thwaitesinfo

Rauenzahn Custom Cue Build (Part 2)

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:30:57 +0000

Here’s are some pics of the progress of my new -R- cue. It should be complete by my birthday, June 18th. Its really taking shape. Excited to feel the hit of a full splice cue of this caliber. Enjoy the pics!
Cheers, Mark

3rd Annual Druid Hills Golf Club 8-Ball Doubles Tournament (Atlanta, GA)

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:20:50 +0000

Participated in the third member and non-member doubles 8-Ball tourney at the Druid Hills Golf Club. My buddy Bryan asked me to participate again. I hadn’t played in months. we won the first match 2-0, and then lost our second match 1-2 to the team we beat in the first annual tourney we won. On the B-Side, I started to play very well. We beat the same team we beat in our first match 2-0, and then played a tough team, who beat us in the finals last time, with me breaking running out the last game to win 2-0. In the final, we had to beat the Foda Irish Pub owner and he nephew twice to win the title; they knocked us to the B-Side. In the first game, the nephew broke dry and I ran out. In the second game I broke and ran out, so the first set was behind us. We had good chances to win the next set, but didn’t convert. We ended up taking 2nd again. The next event will be September, since the golf season will keep the members busy.

Runde Custom Cue Build

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:27:30 +0000

November 2011, I reached out to “deanoc” through AZBilliards to get a custom Runde cue built. “deanoc” was adverting a good price and I knew Runde cues were hard to come by, so I put down a deposit and was told it would be ready January 2012. Sadly, the cue was not ready in January since Bob Runde had a medical issue with his ankle, but on March 10th, I received my custom 2012 Runde.

It has four point flame veneers, a black and white spec Irish linen wrap, an Ivory Hoppe ring, stainless steel joint, 5/16-14 pin, and two shafts with his signature Micarta ferrules. I played with it for about three hours today. I has a crisper hit than my Jacoby and the balance point is slightly farther ahead than what I used to. It weighs 19.6oz with my Predator 312-2 shaft, but seems much lighter due to the balance point. I had no issues getting used to this beauty and moved the cue ball around with ease. It will be my main player until my custom -R- full splice cue is ready. I will then evaluate both cues and decide which will be my main player. Regardless, one of these great cues will stay in my collection.

It was as pleasure to work with “deanoc” and would recommend his services to anyone to get a custom cue made by Runde or one of his other custom cue maker connections. He was easy to work with, affordable, took staggered payments via PayPal or Money Order, promptly replied to questions via AZ PM’s or phone, and even shipped the cue in a free tube hard case. Enjoy the pics below.

Rauenzahn Custom Cue Build (Part 1)

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:14:06 +0000

Over the course of 2011, I tried some different low deflection shafts, such as Mezz and Tiger, but came back to Predator 314-2 as my standard. Even though the journey of buying different shafts took time and money to figure out, it helped me define 12.65mm – 12.75mm as the best tip size to match my style of play. In 2010 and 2011, I also tried a ton of different laminated tips, but still came back to Everest. I did try Le Pro and Triangle again, but they just did not hold their shape after a couple weeks of play. Hence, it would only make sense that I would try out some different cues, other than Dufferin, Meucci, Schon, Jacoby, and Richard Black, when I had to budget to get some new cues custom built.

That being said, my first custom cue should be ready next week. It’s a brand new custom Runde Hoppe cue, which I commissioned from a fellow AZBilliards enthusiast, who has had Bob Runde build him some customs in the past;”deanoc“. The Runde was commissioned in November of 2011 with a completion date of January 2012. I was hoping to try this cue out last month, but Bob Runde had a medical issue, which delayed the build, so I started up another build with Rauenzahn Custom Cues out of Warren, PA since I wanted another type of build completed in 2012.

I did not have the opportunity to work directly with Bob Runde, so no build photos were sent, but I will provide some photos of the completed cue when I receive it next week. Since, I’m working directly with Jerry Rauenzahn, he sent me the photos below. The Runde and Rauenzahn’s are very similar, both are ebony into birdseye maple, have flame veneers, have Ivory Hoppe rings, stainless steel joints, 5/16-14 pins, and come with two 29″ 13mm shafts, which will be left unused since I will use a performance shaft for play. However, the Rauenzahn will be a full splice, while the Runde will have Micarta ferrules.

