Craftsman cues no longer made to order!

[jb134]

I think its a blunder. As long as a person is prepared to pay a significant premium they should be able to get a bespoke cue. The problem in the past has been failing to charge a large enough (or in some cases any) premium. This has allowed idiots who think half an ounce or inch or a millimeter here or there will make a difference to waste the time and do in the brains of cue makers.

In every other walk of life being an idiot and/or taking the time of craftsmen costs you money, there is no reason why it should not do so in cue making.

Ps. I have actually seen a cue with painted on arrows!

[jb134]

This reminds me have you got any ash cues 58 1/8" long 9.65mm tip 17.36oz with 30.2mm butt also shaft must have only 2 arrows this spec is key as i couldn't play with anything else........oh and balance point must be at 15.25".........and the butt must be plain jet black ebony else it puts me off when i play the shot.........and i don't want the brass ferrule too shiny as this puts me off also.
Thank you
ps nearly forgot the cue must be very smooth but not on the butt as it might slip out my hand when i'm playing a shot and fall on my toe and hurt me..............;-)

Steel toecaps mate. With that balance point and length, if it falls on your foot it'll smash it!

[arbitrage]

the chinese do have it right. that's why in china, it costs 1 to 2k to buy a bespoke cue from a top maker. LKT charges 1 to 2k for it's top of the line bespoke cues so it's not just a foreign brand phenomenon

moral of the story: don't be a cheapskate and a primadonna rolled into one

[Dave Walton]

Just checking the craftsman website and noticed that they no longer offer their cues made to measure. They only make some and stick them on the site for purchase. I can't help but feel this is an own goal as most people like to have the option to have a cue made to a required specification.

I played a match last night against a team and 3 of the opposition players had Craftsman cues, all made to measure. They were the last of the reasonably priced cue makers that offered this service but it seems as though they are more interested in importing cues from asia.

Mastercraft still make cues to your spec and they're quality cues at sensible prices

[Dave Walton]

Ridiculous the way some players are about cues. I'm happy with the specs being near enough what I asked for with my cue, don't give a sh*t about the chevrons or grain, just get used to it!

[cueman]

Mastercraft still make cues to your spec and they're quality cues at sensible prices

They do but getting in touch with them is a nightmare. I tried to order a cue for a friend of mine about 18 months ago. Sent numerous e-mails, tried phoning, just couldn't get a response. Gave up in the end and got him one from Craftsman. Hence why I started this topic.

I can see why Craftsman have probably decided against made to measure, I don't know if Dave Brown has called it a day, I did hear they took on another cue maker but have no idea what the quality is like now. Maybe they simply don't feel they can compete with what the Thai cue makers are producing and its showing up the quality in the cues they make? After all if they have phoenix and maximus cues and they are fantastic players, great looking shafts, top splicing and fancy exotic woods, surely it has hurt sales of their own craftsman cues.

The problem may be that now these Thai cue makers are getting a great reputation, the prices are sure to increase and then people won't be getting a good choice of value for money.

[perpetualboredom]

Ridiculous the way some players are about cues. I'm happy with the specs being near enough what I asked for with my cue, don't give a sh*t about the chevrons or grain, just get used to it!

But most/many people do care, so your sell on value will be higher if you have a pretty looking shaft.

[Borodaz]

Craftsman are suppliers of maximus, so just order a made to measure maximus, simples

[ADR147]

This reminds me have you got any ash cues 58 1/8" long 9.65mm tip 17.36oz with 30.2mm butt also shaft must have only 2 arrows this spec is key as i couldn't play with anything else........oh and balance point must be at 15.25".........and the butt must be plain jet black ebony else it puts me off when i play the shot.........and i don't want the brass ferrule too shiny as this puts me off also.
Thank you
ps nearly forgot the cue must be very smooth but not on the butt as it might slip out my hand when i'm playing a shot and fall on my toe and hurt me..............;-)

lmao - i get emails like that several times a day!

[CueAntW147]

lmao - i get emails like that several times a day!

thanks for cue got it today but sadly its not what i wanted its actually 58" 9.6mm 17oz and 30mm butt, and it has 3 arrows not 2 how do you expect me to use this, i was hoping to beat my highest break of 15 but no chance with this cue, to make matters worse the ferrule is also very shiny and hurting my delicate eyes on every shot.....i am returning it for a full refund, you just can't get what you want these days.............;-)

[ADR147]

thanks for cue got it today but sadly its not what i wanted its actually 58" 9.6mm 17oz and 30mm butt, and it has 3 arrows not 2 how do you expect me to use this, i was hoping to beat my highest break of 15 but no chance with this cue, to make matters worse the ferrule is also very shiny and hurting my delicate eyes on every shot.....i am returning it for a full refund, you just can't get what you want these days.............;-)

This is why I live on bourgogne aligote !!

[itsnoteasy]

Surely it's not impossible ,if you get a list of demands, to explain it's almost impossible to match exactly what they are requesting, but you may have something similar , what demands are deal breakers and what can they be a bit flexible about, if not why waste their and your time, and just wish them happy hunting.
I reckon I would ask for my ideal cue,why not, but if say ,I wanted five arrows and the seller had one with four but the rest was what I wanted, it wouldn't mater to me, but I would like to be told before I bought it, that's fair isn't it ?

[ADR147]

people also think they know what they need but are often wrong.

[The Stig]

Its probably easier and more cost effective for the bigger companies to get their cues made in China or Thailand and them just have their own badges put on them, isn't that what GBL do ? The GBL cues look to be top quality, i doubt you could make the equivalent cue for anywhere near the same price in the UK due to how many many man hours are involved in making the cues where as if you just buy blanks from a reputable cue maker in the far east and have them badged up as your own you'll make a lot more money with far less effort.

[Dave Walton]

Mastercraft still make cues to your spec and they're quality cues at sensible prices

They do but getting in touch with them is a nightmare. I tried to order a cue for a friend of mine about 18 months ago. Sent numerous e-mails, tried phoning, just couldn't get a response. Gave up in the end and got him one from Craftsman. Hence why I started this topic.

I can see why Craftsman have probably decided against made to measure, I don't know if Dave Brown has called it a day, I did hear they took on another cue maker but have no idea what the quality is like now. Maybe they simply don't feel they can compete with what the Thai cue makers are producing and its showing up the quality in the cues they make? After all if they have phoenix and maximus cues and they are fantastic players, great looking shafts, top splicing and fancy exotic woods, surely it has hurt sales of their own craftsman cues.

The problem may be that now these Thai cue makers are getting a great reputation, the prices are sure to increase and then people won't be getting a good choice of value for money.

I agree Mastercraft make very good cues but are a nightmare to deal with