Sarisbury Green Snooker Cues

[platt]

I don't think Mick Resses worked on the butt joint.... i think keith has rushed head first into that website, anybody that knows about cue making will see a outdoor tent not what you would expect from a master cuemaker.
Also who are the Champions the he has produced cues for ?

[totlxtc]

Ok ill sit back and look at Keiths stuff from a different point of view. As a customer looking for a cue:

1) It worries be seeing the workshop pics of a cue being made on a lathe, standing on 2 workmates, outside in what looks like one of those gazibos you get for garden parties.

2) Why is it with all the sites that Keith is involved in we can never see larger more detailed pics? We only have access to small pics. Not good when you are looking for a nice cue and you cant see the thing. If im spending £300+ i want hi res images.

[Burwat Champ]

Those pics are disgusting.

I cant believe a 'Master' cue maker would put his name to that Sh*te!!

[keith auld]

Hi Rolo and others who started this thread - I haven't been watching this thread at all in fact due to poor health I've had far more compelling things to occupy my mind, although I do find your post quite amusing.
As for making cues, I've personally only made 1 during the past 6 months and that one went to Mr Keith Allardice in France. Regrettably I've been ill for the past year and the prognosis for the future isn't good so all the other cues that have gone out have been made by apprentices in the furniture workshop, and I'm greatful to them for doing so. Not all have been as good as others but they've come on leaps and bounds and the quality now is very good. Personally I'm only making selectively, as and when I feel up to it and am currently doing a restoration job for Colin Lewis and will be following that with a new cue for Mike Russell (World Billiard Champion). The photographs used for the cue making process in the web site was done outside for better picture quality and the conifer in the picture was for web purposes only.
As for Poolq junkies comments regarding the lathe - he's correct about the manufacturer, but wrong about the operation, this was specially designed for my purposes and suits those purposes admirably. It's portable, versatile and does the job it's designed for. I still make cues by hand but this machine produces turned blanks with a straight taper and these can be fine sanded in situ, so all I need do is hand splice and then finish by re running the finished taper with the hand plane. It can then be put back into the lathe for final finishing and sanding, giving a perfectly round finished cue.
In conclusion I don't believe that I'll ever be back to making cues in any great numbers and expect to bow out of the cue making process entirely during the coming year, that's why I assisted in the set up of Sarisbury Green Cues (which you'll see from the write up states that it's been done with my help), and which will be run by other cuemakers I've been helping and workers from the furniture workshop.

[Mellow Yellow]

Why don't your prices reflect this?

[platt]

Hi Rolo and others who started this thread - I haven't been watching this thread at all in fact due to poor health I've had far more compelling things to occupy my mind, although I do find your post quite amusing.
As for making cues, I've personally only made 1 during the past 6 months and that one went to Mr Keith Allardice in France. Regrettably I've been ill for the past year and the prognosis for the future isn't good so all the other cues that have gone out have been made by apprentices in the furniture workshop, and I'm greatful to them for doing so. Not all have been as good as others but they've come on leaps and bounds and the quality now is very good. Personally I'm only making selectively, as and when I feel up to it and am currently doing a restoration job for Colin Lewis and will be following that with a new cue for Mike Russell (World Billiard Champion). The photographs used for the cue making process in the web site was done outside for better picture quality and the conifer in the picture was for web purposes only.
As for Poolq junkies comments regarding the lathe - he's correct about the manufacturer, but wrong about the operation, this was specially designed for my purposes and suits those purposes admirably. It's portable, versatile and does the job it's designed for. I still make cues by hand but this machine produces turned blanks with a straight taper and these can be fine sanded in situ, so all I need do is hand splice and then finish by re running the finished taper with the hand plane. It can then be put back into the lathe for final finishing and sanding, giving a perfectly round finished cue.
In conclusion I don't believe that I'll ever be back to making cues in any great numbers and expect to bow out of the cue making process entirely during the coming year, that's why I assisted in the set up of Sarisbury Green Cues (which you'll see from the write up states that it's been done with my help), and which will be run by other cuemakers I've been helping and workers from the furniture workshop.

Keith, Firstly i'm sorry to hear your health is in bad shape again as last time we spoke you had got the all clear. As you said you have not made a cue in the last six months i question the cue you hand made for me as you stated.
Keith i wish you all the best and good health for the forseeable future but if your health is as bad as your saying i would not attemt to turnout a cue for mike russell as i have a cue that he won a few tournaments with and it is perfection, hand made by Trevor White and if you send him a hand made cue like the one you send me mike will be a very sad custumor.

[cueinhand]

I assumed that is an act of swindling if the customers got the cues is not made by Keith Auld himself!!!

[platt]

A hole new can of worms has been opened up (again)!!!!

[keith auld]

I didn't approach Mike Russell to make a cue from him the order came via email as for other people employed to make cues, John Parris and Mike Wooldridge do this, it is commonplace to have staff making more than one item.
As for my health, it will no doubt force my early retirement

[poolqjunkie]

Unique product from the US makes a much more precise cue lathe than Chris Hightower, although more pricey, in my opinion.

Why dont you just buy a lathe in the UK? Do you not believe that British are capable of making good lathe?

