b'Making more reasonably quick. If a maker works slowly, I regard it as laziness or self-indulgence. There cannot be I was busy. Not only were so many professionalany corners cut, but in any other walk of life, you musicians coming to me directly, but shops wantedwouldnt be impressed if someone took far too long guitars too. I was trying to develop jigs and tools,and then charged you for their time rather than for train new staff, deal with the artists, buy wood, findthe finished item.suppliers and do a good share of the actual guitarNeither am I impressed by guitar makers who call making as well. I was married with a young child.themselves luthiers. Im a guitar maker - I dont see It didnt seem to be a problem, I worked long hoursthe need to hide behind strange words. I think that and I worked fast. We had races to see who couldunless you are French, using the L word devalues fit the most wooden bindings in an afternoon. Ithe maker. Its self-awarded, pretentious and thought up and encouraged techniques that didntunnecessary, although perhaps Im fighting a losing waste movement. I trained people to tap in onebattle, as even large manufacturers use the word fret while at the same time positioning the nextnow. I have also noticed that some of my friends fret with the other hand, so the process continueduse the word in their introductions to this book, seamlessly. It was rhythmic and almost musical. Iprobably trying to wind me up.still have one of those hammers - I estimate it has administered three or four million taps so far. If I were a bell ringer, I would not call myself aWhen part of a job is a little boring and might takecampanologist. I take my car to a car mechanic, not hours, attacking it vigorously, even making a gamea garagiste and I have been stopped for speeding in of it is one way of getting past it and onto the nextEngland, Wales, Scotland, and America, always by a bit. Another way, of course, is to give the boring bitspoliceman, never a gendarme. Not yet anyway.to someone else, which is called slavery. Sorry, anThat brings me back to speed again. Working fast apprenticeship. is something that I have been criticised for, but I Quality work is absolutely essential but I dont seehave seen the same characteristics in many other the virtue of working slowly just for the sake ofartist/craftsman/businessmen who not only need it. If someone is good at a job then they should beto produce good work, but are also responsible Barracuda I really enjoyed making all the machines and tools and had plans to significantly The snooker business was fun - Irefine the production techniques when I indulged my engineering brain in all sortswas forced to sell up because of ill health. of ways, making cases out of aluminiumThe people that bought the company extrusions and plastic mouldings, andmade quite a mess of everything and cue parts from machined brass. Metalquickly went broke, but all the designs is a lot more forgiving than timberand trademarks that I introduced were and it was a huge relief to be able tosold to international companies and are produce quantities of something withoutstill being made today.having to be on the spot at every singleOn the right is one of my occasional odd moment. The actual cues were almost ancarvings, it isnt traditional to carve ash, afterthought. I made a few to use myselfso I carved ash. It is very hard to carve and to work out how the splicing waswood that has been laminated, so I made done, and as soon as I showed thema laminated block and then carved it. around, the orders started to flood in andThe cue butt was carved out of the same I started to meet professional players.block and the conflicting grain directions When I went to Ray Reardons house,were a nightmare, but the result is fun. his sons train set was permanently setWhen I first finished carving, it didnt up on the snooker table, and Ray andlook at all lifelike, so I carried on carving I practiced golf shots by chipping ballsto leave the veins in relief, which made from the garden into the kitchen. Rayall the difference. Do you like the way I used one of my cues in the finals of thecarved the shirt and the cuff link?world championship, and the Sky SportsOn the far right is one of the very early commentator Jim Wych still uses his.leaflets I used. This book is not about Steve Daviss old cue was saved fromsnooker, so I havent shown the much disaster in a car crash because it was inbigger range that we eventually made.one of my cases, and Alex Higgins was often at my workshop and my home, alternating between ultra charming and not charming at all.50'