Pool Cue
 

The pool cue just broke again. It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue joint
held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same place
should I be looking at a different fix next time? I'd probably drill the
center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to suggestions.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

Puckdropper wrote:
The pool cue just broke again. It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue
joint held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same
place should I be looking at a different fix next time? I'd probably
drill the center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to
suggestions.


I'd be looking for a new pool cue...

--

-Mike-

Pool Cue
 

"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
...
The pool cue just broke again. It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue
joint
held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same
place
should I be looking at a different fix next time? I'd probably drill the
center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to suggestions.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Fix it as best you can, and retire it to the rack. I have some CueTec
fiberglass cues I like that are bulletproof, although I did have to replace
the tips that popped off with elk hide. Made a drill/lathe to turn them to
finish off the oversized tips.

Then I found a couple of outstanding cues at yard sales, one from the
forties or fifties that looks as good as a Palmer, for $1. The other is a
bit gaudy, with its dark inlays, but is light and shoots good. Then I found
my wife's old Brunswick in the attic that she bought new in the sixties for
$32. Fat handle, I like it. Got good punch.

Once that wood splits, the repeated blows just keep working on the fracture
until it pops again. I had one that I tried to fix, and finally gave up.

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Szamboti-C...efaultDomain_0

You deserve it. ;-)

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
special free book offer!

Pool Cue
 

Is this a temper tantrum thing after missing that important shot?

How, the hell, do you break a pool cue?

LOL

"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
...
The pool cue just broke again. It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue joint
held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same place
should I be looking at a different fix next time? I'd probably drill the
center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to suggestions.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

"Josepi" wrote in message
...
Is this a temper tantrum thing after missing that important shot?

How, the hell, do you break a pool cue?

LOL

Breaking with it can break the cue. Also, slapping someone up side the head
will do it. Sometimes it will fall over, and crack, then the next hard
shot, boink! If you want to break one, it can be done.

And then there's temper tantrums, too.

Steve ;-)

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
special free book offer!

Pool Cue
 

On Aug 19, 5:58*am, Puckdropper puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote:
The pool cue just broke again. *It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. *It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. *There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue joint
held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same place
should I be looking at a different fix next time? *I'd probably drill the
center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to suggestions.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Better take up golf. It's much harder (not impossible) to break a club
and you have a lot of spares in the bag. And you get more exercise,
too. Plus all that space in the rec room taken up by a big pool table
that SWMBO uses for folding laundry...the list goes on G

Joe

Pool Cue
 

"Mike Marlow" wrote

I'd be looking for a new pool cue...

Yep, it must have too much grain runout.
--
Jim in NC

Pool Cue
 

Subject

Good laminating epoxy and patience.

Forget the 5 minute stuff.

Lew

Pool Cue
 

Lew Hodgett wrote:
Subject

Good laminating epoxy and patience.

Forget the 5 minute stuff.

Lew



Not everything that is shaped like a good pool cue
is a good pool cue. You want consistency around the
full radius of the tip or it's a piece of junk (to a serious player).
I'm not saying that goal is impossible with epoxy, because
I'm not sure, I'm just skeptical. I'd rather eliminate that factor
from the get-go.

OTOH, I've seen broom handles that would make better cues
than they have in many places. Just depends what you need.

Bill

Pool Cue
 

Bill wrote:



Not everything that is shaped like a good pool cue
is a good pool cue. You want consistency around the
full radius of the tip or it's a piece of junk (to a serious player).
I'm not saying that goal is impossible with epoxy, because
I'm not sure, I'm just skeptical. I'd rather eliminate that factor
from the get-go.

OTOH, I've seen broom handles that would make better cues
than they have in many places. Just depends what you need.


Bill... it looks like you're coming into your own in this thread.

--

-Mike-

Pool Cue
 

"Morgans" wrote in news:O1lbo.65160$Bh2.56782
@newsfe04.iad:


"Mike Marlow" wrote

I'd be looking for a new pool cue...

Yep, it must have too much grain runout.

