ANDREW ROUNCEVILLE
EBONY AND AMBOYNA BURL
DOUBLE BUTTERFLY
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Andrew Rounceville has been known for many years as making the best cue blanks in the industry, including full splice pointed cues and butterfly splices. His blanks are in high demand by cue makers everywhere. The wood is always premium quality, it is expertly aged and proccesssed, and they are known to stay straight. Generally when initial cuts arre made to start turning the blank down to size the Rounceville wood barely, if at all, moves. This greatly cuts down the time it takes to build a cue from it, and is just one of the reasons they are so popular.
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The real excitement to me about this cue is that Andrew has recently recently decided to start building more of his own cues, and of course, using his own blanks. I'm pleased to be Andrew's first (and only) dealer, representing some of the best work in the business.
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It goes almost without saying that Rounceville blanks are nearly perfect in all regards, and this one is no exception. However, this blank has the extra benefit of perhaps having the prettiest piece of amboyna burl I've ever seen - tightly burled into hundreds of little birds-eyes with great color and tone. It's no surprise that Andrew chose this blank from which to build one of his own cues.
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This is, of course, not just a butterfly cue, but is a double butterfly. The knowledge required to make such a cue as this is incredible. And the technique needed to construct it and have all the butterfly points and veneers come out with such accuracy and precision is phenomenal.
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There is so much to see and admire in this stick that you hardly know where to look. First I find myself staring at the amazing burl, and next, at the incredible uniformity in the butterflies and the dazzling color combinations.
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It's somewhat difficult to capture the scope of this cue in photos, because it's hard to get a good perspective. Taking shots of different portions of the cue just don't do it justice. There are double butterflies going in one direction, veneered points going in different directions, and sections of incredible exhibition grade amboyna burl. Taken all together, they boggle the mind.
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He cores this cue, of course, as most cue makers today do. It helps to control the weight and to keep it straight. However, when he showed me that the core itself was also full-spliced, I was blown away. Full splicing the core itself just gives further assurance that this cue will stay straight for the long haul, adds to its strength, and insure an even more solid hit. If anyone else is doing this, I don't know who it would be.
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Just take a good look at this burl ... it's almost hypnotic.
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The ebony in the butterflies and the points is nice and black.
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Looking closely at the butterfly points, you quickly realize you're looking at perfection. Everything lines up, including each layer of different colored veneer, the length of the points, and the thickness of each layer.
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| Not being a craftsman myself, I can't begin to imagine how one would even start to build a cue like this. But even very competent cue makers are in awe of this kind of work, realizing that they're looking at something that is as close to perfect as human hands can achieve.
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Looking at the veneer colors on the traditional points, you see the light blue, dark blue, black, gray, and white, but it's not until you see them turned on their side, so to speak, at 90 degrees, that you get a full appreciation of the true colors and how they complement each other as well as the entire cue.
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What's best however, about this cue, is the way it plays. It's wrapless, of course, for who would put a wrap over any of this gorgeous wood and craftsmanship? But when I test-hit it, I was thrilled with how solid and well balanced it is.
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It comes with two shafts, one in traditional maple with a traditional long white LBM ferrule and one in kielwood with a short ferrule. The butt weighs 15.06, the maple shaft weighs 4.09 and the kielwood weighs 3.46. Together, the stick weighs either 18.54, or 19.17. It is 58 inches long.
To add to the overall cosmetic balance of the cue, he builds it with a white LBM joint and with a Hoppe style white ring over a black phenolic cap.
It's built with a 3/8X10 steel pin, and it hits a ton!
PRICE: $4200 PLUS SHIPPING
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