How much does different woods change the hit/feel in the forearm?

Marvel

Marvel

Marvel - The Yogi Bear
Silver Member
Hi there,

I'm thinking of changing my cue and have been wondering how much does it matter for the playability which of the (common) wood species you use on the butt, especially of course in the forearm.

I remember some years ago I tried same cuemaker's two different butts in a same shaft, and the difference then felt much bigger as I would have guessed.
The first try was with cocobolo, and it felt too stiff and hard. Then I tried bird's eye maple and it felt much better, as I have always played with BE-maple and like the bit softer and lighter feel.
Coincidentally all my cues have been BE-maple, and I've started to think that's the best for me.

The truth still is, that hardly ever I have tried anything else, and that one time experience which conditioned me, was very brief and I have started to wonder the differences, as for decoration reasons (yeah, I know, vanity shouldn't go ahead of more important things) I have been interested for other woods also, as there's many more colorful and thus more beautiful woods out there in cues.

Now I got my eyes on one tulipwood cue, and also the usual woods like ebony, cocobolo and bocote have impressed me.
There's still beautiful options with maple forearms, and it could be the safest and wisest option for me as in the end the playability is all that matters, but I'm now asking opinions from others as so many play with for example ebony butt's, that how much it makes difference, what kind of difference does it make, and if someone could specify the qualities of those woods mentioned, I'd be more than grateful :)

Especially I'm interested tulipwood and ebony as a substitute now for the maple forearm.

Thanks in advance for all the answers. :)

-M
 
tulipwood and ebony are both dense woods... have you thought about doing bem in the forearm and using a different wood in the handle?
 
Same question was about to be asked...

Marvel said:
Hi there,

I'm thinking of changing my cue and have been wondering how much does it matter for the playability which of the (common) wood species you use on the butt, especially of course in the forearm.

I remember some years ago I tried same cuemaker's two different butts in a same shaft, and the difference then felt much bigger as I would have guessed.
The first try was with cocobolo, and it felt too stiff and hard. Then I tried bird's eye maple and it felt much better, as I have always played with BE-maple and like the bit softer and lighter feel.
Coincidentally all my cues have been BE-maple, and I've started to think that's the best for me.

The truth still is, that hardly ever I have tried anything else, and that one time experience which conditioned me, was very brief and I have started to wonder the differences, as for decoration reasons (yeah, I know, vanity shouldn't go ahead of more important things) I have been interested for other woods also, as there's many more colorful and thus more beautiful woods out there in cues.

Now I got my eyes on one tulipwood cue, and also the usual woods like ebony, cocobolo and bocote have impressed me.
There's still beautiful options with maple forearms, and it could be the safest and wisest option for me as in the end the playability is all that matters, but I'm now asking opinions from others as so many play with for example ebony butt's, that how much it makes difference, what kind of difference does it make, and if someone could specify the qualities of those woods mentioned, I'd be more than grateful :)

Especially I'm interested tulipwood and ebony as a substitute now for the maple forearm.

Thanks in advance for all the answers. :)

-M
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. I'm gonna sit back and hope the cuemakers and others would share their experience with different kinds of wood.
 
The short answer is. Every wood will hit different. The more dense the harder feel it will have. Now you can change how a dense wood will hit with the core that you use in the cue. Like Ebony I can make them play soft by using a maple core in it. The same with cocobolo and tulipwood. I can also make BEM feel stiffer by using a purple heart core when Im building the cue. So it depends on the builder of the cue on how it will hit using certain woods.

I hope this helps!!
 
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Especially I'm interested tulipwood and ebony as a substitute now for the maple forearm.

Both should hit great with a select grade maple handle if done right.
 
I think I saw an ebony / tulipwood cue floating around here at one time or another.. made by some dude who sells ferrules....??

Try that and let us know what you think...
 
Look in the photos on my profile, there is a tulipwood and b/w ebony cue. It hit like a freight train even with the maple core. The customer was happy with it.
 
Hi again,

Thanks for all the answers. :)

If you could still enlighten me a bit what do you mean by "core"? Is it the wood from which the points are made of and which "melts" into the upper part of the forearm which has the joint screw in the end, or is it something else? (sorry, english is not my original language).

I know there's couple of different ways of building the butt, the cue I would be ordering wont be completely decided by my choice but it'd come from a catalog.
They describe with a sentence "cross power core", so I'd guess it is what I tried to describe there earlier, but then again I'm not sure of all this.

