Birdseye vs. Curly maple

K

Koop

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi all,

I am wondering what the pro's and con's are of each used as a forearm. I really love the look of curly maple but it seems the popular choice is BEM. Can you elaborate as to why you might choose one over the other.

Thank you in advance,
Dave
 
Looks, mainly. If either one is highly figured, coring is a good idea, since they can break pretty easily. Especially birds-eye.
 
Curly (tiger) maple "stripes" run perpendicular to the cue and to me it's not
as "pleasing" as BEM that has no direction. If that makes any sense... :)
 
Did you say maple? :D
B'eyes, specially the heartwood kind, are heavier and a little denser.
Both could use a harder handle ( not maple ) and a big ss pin to move the balance to the middle a little.
I own a Zylr with a b'eye front. Two friends of mine have two Zylrs with curly maple front and both hit better than my b'eye front. Theirs just have a little more feel in the grip hand.
~Me, have not enough time to make my own cues because the damn full-time job gets in the way. Not counting dust allergy, ADD and sleeping disorder.~
 

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Wood stain

JoeyInCali said:
Did you say maple? :D
B'eyes, specially the heartwood kind, are heavier and a little denser.
Both could use a harder handle ( not maple ) and a big ss pin to move the balance to the middle a little.
I own a Zylr with a b'eye front. Two friends of mine have two Zylrs with curly maple front and both hit better than my b'eye front. Theirs just have a little more feel in the grip hand.
~Me, have not enough time to make my own cues because the damn full-time job gets in the way. Not counting dust allergy, ADD and sleeping disorder.~
Click to expand...
What is the stain or finish on your wood it sure looks nice.
 
huffcues said:
joey
you wanna sell some of that wood??? email me at huffcues@yahoo.com
Click to expand...
Thanks but I'm keeping them.
Maybe someday when I retire I'll have more time to make stix.
These aren't stained. The yellowish looking b'eyes are heartwood or old growth.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Did you say maple? :D
B'eyes, specially the heartwood kind, are heavier and a little denser.
Both could use a harder handle ( not maple ) and a big ss pin to move the balance to the middle a little.
I own a Zylr with a b'eye front. Two friends of mine have two Zylrs with curly maple front and both hit better than my b'eye front. Theirs just have a little more feel in the grip hand.
~Me, have not enough time to make my own cues because the damn full-time job gets in the way. Not counting dust allergy, ADD and sleeping disorder.~
Click to expand...

Thanks Joey and great pics.
I read somewhere that BEM is harder than curly maple. Just curious to know opinions on the hit of both woods, providing there is a big enough difference to be able to tell.

Koop
 
Koop said:
Thanks Joey and great pics.
I read somewhere that BEM is harder than curly maple. Just curious to know opinions on the hit of both woods, providing there is a big enough difference to be able to tell.

Koop
Click to expand...
Hey, Koop! It may be just a coincidence, but on those two JH cues I acquired earlier this year, one has a BEM forearm and the other a curly ("tiger") maple. The curly plays more to my liking. It seems to "communicate" more of the hit than the BEM cue. I know there are several other variables between them, but it's a factor....I think. :confused:

Since my other cues with maple forearms are BEM, my "sample" and conclusion are definately NOT statistically valid. But, damn that cue hits good, so I'm going with it!! :D

On the other hand, I think BE looks nicer; especially the naturally darker heartwood that Joey mentions above. Personally, I don't understand the market's preference for pristine white forearms and shafts. Give me color, density and "character" in the wood any day. jmho :)
 
ScottR said:
Hey, Koop! It may be just a coincidence, but on those two JH cues I acquired earlier this year, one has a BEM forearm and the other a curly ("tiger") maple. The curly plays more to my liking. It seems to "communicate" more of the hit than the BEM cue. I know there are several other variables between them, but it's a factor....I think. :confused:

Since my other cues with maple forearms are BEM, my "sample" and conclusion are definately NOT statistically valid. But, damn that cue hits good, so I'm going with it!! :D

On the other hand, I think BE looks nicer; especially the naturally darker heartwood that Joey mentions above. Personally, I don't understand the market's preference for pristine white forearms and shafts. Give me color, density and "character" in the wood any day. jmho :)
Click to expand...

Shoving those bad boys in my face again huh :D

Sweet cues buddy and thanks for the input.

