Custom cue, by who and why?

[jarcher]

Hi, I'm considering getting a new cue made, moving away from my mastercue. I've always wanted a JP but haven't heard great reports on his recent shafts (correct me if I'm mistaken).

So I ask you all, if you were having a new cue made with a budget of around £400, £500 at a stretch, which craftsman (cue maker) would you use and why? Please, if possible, state estimated wait times from order to delivery.

[Freddie Ng]

well.. with that budget you can get good cues from a lot of cue makers. Just some of them are too busy and aren't taking any orders.
you can try :

Robin http://www.robincues.co.uk/index.html
Aurora
Dan Shelton
Trevor White
Omin or maybe UT

if you like JP's cue, you try look around TSF. There are some nice second hand available sometimes.

Hope this helps

[Snook1]

Mike Wooldridge

Why
1. I prefer the finish of his cues compared to others.
2. He does a sexy taper, usually slimmer than others which I like.
3. I have a few cues from different top makers and the MW is defo my fav.
4. Read his website from front to back and upside down and you will see he has a confidance in his workmanship almost to the extent of arrogance which I like and think is a quality.

[abhi147]

Trevor white
No questions asked
The best ive used and ive used a lot of cues

Havent used Mikes cue but I am pretty sure Mike or Trev both make the best cues

[sanman]

Trevor white
No questions asked
The best ive used and ive used a lot of cues

Havent used Mikes cue but I am pretty sure Mike or Trev both make the best cues

The best cue is the cue you get on with not the cue that is made by a particular cuemaker and I am sure most if not all cuemakers will agree that not each cue made is exactly the same

the problem with having a custom made cue is that most who order such a cue is buying blind. In the sense that one has not play tested them before buying them

there are countless examples of cues being sold made by top cuemakers because the owner genuinely cannot play well with it or cannot get used to it. I have also bought cues this way and although I did get a gem or two in a lot of the cases I have been dissapointed even though the cues have been made by top cuemakers.

Ideally if one is spending in excess of 300 pounds (which is what one would expect to pay for such a cue then unless you have a cuemaker who has made you cues before and who knows what you expect then i would suggest that sometimes its best you try the cue that the bloke in the club is selling and if it plays well, then its best to buy one like that and perfect your game) ultimately its all in the feel of the shaft and the tip that determines how well you play.

Splices are just decorative and so is the badge. They DONT POT BALLS.

I guess if most top cuemakers had to make a blank classic cue not many people would be able to able to tell one from the other.

[Freddie Ng]

The best cue is the cue you get on with not the cue that is made by a particular cuemaker and I am sure most if not all cuemakers will agree that not each cue made is exactly the same

the porblem with having a custom made cue is that most who order such a cue is buying blind. In the sense that one has not play tested them before buying them

there are countless examples of cues being sold made by top cuemakers because the owner genuinely cannot play well with it or cannot get used to it. I have also bought cues this way and although I did get a gem or two in a lot of the cases I have been dissapointed evn though the cues have been made from top cuemakers.
Ideally if one is spending in excess of 300 pounds ( which is what one would expect to pay for such a cue then unless you have a cuemaker who has made you cues before and who knows what you expect then i would suggest that sometimes its best you try the cue that the bloke in the club is eeling and if it plays well then its best to buy one like that and perfect your game) unltimately its all in the feel of the shaft and the tip that determines how well you play.

Splices are just decorative and so is the badge. They DONT POT BALLS.

I guess if most top cuemakers had to make a blank classic cue not many people would be able to able to tell one from teh other.

Good advise Sanman.. :snooker:

[totlxtc]

The best cue is the cue you get on with not the cue that is made by a particular cuemaker and I am sure most if not all cuemakers will agree that not each cue made is exactly the same

the porblem with having a custom made cue is that most who order such a cue is buying blind. In the sense that one has not play tested them before buying them

there are countless examples of cues being sold made by top cuemakers because the owner genuinely cannot play well with it or cannot get used to it. I have also bought cues this way and although I did get a gem or two in a lot of the cases I have been dissapointed evn though the cues have been made from top cuemakers.
Ideally if one is spending in excess of 300 pounds ( which is what one would expect to pay for such a cue then unless you have a cuemaker who has made you cues before and who knows what you expect then i would suggest that sometimes its best you try the cue that the bloke in the club is eeling and if it plays well then its best to buy one like that and perfect your game) unltimately its all in the feel of the shaft and the tip that determines how well you play.

Splices are just decorative and so is the badge. They DONT POT BALLS.

I guess if most top cuemakers had to make a blank classic cue not many people would be able to able to tell one from teh other.

