Cue makers with excellent craftmanship

[canonind]

Hi,

I have been looking up various cue makers in the past wks. Originally all set looking at ordering a JP Paragon one piece...but now having second thoughts, considering Mike Wooldridge, Trevor White, Will Hunt...
Only trouble is...it seems like many of these cue makers are so busy that they don't really work on the cues themselves anymore. Will Hunt's cues have distributors in Macau and Hong Kong I believe, which mean mass production and poorer quality??

Dave.

[Benno]

Dave Coutts is another quality maker with a solid reputation. Comes down to price and mostly waiting times these days, if you can even get hold of the maker

[Erwan_BZH]

Mike Wooldridge and Will Hunt are working on their own as far as I know, same for Raymond Cohen at Exquisite in Scotland. If Mike has cues in stock he can tweak them to your specs and get it delivered pretty quick I think. Not sure we can talk about mass production here...
For Will Hunt, Green Baize is his main reseller in the UK (I think) so have a chat with Stu up there if you are interested in one of his cues (assuming you're in the UK )
If you wanna go quick, Andy Travis could be a very good option as well.

[vmax4steve]

Hi,

I have been looking up various cue makers in the past wks. Originally all set looking at ordering a JP Paragon one piece...but now having second thoughts, considering Mike Wooldridge, Trevor White, Will Hunt...
Only trouble is...it seems like many of these cue makers are so busy that they don't really work on the cues themselves anymore. Will Hunt's cues have distributors in Macau and Hong Kong I believe, which mean mass production and poorer quality??

Dave.

Making a cue is pretty basic woodwork, cutting, planing and sanding, not like being a luthier or cabinet maker. The shaft is all, and that's pretty much down to timber selection. These makers don't have magic hands, they can't infuse their cues with properties that will make it pot balls better than mass produced cues, but they should have the nous to select timber that will make a good shaft.

Give any decent amateur maker the same timber and the cue will be no different, so that also goes for any of these makers employees.

If I had Judd Trumps new cue it would only make 50 breaks, if Judd Trump used my cue it would make total clearances.

[the lone wolf]

Making a cue is pretty basic woodwork, cutting, planing and sanding, not like being a luthier or cabinet maker. The shaft is all, and that's pretty much down to timber selection. These makers don't have magic hands, they can't infuse their cues with properties that will make it pot balls better than mass produced cues, but they should have the nous to select timber that will make a good shaft.

Give any decent amateur maker the same timber and the cue will be no different, so that also goes for any of these makers employees.

If I had Judd Trumps new cue it would only make 50 breaks, if Judd Trump used my cue it would make total clearances.

I disagree. IMO; A quality crafts person is able to make something special if that's what the customer wants. Mass produced cues can hit great but are not necessarily special.

Yes a top pro can use a broomstick and clear up the table, but that's just in practice. It's only in real match play and tournament pressure when the players learns about the finer details of how a cue (their equipment) plays and hits.

Surely this is the reason why Judd (example mentioned) has got a new cue and seems to be playing better with it?

As much as Judd will be able to knock in total clearances with your stick in practice, I'd say he most likely wouldn't want to keep it and use it for match play. Not because of its lack of quality as a cue, but because it's just not that special cue to him when dealing with high end professional pressured match play.

If a player has any doubts about his / her equipment then they are better off without it.

Choose your cue wisely. And if you can meet or have a conversation with the cue maker re; the cue / spec before it is made, the better chance you have of it playing to your suitability once complete.

The problem I have with custom snooker cues is that there is nowhere I can try before I buy. I play tournaments and league games and very rarely see a Parris let along a wooldridge, hunt, white or any other of the so called top makers. I do my best to not buy blind, regardless of the makers reputation.

[jrc750]

......

The problem I have with custom snooker cues is that there is nowhere I can try before I buy.....

Where do you live ? Maybe a road trip to somewhere like Greenbaize could be what you need ?

[the lone wolf]

Yes I know of greenbaize!
But like I wrote before. If a player wants something special made only by a specific maker, then he or she is pretty much forced to buy blind. Which imo ain't good... :snooker:

[canonind]

Hi Lone Wolf,
I think there is definitely an element of truth in what you said, although part of what vmax4steve said is also true...Judd would be able to make bigger breaks any day with my cue than I can, skills and talent are essential in the game.
I do think that the perfect weight, balance, tip size, and general feel...all affect the game! Problem is when you spend this much money ordering a new cue...you want it to be well spent
I live in Australia, so I am definitely buying blind! All I could do is go with the makers' reputation and others' feedback etc...