I took a closer look at the end, and I'm inclined to agree with you. The
grain seems to run at an angle from side-to-side rather than being close to
parallel.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

"Josepi" wrote in
:

Is this a temper tantrum thing after missing that important shot?

How, the hell, do you break a pool cue?

LOL

No temper tantrums.

Wood has many interesting properties due to being alive at one time, and
some of those appear to be coming in to play here. Each time this cue
broke, it was after hitting the cue ball, so it's an impact along the
grain type thing.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

"Steve B" wrote in
:


Fix it as best you can, and retire it to the rack. I have some CueTec
fiberglass cues I like that are bulletproof, although I did have to
replace the tips that popped off with elk hide. Made a drill/lathe to
turn them to finish off the oversized tips.

Then I found a couple of outstanding cues at yard sales, one from the
forties or fifties that looks as good as a Palmer, for $1. The other
is a bit gaudy, with its dark inlays, but is light and shoots good.
Then I found my wife's old Brunswick in the attic that she bought new
in the sixties for $32. Fat handle, I like it. Got good punch.

Once that wood splits, the repeated blows just keep working on the
fracture until it pops again. I had one that I tried to fix, and
finally gave up.

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Szamboti-C...-Extras-see-be
low-/260651764642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

You deserve it. ;-)

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
special free book offer!


You guys are good at spending my money. ;-)

I borrowed my sister's cue last night, and it's got a nice tip on it. It
seemed to cushion the shot a little bit, so the cue ball didn't feel like
it was shooting off.

If I keep going, I might wind up with a particle board tip... Half glue,
half wood stuffs. :-)

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:



Not everything that is shaped like a good pool cue
is a good pool cue. You want consistency around the
full radius of the tip or it's a piece of junk (to a serious player).
I'm not saying that goal is impossible with epoxy, because
I'm not sure, I'm just skeptical. I'd rather eliminate that factor
from the get-go.

OTOH, I've seen broom handles that would make better cues
than they have in many places. Just depends what you need.


Bill... it looks like you're coming into your own in this thread.


Ah, The Color of Money...

Break 'em! : )


To be honest though, Mike, like Lew suggested, the game is not quite the
same with bifocals. I could still do okay on the smaller tables, but I
always preferred the 9-footers. I've played the game most all of the
ways people play it: one-pocket, straight pool, snooker, 3-cushion
billiards, and also, but certainly not least, 9-ball. I enjoyed my
"misspent youth". I never quite mastered the game as well as I wanted
to, but maybe that was part of its appeal? Woodworking and luthery are
evidently tough to master too--and you don't have to get smoke all over
your clothes. So far, mainly drywall mud instead. ;)

Bill

Pool Cue
 

Lew Hodgett wrote:

That was then and this is now.

The eye and the touch are history.

Picked up a cue a few years ago, took a couple of shots and hung it
back in the rack before embarrassing myself further.

Lew

Wrong way to look at it, IMO. Get a rack of balls, go find a big table
by yourself, and Have Fun!

bill

Pool Cue
 

Puckdropper wrote:
wrote in
:

Is this a temper tantrum thing after missing that important shot?

How, the hell, do you break a pool cue?

I once accidentally broke a real cheapy over my knee in a college bar
when the 8-ball went in the wrong pocket. I really didn't mean to break
it. This real big bouncer dude, who didn't understand that it was an
accident, asked me to pay him $15 or $20. I suspect that was probably
health-insurance money well-spent.



LOL

No temper tantrums.

Wood has many interesting properties due to being alive at one time, and
some of those appear to be coming in to play here. Each time this cue
broke, it was after hitting the cue ball, so it's an impact along the
grain type thing.

Puckdropper

Pool Cue
 

The pool cue just broke again. It's done it twice already, and I've
repaired it with Titebond II. It broke once near the tip collar, once
splitting down about 2 inches, and now it's broken near the tip collar
again. There's no glue on the wood fibers, so it looks like the glue
joint held.

