Cue Contest

[Mellow Yellow]

i do see the logic in finding the "right" cue terry, in your case the right cue was the one you broke, but in trying to find a cue to replace that do you not feel like you are missing the point a little as after such a long search surely you will not remember how it played to the exact weight, balance, shaft flex? when if you had stuck with the first replacement perhaps you would now be happy?

anyway this strays from my point from the OP, i'm not having a dig at anyone, just saying that it seems to have become a trend to be having a new cue made every month or so from various makers. i AM interested in how it pans out though :-)

and thanks for pointing out about the far east market, it would also be interesting to know how many cues are sent over there by trev and mike etc. as apposed to cabinet fillers over here ;-)

[pottr]

dont take this the wrong way as i am just interested in why you would go through all this time and expense and wait to have 4 or 5 cues that you will probably never use.

It's fine, I don't mind answering. I have had the same cue for 15 years which was perfect for me. I won it in a bet and I think retail it would have cost around £150 tops.
I have never tinkered or toyed with another cue other than that one. I have played with many cues when friends have asked my opinion but for matches, tournaments I have never played with another cue.

Last night I snapped the cue... It is not the same, not even close since it's (third!) repair. I felt I was flogging a dead horse so I stopped torturing myself and snapped it.

I need to move forward and get myself a cue to call 'my own'. I am a serious player. I have dedicated a massive chunk of my life to snooker. I may not be the best player, but it doesn't change the fact that it's more than a game to me. It's a mood breaker, I absolutely love it.

I was always curious about all of the Top Branded cues but the old addage 'if it ain't broke' came to mind whenever I'd consider a change. If my cue hadn't broke, I wouldn't have considered this. I trust very few people's opinions on anything so I figured I'd put my money where my mouth is. After all, if I buy these cues and I don't like any of them, it's not like they're going to lose much value, are they?

No wonder all the cuemakers waiting lists are so long, as it has now become a trend to have various cues all on order at the same time, just to post pictures up on here then have them stored away, or sold straight on.

Supply and demand. The kind of cues the top guy churn out can't be rushed.

I wonder how long the waiting lists would actually be if players ordered one cue, got used to it and kept it?

One cue in fifteen years, not a bad ratio. I want one cue now for the rest of my years and it's not a decision I plan to take lightly. I didn't buy the first house I looked at or indeed settle down with the first girl I slept with... or guy

I do agree with Mellow but then again if you have the money and its a passion of yours to want to try the best cues from all the top cue makers then fair enough, you should end up with a cue that suits you that is as good as you can possibly buy.

That really is all there is to it. I'm not trying to show off, I meant this thread to be an informative piece so perspective buyers can see the waiting times. When I have recieved each cue I will create a thorough right up for each one so you can make up your own minds.

[The Doctor]

Yes even a small time cue maker like me, in my last batch of 20 cues I sent 5 over to China.

[The Doctor]

Oh and Cue is almost ready m8.

[Mellow Yellow]

cheers for the reply pottr :-)

i have a friend who is a decent player in my small town, i practice with him quote a lot, he uses a battered old craftsman cue that he got 2nd hand many years ago. i have retipped it and oiled it loads of times for him. he once split it at the furrule end and i clamped it and glued it the best i could, its bent to buggary and all skew wiff at the tip end, but he just wont change it for anything, it sounds an absolute state as well sometimes but he knocked in a nice 69 in our first match of the season last night..... i dread the day that it eventually breaks for good, although it will give me more of a chance to beat him :-)

good look with your search, i will keep a close eye on this thread.

[pottr]

surely you will not remember how it played to the exact weight, balance, shaft flex? when if you had stuck with the first replacement perhaps you would now be happy?

I find that the flex is determined by the taper. I have specified all my cues to be a near conical taper meaning the flex's should be similar. There will be incongruities with the wood densities but wood if cultivated, not forged so I can't expect the stars... the moon would be nice though.

anyway this strays from my point from the OP, i'm not having a dig at anyone, just saying that it seems to have become a trend to be having a new cue made every month or so from various makers. i AM interested in how it pans out though :-)

Yes, it does make me laugh too. Well, like I said, I'm a fair player so I know what I'm after. It makes me laugh when I see lads at my club who can't string 40 together investing the sums of money like this on cues.

The decline of my cue has been noted on here for some time. It's actually the reason I joined the forum in the first place as I wanted a more rounded opinion of trying to preserve it.

Even with the best advice, you can't win em all.

Cheers Ritchie, look forward to it. Pairs and Singles final for my local league on Thursday and I have no cue! Didn't stop me in the semis though

[Chris Bedford]

Cue Contest

I would be very interested in your reviews mate, although I fear we could be waiting up too 18 months probably.

[calin]

your specs are common , why don't u just buy them second hand , try and see , maybe u'll get to " the one " plus u don't have to wait and anyway u will not loose money if u decide to sale them. I've got a few good ones of ebay , when I play I change two or three cues with different specs in a play day and I enjoy them all , u know cues are like sports cars and u are the driver ,each of them is different so as human been u just adapt to every one of them ,it's the same with the tables to .

[raymo147]

I do agree with Mellow but then again if you have the money and its a passion of yours to want to try the best cues from all the top cue makers then fair enough, you should end up with a cue that suits you that is as good as you can possibly buy.

As for cue makers having such long waiting lists, blame the far east and China inparticular. They are the main reason so many cue makers have so many orders. I would guess that 70% of most UK based cue makers work is from abroad, would be nice if Trev or Mike or even the likes of Jason and Raymo could shed some light on this.

Yes china is a massive market I've already had a Chinese agent looking for cues from me!
I could probably run a good business and be very busy from this alone as they want 30 cues at a time!
No makers can keep up with the demand that's why they all have waiting lists!

[pottr]

Little update, picked up my glover cue last week and on first inspection at home, there is a massive split in the butt.

Only played a handful of shots with it so can't comment on the feel. There is a slight dent in the shaft too.

Spoke to Tony and he says he will put it right but it now means I have to take more time out of my schedule to have this problem sorted. Should have looked it over in the shop but I needed to race back to get the kids from school on time.

Bottom line, for £445's worth of custom cue. I expected better!

Pics later

[cueman]

can you imagine if this cue was from parris, there would be 10 pages worth of criticism by now!

Still that is terrible, people can bemoan bad splices or slightly off spec but a brand new cue having a split butt and a dent in the shaft being sold as brand new and worse of all custom made is really poor IMO. Hope he does sort the problem out but its always going to be a negative point of view knowing that the cue has already had to be repaired.

[Gerry Armstrong]

I agree with cueman - pretty poor show IMHO.

I wouldn't want to keep it and would be much happier with a refund and just move on but that's just my opinion on how I would feel if it happened to me, it's in no way meant as advice or a recommendation.

[willtyson]

VERY poor show on Mr. Glover's behalf! Did he not know it was for the cue contest lol? Hope all gets sorted for you- would agree with Gerry about the refund :uncomfortableness:

[pottr]

I may still take that route. Shame, it looks great... Then you turn it over.

[willtyson]

Any pictures?