snooker q's

Ash is tricky and if it is not done right it will warp every time.
I don't know what some of the other well known British cuemakers are doing to treat the woods but I can't tell you ho0w many warped ash cues I see through my repair shop.
The best I have seen to date is our local cuemaker Kevin Deroo, he has a way of selecting and treating ash so that he manages to get a very very smooth finish and they stay straight.
I have in the works a new snooker cue/shaft coming out soon that I think will work really well for pool players, hoping for September release and pre-orders, stay tuned for details.
 
Phil isn't it also a fact that Ash is far more likely to warp than Maple, simply because of the grain making Ash a little softer?

Of all the snooker cues I ever owned only two ever remained straight. The first cue was an old Burroughs & Watts 1 piece from around 1930 I believe. The other (strangley enough from some other posts here) was made by John Parris in the 80's. I understand from other posters here that he no longer makes his own cues but has people making them for him in his shop. Maybe thats why mine was as good as it was, at that time he was still making cues out of a 'shed' in his back gardenin South London?

I am visiting England later this year and it will be interesting to see if that Parris is still straight! I will also have to see how it is getting back to playing snooker as I am visiting my old club and have already arranged a couple of games.
 
I'm no wood expert but I would say yes, the openness of the grain and the mixed density of ash probably make it unstable, maple on the other hand if done right can stay straight for eons.
 
While maple is more dense than ash and it's grain as mentioned I cant see how one is more liable to warp than the other as warping is all about the moisture content, where the cues kept temperature wise and how it's stored. You'll always come across more warped ash cues but there again theres been a hell of a lot more ash cues made.
 
I think Wity is right that if you look after your cues properly they should not warp whether Ash or Maple. However I believe because of the grain with Ash, the wood being less dense than Maple, it is prone to be more susceptable to moisture.

However the moral of this thread is look after your cues correctly and they will last a lifetime.
 
Georgia Boy... said:
I'm sure Wity has more up to date information on Parris Cues and where they stand now so I bow to his more up to date knowledge on this and perhaps he can suggest something more suitable.
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To be honest I've never even seen a Parris cue.

What i did do though when i first took an interest in cues looking for a class one as a present for my sons 21st 3 yrs ago was to search the internet perticulary the snooker and pool forums and found plenty of posts from dissatisfied customersv of his.Some thing you'll never find regarding a Trevor White cue who without doubt makes the best cues out their today. I perticulary remember pm'ing folks selling Parris cues on ebay after the sale and asking for their non selling view of that they had sold and found around 50% of them were selling it for the cash intending to buying another less known makers cue and pocketing the difference as they felt thier parris was simply just not worth it.

I pm'd one bloke on ebay who had mentioned in his advert that Parris had charged him an extra £25 as he asked for a 56" cue. I jokingly commented "ah but with the postage back to Ulkrit (owner of Mastercues) in Thailand to do it you got a good deal really:}" He replied with.. "Yeah but i was the mug who sanded out the saw marks left in the butt where he'd slipped sawing it."

I was lucky to come across Andrew Ramsey (adr147) and spent quite a while chatting to him about cues. He's a dealer in them up in Scotland and has owned and sold cues made by virtually ever known name out their. Obviusly his opinion is based on far greater experience of cues than most and when you hear him cussing about having to refinish new cues supplied by Parris for him to resell well it dont say much for the quality does it?


The reality is though no one make is going to pot the balls for you, genuine ebony or painted rosewood, tight straight ash grain or wavey makkes bugger all difference, get the spec right for you and get a decent tip on it, refinish it yourself if you have to for a smooth feel and be it £20 or £2000 it'll do the job just as good.

You can get a bloke turn up for a match with aa Parris exclusive a harliquin stamford leather case and most will think "hmmm he's got some good gear". Those who have been around and know their cues will think flash git with more money than senxe and cheer on his opponent with the 10 quids worth of house cue.

First thing i say when i get my Trevor White cue out and hear "oooh thats nice" is "dont let that fool you mate i'm just the learner driver driving the rolls royce.:D"
 
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