Spot on advice there.

[Acrowot]

I think that maybe, you have hit the nail on the head sanman!

As well as any cue is made, does not mean it will suit each person.
:snooker:

[totlxtc]

I think that maybe, you have hit the nail on the head sanman!

As well as any cue is made, does not mean it will suit each person.
:snooker:

I will admit....Best cue I have ever played with, I brought for £6. It was ash and Rosewood. The splices were shocking, there were gluelines...it was not pretty. But the thing was I could play like a man possessed! Only cue ive played near it was one I made recently for Mike Crowe which i went out to test it and ended up using it for the evening and winning a tournament with it. Alot of it is in the head. It will never be the cues fault (Unless something is wrong with the cue/tip etc). Human error, learn from YOUR mistakes rather than finding blame on them.

[cally]

I can play much better with my 25 year old riley powerglide "steve davis" cue that cost me nowt, than i can with my new trevor white... i'm gutted....


I think it's the slim taper on the old cues that i like, a few modern cues over the years i've owned have had a different taper and not so much a slim taper as the older cues i have...i dunno if cues were generally made with slimmer tapers years ago or what, but a few i have used seem to be, and feel much more comfy to me

My trev is the same, quite a thick taper really, wish i asked for a slim taper now... no good asking him to re-taper my cue now (i've tried) he just don't get back in touch, customer service, what customer service...:snooker:


Hmmm, i think i need a cue to be made with a slim taper, maybe that will give me the feel i'm looking for in a modern cue.. i dunno...

I might get the sandpaper out on my trev now and re-taper it myself...

[sbq79]

Very informative...good advice. This.

[ADR147]

The best cue is the cue you get on with not the cue that is made by a particular cuemaker and I am sure most if not all cuemakers will agree that not each cue made is exactly the same

the problem with having a custom made cue is that most who order such a cue is buying blind. In the sense that one has not play tested them before buying them

there are countless examples of cues being sold made by top cuemakers because the owner genuinely cannot play well with it or cannot get used to it. I have also bought cues this way and although I did get a gem or two in a lot of the cases I have been dissapointed even though the cues have been made by top cuemakers.

Ideally if one is spending in excess of 300 pounds (which is what one would expect to pay for such a cue then unless you have a cuemaker who has made you cues before and who knows what you expect then i would suggest that sometimes its best you try the cue that the bloke in the club is selling and if it plays well, then its best to buy one like that and perfect your game) ultimately its all in the feel of the shaft and the tip that determines how well you play.

Splices are just decorative and so is the badge. They DONT POT BALLS.

I guess if most top cuemakers had to make a blank classic cue not many people would be able to able to tell one from the other.

i suspect i would be able to identify who made which cue but it still would not mean one was better than the other at potting balls!

[abhi147]

@ Sanman:
I agree with you, I am not much of a design freak but rather a quality freak.
But I do believe you get what you pay for
1 out of a 100 mass produced cues will be good, but do you really wanna take the risk of purchasing 100 cues!!!!

My trevs cue is the cheapest in terms of design got it for like 350 GBP

Ive played with a lot of cues esp master cue and omin and tried a friends JP
But honestly the play and feel of JP and TW has been far better than master and omin or the club cues.

I do have a friend who owns an Omin and its the only Omin ive ever liked, amazing feel. As for master cues go either they have pathetic quality cues or they send all the bad cues to India :@

[kevin147q]

abhi147, maybe you bought fake master cue. Each cue has own character, They were born from different country/ maker.

[jarcher]

Thanks for all your comments.... I know that it's all about what you feel comfortable with, but it's more about the quality of materials used and the quality of the finish.

As many people have stated before, the cues made by JP from years ago, would be rated as higher quality than those made today due to the quality of the ash used in the shaft. Nothing to do with the quality of the craftsmanship that goes into making the cue.

I have seen some lovely designed cues by Dan on his site, especially the last one in the gallery with the matching mini butt, but design isn't everything.

I haven't played with a wide range of cues, but out of those I have played with, I feel that I got great cue power out of some and not others, but again, some have had a 'whippy' shaft, others were stiff. I've found the stiffer shaft easier to control the white with, especially when playing side and delicate shots.

On one cue, when my hands were getting a little sweaty or the air was humid, the ash grain used to expand and made the cue feel rough, so I guess I'm looking more for people's personal experience of how their cue's performed, what type of ash was used by the maker etc, not just how well they looked.

I've already decided on the Talisman M as my tip of choice... for now anyway, so now, it's just a case of sorting out a new cue