about joel
Joel Hercek took up the game of pool at a very early age; his father was quite good at both three cushion and pocket billiards and introduced Joel to the game when he was ten years old. Although Joel’s love for the game was strong, his interest in the equipment, more specifically billiard cues, was stronger. Hercek’s journey as a master cue maker began after years of being a dealer in fine and collectible cues. His previous 14-year career in forestry at the Lake County Forest Preserve of Illinois helped Joel to build an extensive knowledge base and appreciation of the properties of different woods. Being a dealer gave Joel access to a wide array of the finest cues. After years of dealing and handling fine cues, Joel began to develop strong theories about design and construction, and began thinking about becoming a cue maker.Joel had the rare and fortunate opportunity to learn the art of cue making from the late master craftsman Burton Spain who he met during his tenure as a collectible-cue dealer. Joel bought and sold Burt’s cues for several years and the two became friends.
In 1993 Burton Spain was diagnosed with cancer and offered to sell Joel his business. While spending eight months apprenticing with Burt, Joel started to develop his own philosophies behind his designs and his current construction techniques. Burton, who was a MENSA member, perfected his full splice blank after many years of experimentation. After learning the technique from Burt, it became obvious to Hercek that there was no finer method for joining woods. The full-splice joining of woods for cues goes as far back as cue making itself. Master craftsmen of the 19th century used the full splice to allow different pieces of wood to be joined together in such a way to give the cue greater strength, weight distribution, as well as sensitivity and feel. It also maximized the surface area between the nose and the points to compensate for potential glue breakdown over time. Cues that have stood the test of time are overwhelmingly full-splice cues. The technique is very difficult, labor-intensive and costly for cue makers today. With advancements in modern adhesives, the full splice technique has been virtually abandoned by modern cue makers, except for Hercek, who uses the technique exclusively on every cue he makes.
Joel also takes great pride in his inlay work and engravings, which are all executed by himself. It is common for him to spend several weeks, sometimes months, researching and designing each of the one-of-a-kind cues he builds. Inspiration for his designs is drawn from artistic and architectural periods, individual artists throughout history, nature, even music. Joel is adamant that all his cues are original and one-of-a-kind. Through the research and design phase of his process, Joel might look at hundreds of pieces of art or architecture to find a common thread or concept from which to start. From there, Joel develops his own unique designs.
Hercek painstakingly uses the finest woods from around the world and manipulates fine materials including Gold, Silver and Mother of Pearl. Each of his cues today is uniquely designed so that every one of his customers receives a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that takes nearly one year to construct. Hercek builds an average of less then 30 cues annually. His cues are in such demand that there is currently more then a ten-year waiting list, however Joel tries find room to add one or two new orders each batch that push the envelope in creative design. Joel currently resides in Lake County, IL., with Margaret, his wife and their German shepherd, Coco.
In 1993 Burton Spain was diagnosed with cancer and offered to sell Joel his business. While spending eight months apprenticing with Burt, Joel started to develop his own philosophies behind his designs and his current construction techniques. Burton, who was a MENSA member, perfected his full splice blank after many years of experimentation. After learning the technique from Burt, it became obvious to Hercek that there was no finer method for joining woods. The full-splice joining of woods for cues goes as far back as cue making itself. Master craftsmen of the 19th century used the full splice to allow different pieces of wood to be joined together in such a way to give the cue greater strength, weight distribution, as well as sensitivity and feel. It also maximized the surface area between the nose and the points to compensate for potential glue breakdown over time. Cues that have stood the test of time are overwhelmingly full-splice cues. The technique is very difficult, labor-intensive and costly for cue makers today. With advancements in modern adhesives, the full splice technique has been virtually abandoned by modern cue makers, except for Hercek, who uses the technique exclusively on every cue he makes.
Joel also takes great pride in his inlay work and engravings, which are all executed by himself. It is common for him to spend several weeks, sometimes months, researching and designing each of the one-of-a-kind cues he builds. Inspiration for his designs is drawn from artistic and architectural periods, individual artists throughout history, nature, even music. Joel is adamant that all his cues are original and one-of-a-kind. Through the research and design phase of his process, Joel might look at hundreds of pieces of art or architecture to find a common thread or concept from which to start. From there, Joel develops his own unique designs.
Hercek painstakingly uses the finest woods from around the world and manipulates fine materials including Gold, Silver and Mother of Pearl. Each of his cues today is uniquely designed so that every one of his customers receives a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that takes nearly one year to construct. Hercek builds an average of less then 30 cues annually. His cues are in such demand that there is currently more then a ten-year waiting list, however Joel tries find room to add one or two new orders each batch that push the envelope in creative design. Joel currently resides in Lake County, IL., with Margaret, his wife and their German shepherd, Coco.