A local "tip repairman" has been drilling holes in the end of your ferrule & shaft when he installs your tip. Apparently, this is an attempt to combat a chronic problem with his tips popping off shortly after installation. This approach will definitely help the tip stay on longer but it weakens your ferrule. It also creates a problem the next time you need a new tip.
If this modification has been performed to any of my cues or to ferrules I've installed, your lifetime ferrule warranty is voided.
His work may be shoddy but at least he's expensive.
Recently, this "tip repairman" has converted a few bar cues into sneaky petes for sale to an unsuspecting public. Part of his sales technique relies on challenging the quality of my work. I'm tired of letting it pass. Ironically, another part of his sales technique relies on lowering your expectations of his work. In an attempt to set the record straight, I will address a few of the distortions going around:
Yes. My shaftwood is cheaper than his. This is because I buy oversize blanks that I finish in stages, discarding any that have a tendency to warp. I have over 300 shaft blanks in the works at any given time. I throw out more shaft blanks in a month than he buys in a year. This is not because the shaftwood is sub-standard, it is because I am more discriminating.
Yes. He pays more for a shaft blank because he buys them already machined to finish size. One at a time. If the blank he gets is not straight or warps in response to the change in climate (very possible), you are stuck with whatever he gets.
No. Flat laminated shafts are definitely NOT warp proof.
No. A CNC machine does not make a cue. When used correctly & properly programmed, CNC allows you to install inlays accurately. The cuemaker must still build a solid cue. Inlays are merely an afterthought, so to speak. Note: his erroneous descriptions of CNC usage might not be completely malicious. I think some of it is simply ignorance. He exhibits plenty of that.
No. I will not refinish his work anymore. It is a no-win situation for me. When the cue comes out looking good, he assumes credit for my work. I will no longer accept that.
...to be continued, I'm sure.
The latest in this saga: Mr Repairman found out it was easier to buy $39 - $59 Player's Sneaky Pete's, remove any identifying characteristics & sign his name to them. All this for a slight additional labor charge of $250. Of course, he probably won't tell you that he's doing this so I suggest you check out the Player's cues at your local billiard hall & compare them for yourself. On the plus side, they hold up better than his Millimufferins.
...to be continued, I'm sure.
No. A new shaft that is warped is NOT "just one of those things". And no. If the shaft is new, it is probably not your fault.
No. The warp cannot be permanently corrected (even at additional cost).
No. Majestic layered tips are not the same as Moori layered tips.
No. The finish on your cue should not remain sticky & retain fingerprints that won't wipe off.
No. The grain should not show through the finish.
Yes. The disruption of the taper at the joint is caused by excessively sanding mis-matched joint diameters.
Yes. The three flat sections on the joint screw are caused by clamping on the screw with a 3-jaw chuck. And yes. The sawdust now coming out of your shaft is caused by the distorted joint screw essentially "retapping" the wooden threads in the shaft. And yes. The wooden threads are now oversize.
No. A ferrule having 5/16-18 threads will NOT screw onto a Joss West tenon having 5/16-14 threads. Well, let me rephrase that. It will screw on but it will, in the process, remove the softer, wooden threads on the tenon. That's why the ferrule keeps coming loose. And as you can see, more epoxy is NOT the answer.
No. A Predator shaft with a Uni-Loc quick release joint is not the problem. It doesn't fit because the pin in the butt isn't installed properly. The threads are NOT supposed to be visible. They should be recessed in the same counterbore into which the shaft's brass pilot will fit.