I'm about to fix it a third time, but since it's breaking in the same
place should I be looking at a different fix next time? I'd probably drill the
center out and replace it with a dowel, but I'm open to suggestions.
Puckdropper

In all my years I've never seen a que break that much. I would look
for something stronger than Titebond. Epoxy sounds like it would last.

Fix it as best you can, and retire it to the rack. I have some CueTec
fiberglass cues I like that are bulletproof, although I did have to replace
the tips that popped off with elk hide. Made a drill/lathe to turn them to
finish off the oversized tips.

I'd retire it too. Never could stand fiberglass cues. Never had the
response that wood does, at least not for me.

Then I found a couple of outstanding cues at yard sales, one from the
forties or fifties that looks as good as a Palmer, for $1. The other is a
bit gaudy, with its dark inlays, but is light and shoots good. Then I found
my wife's old Brunswick in the attic that she bought new in the sixties for
$32. Fat handle, I like it. Got good punch.

Yard sales and pawn shops are good places to find old treasures, but
it takes patience to find a real good one.

Once that wood splits, the repeated blows just keep working on the fracture
until it pops again. I had one that I tried to fix, and finally gave up.

Agreed. The damage is done. Better to replace it.

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?
Steve

I prefer a Gus Szamboti but they aren't cheap. Having known Gus and
having him work on my cue was a priviledge. My second choice is a
Mali, but they don't make them as good as they did decades ago.

I once saw/touched a Balabuska. It's like the Stradivarius of cues.

If you've played enough, you never loose your touch. It just takes a
little practice to get back into the swing of things.

Pool Cue
 

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?
Steve

I prefer a Gus Szamboti but they aren't cheap. Having known Gus and
having him work on my cue was a priviledge.`Casper

The one on the left is almost dead on for my que, including the case.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

I should have bought several of Gus's cues back then. I'll never stop
kicking myself for letting go too many good deals on those cues.

Pool Cue
 

On 8/20/2010 8:02 AM, Casper wrote:

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?
Steve

I prefer a Gus Szamboti but they aren't cheap. Having known Gus and
having him work on my cue was a priviledge. My second choice is a
Mali, but they don't make them as good as they did decades ago.

I once saw/touched a Balabuska. It's like the Stradivarius of cues.

While in college and young testerone charged youth, I played in
college tournaments, and whipped up on the traveling salesman at the
local beer joints playing nine ball. AAMOF, Used to practice my straight
pool game on the snooker tables at the Texas A&M bowling and billiards
in the MSC (was the student manager of same for a couple of years), won
a few tournaments, a good deal of cash, and actually got pretty good at
tournament three cushion billiards, mainly for the fun of it.

But Sheeeeesh! Back then the coveted pool cue was a "Willi Mosconi", and
I have NEVER even heard of any of the above, so times have indeed
changed. :)

If you've played enough, you never loose your touch. It just takes a
little practice to get back into the swing of things.

I thought/was hoping so too, until Leon and our wives played a few games
last year at a local billiard hall. My fingers wouldn't bend enough to
make a decent bridge, and when looking over my trifocals I couldn't even
see the damn object ball!

So, yes Mable ... you do lose your touch, eventually. :(

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Pool Cue
 

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:21:49 -0400, Bill wrote:

Mike Marlow wrote:
Bill wrote:



Not everything that is shaped like a good pool cue
is a good pool cue. You want consistency around the
full radius of the tip or it's a piece of junk (to a serious player).
I'm not saying that goal is impossible with epoxy, because
I'm not sure, I'm just skeptical. I'd rather eliminate that factor
from the get-go.

OTOH, I've seen broom handles that would make better cues
than they have in many places. Just depends what you need.


Bill... it looks like you're coming into your own in this thread.


Ah, The Color of Money...

Break 'em! : )

He'll be a New man soon.


To be honest though, Mike, like Lew suggested, the game is not quite the
same with bifocals.

Agreed. My pool playing has never been the same since I went to
wearing glasses full-time.


