New Cue Makers

[thelongbomber]

sorry, but i can't really give you a definite answer. it's not that simple.

it's not done from start to finish. you do a bit here, you do a bit there. finishing itself usually takes several hours alone. over time.

might take half hour to get one splice ready, might take 2 hours. sometimes it dont go well....

thats just preparation. then once splices are on, it has to shaped, which takes hours in itself.

none of this takes in the time spent originally selecting wood and cutting it down to workable sizes.

what i will say, is if anyone thinks this is easy work, easy money, try it.

nothing stopping anyone going to wood yard, selecting a '£20 board of ash', taking it home, cutting it, shaping it. going to another wood yard to select some butt wood, cut it up, stick it on, find a way to successfully shape the cue. then spend hours sanding it till you feel like your f*cking arm's gonna fall off.

easy...

lol. i think i read adr saying 4 hours. might explain why he dont make them and sells other peoples...

So true. Tom Gauthier is a prime example of a cue maker (he passed around 5 years ago) that really took time and energy to craft and hone a raw piece of wood into a cue worth paying for. His cues are still known (at least in this part of the world) as a "players" cue. His cues are still prized for their superb playing ability (hit, weight, balance, feel) and owners of them won't part with a Gauthier for many thousands. It's not unusual in Vancouver (Canada) to see Gauthier cues being traded around like fine artwork and are commonly sold north of $1000+. Why? Because they play like a dream and have a hit unique to Gauthier. Other cue makers have tried to replicate but only an original Gauthier cue hits the way it does. Why? I suppose only a cue maker could tell you.

Crafting a cue is complicated and requires artistic skill, patience, and the ability to understand each piece of wood's characteristics.

Well, that's my honest opinion anyways.

[thelongbomber]

It's laughable to say that all decent cue makers buy the same stock timber and so should be similarly priced. Sure, there are probably a few cue makers out there that are riding on their name and don't produce a good hitting cue and charge too much (I'm not going to mention names).

As far as I see it, anyone who doesn't see value in good cue workmanship probably doesn't have enough experience with this game and thinks all cues hit the same.

[drzdave]

quality and craftemanship

I personally would have no problem paying more money for a cue from the top makers because I would have more confiidence in the quality and craftsmanship that goes into the custom cue as opposed to assembly line style cue companies. I think the custom cue makers take each cue personally and make them like they were going to use it themselves. So for me paying more for that extra attention to detail would be well worth it.

[deant1982]

I've just been reading this old thread, as I almost brought a JB cue a couple of months ago. They look like very good examples of cue making.

Regarding the other issue of pricing, I'm in the process of attemtping to make a cue. It certainly isn't easy. It is hard work, and requires a lot of patience and skill, especially for the little things like getting the splices all the same length. I was under the same opinion of some others on here, that anything over £200 is a rip off, but having seen how hard it is to make a cue by hand, I now understand some of the prices being charged.
I was recently at a well known cue makers, and he was quoted in an article as saying it would take approximately 14 hours to make a cue, if you didn't need to wait for things to dry, set, etc. As this is not the case, it takes longer due to the glues setting and the oil curing for example. That is why cue makers have plenty of cues on the go at any one time. Whilst glue is setting, why sit twiddling your thumbs when you can be getting 2 or 3 more to that state. Material wise, it would cost about £50 to hand make a cue (3/4 ash shaft, ebony splice and butt, joint, one face splice or veneer, ferrule, and tip. (all brought in bulk). So you £400 cue is now only making £350. Then deduct electricity, rent/lease, water, heat bills etc, probably another £50 (at least). Now its making £300. Now take tax off (10%??) The cue is now making £270. Now take off £10 per hour (nowhere near enough, but just for a figure) as wages for a skilled worker wages, That leaves the cue making a total profit of £130 altogether. When you consider wood that is not useable (wastage), or gets damaged, or slightly to small etc. That all gets taken off. In the end, when all is deducted, the cue probably makes a maximum of about £80 profit for a commercial cue maker (If they're lucky). Add this to the makers wage (£140 for 14 hrs @ £10ph) totals their wage of £220, which is roughly £15 ph. I certainly don't think that is an extortionate rate for the skill required to make a cue. Plus as I said, it is bloody hard work!

