Birdseye shafts

I don't have a whole lot of experience with birdseye shafts, but I did make a batch with some incredibly tight grained wood, 18+ gpi and they didn't hit very well. Kind of soft..... not very responsive.....

Kobachi said:

Hey cuemakers,

there's an old Franklin in the Gallery, it has a birdseye shaft, beautiful look.

Why don't we see birdseye shafts? I've got an old Keith that has two shafts, one is purple heart. I know little about cue building as far as why certain woods are used and others are not, I'm guessing there has to be a reason why birdseye isn't used much, for shafts.

Is there a stability issue?

Thanks cue builders! :thumbup:

Kevin

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Birdseye is actually a defect in the grain of the wood--it looks good and functons well in the butt section of a cue. A multitude of birdseyes, especially if large, will notablly weaken the wood compared to straight grained maple or maple with tiny birdseyes. Birdseyes or pronounced curl can also be a distraction to the stroker too. Make no mistake, if birdseye maple (or anything else for that matter) made for a better playing cue, 95% of the cuemakers here would be using it for their cues, even if it cost them more to do so. Nothing to date can top good quality maple for pool cue shafts IMO. Gimmicks are always around for those that want or need them. Whatever became of the "Limbsaver?"

Martin

Kobachi said:

Hey cuemakers,

there's an old Franklin in the Gallery, it has a birdseye shaft, beautiful look.

Why don't we see birdseye shafts? I've got an old Keith that has two shafts, one is purple heart. I know little about cue building as far as why certain woods are used and others are not, I'm guessing there has to be a reason why birdseye isn't used much, for shafts.

Is there a stability issue?

Thanks cue builders! :thumbup:

Kevin

Click to expand...

The only time I would consider birdseye to be a defect in a shaft is when I wanted a shaft of perfectly clear grain Maple and found a birdseye in it. I wouldn't want a sugar line or mineral mark in it either. Any mark would be considered a defect.

The reason that BI isn't used more in shaft wood is because it's a VISUAL distraction, not because it's defective wood. I happen to know that BI shafts play very well. The drawback is having the eyes moving at the base of your vision as you're stroking. Once you've got enough chalk & whatever on the shaft, it's no longer a concern.
Another drawback to a birdseye shaft is the vein of the eye or the side, particularly if it's on the surface of the wood. Anyone who has sanded a BI forearm or handle will tell you that it sands differently than clear Maple. The vein of the BI can be felt if not properly sanded. This results in 'ripples' in the stroke-zone of your shaft. That's not really desirable.
Shafts that have many, very small eyes, are highly sought after and bring a premium price. Once you've played with one, you'll know why.

Going out on a limb here, I'm going to guess that at least 50% of the cues built today use a BI forearm. Now, are these builders and factories deliberately using defective wood? Apparently not everyone feels it's a defect.

The main reason I don't like it is, it has hard and soft spots and doesn't cut or sand evenly , a pain to get level ... As stated before , figured maple is caused by disease , looks cool but really isn't ...

Eric Wynne said:

The main reason I don't like it is, it has hard and soft spots and doesn't cut or sand evenly , a pain to get level ... As stated before , figured maple is caused by disease , looks cool but really isn't ...

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I'd be very interested in your source for the statement of, "figured maple is caused by disease". Is there some basis in fact or is this just something you've heard. I'm not so much defending the wood as I am more interested in accurate information about it. I mean, that's a pretty powerful statement. Can you support it?

i bought some 20 year old air dried boards that i cit into shafts that had several to many tiny birdseyes and they have all played great so far.

I built a cue with BE shafts that is still being played with today. Claims it is one of the better cues he has played with to date. Maybe he's just stroking my ego.

I have a dufferin house cue that has the very tiny birdseye variety. You would miss it entirely if not looking carefully. The eyes catch the light and glint almost like metallic flakes in the wood. There have been several builders who have claimed you can't get any better shaft wood than that variety.

Large eyes in shaft wood does not sound like a good idea to me.

Kelly

Cause of Birdseye maple

3 or 4 different places say the same thing......"Birdseye maple, one of the rarest kinds of wood on the planet, has a distinctive pattern that looks like tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. Birdseye maple isn't a variety or species of maple, but rather a phenomenon that occurs within several kinds of timber due to an unknown cause. Perhaps the valuable anomaly showcases wood's reaction to a fungal or viral infection, genetic mutation, bird pecking, climate change, soil conditions, growth history, or some other mysterious element". They also all say that the more eyes the weaker the wood.
Hope this helps.

KJ Cues said:

I'd be very interested in your source for the statement of, "figured maple is caused by disease". Is there some basis in fact or is this just something you've heard. I'm not so much defending the wood as I am more interested in accurate information about it. I mean, that's a pretty powerful statement. Can you support it?

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KJ, I can't remember where I read that too, but I heard that the eyes are also a disease in the wood. Maybe someone with more experience can add to this...... not that the disease is a bad thing, or takes away from the overall quality...... I think spalted maple is diseased as well, but it looks good works fine, nevertheless.......

SK Custom Cues said:

KJ, I can't remember where I read that too, but I heard that the eyes are also a disease in the wood. Maybe someone with more experience can add to this...... not that the disease is a bad thing, or takes away from the overall quality...... I think spalted maple is diseased as well, but it looks good works fine, nevertheless.......

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Spalted maple is rotten maple, nothing to be contested about that. Spalt is fungus, the beginning stages of rot.

Birdseye maple is caused from something yet unknown. I have searched for & asked suppliers & lumberjacks the cause of birdseyes & all I get are theories. Nobody knows. Scientists don't know. It's a mystery. Anybody can make up their own idea & it's just as much correct as the other guy's idea.

As for birdseye in shafts, it's not a bad thing unless excessive. I think all of us who have a healthy experience of working with birdseye, know that 90%+ of it has tight, even, straight grain and is heavier & stiffer than clear grain maple. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that everything we want in shaft wood is present in birdseye maple.....except for the eyes. I have always went by the philosophy of taking the good with the bad & finding a way to work it out. That means utilizing birdseye maple but using only the lightly figured stuff. I prefer the thouysands of tiny eyes smothering the wood, but am not opposed to using a shaft that has a few scattered medium sized eyes. I never use large eyes, nor anything that has a lot of "side figure", the curly figure that runs opposite the eyed side. Those who know birdseye know what i'm talking about. My point is that the question of the OP is if birdseye in shafts is good or not. My answer is yes, a very enthusiastic yes. But you can't just use any birdseye maple. "Birdseye" can be used to describe endless variations of figure intensity & pattern. Some of it is awesome shaft wood while some of it is awful shaft wood. The difference is for the builder to figure out or else shy away from using any birdseye at all if he feels it's all low quality. Personal preference.

On that note, I think one thing is being overlooked. The example of the thread is a very old Franklin era SW. It has a BE shaft & it's still solid and playing great. There's no doubt the cue has played thousands of hours & been through hundreds of demanding action matches & tournies. It's still solid & playable. Jerry Franklin built a reputation for awesome playing cues, and birdseye shafts were not uncommon on his cues. That in itself I feel answers the OP's question. But hey, if we all agreed then the cue market wouldn't be very exciting.

be and curly

i buy old one piece cues 100 at a time from a restorer of brunswick tables. i recycle the old cues, most are crooked, split, broken or sanded down too small to use, BUT maybe 10% are nice honey color 75 to 100 year old wood that makes some great shafts. a few are very dense and have multi growth rings.
on rare occasion i find a birdseye or curly maple piece, these are my personal favorites. i do not know if they really play any better, but i just like the looks.

chuck