Kevin DeRoo cue maker

[DWOT]

deepscrew:

Actually I'm having 2 cues delivered already to the SWSA (one is an older H&O Black Plate) so I won't have any room for the trip back and besides this is something I want to learn to do myself but I don't have a lathe but I do have a good drill press.

Actually I was thinking of setting up an appointment with TW to see if he can add somewhere around an ounce to my present TW playing cue, which weighs in at 17.6oz or so and I would like to get it up to around 18.5oz if I can. Problem is I won't have a car when I'm over there.

Are there any of the good cuemakers who live close to Gloucester?

Terry

I might do you a swap Terry, you can give me some coaching and I'll give you a lift!

[Deepscrew]

Mastercraft are about an hour away i would say, but other than that your going to be struggling...

[Terry Davidson]

deepscrew:

Actually I'm having 2 cues delivered already to the SWSA (one is an older H&O Black Plate) so I won't have any room for the trip back and besides this is something I want to learn to do myself but I don't have a lathe but I do have a good drill press.

Actually I was thinking of setting up an appointment with TW to see if he can add somewhere around an ounce to my present TW playing cue, which weighs in at 17.6oz or so and I would like to get it up to around 18.5oz if I can. Problem is I won't have a car when I'm over there.

Are there any of the good cuemakers who live close to Gloucester?

Terry

[Terry Davidson]

MW:

One other thing I meant to mention. I have a very old cue here which weighted 17.4oz and what was different about it is the cuemaker had added ebony 'diamonds' at the end of the shaft and between the points. Perhaps in the old days that was the way the weighted a cue up although the demand may not have been high as most billiard players would use a lighter cue in the past.

Interesting concept though as actually the cue looks quite sharp (although I had to lengthen it and I didn't do a very good job of it so it looks like crap now at the bottom of the butt)

Terry

[Deepscrew]

Bring them all over with you on holiday and send one to MW and one to TW and one to mastercraft!

[Terry Davidson]

MW:

I'm for sure no expert on this. I thought the DeRoo cues I've seen the solid part of the ebony seemed to be longer than the other cues of similar weight I've seen. Also, on the 18.8oz Will Hunt I had I couldn't figure out how he got the weight up that high as the taper was very conical, meaning the ferrule was as 9.5mm and the taper increased almost virtually evenly, rising 1mm for every 3" of shaft and the butt diameter was 29mm which seems to be almost a pure conical taper.

What I can't figure out is how a 1pc cue can be weighted up to over 18oz without adding some weight somewhere, but if the cuemaker drills a long hole up into the butt behind the butt socket and adds lead wouldn't that still make the cue a little butt-heavy? My WH had a balance point of 16.5" and the only thing I noticed about it was the solid ebony part of the butt seemed to be longer than normal but the actual points were no longer than any other cue.

I realize for a 3/4-butt to be over 18oz and still have a 29mm butt and a shaft that is not overly dense the cuemaker can put lead weight at the 3/4 joint area and still maintain a good balance point, but I'm at a loss to see how it can be done with a 1pc cue.

Perhaps you could enlighten me (without giving away any of your secrets) as I have a couple of really nice 1pc cues here which are in the 16-17oz range and I would like to experiment a bit and see if I can get their weight up a bit. I've tried wrapping lead tape around their balance points just to see what happened with added weight and to my mind both cues actually played a little better for me although, of course, they looked horrible with the shiny lead tape wrapped around the points area.

My problem is there are no cuemakers or repairers in this area who are worth their salt and I think weighting up a 1pc cue would be a tricky thing and most likely beyond their competence. Too expensive to ship a cue over to Britain or out to Vancouver for Airin to work on.

Terry

[MikeWooldridge]

btw terry, i met and played marco in hong kong and am familiar with his original deroo cue.

he wanted me to make a new one, but at the time i did not have the best maple for him.

i don't really remember much about the butt length though, which is the point of my questions.

[MikeWooldridge]

MW:

The DeRoo cues have butterfly splices (or at least all the ones I've seen) rather than the regular 4-point splices used by most other cuemakers.

