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About DP Custom Cues
A note from Dale Perry,
A long time ago I had a real job, it involved Banks and
Accounting and Auditing and an office with a desk. I sat at
that desk and wasted 8 hours a day just so I could go home and
build cues all night. I can remember looking at my watch
before 9:00 am on a Monday morning hoping that several hours
had passed, but I had only been in my office a few minutes!
So after many years I quit my banking job to build cues
full-time. It was huge step and probably not the wisest, but I
was young and full of energy. It was tough at first but
because of my wonderful customers I made it. Now 11 years
later I love my job as a Cuemaker and look forward to
Mondays!!
 My advice is if you hate your job, find something you love to
do and then do it. The money will follow, you may not get
rich, but you will have a good chance to be happy.
Along the way I have acquired a shop with 3,000 square feet of
cue making space and some of the most advanced tools used in
cue making today. My way of building cues is a vertically
integrated system that allows us to start with raw lumber and
finish with true custom cues. We make every part of a DP cue
except the tip, joint screw and rubber bumper.
I am currently on my 3rd generation of cue making equipment,
most of which I have build or modified to fit my needs. We use
a UV light drying system for cue finishing. I draw all of my
cues with a CADCAM system. For machining we use very high end
NSK spindles, and routers from Germany. All of this equipment
allows us to customize any part of a DP cue.
The “we” in DP cues is myself and Brian Mullins. Brian is my
only employee and is a long time professional cue builder. He
is a large part of the DP way of building cues.
I have been involved on the leading edge of cue making for a
long time. I am a founding member of the American Cue Making
Association and served on the Board of Directors for 2 terms.
I am also a long time BCA Voting Member.
One of the most difficult parts of cue making is finding the
suppliers that sell the real stuff. There is only so much real
honest to goodness exotic cue making wood available. To find
great materials and negotiate a price that is only shocking
but not outrageous takes a lot to of my time. Not to mention
that Air Freight from Europe is very expensive for heavy cue
making woods. But the result is true exotic cues with
beautiful exotic woods and fantastic maple for the shafts.
We take quality very seriously at DP Custom Cues. Every cue is
built one at a time and is only handled by two people, myself
and Brian. If a cue is not right we don’t sell it……….Period.
How do I decide which
custom cue to buy?
I have some simple advice, don’t buy the
cue, buy the cuemaker. What do I mean by that? You should pick
up the phone and call him.
Then answer the following questions:
If the cuemaker is not available and not
very helpful before that sale what will he be like after the
sale?
In my shop I pick up the phone. So if you need help, you can
talk to me. I’m available to help you. Whether you need help
in designing a new $5000.00 cue or have a 10 year old cue that
needs a new shaft, I will do my best to give your simple,
honest answers.
Press coverage:
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All major billiard publications
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Men's Fitness Magazine
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The Robb Report
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The Blue Book all 3 editions
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The Billiard Encyclopedia
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Cover story for Billiard World (Japanese Magazine)
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Florida Times Union
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TV news on two occasions (no I was not arrested)
Shows we normally attend:
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