Will a real cue maker step forward?

stop looking for a real cuemaker

whitewolf said:
For years now I have looked for a forward balanced cue - 21.3 inches from the butt.

Scruggs can't do it, Phillipi failed miserably on my special request. Ted Harris didn't respond to my email. Blackheart doesn't do this, nor does anyone else as I have hinted on the forums a few times. Is there a reputable cue maker who can do this?

If I can't find a cue maker, then I have reconciled myself to do the following:

Buy a cue with a skinny butt and Predator shafts. Freaking put metal tape near the joint until my expectations are met :mad: I don't care anymore. If it works maybe I can get someone to wrap it for me :D . (Purdman, you there?) Who wants to be a Super Hero? - also a silly show on Sci-Fi.

So if any of you guys have any better suggestions for the metal tape, please let me know.

I am off to Lowes now.

Thanks, WW
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I gotta admit, when I saw you disrespecting one of the most capable
cue makers who ever lived, in your search for this silly a$$ed cue,
I was tempeted to tell you just how much of a potato head you are.

On further reflection, your mistake has been trying to get an established cuemaker to build the cue

Others have already given you good reasons why they won't go near it.

I have a humble suggestion, find a gulible cuemaker wannabe to build it.
several here understand there are ways the magic balance point
could be reached - one might be willing to consult on the project,
for an up front fee.
I've noticed one person designates himself as:
"not a cuemaker yet..." perhaps he's the one for you

HTH
Dale
 
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bandido said:
how about reverse taper:)
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OR a stainless steel ferrule.
1 foot long. :eek: :eek: :eek: :D
Of course this can be done by just drilling the top of the forearm and dump some carbide dust up there. :D
It'd hit like shait though.
Can I sign Preacher Power Custom Cues in there after?
 
JoeyInCali said:
OR a stainless steel ferrule.
1 foot long. :eek: :eek: :eek: :D
Of course this can be done by just drilling the top of the forearm and dump some carbide dust up there. :D
It'd hit like shait though.
Can I sign Preacher Power Custom Cues in there after?
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sign away!LOL
 
I would suggest you contact Scot of www.zaccues.com. His cues are generally very forward balanced. I am talking about over 20 " from the butt. I think he believes that such a forward balanced cue is the best. I have only tried about 4 of his cues, and they all have a very front balance. May be he can work with you to get you what you want.

Good luck,

Richard
 
One time a guy came to me for repairs, he wanted to have his cue extremely forward balanced, he doesn't care about the weight or what... had a stainless steel joint and 5/16-18 pin. He told me to bore the buttend with a 3/4" hole 8-10" deep... no explanation from me could make him change his mind. After it was done, he was happy with it. my jaw dropped.... =0

I guess to each his own...
 
blud said:
I can't blame any cue maker for NOT building that cue. Most of us have our standards, and build cues that play as we wish. Building a cue as you want WOULD be out of the norm for most of us. Any seasoned cue maker could build the cue, however it's the cue makers reputation on the line, not the owners.
blud
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Good to see you posting again.
 
PetreeCues said:
I have to agree with Murray and Dick. Most cue makers will not make something that is too far out of the ordinary. Something off the wall like that only gets remembered as "whacko" and people don't even consider that it was asked for... they just think of that cue maker as a nutso when they see it.

Also (nothing personal), many times someone wants something like that, they want perfect results. The results are not something the cue maker can control if he built exactly what the customer asked for. It can come out playing horrible, and that is what the customer sees instead of the fact that he got exactly what he asked for. Then the cue maker gets to try to "fix" it... usually for nothing or very little, in which case, Murray made the perfect move... throw it away and give the money back. Win Win.

The only better move is not to try in the first place. It's one of those jobs where the odds are heavily in favor of the end result not being worth the money the cue maker got for the work, much less the headache that follows.

Just trying to make you understand why you aren't getting much response from cue makers on it.