Regards,
Koop
 
Koop said:
Shoving those bad boys in my face again huh :D

Sweet cues buddy and thanks for the input.

Regards,
Koop
Click to expand...
No. No. No! Guess you don't want to know about my Cuetech, huh? :)
 
Since Maple is being discussed, I thought I would throw something else into the mix.

How about Quilted Maple?

Anybody know if this would be suitable for cuemaking?

Thanks,

Scott
 
ScottR said:
No. No. No! Guess you don't want to know about my Cuetech, huh? :)
Click to expand...

Screw the Herceks, tell more about this one of a kind Cuetech! Does it come with the state of the art fiberglass shaft too :eek: :D
 
JoeyInCali said:
Did you say maple? :D
B'eyes, specially the heartwood kind, are heavier and a little denser.
Both could use a harder handle ( not maple ) and a big ss pin to move the balance to the middle a little.
I own a Zylr with a b'eye front. Two friends of mine have two Zylrs with curly maple front and both hit better than my b'eye front. Theirs just have a little more feel in the grip hand.
~Me, have not enough time to make my own cues because the damn full-time job gets in the way. Not counting dust allergy, ADD and sleeping disorder.~
Click to expand...

How can I help? Should we try a different type of mask? LOL
CB
 
srober40 said:
Since Maple is being discussed, I thought I would throw something else into the mix.

How about Quilted Maple?

Anybody know if this would be suitable for cuemaking?

Thanks,

Scott
Click to expand...
Quilted is usually a little softer and lighter (in weight) than the other Maples, also not quite as stable. If it's cored it can be used though.
 
TellsItLikeItIs said:
Quilted is usually a little softer and lighter (in weight) than the other Maples, also not quite as stable. If it's cored it can be used though.
Click to expand...

Although there is some figuired Hard Rock Maple it is much more prevailant in Big Leaf Maple but Big Leaf is not suitable, by itself, to be used in cue construction. It is not nearly dense enough to make a solid cue.
Hard Rock Maple makes a very solid hitting cue and it's for this reason that I core, with Hard Rock Maple, almost all of my cues, irregardless of the type wood used. In this way I'm not taking any chance of a piece of Big Leaf becoming an unsupported, wimpy hitting prong in one of my cues.
Dick
 
rhncue said:
Although there is some figuired Hard Rock Maple it is much more prevailant in Big Leaf Maple but Big Leaf is not suitable, by itself, to be used in cue construction. It is not nearly dense enough to make a solid cue.
Hard Rock Maple makes a very solid hitting cue and it's for this reason that I core, with Hard Rock Maple, almost all of my cues, irregardless of the type wood used. In this way I'm not taking any chance of a piece of Big Leaf becoming an unsupported, wimpy hitting prong in one of my cues.
Dick
Click to expand...
In using Big Leaf you're taking a chance anyway, whether it's cored or not. But that wasn't the Gentlemans (or Gentleladys) question. They were asking about Quilted. We probably share the same thoughts, just stated it differently.
 
TellsItLikeItIs said:
In using Big Leaf you're taking a chance anyway, whether it's cored or not. But that wasn't the Gentlemans (or Gentleladys) question. They were asking about Quilted. We probably share the same thoughts, just stated it differently.
Click to expand...

I use a .750ths core in my cues so this only leaves about .040ths. of prong wood thickness at the joint and .125ths. at the handle. Using this size coring dowell, I believe, opens up almost any wood for use as a prong as there is so little of the outside wood being used. The joint, pin, any points etc. all are connected to the core material, the outside wood has little, if any affect on the cues playability, just looks. Also, the reason I made the first comment about coring was that I am of the understanding that almost all quilted maple is big leaf.
Dick
 
rhncue said:
I use a .750ths core in my cues so this only leaves about .040ths. of prong wood thickness at the joint and .125ths. at the handle. Using this size coring dowell, I believe, opens up almost any wood for use as a prong as there is so little of the outside wood being used. The joint, pin, any points etc. all are connected to the core material, the outside wood has little, if any affect on the cues playability, just looks. Also, the reason I made the first comment about coring was that I am of the understanding that almost all quilted maple is big leaf.
Dick
Click to expand...
While I do appreciate the discussion, I don't think we're gaining ground in it. Seems our common agreement is in the fact that coring a cue allows the use of certain woods that would not normally be used. That was my contention in the first post (that Quilted can be used if cored).
 
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