j6 cue stories

[tedisbill]

Nice. Will be interesting to see how this one plays. It looks lovely.

[danam1]

By 'flat butt' do you mean big chamfer?

Yes he does

[j6uk]

completed this one yesterday

[j6uk]

this is the conundrum of wood in many ways.. tw has one of the top world rankings so iv nothing to add or say cus iv never held one of his cues, but hes the best in the world the way he comes across..
talking about wood is far more interesting for me cus im very late in the game of trying to make cues, and it is a trial to try and do it all by hand, hit and miss it can be.
the only thing i can say is im still learning and its all about the wood.. the other thing that keeps me involved is the fact that i know i have it. i know what i did to play the game well and using all of the colorful words under the sun on the way.. but now im a bit older with a past mother who was a fantastic designer and a father whos still producing amazing architectural drawings for clients on the blue print..
i can only hope that this blood will run think into the work im doing

cheers
rifle

J6, what's your view on shaft timber? I've got a kiln-dried Thai cue, beautifully made, superb finish that even TW couldn't beat, and yet, the cue feels half dead - clunk. And then I've got other cues, my most recent being a lovely '80s Powerglide Purist with naturally dried timber over 24 years before it found the plane, and a further 30 years of maturing in its case. I have more feel with the £30 PP (bargain!) than the Thai cue, especially in the balls. The Thai cue is like maple through the bridge, the finish unbelievable.

So what type of ash can you get hold of as an individual cue maker and which do you favour?

[j6uk]

i had the kids around me on my last post, but yeah i use a ten quid racker as my playing cue and iv always settled for an old club cue. i can afford top cues and have own some nice ones but theres nothing like picking up a so called crap cue and knocking in a ton and bashing up the best players with their grands worth. i think its cus my first ton was with a racker that iv never discriminated on the value of wood or what it looks like
as far as the ash, iv got some fine stuff settling down at the moment plus i'll have another 2-4 cues coming through within the next three weeks that im sure players would like to have a look at. i'll also get some shots of the timber for the snookerheads to look over

[guernseygooner]

Really nice work J6. I like the way your primary concern is getting cues playing right and not just looking pretty. Do you know Robert Osborne around those parts to pick his brains?

What price are you asking for cues?

[j6uk]

thanks man. i had a knock with it the other day and im not sure about it, but i'll do a video workout within a few days and if i can't stand behind it i'll chop it up..
robert yes i know him quite well, spent many hours in the shop and hes shown me quite a bit. we grew up in the same area, used the same clubs and know the same people. after he broke away from will hunt i did offer to help him rebuild his shop for a couple of weeks and in turn he'd show me some moves, but he wouldn't have it for some reason and when i pushed him on it he got a little irritated with me. fair enough hes got his way of doing things, besides hes help me enough since and stressed that i need too find my own way. that im doing
keith auld showed me quite a bit to and i was working on a couple of cues with him in his workshop a few years ago. he showed robert his moves way back and again we know the same people. spent many hours with jp too, he don't give away hes trade secrets but if you know your stuff hes generally very generous and open

if your interested in what im up to just pm me with your thoughts

Really nice work J6. I like the way your primary concern is getting cues playing right and not just looking pretty. Do you know Robert Osborne around those parts to pick his brains?

What price are you asking for cues?

[guernseygooner]

thanks man. i had a knock with it the other day and im not sure about it, but i'll do a video workout within a few days and if i can't stand behind it i'll chop it up..
robert yes i know him quite well, spent many hours in the shop and hes shown me quite a bit. we grew up in the same area, used the same clubs and know the same people. after he broke away from will hunt i did offer to help him rebuild his shop for a couple of weeks and in turn he'd show me some moves, but he wouldn't have it for some reason and when i pushed him on it he got a little irritated with me. fair enough hes got his way of doing things, besides hes help me enough since and stressed that i need too find my own way. that im doing
keith auld showed me quite a bit to and i was working on a couple of cues with him in his workshop a few years ago. he showed robert his moves way back and again we know the same people. spent many hours with jp too, he don't give away hes trade secrets but if you know your stuff hes generally very generous and open

if your interested in what im up to just pm me with your thoughts

Cheers, I will PM shortly. I was wondering if you could get a cue close to 18oz naturally without any weight or even if it makes a difference adding artificial weight to a cue from one that hasn't. As I've mentioned previously, I find cues these days just lifeless and so so. That includes JPs my mates own that they waited over a year for.