If you just need something to turn the shaft, I do not understand why you need to order a lathe all the way from the US. You can do so with a router, or a band saw mounted on to some sort of lathe.

How do you deal with the problem of having lots of vibration as the long shaft is being turn and cut by the router? How do you keep the taper of your final shafts precise and consistent from one to the next?

How do you know if your final finished cue is "perfectly" round? How do you measure it?

[noel]

as for other people employed to make cues, John Parris and Mike Wooldridge do this, it is commonplace to have staff making more than one item.

They're called apprentices, or...
Christ, even He had disciples!


=o)


Noel

[keith auld]

I bought the Chris Hightower lathe after talking to him and explaining what I wanted the machine to do for me. To stop the chatter it has a variable speed and when set at the lowest speed, the router passes over the piece of work, without problem. It has a 72" bed and a system to offset the taper to allow for 60" and 48" shafts. Also it has the facility to do the cue butts for 3/4 cues although we still use the copy lathe for these as the taper is preset and the machine much heavier duty. Also the way that Chris has made this machine with a floating headstock and dual 34mm jaws plus a system of 3 additional steadies means that a cue can be held securely even if you're cutting ferrules or drilling up the butt to fit weights or fitting joints and with 2 versions of free turning tailstocks, a cue can be held to allow for sanding over the entire length which can be done by increasing the speed to maximum. I hope that this answers your question.
I'm sure that many lathes are made in this country, it's just that I was after something specifically made for a particular job and when I bought it the £ was strong against the $, so it worked out cheaper.
As for the perfectly round shaft and finished cues is concerned, a vernier is used to ensure roundness and diameter

[trigger666]

sorry-to-hear-about-your-ill-health-kieth,

all-the-best-and-get-better-soon

[poolqjunkie]

Why don't your prices reflect this?

I hope you did not post this just to up your post count out of boredom.

A cue is not always more expensive because it is made by one person, and cheaper because it is made by more than one person.

The price is a reflection of the supply and demand in the market place. Supply and demand of a cue depends on a lot of things, quality, resale value, collectibility, playability, brand image...etc.

Facts: there are lots of cue makers who have enlisted help in their shops, who are able to produce very sort after and highly priced cues, with a waiting list. There are also cue makers who make everything by themselves, but unable to sell their cues at a very low price.

If you really think about it, how do you know if a cue is entirely built by one person only? Who turned the square? Who installed the tip and ferrule, who built the joint, and who installed it? How do you know for example if the wife did not help out in the shop?

Facts: I am not too familiar with UK snooker cue makers, but I do see on Mike Wooldridge's web site that he has a few workers working in his shop, who assist with the building of his cues. This would and should in no way lower the value of his cues. The customers are paying for a top notch cue, and that is what they receive.

Are Stamford cues made by one person only?

Facts: in the US, there are cue makers selling cues in the $5000 USD range and up, that have helpers in their shops. Ernie of Gina cue is one of such cue maker.

I will not attack your intelligence as you have done to mine, because I do not consider calling someone names a sign of intelligence at all. If you cannot articulate your thoughts, and present your points with facts and supporting envidence, that is sad.

Intelligence and ignorance are two different things. A person could be smart and yet ignorant about things he does not know; a person can know a lot and still be stupid because he cannot think. Sometimes, unfortunately, a person could be both ignorant and unintelligent.

Anyway, hope you can understand and comprehend why your statement makes no sense.

[poolqjunkie]

I bought the Chris Hightower lathe after talking to him and explaining what I wanted the machine to do for me. To stop the chatter it has a variable speed and when set at the lowest speed, the router passes over the piece of work, without problem. It has a 72" bed and a system to offset the taper to allow for 60" and 48" shafts. Also it has the facility to do the cue butts for 3/4 cues although we still use the copy lathe for these as the taper is preset and the machine much heavier duty. Also the way that Chris has made this machine with a floating headstock and dual 34mm jaws plus a system of 3 additional steadies means that a cue can be held securely even if you're cutting ferrules or drilling up the butt to fit weights or fitting joints and with 2 versions of free turning tailstocks, a cue can be held to allow for sanding over the entire length which can be done by increasing the speed to maximum. I hope that this answers your question.
I'm sure that many lathes are made in this country, it's just that I was after something specifically made for a particular job and when I bought it the £ was strong against the $, so it worked out cheaper.
As for the perfectly round shaft and finished cues is concerned, a vernier is used to ensure roundness and diameter

The variable speed is controlled by switching the belt between different polleys, right? The motor is mounted with only two bolts, so you pull the motor forward, switch the belt on a different polley, then just let the motor fall back into place, right? Everytime you turn this motor on, it will jerk, because it is only mounted on with two bolts on one side. At higher speed, for a shaft that long, the router just would not work well at all due to too much vibration.

I am aware that it comes with steady rests, but did not see them in your pictures. But do you support the shafts with your steady rests and then cut the taper with the router? I do not see how that would work because you would be setting the router to move along the shaft automatically so the steady rests would get in the way.

Because your shaft is so long, without any support, it would create lots of movement. With so much movement, the shaft just cannot come out really consistent and true.

This lathe was designed for 29" shaft and butt, and for house cue, which does not really require too much precision when worked on unless something drastic has been added.