humble pie..................Nah, on second thought, I'm just a little disappointed the cue won't be ready for the 2013 Cue of The Year Contest...................Yeah, I'm really that confident my cue is going to get rave reviews after it's finished.