It's a shame Robert doesn't make to order now. I long for the cue I picked up from the Elephant and Castle years ago. Used to get a lot of action with that cue but its now been cut down to pool spec last I saw. Even tried the Arsenal angle on him but he won't budge.

[j6uk]

Cheers, I will PM shortly. I was wondering if you could get a cue close to 18oz naturally without any weight or even if it makes a difference adding artificial weight to a cue from one that hasn't. As I've mentioned previously, I find cues these days just lifeless and so so. That includes JPs my mates own that they waited over a year for.

It's a shame Robert doesn't make to order now. I long for the cue I picked up from the Elephant and Castle years ago. Used to get a lot of action with that cue but its now been cut down to pool spec last I saw. Even tried the Arsenal angle on him but he won't budge.

I have an unweighted cue at 17oz and I know what you mean. Introducing any weight introduces a mini-dulling, hammer effect. The same thing happens when you put a rubber damper in tennis strings, or attach bits to a musical instrument. It feels like hammering a nail using the 21oz cue my friend owns. The only way round this would be to use a dense ironwood and have it go up the shaft as far as possible I think. It might make 18oz then, without lead.

it sticks out that yous wanna talk about weight. this is really good for me cus in many way i too romance about the past with the cues i tried out, thats why iv always gone back to a club cue when iv plucked one that feels right.. but as we know you'd be lucky to get anything over 16.5oz from the rack
you might wanna look into the wood, its all about the wood! yeah look into the wood and how much it weighs at its max, including the flavor of ebony that looks great and taps into the male phsycy in it being black, though there are other denc heavier woods
weigh up the woods and come back with an estimation of the metal is in the average cue, seeing nowa days everyone wants to screw like trump- technique more than anything
yeah look into that cus i don't know it all

i will pick up on other point from the posts, but until then iv got a few vids on its way so

[j6uk]

Cheers, I will PM shortly. I was wondering if you could get a cue close to 18oz naturally without any weight or even if it makes a difference adding artificial weight to a cue from one that hasn't. As I've mentioned previously, I find cues these days just lifeless and so so. That includes JPs my mates own that they waited over a year for.
i think weight can add to the feel of a cue in and out of the balls, again whats the wood like who much is going in and what feel do you want..
iv yet to come across a so called natural cue thats 18oz, for that to happen it would be a very forwards weighted maple from hell cue
It's a shame Robert doesn't make to order now. I long for the cue I picked up from the Elephant and Castle years ago. Used to get a lot of action with that cue but its now been cut down to pool spec last I saw. Even tried the Arsenal angle on him but he won't budge.

you were young, stop romancing. what the gunner is a arsnil angle? not too many angles in north london

[guernseygooner]

you were young, stop romancing. what the gunner is a arsnil angle? not too many angles in north london

I said to him come on Robert you're a Gooner, I'm a Gooner. Take my money and specs and you won't hear from me until the cue is done but he still won't make one

[j6uk]

I said to him come on Robert you're a Gooner, I'm a Gooner. Take my money and specs and you won't hear from me until the cue is done but he still won't make one

i never talked to rob about footy but im sure others have, you could of said you were ronnies mate then after a few questions he may of reached for his no5
not easy being a one man band with the prices the way they are in london

[j6uk]

well i can only say iv played with many of these unweighted cues and they've been good hitters, one of them i put a two ounce bolt up and it changed the vibe of the cue so it played far better than before

I have an unweighted cue at 17oz and I know what you mean. Introducing any weight introduces a mini-dulling, hammer effect. The same thing happens when you put a rubber damper in tennis strings, or attach bits to a musical instrument. It feels like hammering a nail using the 21oz cue my friend owns. The only way round this would be to use a dense ironwood and have it go up the shaft as far as possible I think. It might make 18oz then, without lead.

[Ksquare]

I am curious if the top cue makers do add weight to their cues or are naturally weighted.

Apologies if this sounds a dump question. Very new to this area.

[jrc750]

I am curious if the top cue makers do add weight to their cues or are naturally weighted.

Apologies if this sounds a dump question. Very new to this area.

I would say virtually every cue over 17 oz will have weight added to them (one piece cues that is)