Also, one of the problems with 1-piece cues seems to be getting the weight up over 18oz without having a thick and dense shaft or butt but it looks like Kevin overcomes that by increasing the length of the ebony but doing it in a way that doesn't bring the balance point back.

I had a Will Hunt GP 1-piece that had very long ebony splices and it weighed 18.8oz, which is very unusual in a 1-piece I think

Terry

i am aware they are butterfly splice. i was curious about the length of butt/prongs and the statement of making the cue without weight added.

i am also willing to bet that your will hunt 1pc would have some weight in it to get to nearly 19oz.

you say the splices were long, how long do you reckon? ball park compared to normal 1pc cues?

kevin's cues will be solid ebony below the butterfly splice so will be noticeably heavier naturally than your will hunt traditional four spliced cue.

but i fail to see how longer prongs will add much weight. in fact, they will barely make a difference in themselves.

[Deepscrew]

My pals JP was sent back due to a rattle the other day, they admitted to using weights in the butt which as you say can make the cue butt heavy.

[Terry Davidson]

MW:

The DeRoo cues have butterfly splices (or at least all the ones I've seen) rather than the regular 4-point splices used by most other cuemakers.

Also, one of the problems with 1-piece cues seems to be getting the weight up over 18oz without having a thick and dense shaft or butt but it looks like Kevin overcomes that by increasing the length of the ebony but doing it in a way that doesn't bring the balance point back.

I had a Will Hunt GP 1-piece that had very long ebony splices and it weighed 18.8oz, which is very unusual in a 1-piece I think

Terry

[MikeWooldridge]

He is referring to the overall length of the Ebony from the base of the cue to the top of the Ebony splice.
The main thing that happens when this length is increased is the balance point of the cue goes forward naturally.We needed to achieve this because we wanted our 3/4 shaft cues to maintain a wood to wood joint -not brass to brass -(which produces
the weight with metal) and our customers did not want any "Fat Shafts" -those thicker tapers . The second reason was with regards to 1-piece cues ,we needed to be able to make 1-piece cues between 18 ozs. to 18.5 ozs. without larger grip sizes and again
without "fat shafts" and without adding metal weight which typically made the cue "butt heavy ".
So overall it resulted in a good cue design and our customers are happy.
Thanks
Kevin

thanks, but i'm a little confused.

after reading pqj's question again, i can see he actually referred to the 'prongs', not the overall length.

so, how long are the 'prongs' and what is the overall butt length on your 1pc cues?

are you using a wood thread joint then on 3/4 cues?

[the montrealer]

Hey thanks Leonard , One of the thing that has built our reputation is our very stable shaftwood
Say hi to those guys for me.

HI Kevin i will cheers Leonard

[Kevin DeRoo]

Does it?

I am not sure what exactly what length you are referring to nor the reasons that make it a 'much better cue design'

Please enlighten us.

He is referring to the overall length of the Ebony from the base of the cue to the top of the Ebony splice.
The main thing that happens when this length is increased is the balance point of the cue goes forward naturally.We needed to achieve this because we wanted our 3/4 shaft cues to maintain a wood to wood joint -not brass to brass -(which produces
the weight with metal) and our customers did not want any "Fat Shafts" -those thicker tapers . The second reason was with regards to 1-piece cues ,we needed to be able to make 1-piece cues between 18 ozs. to 18.5 ozs. without larger grip sizes and again
without "fat shafts" and without adding metal weight which typically made the cue "butt heavy ".
So overall it resulted in a good cue design and our customers are happy.
Thanks
Kevin

[Kevin DeRoo]

Hey thanks Leonard , One of the thing that has built our reputation is our very stable shaftwood
Say hi to those guys for me.

[the montrealer]

Hi Everyone. Just letting you know I'm on the forum now. I look forward to interacting with you all.

Hi Kevin i am from Montreal Quebec Canada your cues are great there are a few players here that are using your Cues Rodney Cuillerier and also Alberto Camera which are pretty good players. I like the finish of your cues also note that your cues remain straight for years. Cheers Leonard