For custom cue maker details, I provided Jerry Rauenzahn’s contact details below. If you want a Runde built, use the AZBilliards link for “deanoc” or contact me directly. Check back for more updates.
Cheers, Mark

Rauenzahn Custom Billiard Cues
http://webpages.charter.net/rauenzahncue/
Custom Pool Cues
Over 30 years experience
Pantograph Precision
One man Operation
Hand crafted

E-Mail:
rauenzahncue@atlanticbb.net

Snail-Mail:
Rauenzahn Cues
1608 Pennsylvania Ave. E.
Warren, PA 16365

Telephone:
(814) 723-8322

25th Annual Music City Open (Madison, TN)

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:52:58 +0000

After a 4 1/2 hour drive, I was checked into my hotel. I relaxed a bit, had a shower, then took the quick five minute drive to JOB Billiards to register for the Music City Open. The event drew 80 players from all over the US. The entry was $100 with $7000 added; played on 7ft Diamond Smart Tables, race to 11, double elimination format, with nine breaks not counting in the back two pockets. Most of the hall was smoking, but the tournament was played in a non-smoking section, which was a great relief. I got a table for an hour and practiced. The tables were very quick, since they installed brand new Simonis, but I got used to the speed pretty quickly. Buddy Hall was practicing on the TV table next to me. He was playing some guy for a bit and then took a break. I met up with Ray from the BigTruck Show and we hit some balls for a bit, but he got called away, so Buddy Hall stepped in for a few games. This was great sent he’s a hall of famer. I ended up winning most of the games, since he was Ray’s cue, but this changed quickly when he grabbed his cue. Soon the room filled up, since they were about to start the calcutta. The calcutta took about an hour to complete with some of the top pros going for $1300 a piece, such as Hennessy, Johnny Archer, and Larry Nevel. They started play around 9pm. I did not get a bye and played my first match at 10pm. I drew Tim Boisseaeu who actually bought most of the top players in the calcutta. I started off strong and got ahead 4-1, with a break and run in my third game. However, I got a headache from the smoke, which made concentrating difficult. He battled back to 4-3, but then I pulled ahead again to 7-3. He got the score up to 7-5, but I pushed ahead again and sat one game away from the hill at 9-5. Then he did something odd. He took a break when it was my turn at the table; I was about to break. I didn’t take objection to this, since I grabbed a beer, but you should only be able to take a break when its you’re turn at the table, so you don’t break your opponents groove if they are in stroke. Ironically, this worked in my favor. I broke the nine in, but since it was in the back two pockets, it got spotted. I took advantage of the table and ran out. On the hill, I broke and made the nine in the front corner pocket to win the match. I won 11-5. It was a good match, but I knew it would get tougher based on my draw. I stuck around till midnight and had a few beers. Tim ended up playing in a bank ring game and took down some cash from four other players. I could see where his knowledge of the game came in.
The next day, I had a match at 1:30pm against Jerry Clayman. This match did not go in my favor. My break was off and he kept on running out. I googled him later and found out that he won a past event here. I think he put a three pack on me followed by a couple double packs, after I broke dry or scratched. I lost 3-11. Later that night, I got two byes and ended up playing Buddy Hall on the TV streaming table at 9:00pm. OMG! I was so nervous. I was able to win the first game, but was not breathing during my match and kept on making silly mistakes which turned the table back to Buddy. I had a couple good kicks and won two more games, but lost again 3-11. This was the end of my tournament. Buddy played so well, but did get a couple nice rolls to dominate the table. It was quite the experience. My wife even watched me play via the streaming, which was pretty cool. I haven’t been under that type of pressure in a long time and it was a really good learning experience.
The next day, I showed up to watch some evening matches and the start of the Bad Boy 8 person single elimination tournament with a $500 entry. Johnny Archer ended up winning the whole event, plus the Bad Boy tourney. All in all, I really enjoyed the event, but need to find someone to go on the road with. If I’m not playing, I just don’t have the drive to stick around and watch. For events outside of Atlanta, I will strive to find someone to travel with to share the costs, but to have someone to practice and hang out.