I never quite mastered the game as well as I wanted

Nor did I, but it was fun for awhile.


to, but maybe that was part of its appeal? Woodworking and luthery are
evidently tough to master too--and you don't have to get smoke all over
your clothes. So far, mainly drywall mud instead. ;)

Drywall dust and mud are far, far preferable to cigarette smoke. Feh!

--
We're all here because we're not all there.

Pool Cue
 

May have been a lot like some of the golf I have seen played....LOL


"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
...
No temper tantrums.

Wood has many interesting properties due to being alive at one time, and
some of those appear to be coming in to play here. Each time this cue
broke, it was after hitting the cue ball, so it's an impact along the
grain type thing.

Puckdropper


"Josepi" wrote in
:

Is this a temper tantrum thing after missing that important shot?

How, the hell, do you break a pool cue?

LOL

Pool Cue
 

"DGDevin" wrote:
Only if winning is all that counts. Having fun shooting pool with
friends (however badly) isn't about competing, it's about having fun
with friends.
------------
Being a hack is not my definition of fun.

Lew

Pool Cue
 

Not everything that is shaped like a good pool cue
is a good pool cue.
OTOH, I've seen broom handles that would make better cues
than they have in many places. Just depends what you need.

A lot of pool is mental. Yes, a good cue is vital to a good pool player,
but it is not a necessity. Knowing human nature and reading people is a
better edge.

Still, it is nice to have a nice stick, even a good wooden bar stick.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Pool Cue
 

"Bill" wrote in message
...
Lew Hodgett wrote:

That was then and this is now.

The eye and the touch are history.

Picked up a cue a few years ago, took a couple of shots and hung it
back in the rack before embarrassing myself further.

Lew

Wrong way to look at it, IMO. Get a rack of balls, go find a big table by
yourself, and Have Fun!

bill

Exactly. I used to love to go to an old pool hall, get a rack of numbered
balls for the snooker table (not the snooker balls, but the ones colored
like 8 ball) and just play for hours. I'd get people trying to hustle me,
but I just liked to play and practice.

I have a 4 x 8 table in my house now. And at odd moments, I'll run a few
racks. You can learn a lot by yourself when you can try lots of new things.
The transference of English being the most interesting to me, then making
multiple rail shots, followed by bank shots, then transference of English
bank shots.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Pool Cue
 

Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
Lew Hodgett wrote:

That was then and this is now.

The eye and the touch are history.

Picked up a cue a few years ago, took a couple of shots and hung it
back in the rack before embarrassing myself further.

Lew

Wrong way to look at it, IMO. Get a rack of balls, go find a big table by
yourself, and Have Fun!

bill

Exactly. I used to love to go to an old pool hall, get a rack of numbered
balls for the snooker table (not the snooker balls, but the ones colored
like 8 ball) and just play for hours. I'd get people trying to hustle me,
but I just liked to play and practice.

I have a 4 x 8 table in my house now. And at odd moments, I'll run a few
racks. You can learn a lot by yourself when you can try lots of new things.
The transference of English being the most interesting to me, then making
multiple rail shots, followed by bank shots, then transference of English
bank shots.

Steve

You don't have to convince me. I think all of the physics involved can
get pretty deep. OTOH, winning players play a consistent and thus
relatively boring game. The more english you try to use, the less
consistent you'll be.

It's fun to go to Las Vegas to watch the pool tournement finals there
even if you no longer play. I've watched 3 times at the Riviera. I'm not
sure where they play now, because I think the Riviera may no longer be
there. I'm not sure about that.

Bill

Pool Cue
 

Bill wrote:
Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
Lew Hodgett wrote:

That was then and this is now.

The eye and the touch are history.

Picked up a cue a few years ago, took a couple of shots and hung it
back in the rack before embarrassing myself further.

Lew

Wrong way to look at it, IMO. Get a rack of balls, go find a big
table by
yourself, and Have Fun!

bill

Exactly. I used to love to go to an old pool hall, get a rack of numbered
balls for the snooker table (not the snooker balls, but the ones colored
like 8 ball) and just play for hours. I'd get people trying to hustle me,
but I just liked to play and practice.

