What types of wood are cue butts made of? How do they affect the way a cue hits?

I saw a cue about ten years back. Entire butt was made from one piece of ivory. On display at sbe. Maker would not disclose price
I think it had to be cored. Ivory is pretty dense -- almost twice the weight of water of the same volume. Unless the cue maker engineered some kind of reinforcing core, I don't think you would want to play with that cue. Maple and ash are about 60% of water and cocobolo is about 110% according to a table I found.
 
This is so true is some ways and so false in other ways.

You wouldn't use a cardboard cue to break with and you wouldn't use an aluminum cue to play with. although I think they're are some variations of the latter that have been sold.

My point is the joint material might not be why you missed the ball. but it might be what you're comfortable with. and being comfortable with your equipment goes a long way.

appreciate this perspective..cheers
 
Idk about ebony giving a stiffer hit. All things equal it might... its a much harder wood than maple... I played with and ebony jacoby with an hybrid edge shaft quite a bit and it's way More whippy than my maple schons.

I seriously doubt any human alive could distinguish the difference in butt wood without knowing there even was a difference first. if both cues were exactly the same construction..

there is no magic Wood period. But I can appreciate good craftsmanship and nice or exotic things
Every time I read similar posts I wonder if a balsa wood cue would as good as others
 
Tonewoods
You'd need a piezo and wifi to your earbuds to appreciate the diff and they'd specifically disallow that under unfair technology. :D I think the fancy woods are for looks and/or natural balance. They seem to flip flop on the priorities a lot.
 
hi roger, is there a combination of tonewoods in a cue that you like? for instance maple shaft with ebony butt etc.
Macassar Ebony forearm and back with a maple grip is my favorite combination. Provides a well balanced cue with great feedback. All my shafts are selected by tone. Blanks are bounced on concrete floor. Hold loosely in the fingers while dropping end about 6 inches. A good shaft provides a high pitch. I believe high pitch shafts transfer energy the most efficiently. Low pitch shafts absorb the energy. Gabon Ebony and lots of rosewoods are great also.
 
Macassar Ebony forearm and back with a maple grip is my favorite combination. Provides a well balanced cue with great feedback. All my shafts are selected by tone. Blanks are bounced on concrete floor. Hold loosely in the fingers while dropping end about 6 inches. A good shaft provides a high pitch. I believe high pitch shafts transfer energy the most efficiently. Low pitch shafts absorb the energy. Gabon Ebony and lots of rosewoods are great also.

very cool and interesting..thanks for sharing!
 
Macassar Ebony forearm and back with a maple grip is my favorite combination. Provides a well balanced cue with great feedback. All my shafts are selected by tone. Blanks are bounced on concrete floor. Hold loosely in the fingers while dropping end about 6 inches. A good shaft provides a high pitch. I believe high pitch shafts transfer energy the most efficiently. Low pitch shafts absorb the energy. Gabon Ebony and lots of rosewoods are great also.
I asked to do this to Revo and P3 cue at my dealer and the guy said...pay for it first and then do what you will
 
The way a cue hits is in the shaft.
I used to think that way, but don't totally agree anymore after purchasing my last cue. I have 3 McDermott's, 4 Schons, 1 Jacoby, and 1 DZ.
McDermotts with their G cores are probably softest smoothest hit.
DZ leather wrap 30"12.8 mm shaft, smooth great hit, slightly crisper than McDermotts.
Jacoby no wrap great hit,30" ultra12.5mm shaft, very slightly crisper than DZ
Schon's, 1 linen, 2 leather, 1 no wrap, Jacoby Ultra 30" 12.75's and 30" 12.5 mm, all crisper hit than the rest w/ no wrap the crispest.
All Ultraskin tips, mostly fire med, and some black med
The Jacoby 12.5 and Schon 12.5 both with fire med tips although one 12.75 has black med.
I shoot just as well with all of them, but my personal preference is the Schon no wrap with it's crisper hit.
The DZ and Jacoby are fantastic shooters, just a very slightly softer hit
The McDermotts shoot great also, very smooth, but a little too rear balanced for me
The DZ might firm up a bit after the tip breaks in, but I really haven't used it much as I am trying to keep it new condition in case I decide to sell it.
 