[jim evans]

I've just been reading this old thread, as I almost brought a JB cue a couple of months ago. They look like very good examples of cue making.

Regarding the other issue of pricing, I'm in the process of attemtping to make a cue. It certainly isn't easy. It is hard work, and requires a lot of patience and skill, especially for the little things like getting the splices all the same length. I was under the same opinion of some others on here, that anything over £200 is a rip off, but having seen how hard it is to make a cue by hand, I now understand some of the prices being charged.
I was recently at a well known cue makers, and he was quoted in an article as saying it would take approximately 14 hours to make a cue, if you didn't need to wait for things to dry, set, etc. As this is not the case, it takes longer due to the glues setting and the oil curing for example. That is why cue makers have plenty of cues on the go at any one time. Whilst glue is setting, why sit twiddling your thumbs when you can be getting 2 or 3 more to that state. Material wise, it would cost about £50 to hand make a cue (3/4 ash shaft, ebony splice and butt, joint, one face splice or veneer, ferrule, and tip. (all brought in bulk). So you £400 cue is now only making £350. Then deduct electricity, rent/lease, water, heat bills etc, probably another £50 (at least). Now its making £300. Now take tax off (10%??) The cue is now making £270. Now take off £10 per hour (nowhere near enough, but just for a figure) as wages for a skilled worker wages, That leaves the cue making a total profit of £130 altogether. When you consider wood that is not useable (wastage), or gets damaged, or slightly to small etc. That all gets taken off. In the end, when all is deducted, the cue probably makes a maximum of about £80 profit for a commercial cue maker (If they're lucky). Add this to the makers wage (£140 for 14 hrs @ £10ph) totals their wage of £220, which is roughly £15 ph. I certainly don't think that is an extortionate rate for the skill required to make a cue. Plus as I said, it is bloody hard work!

i agree with everything said above

[craftsman cues]

The time it takes to make a cue really depends on the number of splices. Obviously a plain ebony butted cue is much quicker to make than a butt with 4, 8 or 12 lower splices.

[ADR147]

i agree with everything said above

same although 10% tax would be nice!

[Deepscrew]

haha i was just about to post the same!

Im going to start making mini butts soon, my dad has been in woodwork all his life (making bars mostly) so he's got loads of stuff i could 'borrow', not least his brain! I know ive got a drill powered lathe somehwere so that should make do to start...a poor start im sure but a start none the less.

[scottd9993]

i agree too, quality and experience is priceless, im just starting my conquest for the first cue build, but already wasted plenty of ash due to infrequencies in the wood and my sheer inexperience!! Surely this wastage has to be taken into account!! Now i think im onto some decent bits of wood..... but you never know what can happen!!!!!

[deant1982]

haha i was just about to post the same!

Im going to start making mini butts soon, my dad has been in woodwork all his life (making bars mostly) so he's got loads of stuff i could 'borrow', not least his brain! I know ive got a drill powered lathe somehwere so that should make do to start...a poor start im sure but a start none the less.

I want a cheap lathe, but can't find one anywhere that's big enough. If anyone wants to give me one, I'll make them a cue or two for it!

[Deepscrew]

How big are you wanting? the ones that a drill attaches too can do 16'' lenghts and they are about £35 new. Might burn through a few drills mind!

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster...the-prod21279/

[deant1982]

I want a cheap second hand lathe that I can make cues on. As it's a hobby I don't want to spend a grand I don't really have, but 16" is too small between centres.

Think I need a cue maker to give me one of theirs that they don't want or use any more.

[poolqjunkie]

Why do I keep getting the feeling that you are trying to send some strong hints to Mike.

[deant1982]

Why do I keep getting the feeling that you are trying to send some strong hints to Mike.

Mike is fixing my cue, so I'm not hinting to him. Just hoping another cue maker might decide to follow his lead!
Then again, he's given 2 away so far (from what I understand) so what's one more?? Lol

[stewart31]

i picked up a cue the other day, james butters in the style of parris traditional from a pal , iv'e owned parris, white, master cue, to many to mention , this cue is fantastic the best £70 notes iv'e ever spent, balance, taper, finish, top drawer, well done james who and where ever you are