A note from Dale Perry,

A long time ago I had a real job, it involved Banks and Accounting and an office with a desk. I sat at that desk and watched 8 hours a day just waste away so I could finally 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 20 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, Brian and Mark. Brian is a long time professional cue builder, Mark is a hell of a craftsman. They are 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 member of the International Cuemakers Association.

One of the most difficult parts of cue making is finding the suppliers that sell the real stuff. There is only so much true exotic cue making wood available. To find great materials and negotiate a price that is simply expensive instead of shocking takes more and more time every year. Of course Air Freight from Europe doesn’t help the cost. But the result is true exotic cues 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 three people, myself, Brian and Mark . If a cue isn't right we don’t sell ……….Period.