wanted maple 2 piece cue

[ericgb]

hi to all am looking for maple 2 piece cue centre split with 9-10mm tip many thanks eric

[Bigmeek]

Mastercraft Cue

Hello mate. What's your budget? If you can run to £135 then Mastercraft are worth a go. I bought a Maple 2 pc centre last year and it turned out very nice. I'll probably buy another from them shortly but thought I'd try an Ash one this time. I've played with a Maple cue for the last 25years but thought I'd try something different. Most of the pros seem to go for Ash.

[ericgb]

ok thanks haver you any contact detail or have they a web site

[Jonny]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Craftsman-Snoo...item255857d82f

EDIT: **** sorry, ash not maple

[Bigmeek]

ok thanks haver you any contact detail or have they a web site

They have a website with contact details and pictures of their standard cues. Check out www.mastercraft-cues.co.uk Prices start at £125 from memory. Maple cues are £5 extra. Dave Buswell and Chris Smith are the main guys. They have been making cues for donkeys years and will make up a cue for you to your own specification at no extra charge. If you want something really fancy then ask for a quote. Good value for money.

[Bigmeek]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Craftsman-Snoo...item255857d82f

EDIT: **** sorry, ash not maple

Jonny Nice cue for £40. Machine spliced I think. Probably not worth much more than 40. Someone might make an offer

[snookerpoolman]

hi to all am looking for maple 2 piece cue centre split with 9-10mm tip many thanks eric

Hi Eric, I currently have on order for another TSF member a maple hanspliced cue with Rosewood butt made to their specifications. Please PM or email me to cueist@genie.co.uk with your exact specs. e.g, tip size, weight and overall length. I'll be able to quote you exact price when I've spoken to Cue Craft, but it will be around £85 - £95, with secure postage at just £10.

Cheers, Dave:snooker:

[snookerpoolman]

hi to all am looking for maple 2 piece cue centre split with 9-10mm tip many thanks eric

Hi Eric, I currently have on order for another TSF member a maple hanspliced cue with Rosewood butt made to their specifications. Please PM or email me to cueist@genie.co.uk with your exact specs. e.g, tip size, weight and overall length. I'll be able to quote you exact price when I've spoken to Cue Craft, but it will be around £85 - £95, with secure postage at just £10.

Cheers, Dave:snooker:

[Bigmeek]

Eric I'm sure you'll know this already but with cues like most things "you get what you pay for". If you're a serious player looking to improve then the advice from the pros is to get the best cue you can afford to buy. Around £200-£300+ gets you a good one. If you just knock about in the club once a week for a laugh then a cheapy £30 cue is good enough. I've seen a post on this forum from one of the knowledgeable guys saying that these Cuecraft cues are not as good as they used to be but if the price suits you then it's worth a punt. The price is certainly very attractive for a handmade cue and I must admit I'm tempted to give one a try. Perhaps if you buy one you could post some photos with your comments?

[snookerpoolman]

Cue Craft have been around for around 30 years now and in my opinion after playing cue sports for the last 25 years, their home produced hand spliced cues are as good as any in the country. Sure you can spend £200- £300 if you want to it's just that with Cue Craft you'll get equally as good cue and all the extensions, and depending on the model of the cue, probably a case as well for that sort of money.. Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking JP, TW or any other cue manufacturer at all (that's not what I'm about), they also produce good cues (I play snooker with a Parris Ultimate myself!) as well. It's just there is a bias on here that seems to suggest the only way to get a good cue is to spend £2-300. I know that not to be true and as I'm an established independent billiard trader I can keep the overheads low and pass that onto customers - everybody wins that way.

Have a look at the Arrow Cue I have in stock - It's top quality Ash, four point hand spliced to Ebony with inlaid woods on the butt making the Arrow flight design, approx 19 oz, double Airlock joint and comes with a butt fitting Telescopic ext and I have this up at £185!! Terrific value for a real piece of quality craftmanship.

