What A-joint do you build? Pictures of mine.

Blue Hog ridr said:
Nice work Joey. I take it that you don't use a connecting screw doing it that way. Seems like it would be pretty solid and no need for the extra weight of a pin. Pics can be deceiving, how long is the threaded tenon and is it 5/8th in diameter?
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Threaded tenon is 5/8. As Dave said 1" long of threads is probably enough but I go a little more. I do more things to keep it even more stable imo. I also do two batches of epoxy.
I think G10 connecting screws would work well too. They bond very well and flexes with wood.
 
No A-Joint

Hi,

I have eliminated the A-Joint. I core the cue with a solid maple dowel. First 12" 5/8". Handle / Forearm joint to butt cap At 3/4". Instead of the A-Joint bolt I embed a steel threaded & epoxied weight both behind my pin. I then epoxy in a 1/2" Garolite LE insert and install the pin within the insert after the curing.

By design I want my cue to be more forward balanced and this design gives me the feel of a heavy old school metal joint while using my flat face phenolic set up.

Rick Geschrey
 
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Michael Webb said:
So when you do pointed forearms, Do you core after the points are installed and turned?
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I worked on a Curly Maple forearm with 8 points last night. I drilled and threaded after the points were installed. Everything worked great. The curly Maple needed to be cored. If it didn't want a core I would of used a shorter tenon and thread combination.

Nice pictures of your joints.

I agree that 1" of thread is plenty strong to screw the two parts together I don't feel comfortable with the thickness of the forearm walls on a 3/4" diameter tenon that ends in the middle of the glued points. I'm guessing but I'd say the forearm walls are about 1/8" thick when the cue is at finished size.

I make sure my threads and tenon are long enough to reach the heart of the forearm wood. I also like my tenon to taper down from 3/4" to 1/2". The end of the 1/2" tenon needs to be long enough so it glues to the solid part of the forearm.

It's fun talking about how we build our cues. We all do it different and each builder has their ideas for what works best. It's rare that builders say something is overkill. I think my A-joint is built in the strongest possible way or I'd change it.
 
My "A" joint isn't really very special at all & my cues hold up just fine & play great. What's everybody's purpose for the extreme enginuity? Were yall's cues falling apart or hitting like sh!t or what?

Eric.......practitioner of KISS
 
qbilder said:
My "A" joint isn't really very special at all & my cues hold up just fine & play great. What's everybody's purpose for the extreme enginuity? Were yall's cues falling apart or hitting like sh!t or what?

Eric.......practitioner of KISS
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Hi,

Everyone has their own bend to the brim of their cap. So goes the engineering of the A-Joint with Cue Makers. Once you have beta tested enough cues and get confidence in your construction technique and playability without a buzz of failure, then nirvana has been achieved.

"When you can walk on the rice paper and have not left a mark, then you will have learned Grasshopper"

Rick G
 
hangemhigh said:
In the end playability is all that matters, when you get there you will know.
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The A-joint is there to hold the two pieces together in permanent solid bond.
Imho, two contrasting woods is better than one wood or two woods of the same tone and rigidity.
A stiffer/heavier front and a lighter/more reasonant handle in compression mode ( not suspended ) is the combo I prefer. Kinda like the reason behind the guitars having a lighter body but heavier backs.
I want as much reasonance in the handle and as much stiffness in the front.
 
My statement of "overkill" was simply directed in a manner that many times we over think a situation or particular operation when it comes to cue construction and end up over engineering to a point where we end up creating a whole new set of unwanted circumstances that really does not need to be introduced into the construction process.
I try to achieve top notch engineering when it comes to cue construction and occasionally will go out on a limb to try something new and different. Some times it works...sometimes I've spent time I'll never be able to get back and reuse again.
If you feel the way your A joint is constructed is the best way possible in the world.....then that's all that matters.
Thread on.........
 
JoeyInCali said:
The A-joint is there to hold the two pieces together in permanent solid bond.
Imho, two contrasting woods is better than one wood or two woods of the same tone and rigidity.
A stiffer/heavier front and a lighter/more reasonant handle in compression mode ( not suspended ) is the combo I prefer. Kinda like the reason behind the guitars having a lighter body but heavier backs.
I want as much reasonance in the handle and as much stiffness in the front.
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Every component should be a compliment of the others, harmony is a great thing.

We have thousands of BEM fronts that were turned to size 30 years ago. The problem is ,besides having more than we could ever use, they were cut to an older building process that we no longer use. All that old growth, seasoned wood, maybe we will make it available to cuemakers here.
 
scdiveteam said:
Hi,

Everyone has their own bend to the brim of their cap. So goes the engineering of the A-Joint with Cue Makers. Once you have beta tested enough cues and get confidence in your construction technique and playability without a buzz of failure, then nirvana has been achieved.

