SHELBY WILLIAMS/ANDREW ROUNCEVILLE
WRAPLESS FULL SPLICE
EBONY & AMBOYNA BURL
(ROUNCEVILLE BLANK FINISHED
BY SHELBY WILLIAMS)
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Here is a beautiful "hybrid" cue, finished by Shelby Williams from a blank built by Andrew Rounceville. Each year at the Super Expo in Pennsylvania I try to be one of the first people at the Rounceville booth and select a couple of the prettiest blanks he has available. When I saw the quality of the ebony and the beauty of the Amboyna burl in this one, I quickly snatched it up.
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The next step was to find a top cue maker who would help this blank reach its full potential. A lot of cue makers don't like to work on other people's blanks, but Shelby agreed to finish it for me, and I knew it would turn out to be something special.
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The woods in this cue were of such high quality and so spectacular that I didn't ask Shelby to do a lot of extra work on it. I wanted the woods to be the stars in this stick, and he agreed. He added only a nice ring at the joint and a Hoppe-style white ring at the butt. And it ended up just the way I wanted it to - sheer elegance.
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Of course, the woods are what drew me to this blank. The ebony is deep black and the grain (or lack of it) is consistent throughout. And the amboyna burl is beyond spectacular. It has magnificent figure, with whorls and spirals galore, and radiant color with twinges of red.
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It's easy to get so mesmerized over the stunning appearance of this cue that we might overlook the most important thing - how does it hit? If you've never played with a full-splice cue like this, you might be surprised how well it hits. Full-spliced sticks have a hit all of their own and the feeling is hard to describe ... but it's always good.
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Often, cue makers are reluctant to work on blanks they haven't made themselves. They like to know that the wood was aged and cut properly and not be likely to "move" once they start cutting it down to cue size and creating problems. However, with Rounceville blanks this is rarely a problem, and knowledgeable cuethiers look forward to working with them.
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This ebony is resplendent throughout. The dark black and radiant consistency is captivating.
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I apologize for the glare issues in a few of these photos. Deep black ebony is sometimes hard to photograph, especially when it's this black and exquisitely polished to perfection as Shelby does.
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One of the things we've all come to expect of Shelby Williams is nice and creative ringwork. He fulfills that promisE with this elegant ring he put at the joint.
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The design of this cue is what's commonly called a "Chicago front." Bill Schick made this design famous many years ago and may have been the first to do it. It consists of a ring going around the cue between the points, usually about half way up. Andrew did this with a veneered ring that matches the veneers in the points.
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The points on Rounceville blanks are know for being very sharp and always even.
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The veneer colors match the color of the amboyna burl in a special way.
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The consistency of Rounceville's veneer work is unsurpassed. Just take a look at how even and straight the layers are ... and there are lots of layers!
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It's pretty unusual to see more than four or five layers of veneer on a cue. Here, you're looking at six. Starting from the outside and working in, he uses black, red, orange, pale yellow, bright yellow and finally white. It all results in a stunnng effect.
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Shelby signs the cue on the white ring under the finish.
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To complete the job of making this outstanding blank into a finished cue, Shelby matches it with one of his custom-made Vertex kielwood shafts. It's built with a radial pin in a flat-faced joint.
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It weighs 19.2 ounces and is 58 inches long. It is fitted with a short white LBM ferrule and a medium Whitten layered tip. This is a no-nonsense stick built to play.
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This is an eye-catching cue that is elegant and classy, but still will be noticed from across the room. It is definitely special - a stunning cue that plays exceptionally well. If you're looking for an elegant stick that can be your everyday player and make you proud every time you take it out of its case, this cue is for you.
PRICE: $3500 PLUS SHIPPING
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