I hope this post redresses the balance a little and helps to dispel the myth that Cue Craft cues are in some way lesser quality than others...:snooker:

[ericgb]

Hi am after ebony butt 18 oz 57 inch and 8.75 tip would also prefer splice of either snkewood or burr walnut if posssible

[Bigmeek]

Snookerpoolman Hello Dave. Thanks for your posts and photos re Cuecraft cues. Very interesting. Just to clarify my position; can I say that I wasn't saying Cuecraft cues were no good and Mastercraft were better because I've really no idea. I was just going by the various posts I've read on the Forum. I would like to share with you my own experience of buying a cue and perhaps you could respond with some comments?
Last year I decided to buy a handmade cue and started to trawl around the various websites. When I came accross the Cuecraft website I didn't find any mention of the fact that cues could be made to the customers own specification. The other thing I found was that the photos of cues were very bad. They looked like cues you would get out of Argos! (I've since found out that if you click on the image you get a better picture). The third thing is that there's a whole list of cues with no photo at all and just the briefest of description. The other place I saw a cuecraft cue was on the Craftsman website but the cue looked like it was one of those ones with the shiny varnished butts which are not for me. For these reasons I went with Mastercraft whose website is altogether far better. Appreciate that fancy websites don't mean great cues but you have to start somewhere when you're buying from a distance. Regards.
PS I'm looking to buy another cue shortly so may drop you an e-mail.

[snookerpoolman]

Snookerpoolman Hello Dave. Thanks for your posts and photos re Cuecraft cues. Very interesting. Just to clarify my position; can I say that I wasn't saying Cuecraft cues were no good and Mastercraft were better because I've really no idea. I was just going by the various posts I've read on the Forum. I would like to share with you my own experience of buying a cue and perhaps you could respond with some comments?
Last year I decided to buy a handmade cue and started to trawl around the various websites. When I came accross the Cuecraft website I didn't find any mention of the fact that cues could be made to the customers own specification. The other thing I found was that the photos of cues were very bad. They looked like cues you would get out of Argos! (I've since found out that if you click on the image you get a better picture). The third thing is that there's a whole list of cues with no photo at all and just the briefest of description. The other place I saw a cuecraft cue was on the Craftsman website but the cue looked like it was one of those ones with the shiny varnished butts which are not for me. For these reasons I went with Mastercraft whose website is altogether far better. Appreciate that fancy websites don't mean great cues but you have to start somewhere when you're buying from a distance. Regards.
PS I'm looking to buy another cue shortly so may drop you an e-mail.

Hi Bigmeek, thanks for your constructive reply - I agree with a lot of the points you have raised. Recently I looked at the Cue Craft website and half of it was missing. I have an understanding why this might be, one of the directors has been seriously ill since last year and possibly they have taken their eye off that particular ball. Although their printed brochures are of the highest quality, with great pictures and good descriptions.

As for not saying about customised cues being available, that is true also as they rely on people like myself to publicise that service. Their main 'route to market' is via snooker clubs and independents like myself.

I suspect the cue you saw on Craftsman's website would have been one of the imported ones (just to clarify that - ALL cue manufacturers supply imported cheaper cues and/or extensions/accessories, Craftsman themselves import some from cues Thailand I believe, but the brand name escapes me just now Mastercue?? is it?, this is simply as the production costs are obviously far less) Some of these can be OK quality, but nothing like a UK produced hand-spliced cue. Don't know much about Mastercraft, as they're relatively new to the cues market as far as I know.

Yes by all means e-mail me, or depending on where you live, try and get over to my sale at Clay Cross - there's bound to be something of interest to you.

The other thing that surprises me on here is the waiting time for cues. Every other post seems to say 20 - 24 weeks to recieve a cue?? (thats nearly six months?) My customers sometimes baulk at the 2 - 3 weeks I quote for a handmade customised cue, which to me seems about right.

A little bit more about myself... For a number of years I've been selling cues, cases and accessories on a large seasonal Sunday Market (Thoresby). This has been great for re-covering work and, to a certain extent pool table sales. But now I'm looking to do more one off sales events and some internet based selling. I also stand with the cues etc. at exhibitions with pro's, if you don't mind me name dropping -Jimmy, Ronnie, Stephen, JP, The Nugget, Alex, Dennis, Ian McCulloch and I am a mate of 007 - he plays in the league at my club and I was in the team with him til a couple of years ago.

Hope that's covered everything - cheers for now Snookerpoolman :snooker:

[Bigmeek]

Snookerpoolman Dave, thanks for all the useful information. You've got me thinking now. I'm way up in Scotland so won't manage to get down to your sale. I'm really looking at having a cue custom made for me anyhow as I'm very picky about weight, length, balance etc. Unlesss I get a cue that's right for me I lose all confidence in it. The last think I want when getting down on a shot is to be thinking "this cue is a bit heavier than I'm used to". Don't know why I'm so fussy 'cos I'm not very good but I do like to take the game seriously and do the best I can.
I think I'll send off for the Cuecraft brochure you mention so that I can have a browse to see if there's anything which catches my eye. If you don't mind I'll e-mail you my requirements in the next day or so and if you think you can help me then let me know.