Getting a 3/4 cue in/or to Canada

[Heeks]

For the past couple weeks I have been searching the web for a new cue. Money is not really an issue, obviously to an extant. I am willing to pay for a proper cue I just have no clue where to start. There is nowhere locally, and maybe one or two places online within Canada to acquire a 3/4 jointed cue. Selection is quite limited. There is Dufferin cues available here, which I used to use all the time, but they went out of business and sold the name to a company in China who is now manufacturing cues under the same name. Unless I found one from Pre 2004 I doubt it is still Canadian made.

Regardless, I would like an English made cue. I do not mind buying a mass produced model from one of the larger English dealers. I shoot in the 60's and still have a long way to go. Looks aren't all that important either. I would prefer a matte black, or gloss, with four regular splices. Nothing extreme/exotic, just simple, clean lines.

Customs processing is probably going to cost upwards of forty pounds but I can't really get away from that. Does anyone know where I could start? Is there better billiard supply websites over others? If someone knows of a place where I can get a decent cue shipped to Canada with ease that would be greatly appreciated. It is so hard to judge being on the other side of the world what will show up at your door.

Here's a short "wish list" of sorts:

3/4 joint
Ash shaft
Mini butt with extension included (screw-in)
18.5 oz or lighter (down to 17)
9.5-10 ferrule/tip

There was two I keep coming back to that may or may not be good. Someone can feel free to tell me the truth behind these. The first being the Peradon Pro model. Averaging around £179. From what i was able to see it looked acceptable. Also there was the Joe Davis Peradon Model, £109 (seemed a little low for what was made out to be a "good" cue) not so crazy bout the signature and marketing of the cue, moreso just the look of it. Somewhere I seen you can get the badge replaced anyway, doubt I would but it would be an option.

Also I will require a case, can't get 3/4 snooker cases here either. If it was from the same retailer/company that would be great, not necessarily preferred, just the more I can save on shipping can go towards more table time. Or if someone has something available for sale that fits the above mentioned by all means let me know.

Thank you all very much. Any help with this matter is greatly appreciated.

Warm regards,

Justin

[screwball]

Hi Justin,

First call a local billiards room; they often have cues for sale or know a player who does. Then there are the billiards supply stores. If nothing is available locally you can try ebay. Most of the inexpensive cues there ($140.00 Can with case and extension are decent value though not always using the wood described). I have also ordered cues from MasterCue in Thailand and Woods Cues. Both will make cues to your specs and ship to Canada. Woods will be much less expensive but their better quality cue is decent value for the money. If all else fails I have an Omin Perfect 3/4 with 3 extensions and case available.

[Neil Taperell]

Try Terry Davidson on here . He sometimes has a few quality cues for sale at good prices .

[Saint Michael]

Getting a 3/4 cue in/or to Canada

Hi Justin. Craftsman cues ship to Canada quite a lot. Going on their website and you can enter your own spec. They may even have some in stock. Simon at craftsman is very helpful. Dave brown makes the cues. He is first class. Hope this helps

Michael

[jonnylovessn8ker]

I'm selling this and it fits your specs entirely:
http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...with-mini-butt

I can help you with the long extension and possibly even a case.
Message me at jonnyyyl@gmail.com if you are interested.

I also got these for sale too:
http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...se-for-US-pool
http://www.thesnookerforum.com/board...rcules-Baron-)

[Terry Davidson]

Heeks:

I have a small number of quality cues which are right in your specs as they are the same as my specs (17.5 to 18.4oz, 57", 9.4 to 9.5mm brass ferrule, 29mm butt diameter), mostly 3/4 cues and I have a couple of new 3/4 cases available too. Contact me at - terrydavidson45(at)gmail(dot)com - and I can send photos if you like. Some of my cues are probably a bit expensive for your budget but I have some which are below $500 + shipping.

I can also tell you how to save yourself some money with customs if you happen to order a new cue from Britain or Thailand since they normally charge around 25% in both duty and taxes.

In addition, there is a cuemaker in Vancouver who makes high-end British snooker cues plus he has cases and tips and a lot of other items associated with snooker. It's - auroracues(at)aol(dot)com - and the person there is Airin who goes by 'poolqjunkie' on here. I have a couple of Aurora cues here and in fact am giving one (a 1pc ash) a real good workout with a view to using it as my playing cue.

Terry

[wayync]

I have a 3/4 deroo ash s8 if interested email me at wayync@gmail.com

thanks

[Heeks]

Hi everyone... Long day at work, sorry for taking awhile to reply. You have all given me a lot to think about. Thank you all so much. I appreciate each and every suggestion. As soon as I have a spare moment I am going to narrow it down. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the assistance. Thanks so much, I'll be in touch soon.

[thelongbomber]

While you are in the club, see if you can find an original Tom Gauthier cue. I'm using a Gauthier butt with a Kevin Deroo shaft (which he made for me last week). Gauthier cues normally go for around 500-800 for a basic one.

Terry has some good cues and his suggestion to try an Aurora is sound advice. Although, the only issue I see with an Aurora cue is that they shafts tend to be too "dainty" and flimsy and not built for proper snooker. I would suggest you make sure the shafts are fairly thick overall and shaped a bit like a milk bottle. Craftsman also make top cues. If you are willing to spend a bit more, you can get the Rolls Royce of cues from Mike Woolridge as well s a host of other makers in UK.

I used a Peradon Pro for about 2 years and it's an excellent cue and would say it hit better than any Aurora I ever tried. I would say the Peradon's beat out Aurora cues which are more about artistic perfection then they are about hitting well. I have only seen 2 Aurora cues which seem to hit well.

There is lots of advice here on the forums and if you like a read, I have summed up all the essential components of a cue on my blog at http://snookerdelight.com/snooker-ar...r-snooker-cue/

[Terry Davidson]

longbomber:

I think shaft flex has to be a very subjective thing to each player as I have purchased somewhere around 10 Aurora cues for both myself and my customers and I've been working with Airin to try and find a shaft flex which I consider to be 'medium' but most of the early ones I found to be too stiff, and I judged them to be a standard 'medium-stiff' which I find most cues are made at today.

Perhaps you are used to using a shaft flex which other people would consider stiffer flex. I started out with Airin by trying to define what the terms used in shaft flex mean. I decided most of the cues coming today from the UK, China and Thailand would be around a 'medium-stiff' shaft flex and asked Airin to make a cue slightly whippier than those to get to a medium flex. It took a few attempts but I now have here a 1pc Aurora ash with 4 snakewood splices (a beautiful looking cue with great ash) which for me seems to have the perfect shaft flex and I also have a 40yr old Hunt & O'Byrne which is just a tad more stiff than the Aurora.

In addition, my Trevor White is also very similar to the Aurora and H&O cues as far as shaft flex goes.

Perhaps one of the experienced cuemakers could comment on how they would measure shaft flex if a customer specified a particular flex to them.

Terry

[Marilyn Gauthier]

Hello, thelongbomber

A little shout out to you tonight. Love your profile pic and thank you for recommending my father's handiwork. I hope you have many good years with yours.


Marilyn