I have a 4 x 8 table in my house now. And at odd moments, I'll run a few
racks. You can learn a lot by yourself when you can try lots of new
things.
The transference of English being the most interesting to me, then making
multiple rail shots, followed by bank shots, then transference of English
bank shots.

Steve

You don't have to convince me. I think all of the physics involved can
get pretty deep. OTOH, winning players play a consistent and thus
relatively boring game. The more english you try to use, the less
consistent you'll be.

It's fun to go to Las Vegas to watch the pool tournement finals there
even if you no longer play. I've watched 3 times at the Riviera. I'm not
sure where they play now, because I think the Riviera may no longer be
there. I'm not sure about that.

Bill


Yep. Still there. Here ya go:

http://www.poolplayers.com/ntc.html

Pool Cue
 

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

"DGDevin" wrote:
Only if winning is all that counts. Having fun shooting pool with
friends (however badly) isn't about competing, it's about having fun with
friends.
------------
Being a hack is not my definition of fun.

Lew



What a shame. I'm a hack when it comes to golf, but I can still have fun
going around the course with a couple of friends. Don't ask me my score, I
probably stopped counting by the 6th or 7th hole since I already got my par
72. No, I won't hold you up because I won't play when the course is crowded
out of respect to the good golfers.

Pool Cue
 

"DGDevin" wrote:

Having fun shooting pool with friends (however badly) isn't
about competing, it's about having fun with friends.


What you are describing is not pool, the way a few of us here think of
pool. As has been pointed out, one can play pool perfectly-well alone.
One can have fun at a pool table with their friends, but it is not the
same as playing for $5 or $10 a game against pool players. I used to
enjoy watching people play for hours for even $100 a game--and all of
these numbers are 30 years old. It's all about having a good pool
room--one that occasionally allows after-hours drinking and card playing
is a plus. The one I frequented, technically a "private club", has been
torn down and their is not a (decent) pool room near where I live now.
I always made sure I had the car back before my dad had to leave for
work at 7:30 a.m. For some reason, there were a lot of big arguments
about the hours I kept back then. To be honest, walking out of the pool
room at 7 am and seeing sunshine gave me a strange sort of sick feeling.
If you haven't experienced the "excess" then you probably haven't been
there. Being a pool player is not all fun and games! : )

Bill

Pool Cue
 

"Bill" wrote

It's fun to go to Las Vegas to watch the pool tournement finals there even
if you no longer play. I've watched 3 times at the Riviera. I'm not sure
where they play now, because I think the Riviera may no longer be there.
I'm not sure about that.

Bill

I grew up in Las Vegas, and hung out at the Cue Club on East Sahara. I
watched Ed Kelly play about a thousand games. Frank Butterfield, Pug, and
the others. Doyle Brunson came in, but didn't play pool. They'd play for
$500 and a thousand a game on one pocket. At the Stardust in about 67, 68,
and 69, they had some great tourneys, before it got all big time with TV
crews and all. I believe "The Riv" is still there, but a shadow of its
former self, now resembling a carnival more than a casino. I parked cars
there for about a year. Shecky Greene tried to choke me one night because I
wouldn't give him his car because he was drunk, and security called and had
us hide it.

Ah, the old days.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Pool Cue
 

"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
...
"Steve B" wrote in
:


Fix it as best you can, and retire it to the rack. I have some CueTec
fiberglass cues I like that are bulletproof, although I did have to
replace the tips that popped off with elk hide. Made a drill/lathe to
turn them to finish off the oversized tips.

Then I found a couple of outstanding cues at yard sales, one from the
forties or fifties that looks as good as a Palmer, for $1. The other
is a bit gaudy, with its dark inlays, but is light and shoots good.
Then I found my wife's old Brunswick in the attic that she bought new
in the sixties for $32. Fat handle, I like it. Got good punch.

Once that wood splits, the repeated blows just keep working on the
fracture until it pops again. I had one that I tried to fix, and
finally gave up.

