any tips on hedge wood

[desi2960]

Customer brought me some hedge and wants a butt and shaft made to use as a break cue. I have never tried any hedge. Help

 

[tsp&b]

Hard like a rock!!! Not quite as hard as ironwood bit, it will dull whatever type of cutter you use. You can sometimes see sparks. It is very oily and should be very dry then cut and aged slowly. Good luck I wish you well. It has been used an inlays and point stock successfully. I am sure that others will chime in...
Hope this helps,
Todd

 

[cueman]

If this is local wood from Missouri and has not been kiln dried I have my doubts about the shaft turning going well. It is prone to splitting, and gets really hard as it ages. I bought several Osage logs and had them cut and kiln dried when I was still in Missouri and they split and I got a very low yield. I wound up slabbing most of it for inlay work.

 

[desi2960]

it was dry 5%

And you are right chris. The butt section cut no problem. But as i was cutting the shaft i could see it starting to warp. I decided to make a 4 piece laminated shaft. It might stay straight.

 

[cueman]

Let us know how it turns out. Hopefully the 4 piece shaft will work.

 

[desi2960]

well i love it

the shaft had moved, so, it was scrap wood, i went ahead and turned it almost straight, yes, down to 12 mm, and only after 2 days it has moved a bit more.

i did this just to get an idea of how an all hedge cue would play. as a break stick its about as good as i have ever seen,

i will know more about how it plays in a couple months as i get the laminated shaft turned down. i will go as fast as the wood will allow me to do so
.
i called my buddy and bought 3 more butt size pieces and 5 more shaft size pieces.
and it looks cool.

more info in a few months

love the subtle look of the grain

 

[cueman]

You might try soaking a shaft and butt in Nelsonite and see if it stays straight that way.