Oak in cues
- Thread starter ahhbach
- Start date
I have some white oak that's incredibly figured.... unfortunately too narrow a board for guitar making, but I should yield some nice full-length butt squares out of it. White oak is a bit heavier than red...
Even red oak can be figured... Would you believe this was destined to be stair tread until I "rescued" it?! The original board was 10' long...
[/url]20160409_135805 by Louie Atienza, on Flickr[/IMG]
This is a old Oak conversion I did years ago . Needed some help getting straight , but turned out pretty nice .
The trouble is, most oak is very "lively" wood. It is mostly just pure fluke to get a piece which does not warp somehow as you work on it. Not much of problem for making furniture, but a real PITA for anything else where more precision is needed. You don´t see oak stocked rifles because of this. In a pinch, I made an oak stock. The blank was literaly crawling around the bench as I progressed slowly on that dried and seasoned plank (three years!!). Ended up making new trigger springs (curved), as I had to bend slightly the trigger bar. Removed in the morning from the stock, it wouldn´t fit into seasoned inlet in the afternoon after some work was done on the pistol grip.
Using it in the butt part, in short pieces-not much of a problem. Try to use it full lenght-and better be prepared for all hell breaking loose. If someone use it in the cue and it stays straight, it is some exceptional wood and workmanship.
Using it in the butt part, in short pieces-not much of a problem. Try to use it full lenght-and better be prepared for all hell breaking loose. If someone use it in the cue and it stays straight, it is some exceptional wood and workmanship.
I would think a cuemaker would use very straight grained stuff, and turn it over a course of a few sessions. I'm pretty sure the cue guys are similar to the guitar guys in that they have wood stashed for many years, then start cutting it rough and let it sit may years more. I'm in the process now of having guitar woods that I've had for years, resawn, so it can sit more years before I finally feel it's time to work with it.
A lot of rifle stocks are made with very wildly figured Claro walnut, which I think has more potential to move than white oak. Yet billets large and thick enough for stocks can run into the 4-figure realm.