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Szamboti-C...-Extras-see-be
low-/260651764642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

You deserve it. ;-)

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
special free book offer!


You guys are good at spending my money. ;-)

I borrowed my sister's cue last night, and it's got a nice tip on it. It
seemed to cushion the shot a little bit, so the cue ball didn't feel like
it was shooting off.

If I keep going, I might wind up with a particle board tip... Half glue,
half wood stuffs. :-)

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

I like elk hide. Tricky to get on, to trim, and to get to stick, but that's
part of the game.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Pool Cue
 

"Casper" wrote in message
...
Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?
Steve

I prefer a Gus Szamboti but they aren't cheap. Having known Gus and
having him work on my cue was a priviledge.`Casper

The one on the left is almost dead on for my que, including the case.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

I should have bought several of Gus's cues back then. I'll never stop
kicking myself for letting go too many good deals on those cues.

If I hit that eighty million on super ball this week, I'll buy it for you.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Somehow, I feel confident making that offer ................

Pool Cue
 

"Swingman" wrote


While in college and young testerone charged youth, I played in college
tournaments, and whipped up on the traveling salesman at the local beer
joints playing nine ball. AAMOF, Used to practice my straight pool game on
the snooker tables at the Texas A&M bowling and billiards in the MSC (was
the student manager of same for a couple of years), won a few tournaments,
a good deal of cash, and actually got pretty good at tournament three
cushion billiards, mainly for the fun of it.

I could have made money at it if I didn't drink. But I almost always came
home with the same amount of money I left with, or more, had a good time,
and bought lots of drinks for myself and the entourage.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com

visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!

Pool Cue
 

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or Szamboti?
Steve

I prefer a Gus Szamboti but they aren't cheap. Having known Gus and
having him work on my cue was a priviledge.`Casper

The one on the left is almost dead on for my que, including the case.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tchlink:top:en

I should have bought several of Gus's cues back then. I'll never stop
kicking myself for letting go too many good deals on those cues.


If I hit that eighty million on super ball this week, I'll buy it for you.
Steve
visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
visit my site, leave an e mail, and get a free book!
Somehow, I feel confident making that offer ................

LOL! Thanks. That would definitely get me playing full time again.

I kept meaning to catch up with Gus and ask him to teach me his craft.
Was a time in there when I lost my day job and put a lot of time in at
a local pool hall Gus frequented. Someone was always showing off their
new Szamboti. I was all set to ask Guz is I could apprentice but that
was about the time of his heart problem and surgery and I just
couldn't bring myself to impose on him with his bad health. Boy do I
regret that now. Been woodworking all kinds of other things for years
and always keep wondering what I'd be doing today if I had learned
that craft.

Wow. Now you've got me really remembering those days, all my practice,
tourneys and such. Didn't realize how long it's been and how much I
missed them. Now I'll have to make a trip back east just to see if the
halls are still there, especially the Four Seasons where Steve Mizerak
used to occasion. Even he is gone now, sadly. What memories. :)
`Casper

Pool Cue
 

While in college and young testerone charged youth, I played in
college tournaments, and whipped up on the traveling salesman at the
local beer joints playing nine ball. AAMOF, Used to practice my straight
pool game on the snooker tables at the Texas A&M bowling and billiards
in the MSC (was the student manager of same for a couple of years), won
a few tournaments, a good deal of cash, and actually got pretty good at
tournament three cushion billiards, mainly for the fun of it.

Yeah, I did college tourneys too. Feels like a century ago. I even
remember when a local community college once got a hustler in during
the evening classes trying to sap moeny from the students. The
director of activities knew me well and called me to come in, check
him out and, if possible, get him to leave. Sure enough there was a
guy in his early forties pretending to be a night student hustling
from the night classes. I watched him a couple of days, then one night
got there before him and was playing. He offered to play and teach me.
After several games he asked if I ever played for money. A couple of
games later he was winning a $10 or $20 here and there. An hour later
we were at $50. A bit later $100 and then I started winning. Last game
I cleared the table straight away, put my cue down, looked at him and
told him wrong turf. He realized I wasn't just a student either.
Heh.. but the other students were happy and got a real kick out of it.
I was just glad he took that well and just moved on to something
outside of colleges and poor students.

