Wood for pool cue

brilliance

brilliance

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What wood is the best in terms of playability for pool cue (not for shaft)?

I see that there are several different kinds available, most of them probably because they look nice..
 
Straight grained or lightly figured sugar maple for the forearm; and for the rest, purple heart, ebony and rosewoods.

Basically the stuff you see used in old house cues was selected because it is stable, tonal and strong.

Those are the woods to use.

Others can and are being used; however, particularly with burled woods that have no distinct structure to them, they should be (and usually are) cored.

Just my opinion on the subject...
 
Chris Hightower wrote a book about cuemaking that has a section devoted to wood. I enjoyed reading his comments. Check it out.
http://www.cuesmith.com/index.php?page=book_video

I assume your question is based upon a solid forearm. Many cuemakers are coring with specific woods turned and assembled to craft the best hit in almost ANY forearm wood.
 
I've hit a lot of balls with a lot of different sticks. I worked for a cue maker for a couple of years and did a lot (too much) test hitting of finished cues.

I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between handles made from different woods. .... And then, a lot of cue makers make 'cored' handles. Coring is done mostly for weight control. If the coring is done properly, you still won't get a differnent feel from a well made cue.
 
Snapshot9 said:
Myself, I like Mexican Bocote'.
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Mike Johnson (Jensen Cues) told me that Mexican Bocote is the best wood for a cue. I asked him for a great player and that is what he suggested. He said a lot of makers don't like working with it because it is oily. I got a plain jane bacote from him with a leather wrap, piloted steel joint and ivory ferrule with the milk duds. Like he promised it is a great player. Has a nice feel and one I start to hit balls with it I just can't stop. The sound of the hit on the CB sounds like the hit of the CB hitting the OB. It is as if I am hitting the OB with the cue.

8Ball (Post above) Looking at your signature it seems as if you also like Bocote.
 
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i agree on the mexican bacote

also Rosewood
Cocobolo
Purple heart
Pink Ivory (super heavy tho)
Pao Ferro (spelling)

and the best hitting wood of all...mourning wood! lmao
 
thats funny Chit

Blue Hog ridr said:
Ghost, if you're mourning your wood, maybe its time for a blue pill.
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Lmao...what cuemaker on here used to have an avatar of Smiling Bob with "always has quality wood"? I used to laugh at that all the time

Thankfully no at 25yrs old, and the fact that I work offshore which is just a big man party...when I get in to my lady uhhh I got no problems at all lmao, I'm ready like freddy and got my girl "stuck" like chuck if you know what i mean lmao.
 
I will agree that the ebonies and rosewoods make for some very stable players. I have an old BEM/BEM veneered wrapless full splice that plays like crazy. Likewise, I have a BdR (a true rosewood)/BEM wrapless full splice that also plays very very well.

Even tho' it is often maligned because you either love or hate the way it looks...bocote is just a great solid playing cue wood. I have played with the Mexican variety, and it is great...but I got turned onto Brazilian Bocote or Louro Preto, and it is the nutz! Looks pretty crazy too...the entire cue looks like this!!

2ues6sz.jpg


Lisa
 
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work schedule

I work 7&7 Tuesday to Tuesday


Got one of the highest paying jobs on the planet for how much time we get off.
Not to mention paid insurance 401k and other great things
What is really nice is that its going to afford me the time and $$$ to finish up school so's I can get that engineering degree.

I will say this tho, that I got very lucky and work for a wonderful company that we contract to APACHE, which is one of the best and most profitable oil/gas companies in the world. Company I work for is Linear Controls, and they are honest and keep their word. I've worked for others that were not worth it at all. I'm very glad to be affiliated with these guys, all I have to do is show up to the airport once every other week and go do a little work and I get paid nice. Couldn't be happier at the moment.

Not to mention I got alot of down time out here and it allows me to talk to all of you here on az...lmao, so i get paid to post sometimes.:rolleyes:


viking of the gulf,
Grey Ghost
 
So I should have asked before, how far off shore is the rig. If you can't see land, that would scare the crap outa me.
I'm a flatlander, water scares me.
 
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Good question. John Parker of Auerbach Custom Cues is always talking about wood selection. Some woods are inherently lighter than others, while some woods are better for remaining stright over a ten year period. The wieht consideration is reaklly something to take up with your cuemaker.

A good 3D Solids software program can even be used to pre-determine the weight & balance of your new cue.
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
So I should have asked before, how far off shore is the rig. If you can't see land, that would scare the crap outa me.
I'm a flatlander, water scares me.
Click to expand...



I work in a field that has 34 platforms, so I fly in a helicopter ever day offshore. Only one of them is in the Marsh. Most of them are around 30-60 miles out in this field. The farthest I've ever worked is 115 miles out. Honestly its very very safe out here, I worked a Natural Gas Plant job close to Aspen,Co last summer and I NEVER EVER FELT SAFE. They don't have all the safety systems on land that we have offshore, if something goes wrong out here the equipment that I work on will SHUT IN the WHOLE PLATFORM in less than 45sec. But I see where your coming from about being nervous about it, I've been in a basket hanging by a wire a 150' above the water...but I love to climb, and not really scared of much.

What I love about it the most, is how peaceful it is at night, you can see every star in the galaxy very clear. I've seen whales, dolphins, sea turtles etc...I've caught so many fish in one day I couldn't lift my friggin arms anymore, which is why when people ask me if i want to go deep sea fishing i say why the hell would I pay for that when I do it for free? lol Water depth doesn't bother me either tho, and it ranges from 50ft-4k foot, deepest part of the gulf i believe gets close to 9k ft but don't quote me on it.

viking of the gulf,
Grey Ghost
 
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