local woods

desi2960 · Jul 16, 2014

This walnut came from a tree on my property i cut down when i moved here, about 12 years ago. I have been buying wood from all over the world, when all i had to do was look in my own back yard.

i knew that bishop and fagen at one time had gunstock businesses here and they were two of the best gunstock builders in the world, but never really thought about using local walnut for cues. its a bit light and i have to core and put a weight in the middle of the handle area, as i hate butt heavy cues, but other than that i think it will make a great cue.

also i am building one using white oak.

cueman · Jul 16, 2014

Missouri has some beautiful black walnut. If I had been a fan of coring earlier in my career, I might have used more of it when I lived there.

galipeau · Jul 16, 2014

Walnut is an underrated wood, especially in cues and guitars. Looks good!

bdcues · Jul 16, 2014

Have been using some curly Walnut and now a nice piece of feather crotch Walnut, all cored. Recently got a length of Smoke tree, nice yellow color with dark stripe. It is drying now.
https://www.google.com/search?q=smo...BJYG3igLEzIHAAw&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=620

Lexicologist71 · Jul 16, 2014

I love walnut. This is a gift to a friend.

Lexicologist71 · Jul 16, 2014

A better look before I cut it. All I did was sand it and apply some Watco to get an idea what it would look like.

Lexicologist71 · Jul 16, 2014

This is actually oak. It has been dried and stabilized now. It came from a railroad tie cutoff that was originally going to be firewood and sat for two years.

GBCues · Jul 16, 2014

Paul,
I would like to see that Oak with Watco applied - bet it would be gorgeous!
:thumbup:
Gary

qbilder · Jul 17, 2014

Absolutely nothing wrong with domestics. In fact, if you know where to look and aren't afraid to get dirty, some pretty darn exotic domestics are available that rival anything. All the woods below are domestics that I logged & milled myself, and are only a fraction of what I cut. Screwbean mesquite, texas ebony, mountain mahogany, mountain scrub oak, mountain box elder, nogal walnut, etc. are all very hard, dense woods that are perfect for cues. The pics below are tamarisk, big tooth maple, alligator juniper, gambel oak, and sugar maple.

Here's some hickory burl, desert ironwood, and some misc. burls:

qbilder · Jul 17, 2014

Ironwood

Mulberry

Maple

Squares cut from maple burl, walnut crotch, mulberry, and curly red oak

White oak burl

Redbud

Fiddle back chalk maple

Lots & lots & lots of great cue woods growing right here in the USA.

sfleinen · Jul 17, 2014

A friend (Sloppy Pockets here on AZB), prompted by a post about hickory wood that I posted here sometime back, gave me a piece of fiddleback hickory that came from his woodpile, which he noticed had a beautiful flamed and rolling pattern. He end-sealed it and let dry out slowly.

A cuemaker friend is now putting that piece of fiddleback hickory into a cue (forearm and butt sleeve), with a figured bacote handle and redheart rings framed in black. (This is the motif I picked out.)

Nothing like a custom cue with local woods!

Those woods posted by qbilder above are just AWESOME!

-Sean

sfleinen · Jul 17, 2014

Lexicologist71 said:
This is actually oak. It has been dried and stabilized now. It came from a railroad tie cutoff that was originally going to be firewood and sat for two years.

Holy cow. Did you have any idea that wood looked like that, or did you have to cut it to find out? A railroad tie cutoff -- who knew?

It's amazing what lurks under the surface of some woods when you cut 'em.

-Sean

ratcues · Jul 17, 2014

I don't know if it is appropriate to say this to another man but I love Eric's wood. I think that would be so rewarding to go out and find the wood like he does. Much respect.

Lexicologist71 · Jul 17, 2014

Actually, I suspected something special. You could see that it was a crotch cut and there was obvious decay starting. I will be getting more if possible. I'm not sure if I am staying in this area.

qbilder · Jul 17, 2014

ratcues said:
I don't know if it is appropriate to say this to another man but I love Eric's wood. I think that would be so rewarding to go out and find the wood like he does. Much respect.

k: That's what she said! Thanks, Ryan. It is rewarding, like nothing else. It's kinda like the feeling you get when you complete a cue but even better. As if being in the woods with a chainsaw isn't fun enough already, it's an amazing eureka moment to be the first person to see the beauty inside a gnarly piece of wood. It's gotten so bad that I have a chainsaw in the truck "just in case".

Lexicologist71 · Jul 19, 2014

Here they are with some Watco natural.

Lexicologist71 · Jul 19, 2014

Here's one with left over epoxy.

GBCues · Jul 19, 2014

Both pictures look great! Watco is great stuff, huh?
Thanks for humoring me!
:thumbup:
Gary

Lexicologist71 · Jul 19, 2014

I don't know how many places process railroad ties, but they're pretty convenient. You can look at the cutoffs and see which are crotch pieces. Even if you don't look, you'll sure find out which is straight grain and which is crotch when you try to split them for fire wood and the maul actually bounces off of it after a full swing.

qbilder · Jul 19, 2014

Be very careful with the ties. Old ties were soaked with creosote, and that is some very nasty stuff. It will penetrate your skin & cause a burning rash, and if inhaled via smoke or dust will do the same to your lungs.

local woods

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Damn, still .002 TIR!

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