But Sheeeeesh! Back then the coveted pool cue was a "Willi Mosconi", and
I have NEVER even heard of any of the above, so times have indeed
changed. :)

That is a while ago.I haven't seen a Mosconi in a very long time. I
loved Mosconi. He was always the best player in my mind.

If you've played enough, you never loose your touch. It just takes a
little practice to get back into the swing of things.

I thought/was hoping so too, until Leon and our wives played a few games
last year at a local billiard hall. My fingers wouldn't bend enough to
make a decent bridge, and when looking over my trifocals I couldn't even
see the damn object ball!

So, yes Mable ... you do lose your touch, eventually. :(

Guess I'm luckier than most yet. Still got most of my eyesight and I
keep my fingers going all the time. Yeah I've got my share of
arthritis, but it's more in my spine than anywhere else. A few years
ago I stopped at a new local pool hall just to relax and see how I'd
do. I figured I'd be awful, but to my surprise, I was doing pretty
damn good after about an hour. Guess my turn will come tho, someday,
hopefully not too soon. ;)
`Casper

Pool Cue
 

On 8/21/2010 9:01 AM, Casper wrote:

After several games he asked if I ever played for money. A couple of
games later he was winning a $10 or $20 here and there. An hour later
we were at $50. A bit later $100 and then I started winning. Last game
I cleared the table straight away, put my cue down, looked at him and
told him wrong turf. He realized I wasn't just a student either.
Heh.. but the other students were happy and got a real kick out of it.
I was just glad he took that well and just moved on to something
outside of colleges and poor students.

Good story that brings back memories ... the thrill of the head game was
exciting, and, after learning early the truism that no matter how good
you are there is always somebody better, to hustle the hustler made it
even more so.

If nothing else, taught you how to pick your battles. :)

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Pool Cue
 

If the is cue is something special, you might try turning down the
tip and using a metal ferrule (copper pipe? or other) where this
one is splitting. Install with epoxy to take up any gaps.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
Keep the whole world singing . . .


"Puckdropper" puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com wrote in message
...
"Steve B" wrote in
:


Fix it as best you can, and retire it to the rack. I have some
CueTec
fiberglass cues I like that are bulletproof, although I did
have to
replace the tips that popped off with elk hide. Made a
drill/lathe to
turn them to finish off the oversized tips.

Then I found a couple of outstanding cues at yard sales, one
from the
forties or fifties that looks as good as a Palmer, for $1. The
other
is a bit gaudy, with its dark inlays, but is light and shoots
good.
Then I found my wife's old Brunswick in the attic that she
bought new
in the sixties for $32. Fat handle, I like it. Got good
punch.

Once that wood splits, the repeated blows just keep working on
the
fracture until it pops again. I had one that I tried to fix,
and
finally gave up.

Isn't it time to get a Tad, Palmer, Mizuni, McDermott, or
Szamboti?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Barry-Szamboti-C...-Extras-see-be
low-/260651764642?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

You deserve it. ;-)

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
special free book offer!


You guys are good at spending my money. ;-)

I borrowed my sister's cue last night, and it's got a nice tip
on it. It
seemed to cushion the shot a little bit, so the cue ball didn't
feel like
it was shooting off.

If I keep going, I might wind up with a particle board tip...
Half glue,
half wood stuffs. :-)

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

Pool Cue
 

All these pool stories. OK Here's mine.

First of all, although I enjoy the game, I suck at it.

But when I was 19, there were a number of pool halls in the neighborhood.
Also at that time I was part of a new, experimental program of "mainlining"
deaf students into the community colleges. These kids have spent their
entire lives institutionalized in deaf programs and schools throughout the
country. I was their age, had a hearing problem, so was immediately accepted
by them. They did not trust almost any adult and most hearing people. I
became the liaison between the deaf kids and the staff there.

