What the heck is a cue "rest?" Cue rests and stands provide an important cue-saving function in your game room. If a customer has purchased a floor-style Cue Rack, there may be no need for a cue rest or stand for use during play. But not all floor racks are easy to "set" a cue on, and when you are entertaining, you or your guests will likely find the nearest counter-height surface, wall, or fireplace on which to lean your cues.
If a cue drops onto a carpeted surface, it will likely sustain no damage, but wood or cement floors will not have the same soft landing. Most cues will land once or twice without sustaining damage, but after a few hits, the cue may lose its tip, sustain a crack to the ferrule (the white end on which the tip is glued), or be bent badly enough to cause a warped shaft.
The billiard industry is full of innovative products for these occasions. After all, who wants a damaged cue? Then you have to repair it or bring it to your local dealer for repair. I know that when I have to bring something in for repair, it always takes me three or more tries to get it in the car and out the door. Avoid that hassle and keep your cues in good shape. Especially if you live more than 100 miles from your local dealer which is likely in Montana.
The first set of products are fairly inexpensive and will set or be installed on a flat surface like a bar, a counter, a table top or window well. These are the Cue Claws and they come in a variety of types a colors. We carry a huge variety of these items because they are popular with league players who value keeping their cue in the vertical position.
Cue Claws run anywhere from $15-$30 depending on the number of cues they hold. The sizes usually run anywhere from a one-cue rest to a 5 cue rest and in the Porper products a 2, 4 or 6-cue rest (the 4-cue model is shown below). The colorful Q-Claws seen above are weighted heavily and will not be easily moved. They are not clamped down, however, so if someone trips over your cue, the likelihood of it remaining in place is not good.
The Porper clamp-style products are a little more cumbersome, but they will hold onto your cue more securely. The Porper product does require a surface on which to clamp the product, however, and if that is not available, the Q-Claw may be the better choice. The clamps may appear hard, but they are pliable and cue-friendly.
Finally, Olhausen customers asked the company to develop a cue "stand" that could be used during play, especially if the only cue storage is drawer storage. Olhausen is well-known for their pool table drawers, so the company developed the original Cue-Mate (shown here).
The original Cue Mate comes in a set of two and you can order them matched to your table's finish. Olhausen also makes a space in the drawer to store the Cue Mate. A new style Cue Mate done in powder-coated metal is also available. The Cue Mate will run from $295 to $495.
Olhausen has also created the Rustic Cue Mate and this style is appropriate for the Railyard and Breckenridge models or any of the many Rustic models available in the Olhausen product line.
The best floor rack for setting a cue on is the Brunswick Heritage Floor rack. One can easily set and lean the cue in this style of rack. In other floor-style racks, you must lift the cue up to place it in the rack. Very few allow you to simply set your cue in a leaning position in the rack.
No matter what kind of game room you envision, there is likely to be a way to keep your cues in the upright position.