JWP
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think petree got it right smack on the money...

i guess if u are asking for a very specific balance point, a cuemaker can get it right but the cue may not be satisfactory for your playing purposes... there are many ways to get to a specific balance point.

would you consider it a success if he/she (are there any female cuemakers out there btw? :confused: ) does get it right but it doesn't suit you? if your answer is no, perhaps you can lay out some benchmarks or some sort of guideline?

with all due respect, i think you have to be more specific... think its hard for everyone here to help you out with the info you've given so far... :)
 
Forward please ...

The only cue I ever felt that could come close to that was a 'Bushka', but it felt top heavy to me at the time, kind of like a blonde I spent the weekend with one time. The only difference was one had a pedigree and one didn't .... lol
 
Hi WHITEWOLF; Could you explain how you came up with this particular balance point? What benifits do you think you will get from this? What weight are you looking for?. Just trying to understand...JER
 
It seems he's too busy grumbling and moaning to post...
________
 
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Chris said:
Out of curiosity, what woods did you use?

It would seem that dense, old growth shaft wood, very dense forearm wood, slightly less dense point wood, even less dense handle wood, and relatively low density wood in the butt sleeve, with a low density butt cap all would combine to make a cue with a pretty far forward balance. It could be moved farther forward still but using a heavy metal pin and joint collar and maybe even a heavy shaft insert.

Of course, choosing wood based primarily on density might make for an ugly cue, which cue makers are often understandably reluctant to make.
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Actually, my wife discussed this with Tim Scruggs, lighter woods in the rear of the cue, but the results couldn't be guaranteed.

Thanks for your responses everyone - I have to read the rest of them now.
 
rhncue said:
If you've not been able to have this cue made in the past just what makes you think that this balance point is what you want? Did you just arbitrarilly come up with this figuire so as to be able to claim there are no custom cue makers worth having since they can't or don't want to build this cue? You are asking for the balance point to be exactly just 7.7" behind the shaft. I don't think it would be hard to build at all although I believe it would be a horrible playing cue as the shaft would be so stiff weighing maybe 5.5 ounce, a 6 or 7 inch 3/8x10 pin, a steel joint and the butt made of big leaf maple.

In reality it wouldn't be that hard to build but who needs the agravation and who would want to put their name on it.

Dick
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Well, since you asked the question, I already have two cues with the 21.3 forward balanced distribution. They are Scetpre cues, made out of compressed wood. The shafts are real heavy as the wood is dense. The butts are thin and this works perfect for me.

So this is just not a dream I have worked up to befuddle someone. As a matter of fact, I have a teammate who hit a few balls with my Sceptre and he was COMPLETELY AMAZED of how good the cue hits. I know he would have traded me his Southwestern which I was trying out and didn't like (better than 90% of the cues though), but he didn't want to admit his jealously. He is a cue collector and owns hundreds of cues from every known sort.

And to the other poster who ended up with the cue that was too front weighted, yeah I will agree that they hit like sh!t, as I have one that is 22 inches forward balanced and one that is 22.5 inches forward balanced. The cues that are too front weighted I got from the Idaho potato farmers who couldn't play a lick of pool and who bought the business from Russ who lived in California. At that time I quit being a dealer because they were complete idiots.

So knowing that my cues will not last forever, I am looking for a new cue. And right now the metal tape looks real good. :D
 
pdcue said:
I gotta admit, when I saw you disrespecting one of the most capable
cue makers who ever lived, in your search for this silly a$$ed cue,
I was tempeted to tell you just how much of a potato head you are.

On further reflection, your mistake has been trying to get an established cuemaker to build the cue

Others have already given you good reasons why they won't go near it.

I have a humble suggestion, find a gulible cuemaker wannabe to build it.
several here understand there are ways the magic balance point
could be reached - one might be willing to consult on the project,
for an up front fee.
I've noticed one person designates himself as:
"not a cuemaker yet..." perhaps he's the one for you

HTH
Dale
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As far as disrespecting one of the greatest cue makers ever, let me just say that I first of all called Rick (the son) on the phone to verify that is could be done. I then emailed him my specs, just so that he could verify. Then I drove down there and showed him my cues with the 21.3" balance points. He even measured them. I, still being somewhat doubtful, asked how he would do this. He showed me the bolt that holds the two butt pieces together and said that he would just move it closer to the joint. I even told him not to bother making the cue if he couldn't come anywhere close to my specifications. We shook hands.

