“From tree to tip to trade show,” says Mike Comilla, a
39-year-old Bradford resident who has made a hobby out of fixing
pool cues for billiards players around the area.

A serious accident he was involved in a few years ago may have
sidelined him temporarily from the table, but Comilla still enjoys
repairing tips, shafts, ferrules and butts for players in need.

Comilla, who also appraises cues for stick owners, has repaired
cues since he was 15 years old. As a teenager, he remembers
spending his spare time fixing cues for his dad at the old Holly
Hotel on Main Street, which was owned by his family at the
time.

“I’ve played pool since I was about 12 years old,” Comilla
noted. “I played tournaments, did trick shot exhibitions and would
play pool for six to seven hours a day.”

Due to his physical pain, it takes Comilla on average, about 40
hours to do a standard repair to a cue. Typical cue problems he’s
faced with are cues needing new joint pins or shafts, new collars
and cues broken by angry players.

“I can do repairs of tips and ferrules at tournaments,” he
pointed out. “I also have a portable lathe I can use for
repairs.”

Known by some area pool players as “Dr. Cue,” Comilla normally
spends two to three hours a day working on cues. He has invested
over $9,000 in equipment used for repairs. Equipment includes a
metal lathe, an inlay machine, a table saw shaft tapering machine,
a band saw and a deluxe cue smith.

Comilla’s toughest, yet typical repair jobs are to cues broken
below the joint.

If you stand a cue stick up with the tip facing the ceiling, the
portions of a stick from top down are the tip, ferrule, shaft and
the butt.

Comilla also does inlay work, which is the design on the pool
stick.

“You can pick your own cue color,” he noted. “A popular one
right now is the black delrin.”

As for performance, the pool shooter should choose a stick they
are comfortable with.

“It’s all on the customer and the feel they like,” Comilla said.
“Some people will use a Viking cue and stick with it for the rest
of their life.”

Comilla promotes his hobby by way of fliers that say “Charlie
Bojangles Custom Cues.” The Charlie Bojangles is his beloved
two-year old Boxer dog.

“Charlie’s my best friend, he always sits right there beside me
at the shop… my daughter Erin tells me he’s a celebrity,” he
said.

This holiday season, Comilla is keeping busy by, you guessed it,
repairing cues.

“I have several cues in the finishing stages that I’m doing for
the Christmas season,” said Comilla, who has nine cues ready to
ship out to players this holiday season.

“If I can get healthy, my goal is to someday become a big-time
cue maker,” he aspired.

“Pool is a great game and a gentlemen’s game,” he added. “Now,
it’s a ladies game. They’ve also started to promote it on
television more… some leagues now have handicapping systems now
(taking balls off the table for higher handicap).

“In Bradford, pool always had a bad name,” he continued. “Pool
halls were places where guys hung out smoking and drinking.”

Comilla has always been well-known to local pool players as a
participant in trick shot exhibitions. In fact, he once could line
up all 15 billiard balls along the side rail with a narrow gap
between balls, and hit them in the side pocket in a sharp 3.5
seconds.

Occasionally, Comilla takes his hobby on the road to
tournaments.

At one tournament, in Horsham, Comilla met some of the greats of
the game. Champions he met included Jim Rempe, Ray Martin, Loree
Jon Jones and 15-time world champ Willie Masconi.

“I know a lot about and keep up on the history of the game,” he
said.

At one time, Comilla was a sales representative for Viking Cues
of Madison, Wis., selling cue sticks in the Bradford area.

“I called them (Viking) about becoming a dealer,” Comilla said.
“I sold cues for them until the mid-1990s.

“After the accident, I couldn’t shoot as much so I figured maybe
I can get a quality cue out to people,” he continued.

Some pool memorabilia Comilla owns include a set of Roman
numeral billiard balls and antique bridges.

Comilla offers full table coverings of all game-room accessories
and billiard accessories and also pool lessons.

“If someone buys a quality cue it will last him a lifetime,”
Comilla declared.

In addition, Comilla has donated a number of cues over the last
several years.

“The most sought after cue from Charlie Bojangles is the ball
breaker, which is used as a break stick,” Comilla said.

Interested pool enthusiasts can contact Comilla at 558-8435.