I saw back in the days late Edwin Reyes (R.I.P.) building me a cue, and he had my forearm from one piece of wood (BEM) and then with the chisel he cut the space needed for the ebony/malesianred points which he inlayed there.
Another custom I've had was made by Keith Josey and later when I was discussing with him, I understood that he also prefers to make it from one part and then just decorating it.

Also word "handle" I'm not 100% sure with. Is it the piece which the wrap/grip is put on to?

Thanks in advance for your answers and time :)


-M
 
Core is to take a piece of wood and drill a hole all the way through it at say .750 in and then fill that hole with another piece of wood. An example would be to take 1.38 round ebony dowel and then drill with .750 gun drill. Take a piece of maple and turn down to .740 and then put glue in the ebony and on the maple and put them together. Once you make the forearm the center will be maple with an ebony sleeve over the top.

AB
 
If you know a cue maker who speaks your native language, call him up and ask him questions. It seems that you have a long way to go before you can understand cues. I would be happy to speak to you in English so long as you're comfortable with it. PM me your name and phone number if you wish and I'll do my best to help.

SK

Marvel said:
Hi again,

Thanks for all the answers. :)

If you could still enlighten me a bit what do you mean by "core"? Is it the wood from which the points are made of and which "melts" into the upper part of the forearm which has the joint screw in the end, or is it something else? (sorry, english is not my original language).

I know there's couple of different ways of building the butt, the cue I would be ordering wont be completely decided by my choice but it'd come from a catalog.
They describe with a sentence "cross power core", so I'd guess it is what I tried to describe there earlier, but then again I'm not sure of all this.

I saw back in the days late Edwin Reyes (R.I.P.) building me a cue, and he had my forearm from one piece of wood (BEM) and then with the chisel he cut the space needed for the ebony/malesianred points which he inlayed there.
Another custom I've had was made by Keith Josey and later when I was discussing with him, I understood that he also prefers to make it from one part and then just decorating it.

Also word "handle" I'm not 100% sure with. Is it the piece which the wrap/grip is put on to?

Thanks in advance for your answers and time :)


-M
Click to expand...
 
Thanks again. I'll ask about this core material from the manufacturer and I guess I'll be fine ;)
 
I don't go much by the wood. I put the Cue togeather and hold it upright with one hand firmly on handle area. I than give it a bump with the bottom flat part of my hand about three inches down from joint. The amount of vibration from that part of cue going up the shaft and the amount of time it takes to stop dictates the cue I want to play with.

I like close to zero vibration. This by no means its the best for every player, only what I like. Someone might want lots of vibration.

I have done this to one cue makers Ebony and had ultra vibration and another cue makers Curly maple with close to zero. Again matter of what one likes, not right or wrong.
 
Marvel said:
Hi there,

I'm thinking of changing my cue and have been wondering how much does it matter for the playability which of the (common) wood species you use on the butt, especially of course in the forearm.

I remember some years ago I tried same cuemaker's two different butts in a same shaft, and the difference then felt much bigger as I would have guessed.
The first try was with cocobolo, and it felt too stiff and hard. Then I tried bird's eye maple and it felt much better, as I have always played with BE-maple and like the bit softer and lighter feel.
Coincidentally all my cues have been BE-maple, and I've started to think that's the best for me.

The truth still is, that hardly ever I have tried anything else, and that one time experience which conditioned me, was very brief and I have started to wonder the differences, as for decoration reasons (yeah, I know, vanity shouldn't go ahead of more important things) I have been interested for other woods also, as there's many more colorful and thus more beautiful woods out there in cues.

Now I got my eyes on one tulipwood cue, and also the usual woods like ebony, cocobolo and bocote have impressed me.
There's still beautiful options with maple forearms, and it could be the safest and wisest option for me as in the end the playability is all that matters, but I'm now asking opinions from others as so many play with for example ebony butt's, that how much it makes difference, what kind of difference does it make, and if someone could specify the qualities of those woods mentioned, I'd be more than grateful :)

Especially I'm interested tulipwood and ebony as a substitute now for the maple forearm.

Thanks in advance for all the answers. :)

-M
Click to expand...



Different woods will certainly make a difference in the feel of a cue, but construction techniques will also have a major effect. The better the construction technique used the better any cue will play. When speaking of techniques used in a cues construction it all comes down to the tolerances used where individual sections of the cue are joined. If a cue has loose tolerances the cue will have more vibration and a less solid feeling. This is why maintaining consistently tight / none sloppy tolerances is so important, and when done properly it can make a low end cue play like something that cost many thousands of dollar.
 
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