handmade ??? probably not !!!

[Maxsys]

You might as well have named them, Google found that straight away

[luke-h]

Just harping back to the question of honesty I looked at a few of the websites and whilst Greenbeize are quite up front that their GBL cues are made in Thailand I came across the following words on another cue-makers website:-
These cues are totally handmade from start to finish by us in our workshop in the UK and are made to your own specifications
I won't name the cue-maker but they're popular and get a lot of good reviews on the Forum. They advertise their plain ebony for £176 which is cheaper than Greenbeize so I'm wondering how they can make a profit. From what I'm reading on this thread I'm thinking that their shafts have to be imported? Maybe not from Thailand and maybe from somewhere which is cheaper.

all you have to do is copy and paste the quote lol

[Bigmeek]

Really? Aren't computers fantastic.

[luke-h]

Really? Aren't computers fantastic.

they are indeed

[crankie]

what are the numbers on the 8 cues jason ?

[EnterTheDragon]

One thing bothers me in this thread..
Jason said he used blanks from Thailand because they were "superior quality ash"
Does this mean that there is no quality ash in the UK?
I personally think that sourcing wood is part of the cue making process.

[JimB]

One thing bothers me in this thread..
Jason said he used blanks from Thailand because they were "superior quality ash"
Does this mean that there is no quality ash in the UK?
I personally think that sourcing wood is part of the cue making process.

Definitely possible to find excellent quality Ash locally but it will require you to go to the lumber yard to personally turn over lots of boards from a heave, selecting the best as you go and as long as the yard foreman allows you to do it, most will as they want the sale.
Don't be surprised if you have to spend time turning 100 boards to get 10 good ones, but it's worth the effort if you have the time.

The boards I bought last year locally (Belfast) were American Ash.

[cally]

26 pages Round and round we go chasing tails like a mad puppy yuh....


Just chuck the names out there and be done with it mun....

Although lots of us here have an idea of whom is being spoken about if you've been here long enough theres been plenty of names thrown about through pm's and such.

I'd like it to be all opened up, just get it out there so ppl can make a more informed choice.

[SouthPaw]

Cally you start the ball rolling... hangman style

[cally]

Not my place bud, i never started the thread....

I think crispian has alienated himself already (but only to the dishonest makers) can't do much more harm for him to name names eh, may aswell now after opening the can of worms or snakes is maybe more apt....


No respect lost from me on crispians part, I tip my hat really for him too start the thread, but it's useless without names, theres no problems naming if it's 100% correct is it!...

[ADR147]

Just harping back to the question of honesty I looked at a few of the websites and whilst Greenbeize are quite up front that their GBL cues are made in Thailand I came across the following words on another cue-makers website:-
These cues are totally handmade from start to finish by us in our workshop in the UK and are made to your own specifications
I won't name the cue-maker but they're popular and get a lot of good reviews on the Forum. They advertise their plain ebony for £176 which is cheaper than Greenbeize so I'm wondering how they can make a profit. From what I'm reading on this thread I'm thinking that their shafts have to be imported? Maybe not from Thailand and maybe from somewhere which is cheaper.

In the case of mastercraft I can say for sure they are all made in shropshire in the UK by Dave and Chris who over the years have also produced shafts and cues for some of the best known cue makers, I would suggest that to accuse them of anything else on a public forum would be an expensive mistake! Not that Dave is likely to give a monkeys! The trouble with a thread like this is it will create false rumors

And cris you have proved yourself that people wrongly assume the customised badge means an inferior product so devalued them ergo it is a bad idea, also it is john parris,s idea so it is not good to copy!

[Neil Taperell]

Some of these customised cues look very very good and at a fraction of the cost .

[crispian jones]

most of the things that are being talked about here now are a little of topic, as it is clear too see you guys all have different opinions on what you would rather, a sqare shaft, a preturned shaft, ash for amerrica, ash from thailand ect, what you guys dont realise is that the cuemakers all have different opinions too! so you are only going to get different answers to these questions ?
ash can be found here in the uk, but as alredy pointed out, is a very labourus job to do, as for oversized shafts getting sourced from thailand, is there any cuemaker that would say no to 100 ultimate standard shafts ? i doubt it very much ?

we have the option here to disscuss a subject that i feel is something that is simply wrong, and a little more wrong than how a guy sources ash, so please keep it on track here

[Dave Walton]

ADR - you are 100% right i do undersell the work involved with the thai cues,? we have had this conversation many times, but what choice do i have ? you know as well as i know that my honesty will get me knowhere in this trade !

as for blank shafts being bought overseas by cuemaker- this is not the topic im trying to disscuss, however
there is nothing wrong in this in my eyes ! i know a few guys who use preturned shafts, they are massivly oversized, and the skill involved in getting a pre turned shaft straight and down to size is a skill in it self, ive cosen to work from boards simply because i believe it is easier when time is no issue ! you plain down squares over time allowing for the stress of the wood to find its natural path, makes sence i geuss when nobody wants a bent cue !
but saying that if i had a contact that would supply me with ultimate ash (which is what 90% of customers ask for) i wouldnt hessitate to buy over-sized blanks !

Planing shafts down by hand is mental in this day and age, you do not go to work in a horse and cart! Also it Does not mean the cue won't bend etc wood will do as it pleases! There is just no need for doing it and I know for a fact almost nobody makes cues this way, not because they can't but because it is a waste of time and money that has no impact on the final result.

That's part of the problem though Andrew makers still claim that they do hand plane their cues!

[EnterTheDragon]

ash can be found here in the uk, but as alredy pointed out, is a very labourus job to do, as for oversized shafts getting sourced from thailand, is there any cuemaker that would say no to 100 ultimate standard shafts ? i doubt it very much ?

I would have to say no to those 100 "ultimate shafts" because they are made by someone else.