Two blocks from the school was a large pool hall. I was asked to "chaperone"
a group of deaf kids for a pool hall visit. There was an older deaf guy who
hustled there and met them there. What unfolded before my eyes was amazing
and soon became local folklore.

It turns out that these kids were raised in environments where there was and
abundance of pool tables. They have been practicing since they were
children. And since most people think of deaf kids as being "slow" they
made the perfect hustlers. My part in this scheme was to orient these
budding hustlers to this new, garish pool hall environment. It took a little
while for them to get there interaction with hearing people down. And they
were not permitted outside of the dormitories at night at first.

But over about three months, they learned to blend in, And they started to
let them out at night. They went to school during the day. The hustled pool
at night. After awhile, they started hitting all the pool halls in town.
And the average pool player in town soon was poorer for the experience. Some
of those kids, who never help a regular job in their life, were buying cars
with their earnings. They were taking cabs everywhere, eating in nice
restaurants and wearing nice clothes.

They called me in to ask if I knew anything about it. I did not know how
extensive it had become. After a few polite inquires, I told them to tone it
down and not buy anything that would draw attention to themselves. Since I
was "one of them", they took my advice. After all, I wasn't telling them to
stop. Just cool it a little. I ran into some of those kids years later. They
were still hustling pool. And it was a big portion of their income.

And they were grateful to me. They were kind enough to give me a few
lessons. But I never had the eyesight or physical coordination for it. But I
still like to play a game now and then.

Pool Cue
 

"Lee Michaels" leemichaels*nadaspam* at comcast dot net wrote

And they were grateful to me. They were kind enough to give me a few
lessons. But I never had the eyesight or physical coordination for it. But
I still like to play a game now and then.

I'm 62, and have been playing pool since I was as tall as a pool stick, the
requirement at the youth center where I learned to play. I always liked it,
but to get over to the snooker tables, you had to prove yourself with
"Pappy", a great pool player, and dominant male at the youth center. So, I
learned from a master.

But still, it's like playing a musical instrument, shooting, or other things
that involve ingrained talent. You either have it, or you don't. And after
that, it's practice, practice, practice. Yes, eyesight and physical shape
has something to do with it, mainly eyesight.

But it's like bowling. Anyone can do it, whether they suck or are good, but
it's fun anyway.

Steve

visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com
Get your free book while they last. They're electronic, and the supply is
endless, but they are going FAST! ;-)

Pool Cue
 

On 8/21/2010 4:18 PM, Steve B wrote:

But still, it's like playing a musical instrument, shooting, or other things
that involve ingrained talent. You either have it, or you don't. And after
that, it's practice, practice, practice. Yes, eyesight and physical shape
has something to do with it, mainly eyesight.

You're right about it being like playing a musical instrument. You get
in a groove, your "chops" are honed to razor sharp, and you back off
playing for a while and you feel almost like you have to start over
again. It's a great feeling when you know your chops are solid.

And that was indeed Willie Hoppe someone mentioned ... I think he also
had an autographed cue stick that was much coveted. IIRC, both the
Mosconi and Hoppe cues ran in the $75-100 range, which was a helluva lot
of money in those days (early 60's).

So much so that I copied them by taking my two part custom el cheapo to
the college industrial arts wood shop, chucking the handle up in the
lathe and cutting a slight groove in the handle just deep enough to wrap
it with braided fishing line.

Also bored a hole into the handle end and filled it with with two ounces
of lead, making my store bought 22 oz a 24, with some inertia behind it.

This was after carefully sandpapering the barrel to just the right
taper, with a very slight concavity to it, which I preferred.

Of course, if you walked in a strange bar with a custom two piece cue in
a case, the hustle was either over, or just starting! :)

Most of the time it was best to leave it in the truck, until the nut
cutting ...

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Pool Cue
 

"jo4hn" wrote:

Hoppe?

Yep.

Thank you.

Lew