How Is the Mark Richard Cue Produced?

When a serious snooker or English billiards player picks up a cue, chalks the cue tip, takes their stance, and makes a shot, it feels like an extension of their arm.

This feeling doesn't happen by chance. Every Mark Richard snooker cue begins its life long before it reaches the snooker table. Before the badge is fitted, before the cue shaft is polished smooth, before the cue rolls perfectly straight under the workshop lights, it begins with wood, patience, and an old-fashioned belief that how a cue stick is made is just as important as how it plays.

So, how exactly are Mark Richard cues produced? Let's lift the curtain and walk through the entire process, step by step, from forest to final frame.

It All Starts with the Right Wood

Ask any traditional British cue maker what distinguishes a good cue from a great one, and you'll often hear the same answer: ash.

Mark Richard cues use the finest North American ash, prized for its natural strength, elasticity, and distinctive grain. This isn't wood pulled straight from a pallet; each piece is carefully inspected by hand, and only the top 20% or so meet the standards for cue material.

Why such rigorous selection? Because poor grain will reveal itself during play through inconsistency, vibration, or a loss of feel. Straight, tight grain provides feedback, control, and confidence. It's the difference between guiding the cue ball and hoping for the best.

Seasoning: Patience Becomes Performance

Good wood is only half the story. What truly distinguishes a reliable billiard cue from a warped disappointment is time.

Before shaping begins, the selected ash undergoes a natural drying process that lasts approximately three years. There are no shortcuts, no hurried kiln techniques to force the moisture out too quickly. This slow air-drying allows the wood to stabilize naturally, reducing movement and ensuring long-term straightness. 

Once cut into precision blanks, the wood is then seasoned for a further six months in a controlled environment, allowing internal stresses to settle before final shaping. It's not glamorous work, but this quiet stage is where future consistency is born.

Shaping the Foundation

From rough blanks to balanced shafts, seasoned timber is precisely hand-cut into blanks, laying the foundation for balance and feel. These blanks are then hand-shaped, not rushed through automated production lines where speed is prioritized over feel, a trade-off that is simply not worthwhile.

At this stage, the cue's characteristics begin to emerge; weight distribution, taper, and responsiveness are gradually refined, not forced. This is a process that rewards experience and punishes impatience. This is where Mark Richard cues begin to come alive.

Splicing the Butt

One of the hallmarks of a powerful, stable, and timeless quality pool cue is the hand-spliced butt. Mark Richard cues feature exotic and rare hardwoods (such as ebony, rosewood, or olivewood) meticulously spliced into the ash shaft. This isn't decorative fluff; these splices add structural strength, balance, and stability, while also giving each cue a unique visual character.

Some modern designs also incorporate High-tech wood, a super-stable engineered material made from multiple layers of wood, resin, and dyes. It offers excellent warp resistance while maintaining a traditional feel. Whether natural or engineered, each splice is seamlessly fitted by hand, ensuring strength without compromising feedback.

Understanding the Three Levels of Cue Production

Not all cues are created equal, as different players have different needs, budgets, and expectations. Mark Richard cues are divided into three distinct tiers, each with a clear purpose.

1. Entry-Level / Mass-Produced Cues

These cues rely primarily on mechanical and CNC machining. They offer consistency, affordability, and reliable performance for beginners or casual players. They are practical and an ideal starting point.

2. Mid-Range Cues

Here, CNC machining meets the human touch. Shafts are precisely cut to ensure accuracy, then hand-straightened, weighed, and adjusted by experienced craftsmen. This hybrid approach provides excellent consistency while retaining the feel valued by serious club players.

3. High-End Cues

This is where craftsmanship takes center stage. High-end Mark Richard cues are handcrafted, individually tuned, and finished. From weight and balance to cue tip size and shaft specifications, everything is built around how the cue actually performs, not just how it looks on the rack. The entire process, from start to finish, takes approximately three months, allowing each stage to settle naturally.

Quality Control: No Cue Leaves Unchecked

Before any Mark Richard cue stick leaves the factory, it undergoes a rolling test on a standard-sized snooker table. This simple yet rigorous test ensures:

• Perfect straightness
• Flawless alignment
• Even weight distribution

If a pool cue stick doesn't roll smoothly, it will not leave the factory without exception. Hardware is then installed, including solid brass or alloy airlock cue joints designed to ensure strength, alignment, and long-term reliability. Final specifications (such as a 9.5mm cue tip for snooker cues or an 8.5mm tip for English pool cues) conform to traditional English playing preferences.

Only after passing all tests is the cue stick finely sanded, polished, and finally engraved with the Mark Richard logo, maintaining the quality, consistency, and stable supply of the cue sticks, while keeping prices reasonable, making high-quality cues affordable for more players. The most important thing is not the origin, but the standards, regulations, and final inspection.

Why This Process Matters to You

You buy a billiard cue stick not just to own it, but because you want control, confidence, and stability at crucial moments. A properly treated cue stick won't develop problems after six months, a hand-balanced cue stick won't feel dead during your swing, and a billiards cue tested on a real pool table won't let you down at critical moments. That's the value inherent in every Mark Richard Handmade cue.

Choosing the Right Cue for Your Game

Whether you're upgrading from your first cue or looking to enhance your game equipment, understanding the manufacturing process of a cue can help you make an informed choice.

If you value tradition, feel, and exquisite craftsmanship, but don't want to pay exorbitant custom prices, then a Mark Richard cue stick is the perfect selection for you.

You can visit the official Mark Richard Cues website to learn about specific models, specifications, and accessory options. Here, every cue is matched to different playing styles, not just based on price.

Built with Time, Played with Trust

A good, exceptional snooker cue stick helps you make precise shots and earns your trust.

From carefully selected North American ash wood to months of natural air drying, meticulous splicing, manual tuning, and rigorous testing, every Mark Richard cue is crafted with a simple goal in mind: to feel right in your hands when it matters most.

Because when the entire room falls silent, and the crucial shot is about to be taken, the last thing you should be thinking about is your cue.