When I got the cue, it was only 19" balanced forward. I sent the cue back and lost my deposit, with no offer to do it right. I have nothing against Rick as I think he is a nice guy. Maybe I should have dealt with his father. And just maybe this is why Phillipi cues are loosing value.

Disrespect??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am simply saying that he really botched up the job and didn't offer me a chance to fix the problem. Took my money and ran.

I guess all you wanted to do was to popoff today like a REAL MEATHEAD. At least you might try being a little more respectful yourself.
 
nipponbilliards said:
I would suggest you contact Scot of www.zaccues.com. His cues are generally very forward balanced. I am talking about over 20 " from the butt. I think he believes that such a forward balanced cue is the best. I have only tried about 4 of his cues, and they all have a very front balance. May be he can work with you to get you what you want.

Good luck,

Richard
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Thanks for you suggestion. I actually had a 20.5" forward balanced Layanti, but this wasn't forward balanced enough for me. One of the best playing cues I have ever owned. My wife has a 20.5" forward balanced Scruggs, which is the best cue I have ever played with (excepting for the Sceptres and it is just a little light).

Where is Drivermaker when you need him? Darn, he was a forward balanced finatic. :D
 
blud said:
I can't blame any cue maker for NOT building that cue. Most of us have our standards, and build cues that play as we wish. Building a cue as you want WOULD be out of the norm for most of us. Any seasoned cue maker could build the cue, however it's the cue makers reputation on the line, not the owners.
blud
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Thanks for responding Blud. I am finding out that what you are saying is very very true. WW
 
whitewolf said:
Well, since you asked the question, I already have two cues with the 21.3 forward balanced distribution. They are Scetpre cues, made out of compressed wood. The shafts are real heavy as the wood is dense. The butts are thin and this works perfect for me.
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Can you give us more information on Sceptre Cues? You and Laura have mentioned them several times before, and I can find nothing on them.

Can the guy who made Sceptre Cues make your cue for you?

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Can you give us more information on Sceptre Cues? You and Laura have mentioned them several times before, and I can find nothing on them.

Can the guy who made Sceptre Cues make your cue for you?

Fred
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Dear gawd.
Those are resin impregnated wood cues.:rolleyes: :eek:
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
Hi WHITEWOLF; Could you explain how you came up with this particular balance point? What benifits do you think you will get from this? What weight are you looking for?. Just trying to understand...JER
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As I explained in another post, I already have two cues with this much balance forward weight.

To try and answer your question, I can only say that I like pushing the weight through the ball rather than pulling when the cue is back weighted. You get a much better feedback as you feel a little weight between your hand and the cueball, and it is easier to tell that your cue is going back and forth straight.

I can't understand why half the folks responding to this thread are joking about this when in fact they have never, and I would like to emphasize NEVER, shot with a cue made like my current cue.

BTW, I still have your 19" forward balanced cue you sold my wife (Laura) and I carry it around in my case for a second cue. Makes a good break cue for me also.

Years back Laura tells me that you didn't make cues as I am wishing for as she did ask you about the forward balanced cues. If you want to make me one of those 'trial cues' just so that you can play around, I would buy the cue from you since I know that your are very trustworthy. But I really expect that you will turn me down as your waiting list is 6 months or so.

However, if you did happen to make one and you liked it, as did some others (pros), you could stand to make a lot of money. And, IMHO as a potatohead :D , I will go out on a limb here and say that the forward balanced cues play better on slower cloth. Even now there is the thought going around of going to a heavier cue for the slower napped tables. Just think of the hit you would make with the IPT players!!!!! You would have to quit your regular job. The nice thing about a forward weighted cue is that is can actually be quite heavy but you don't feel the weight because of the weight distribution. My 20.5 ounce Sceptre plays like a 19 ounce cue it is so well balanced, IMHO again.

got to go now. Thanks again for asking. WW
 
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