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Macassar Ebony forearm and back with a maple grip is my favorite combination. Provides a well balanced cue with great feedback. All my shafts are selected by tone. Blanks are bounced on concrete floor. Hold loosely in the fingers while dropping end about 6 inches. A good shaft provides a high pitch. I believe high pitch shafts transfer energy the most efficiently. Low pitch shafts absorb the energy. Gabon Ebony and lots of rosewoods are great also.
Good info but I would like to add some shaft info for a custom cue. In the making of a wood shaft, it needs to be turned down in several months intervals. Before the final turning, rotate the shaft at various speeds. Put your hands around the middle of the shaft at these speeds to feel the vibrations. If there is very little vibration, it is usually a great shaft. If there are vibrations, the final turning will temporally remove the vibrations but they will eventually return.

If you bought a near perfect shaft...check it for its straightness after a year. You may be surprised.
 
A cue is the sum of all it's parts, so while the shaft, ferrule material/construction and tip is a big part of what you feel. How the butt is made, what woods are used and what hardware is used will impact the final result in terms of feel, feedback and balance.
 
A cue is the sum of all it's parts, so while the shaft, ferrule material/construction and tip is a big part of what you feel. How the butt is made, what woods are used and what hardware is used will impact the final result in terms of feel, feedback and balance.
All of this is bunch of bullshit. It's all in the shaft. I can pull my shaft an put it on another butt an it'll play the same.
I agree with Kim, you can put your shaft onto another butt but it won't have the similar feedbacks which results in different feels on follow through shot
 
I agree with Kim, you can put your shaft onto another butt but it won't have the similar feedbacks which results in different feels on follow through shot
I always think in terms of music instruments as it seems to be easier for the customer to understand then. What woods and techniques used in a guitar or a violin all affect the final product, but if you divide the guitar into its components it can be hard to say how much a single component affect the final product, so its not only the sum of all the parts, but the synergi of the components together create something truly special. Violin makers probably have the most scientific approach to this, some of those instruments are just amazing works of art.
 
I have about 10 or so playing cues and two stand out as the best hitting cue for me, both have large pins, radial and 3/8 x 10, both have Ebony on the forearm. Not sure how the handles affects the hit of the cue, but the handle is Paduak and the other has burl cored with purple heart. Both have the same feel and tone when the cue hits the ball. I tried the same shaft that I used on these cues on another cue with maple forearms and it did not have the same hit or feel
 
I agree with Kim, you can put your shaft onto another butt but it won't have the similar feedbacks which results in different feels on follow through shot
It might feel\sound a tad different but it won't 'play' any different as far as deflection,etc. I have a perfect Jensen shaft with ivory ferrule. I've put it on various butts and it plays exactly the same. Sound\feel is only slightly diff. per butt. The role of the butt is mostly to be a shaft holder. People get way too caught up in minutia like this. You think any of the top pros using their production cues give a shit about what the butt is made from?? Yeah, right.
 
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It might feel\sound a tad different but it won't 'play' any different as far as deflection,etc. I have a perfect Jensen shaft with ivory ferrule. I've put it on various butts and it plays exactly the same. Sound\feel is only slightly diff. per butt. The role of the butt is mostly to be a shaft holder. People get way too caught up in minutia like this. You think any of the top pros using their production cues give a shit about what the butt is made from?? Yeah, right.
You are correct here and I agree. It doesn't play different when you use the same shaft. What I said, and will state again is that if you accepted that follow through is important, then the Butt being different will feel and effect it differently. Even if you can customize the weight and the balances to be similar. Otherwise, if follow through feels are not important to you, then please discard and disregard what I just said
 
You are correct here and I agree. It doesn't play different when you use the same shaft. What I said, and will state again is that if you accepted that follow through is important, then the Butt being different will feel and effect it differently. Even if you can customize the weight and the balances to be similar. Otherwise, if follow through feels are not important to you, then please discard and disregard what I just said
No clue what 'follow through feel' entails. IMO its just more techno-babble minutia. I pick up a cue and i can play my normal gear with it in 20minutes, maybe less. So much of this stuff is over-ANAL-ized to the extreme.
 
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