2nd Annual Druid Hills Golf Club 8-Ball Doubles Tournament (Atlanta, GA)

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:15:09 +0000

Participated in the second member and non-member doubles 8-Ball tourney at the Druid Hills Golf Club. My buddy Bryan asked me if I was available to defend our title and I was ready and willing! Just like last time, we won our first two matches with no problem, but lost the A-Side final again. We had a great chance to win the A-Side final, but just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities. We had to play two more matches to get back into the final, which were won easily, but the ex Irish snooker champ and his partner took down the prize. We took 2nd and won our entry fee back. We had a great time, drank much less than last time, enjoyed the camaraderie, and played much better as a team. Next time, they may switch the format to scotch doubles to even out the lopsided strong players in the tournament.

thwaitesinfo is officially re-launched!

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:45:26 +0000

After months of experimenting with different templates and tweaking the “one” that matched the feel and flow I was looking for, thwaitesinfo is officially re-launched. thwaitesinfo is now powered by WordPress and can be easily updated. The family tree page, is the only page with flash animation, so pages load extremely quickly and can be viewed with updated browsers or mobile smart phones, including the iPhone/iPad. New features include a billiards blog, which tracks my tournament results and pool exploits dating back to 2008 and 2009, a search button to find a related term, comment or media, content specific wallpapers, direct links to my social media connections, and the ability to comment and share content on multiple platforms. New galleries and videos have also been uploaded under the billiards and family sections. One of the most dramatic changes is my web-hoster. Since 1and1.com increased their rates, I looked for a better option. To cut costs, I tried several free hosting companies, but I ran into restrictions and problems. Finally, I came across x10hosting.com and found a good fit. They do limit the amount of bandwidth used within an hour, but with the aid of plugins and API coding, I’ve been able to pull all videos/galleries from YouTube and Facebook to avoid this issue. Please feel free to drop me an email and share feedback. I should be able to load content more often, since its so easy now.
Cheers, Mark

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:58:32 +0000

Played in my third Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s. I played worse than last week and could not get into stroke. I kept on getting my three ball tied up. Not only did I score a 39 my first match, but thought I would play better the next match and scored 30 points. I took some action with David Vaughn to see who would get the best score the next match, but he finished with a 47. I then tried to play a short set with him to break even, but lost 1-5. It was not my day and should have quit when I scored the 39. Cost me $40 for tournament fees and action, but I doubt I will make any cash this week. I guess this will bring my average down, which will help when I move from the scratch division into the open.

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:31:26 +0000

Played in my second Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s. I was suffering from a hangover and could not get into stroke. I had a better feel for controlling my cue ball, but just missed shots or played bad position and scored a 42 in my first match. I played better in my next match and score a 49, with a snap and cut game, but had too many two or three point games. I’m on track to end up in the “Open” to division, and should win some money with this score, but I still haven’t had a good match and think I should be scoring in the 70′s.

Update Nov 12th, 2011 : Took 3rd place and won $24. Cost me $20 to play; not a bad pay day for being hungover.

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:38:25 +0000

Played in my first Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s today. I haven’t played on a 9ft for quite some time and had a hard time controlling the cue ball. I practiced at home for bit before going to the event and scored high 50′s to low 70′s, but was unsure how I would fare in this format. I still did okay. In my first match, I scored a 50. I played another match and scored 52, but played better and should have scored mid 60′s. I think it was a good start and will probably play again next week, but I will only play two matches if I score less than 50 points. I think I should end up in the “Open” division which is scored between 30 – 70 points on average, but time will tell. Hopefully my score is strong enough to win some cash? I will post an update of how I fared across the country, when I find out.

Update Nov 5th, 2011 : Tied for 4th place and won $13. Cost me $20 to play, but can see how a really good score can take down some cash.