How Parris Cues Are Made

There are other videos about making snooker cues. Been around for years, and I have watched them numerous times.

Their construction is very "old school" and has not advanced so much like pool cues.

Some are indeed produced on lathes, but a purist will tell you a "proper" snooker cue is produced by hand planing, and the "best" ones indeed still are.





.
 
amazing that they're not turning them down with a lathe but hand planing them. Do they come out perfectly straight like a properly lathe turned pool cue, or are snooker players less obsessed with that degree of straightness?
 
I watched this last night. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting with a John Parris but I'm willing to bet they are straight as an arrow. Lots of top pros play with them and if they weren't straight they would play with something else.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
slide13 said:
amazing that they're not turning them down with a lathe but hand planing them. Do they come out perfectly straight like a properly lathe turned pool cue, or are snooker players less obsessed with that degree of straightness?
Click to expand...

Just a general comment, hand work can be extremely precise. Many believe that machines are the only way to get extreme precision but that is not the case. In fact precision machine ways (the surface that guides the sliding parts) and mating surfaces are often finished by hand. Many are ground, but hand scraped ways can be extremely flat / straight / square etc.

Here is a high end CNC mill that is finished by hand work, the page includes a picture of a craftsman hand scraping the ways.

http://www.toyodausa.com/machines/vertical-machining-centers/stealth-box-guideways/stealth-1565/

Dave
 
Last edited:
Ash

Fraxinus /ˈfræksᵻnəs/,[4] English name ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The genus is widespread across much of Europe, Asia and North America.........
 
DaveK said:
Just a general comment, hand work can be extremely precise. Many believe that machines are the only way to get extreme precision but that is not the case. In fact precision machine ways (the surface that guides the sliding parts) and mating surfaces are often finished by hand. Many are ground, but hand scraped ways can be extremely flat / straight / square etc.

Here is a high end CNC mill that is finished by hand work, the page includes a picture of a craftsman hand scraping the ways.

http://www.toyodausa.com/machines/vertical-machining-centers/stealth-box-guideways/stealth-1565/

Dave
Click to expand...

The shop is so neat and quiet. That plane he is using is razor sharp and perfectly adjusted.

Those brass ferrules probably add a lot of squirt to the cues.
 
Last edited:
dfordham said:
Why is ash not a popular shaft wood choice here for pool cues?
Click to expand...

Availability most likely, also, it's very porous. Also, it's not what Brunswick used (they had a huge influence in the way cues evolved). Also, I don't get why they use stain to fill up the pores on those cues. It's hideous. Also ash will catch your beard hairs if not sealed properly. Also, I don't care for ash if you couldn't tell :wink:

It's popular for baseball bats though...
 
It's a really interesting way to build a cue, but it doesn't allow for a lot of neat things that american pool cues can do (compound tapers, etc).

I'd love to make a one piece in that fashion some day.
 
decent dennis said:
Baseball Bats
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the genus Fraxinus, which include all ash species, are threatened by EAB in North America, with hundreds of millions of ash trees already lost.

It's sad. In my area, one of our favorite wooded hiking trails is no longer safe due to dead, falling ash branches & trees. I have personally removed more dead ash trees than I care to count.

There is chemical control of EAB, but who can treat an entire forest?

And just wait until ALB gets discovered in your area. They kill many genus of trees, with their favorite being our beloved maples. Only method of control is quarantine and kill all host species within a several mile radius.

Bummer.

On the bright side, it is Friday.
 
slide13 said:
amazing that they're not turning them down with a lathe but hand planing them. Do they come out perfectly straight like a properly lathe turned pool cue, or are snooker players less obsessed with that degree of straightness?
Click to expand...
They are as straight as can be. I own 3 Parris snooker cues and a Parris pool cue. I've visited the work shop and watched all my cues being made. They're exceptional cues and the quality is the best I've played with.
 
In pursuit of the answer to why we use maple and the Brits use ash, I found this response on Paris' website to a similar question:

"Ash is by far the most popular wood for snooker and English pool cues. Maple is traditionally the only wood used for American pool cues but there is no real reason ash could not be used.

Maple is denser than ash and does not have the pronounced grain features of ash. The enhanced grain of ash cues is highly regarded by many players, but can be distracting for those who prefer maple. I personally think ash has a better feel then maple. The natural spring giving more response. This said there are some very good players using maple cues.

They are both good timbers and it is a personal choice."

I'd love to try an ash cue, but not with one of those 9.5mm snooker tips!
 
Pidge said:
They are as straight as can be. I own 3 Parris snooker cues and a Parris pool cue. I've visited the work shop and watched all my cues being made. They're exceptional cues and the quality is the best I've played with.
Click to expand...

Cool! I was looking at their site today, I definitely want to try one of their pool cues some day. Definitely seems like a different approach to building a cue, but a really cool one!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top