THE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND ARTISTRY OF
J. PECHAUER CUSTOM CUES By Anthony Stoeckert It all began with a wager. In 1961, Jerry Pechauer played a game of pool against a coworker of his at International Harvester Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Jerry worked as a truck mechanic apprentice. Jerry won the match, and his colleague, lacking money, paid off the debt by giving Jerry a cue. Not a bad deal, you say? Well, consider the fact that the cue was broken and didnât have a shaft. Still, Jerry accepted the stick as payment and got to work repairing it. What he didnât know at the time was that he was also taking the first steps that led to the establishment of J. Pechauer Custom Cues, which over the decades has earned a reputation as one of the most renowned cue makers around. 36 | BCA INSIDER ⢠HOLIDAY ISSUE 2021
âIn the process of making that shaft, he tried until he finally got it made,â said Jerryâs son, Joe Pechauer. âAlong that point, others asked him to fix their cues, and then it started. From trial and error and researching, he found different materials that he was looking for to make the various parts he wanted to make. Fred Mali helped along the way, and we even drove to New York in our homemade camper/bus to visit Fred and learn more from him. He is the mentor who really helped us, and I will never forget how wonderful of a man he was!â
A SHOP OF THEIR OWN Jerry repaired and sold cues out of the familyâs basement for many years until the 1980s. At that point, he decided to quit his job and join the pool profession full time. He began by selling Playmaster pool tables, a few brands of cues, and making the occasional custom cue.