[ghost121]

The only advantage of going the Parris route is easy resale if you don't get on with it. Everything else doesn't add up in my opinion. I have had good experiences with both MW and Andy Travis and they don't take forever to get you your cue done. Trev is great at building cues but the long wait and sometimes poor comms is prohibitive for many. Have played with a few Exquisite cues and didn't rate them, all very stiff with a build quality that was nothing special for the money. That is not to say your experience would be the same, I am sure lots of folks love theirs. No experience of Will Hunt or Dave Coutts. Stu Green is a top bloke and GBL is well worth a visit for a massive choice of quality Thai cues. He will also order one to your spec from the likes of Ton Praram.

[itsnoteasy]

I don't think JP makes pros "a" cue, he gives them half a dozen and probably more if they are not happy to try and they pick one they like, so they are not specially made but if they get one they love ,it will be special to them. The difference with us is we get one cue( unless you go to his shop) like it or lump it, that's one of the reasons you see so many up for sale, they aren't bad cues, they just don't suit.

[canonind]

I think you got a good point there ghost121. Apart from hoping to get a good cue with blind faith, I need to plan for the event that it doesn't get on with me. Therefore resale values do matter.

[jags]

Most people never mention dave brown at craftsman cues, he makes fantastic custom cues to your specs.. i have had three cues now, one was stolen another i still have after four years of play and its an amazing cue.. triple butted one piece with perfect splicing.. i also have a new cue coming in one week double butted with single veneer splicing one piece. All of my custom cues have lovely ash shafts with 6 or 7 chevrons, but the best bit is his cues are only £350 to £500 . My new cue cost £413 with postage and a three week wait.

[the lone wolf]

Hi Lone Wolf,
I think there is definitely an element of truth in what you said, although part of what vmax4steve said is also true...Judd would be able to make bigger breaks any day with my cue than I can, skills and talent are essential in the game.
I do think that the perfect weight, balance, tip size, and general feel...all affect the game! Problem is when you spend this much money ordering a new cue...you want it to be well spent
I live in Australia, so I am definitely buying blind! All I could do is go with the makers' reputation and others' feedback etc...

I understand your predicament. However, surely there are cue makers your side of the world who can make that special stick for you. Costing less and probably have better communication?

[DeanH]

... considering Mike Wooldridge, Trevor White, Will Hunt...
Only trouble is...it seems like many of these cue makers are so busy that they don't really work on the cues themselves anymore. Will Hunt's cues have distributors in Macau and Hong Kong I believe, which mean mass production and poorer quality??

TW works alone and on his own cues, maybe very busy but still does the work himself.
MW has a team and has had for many years - was two maybe just one now as Gav has gone on his own (this still the case anyone?).
Will Hunt has not made his own cues for many years, he has them made in Thailand and some people have said they are really nice cues.

[vmax4steve]

I don't think JP makes pros "a" cue, he gives them half a dozen and probably more if they are not happy to try and they pick one they like, so they are not specially made but if they get one they love ,it will be special to them. The difference with us is we get one cue( unless you go to his shop) like it or lump it, that's one of the reasons you see so many up for sale, they aren't bad cues, they just don't suit.

I think he made Shaun Murphys' to the almost exact spec of his old broken one. The feel of the shaft was of course different and took a little time to get used to.
When he finally got it he went to the practise room and got on with playing with it rather than go over it with a magnifying glass to see if the splices were millimetre perfect.

That's the main problem with too many punters buying up these expensive hand made cues, they're not looking for a tool to play a game with that might just give them that little bit extra control like a pro does (Stephen Hendry ?), they want something to change their game completely, and that simply can't happen and doesn't, so they moan about the aesthetics.

BTW if someone is turning out cues with lots of nice chevrons, then they're not using prime straight grain ash which tends to show very few. This of course will suit the majority of players who have learned the game with such cues, but it's the prime stuff that gives the best response and is what you should be paying a premium for because it's quite rare.

So choose a cue made to your specs but with a prime shaft, wait your three years and then knuckle down and get on with it or choose something radically different that maybe forces changes to your cue action that gives benefits; if it doesn't you can always go back.