McDermott, J. Pechauer, and the growth of the modern American workshop.
The custom cue is often imagined as the product of a solitary craftsman in a small shop. Wisconsin tells a larger story.
The state became home to several influential cue businesses, each with its own history. Some began with repair work. Others grew from a player's interest in building a better instrument. Over time, their workshops became companies that could serve players across the country.
Jim McDermott began repairing cues in the Milwaukee area before founding McDermott Cue in 1975. The company eventually established its manufacturing operation in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Its work combined traditional wood construction with production methods and engineering intended to improve consistency.
The Repairman's Beginning
Jerry Pechauer's path started with a broken cue. In 1961, while working in Green Bay, he won a wager against a fellow employee and received a broken Willie Hoppe cue instead of money. Pechauer bought a lathe to make a shaft, then developed the tools and skills needed to repair and build cues. He completed his first cue in 1963.
What began as a practical repair job became a family business. His son Joe later took over as president, while Jerry continued contributing his experience. The company grew while keeping cue-making at the center of its identity.
More Than One Wisconsin Style
McDermott and Pechauer do not make identical cues. Their designs, product lines, and construction choices differ. Their shared location does not make them a single regional school.
Wisconsin's significance is that it brought together multiple lasting cue-making operations. These businesses had to solve problems that confront every serious manufacturer: selecting stable wood, producing consistent shafts, fitting joints, controlling weight, and offering designs that appeal to players with different needs.
Technology changed the work, but it did not remove the need for judgment. Machinery can repeat a cut; experienced hands still have to decide what is worth cutting and whether the finished piece is right.
Wisconsin shows how American cue-making expanded from the individual bench to the organized workshop.
The tools changed. The wood still had to behave.
