A Little Background
I now realize my introduction into the cuemaking business was fairly typical. The need to get basic repairs done - correctly - meant taking matters into my own hands. I slowly progressed from replacing tips to replacing ferrules & buttcaps...to making spare shafts & eventually, Sneaky Petes.
This didn't happen overnight because in the mid-80's, there was nowhere to learn any of this stuff. There was no cuemaker in the area with whom I could apprentice. I wasn't aware of any books or video tapes other than an old woodworking article by Colorado Slim (?) who built a really crude cue. So it was "learn as you go". My background as a tool and die maker served me well, as did many trial-and-error experiments that showed the relative value of the different techniques I tried. Actually, I'm still experimenting on a regular basis.
Fast forward to the early 90's when I supplemented my full-size metal lathe with a Gorton Pantograph. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the pantograph to aggravate my tennis elbow enough to push me into replacing it with a CNC Router. It was a difficult & expensive decision but one that has proven to be the correct choice. The CNC Router allows me to make my inlays, cut the pockets, make custom trim ring billets, create custom shaft tapers and more. I consider the CNC machine to be as critical to my business as my main lathe.
I'm now officially retired from my "real" job but continue to build cues on a regular basis. I now only build 15 - 20 cues each year. Almost all are per customer request so I rarely have extra cues for sale "off the rack". However, those experiments to which I referred will often make it to the For Sale page.
If you are interested in placing an order, please read THIS PAGE first, then look at the Prices page for an idea of the costs. I require 30% of the total price as a deposit to begin building your cue*. If, for some reason, you change your mind about finishing your cue, I reserve the right to retain a portion of your deposit to cover my investment to that point. The amount retained can range between 50% and 100%, depending on the amount of personalization in your cue. It will take about 12 months to complete your cue & I'm proud to say most cues are done early.
*Note: it used to be 20% but due to a recent rash of young customers biting off more than they could chew, then backing out of the deal, I'm raising the deposit in order to weed out those "less-than-committed" buyers.
Please look closely at the high resolution pictures of the cues I've built. I take pride in the fit of my inlays, the tight miters in my veneers and the quality of the automotive clearcoat finish. Oh...and the cues play pretty well, too.
