DOUG BEASLEY
"DESIGNERS' CHOICE"
COCOBOLO, MAHOGANY AND IVORY
BRIDGED FOUR POINT
|
Doug has been making great cues for quite a few years now, and his work has always been solid. Top players have been finding his cues to be a good choice, including one of the top players in the world, Dennis Orcullo. And recently, he has stepped up his design work even more and is making some very appealing cues.
|
I've been watching Doug's work for a long time, and in my opinion, this is the most handsome cue he has built. It is a cue he started long ago and just recently finished with the final few details. When I saw it, he was wanting to hold onto it for awhile to exhibit at future shows, and I felt like I was twisting his arm a bit in order to buy it. But he graciously let it go to me, and I've been holding onto it for over a year now, as I also wanted to exhibit it occasionally to show off his work, as I did so this year at the ICCS in Chattanooga. This cue is truly special.
|
Sometimes it's difficult to say exactly what makes a cue look as resplendant as it does. It's a combination of things, and whatever it is, this cue has it. It's how it all comes together at the end - the design, the workmanship, the combination of woods and colors - they all just synthesize, and the end result is an overwhelming urge to say "Wow." This is one of these cues.
|
It is a four point cue with bridged points, built mostly from deep, richly colored cocobolo, with an assortment of other woods. And the use of mahogany in the veneers is genius, and really pays off.
|
This cue is a cornucopia of browns, including the primary and secondary woods, the veneers, the brown butt cap, the wrap, the matching leather sleeve on the joint and even the rubber bumper.
|
Above is a full-length pic of the entire butt.
|
The veneer colors are exceptionally rich on this cue, ranging from white, to mahogany, to green, again to mahogany and finally, white again. They match the rest of the cue perfectly.
|
There is some white in the cue - the large windows in the butt sleeve and the inlays in the base of the points, and in the large ring above the wrap - all in rich, luscious ivory.
|
The cocobolo is exceptional. Doug is known for having one of the largest wood inventories in the business, but he dug deep to find this piece. It is rich and deep in its color and grain, and adds a special degree of elegance to this stick.
|
As usual, he engraves his identification mark on a small piece of inlaid ivory with his "DB" logo.
|
|
The wrap on the handle is an exquisite piece of elephant hide, dyed to a deep brown that is a perfect match for this cue. And using a small piece of it to cover the joint sleeve is one more touch of class.
|
A couple more pictures of the forearm of this cue, and a close-up of the veneers used both on the points and around the large ivory windows in the butt sleeve.
| |
|
The bold ring on this stick adds a lot to its overall appeal. It is used only once, and built with relatively large rectangles of ivory and cocobolo circling the cue between two thin copper rings.
|
|
At the other traditional locations for rings, he uses a circle of small white dots, each with a small dot of copper in the center, to create a series of rings.
|
The brown elephant ear wrap is one of the final, crowning achievements in this classy cue. The color is deep and brown and a perfect match. It's stunning on this stick.
|
He builds it with a 3/8X10 steel pin in a flat-faced joint. It weighs 18.5 ounces (14.6, 3.9, 3.9), and is 59 inches. (He is one of the few cuemakers who builds all his cue in a 59 inch length.) It comes with two 13 mm shafts of some of the best straight, hard-grained maple around, with short LBM ferrules and Moori medium layered tips.
|
It comes with a set of custom-built matching joint protectors. They are made from matching cocobolo with small white dots with a copper dot in the center, and Doug's "DB" logo engraved on the top. The final touch on this dazzling cue is the addition of a small elephant ear wrap around the joint cap for the pin.
This is an exquisite cue with lots of features and attention to detail, but one of the best upcoming cuemakers. It is priced at $8350 plus shipping.
|
|
