So, the long version of the story is that I read a post here .... probably last spring .... about lyptus shafts. Thread posted by Brent of BHQ Custom Cues. We exhanged notes about this wood, it benifits, virtues, what have you. And Brent agreed to sell me a couple of turning squares so that I might make a couple of lyptus wood shafts to try.
Got the shafts in May. And thanks to Brent, they had already been turned round. So, I took them to the shop, put them on the shaper machine and turned them to .700 or .800 at the tip end, dipped them in Nelsonite and let them rest. Went back 30 days or so later, turned off another .100, dipped them in Nelsonite and let them rest again. Went back 30 days or so later (you can see where this is going, right?) turned them to .625 .....
A couple of weeks ago I went back to the shop, turned the shafts to about .520 at the tip end, and began the final shaft making process.
I made a playing shaft for one of my Butterfly cues with Everest red stripe medium tip and a Break Shaft for my Arnot Matched Set with a Mad Mad Hard 11 layer pigskin tip.
Photos attached.
My observations are as follows:
1) Wood machines nicely. Acts pretty much like maple, but .... does tend to 'rip' a bit more than maple.
2) Final product has a 'curly' appearance. You can see the curl in the photos, if you look closely. It is quite obvious in person.
3) Shafts are VERY light. My lyptus shafts both came out to 3.4 ounces/98 grams compared to 3.9 ounces/ 111 grams for my Arnot T3 shafts.
4) Shafts appear to be a stiff as my T3's
5) Both Playing shaft and Break shaft perform admirably .... at least as well as it's maple counterparts.
I will likely have more observations after I've had a chance to use the shafts some more.
But .... at this time .... I'm very happy with my lyptus shafts. Thanks, Brent for introducing me to this new wood. And, Thanks Arnot for letting me use your shop.
Got the shafts in May. And thanks to Brent, they had already been turned round. So, I took them to the shop, put them on the shaper machine and turned them to .700 or .800 at the tip end, dipped them in Nelsonite and let them rest. Went back 30 days or so later, turned off another .100, dipped them in Nelsonite and let them rest again. Went back 30 days or so later (you can see where this is going, right?) turned them to .625 .....
A couple of weeks ago I went back to the shop, turned the shafts to about .520 at the tip end, and began the final shaft making process.
I made a playing shaft for one of my Butterfly cues with Everest red stripe medium tip and a Break Shaft for my Arnot Matched Set with a Mad Mad Hard 11 layer pigskin tip.
Photos attached.
My observations are as follows:
1) Wood machines nicely. Acts pretty much like maple, but .... does tend to 'rip' a bit more than maple.
2) Final product has a 'curly' appearance. You can see the curl in the photos, if you look closely. It is quite obvious in person.
3) Shafts are VERY light. My lyptus shafts both came out to 3.4 ounces/98 grams compared to 3.9 ounces/ 111 grams for my Arnot T3 shafts.
4) Shafts appear to be a stiff as my T3's
5) Both Playing shaft and Break shaft perform admirably .... at least as well as it's maple counterparts.
I will likely have more observations after I've had a chance to use the shafts some more.
But .... at this time .... I'm very happy with my lyptus shafts. Thanks, Brent for introducing me to this new wood. And, Thanks Arnot for letting me use your shop.
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), but they are llighter than maple. approx 1/4 to 3/8 ounce lighter at my taper