"When you can walk on the rice paper and have not left a mark, then you will have learned Grasshopper"

Rick G
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You apparently missed my intended humor, and point.
 
This thread was intended to share knowledge and techniques. Pictures say more then words.

I like showing how my knowledge of building as my techniques get better and better. I purchased the wood to start building my cues in this manner years ago. When I started planning this I had no idea one of the masters was doing it.

I take the overkill statement as a compliment. Thanks.

I've only got 4 years under my belt and I can't wait to see what I will do 4 years from now.



The laser head for my CNC I've been practicing with is almost ready. It's overkill but I want to cut perfectly sharp inlays and as thin as .001".
I built a UV both and have started spraying UV clear. I didn't need to switch. I wanted better.
 
Graciocues said:
This thread was intended to share knowledge and techniques. Pictures say more then words.

I like showing how my knowledge of building as my techniques get better and better. I purchased the wood to start building my cues in this manner years ago. When I started planning this I had no idea one of the masters was doing it.

I take the overkill statement as a compliment. Thanks.

I've only got 4 years under my belt and I can't wait to see what I will do 4 years from now.



The laser head for my CNC I've been practicing with is almost ready. It's overkill but I want to cut perfectly sharp inlays and as thin as .001".
I built a UV both and have started spraying UV clear. I didn't need to switch. I wanted better.
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Better than what? Better than what other cuemakers are commonly doing? Or just better than what you were doing previously? When using words such as "better", it would be benneficial to state your basis of comparison. Not nit-picking, just trying to keep things clear.
 
qbilder said:
Better than what? Better than what other cuemakers are commonly doing? Or just better than what you were doing previously? When using words such as "better", it would be benneficial to state your basis of comparison. Not nit-picking, just trying to keep things clear.
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I said if it's better, I want it. I think it was clear.

I will never stop looking for better construction techniques.

I didn't know how to take your first post and then you posted you were being funny. I'm starting to think there's more then just humor here??
 
i've always like this idea of having a solid core all the way thru. Like other posters have stated some have used "laminated wood" or even radial laminated wood to prevent warp in the cue. And they hit very well.

Although i've never seen threads done like this throughout the entire forearm. I can't see any consequences to this type of construction. On the flip side it might make the cue hit even more solid, much like a full splice technique. With compression and tension stiffening the cue.

last night i spent time with a cuemaker who did this type of coring technique and asked why he did it. he answer was "to maintain consistency and prevent warpage".

He also mentioned that it could not be done with, full or short splice or v-groove forearms.
 
Scott i applaud you for pushing the bar higher.i watch one of the greats all the time and that is exactly what he does.He is never satisfied.
 
He also mentioned that it could not be done with, full or short splice or v-groove forearms.
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Not true.......it can be done and is being done today by very qualified builders.

I built a UV both and have started spraying UV clear. I didn't need to switch. I wanted better.
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What were you using and how were you doing it before? I'm not sold that uv is better than some coatings being used frequently now.
 
Graciocues said:
I said if it's better, I want it. I think it was clear.

I will never stop looking for better construction techniques.

I didn't know how to take your first post and then you posted you were being funny. I'm starting to think there's more then just humor here??
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I play guessing games enough already with my wife. I'm not going to get into that drama here, too. No need to guess what I mean because I mean exactly what I say.

You posted a pic & pointed out how much better it is. I ask you what is it better than. I then make a comment that it would be benneficial if you gave a basis for your comparison so that nobody would be wondering what you meant. As such, I don't know what your "A" joint is better than so I ask. What's so hard to understand about that? You have spoken with me before. You know i'm not an asshole. So why would you assume there's something more going on than what i'm actually saying?
 
bobroberts said:
Scott i applaud you for pushing the bar higher.i watch one of the greats all the time and that is exactly what he does.He is never satisfied.
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That's nice to know. I think that makes two top builders using this construction or similar.
Not counting myself. LOL

Thanks for the positive words.
 
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BarenbruggeCues said:
Not true.......it can be done and is being done today by very qualified builders.



What were you using and how were you doing it before? I'm not sold that uv is better than some coatings being used frequently now.
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I was using two different clear before.

Defleet F3930 which is used to paint semi trucks. It's like an armor coating for wood but takes 2 months to dry. Expensive

and Deltron DC3000

After spraying a few test pieces and a couple cues UV has lots of advantages.

First and most important is shrinkage. Regular auto clears have about 65% loss from shrinkage and evaporation. The UV clear has less then 5% loss from evaporation and shrinkage.
I was waiting 3 weeks to polish a cue. Now I wait 1 hour.

And it's durable. It's better for the environment. It's better for my health.
 
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