Bocote Board

B

Busbee Cue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello,

Here are a couple of pictures of a bocote board that measures 44" long
9" wide and 1.75" thick.

The pictures are not the best but with what you can see how would you rate this board for figure and color?

I could be way off but I would rate this as average compared to what I have received from some of my other suppliers.

Would anyone viewing these pictures consider this exhibition grade loaded with birdseyes?
 

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Been shopping on Ebay have ya? I would consider this to be average and I don't see loaded with birdseye either.
 
I know a number of people who would definitely rate that exhibition grade. They are all wood sellers, a race of people known for their use of b.s. descriptions of average wood. The board pictured is a very average piece.
 
Honestly, that's not a bad looking board and you should get a good number of cues from it.
It's very typical of what Bocote looks like and it's tight grain is a plus for me.
No, it's not exhibition grade by any means but it is typical Bocote.
 
KJ Cues said:
Honestly, that's not a bad looking board and you should get a good number of cues from it.
It's very typical of what Bocote looks like and it's tight grain is a plus for me.
No, it's not exhibition grade by any means but it is typical Bocote.
Click to expand...
That's kind of how I see it. Its a nicely figured board and if you really wanted to capitalize on the better parts you're going to have to cut off a ton of waste, not uncommon.

That or make use of this for a bunch of plain janes.

Some of that tight grain stuff looks real nice cross cut.

Certainly a ways away from exhibition grade.
 
The Board did not come from me so I have no ax to grind either way.
At first glance it does look on the average side to me. But I do need to add that Birdseye normally only runs one direction through a board. So if they are saying it is loaded with eyes then the eyes could be going across the board so you can only see the side curl from them. If it has a lot of eyes you should be able to see the eyes on the thin side of the board if it is smooth cut. If you plan to keep the board then turn a piece round and see what it really looks like. I magnified your board on my screen and it has some figure in it. They might consider that loaded with eyes as far as Bocote goes, because you will be hard pressed to find Bocote with as much figure to it as nice Birdseye Maple has. And even with Birdseye Maple there is still a vast difference in what various mills consider to be great stuff, as the following story shows.

I once helped a mill get into the Birdseye Maple business. He sent me what he considered to be a nice grade of Birdseye. The eyes were scattered to about what I would consider 1A or 2A. I told them most cuemakers would not want that grade. So then he said he would send me a mix and have me mark the ones I considered good enough for pool cues. I did that and he started producing some good Birdseye after that. I have noticed in recent years that the quality of Birdseye has started going down. The really nice stuff is getting harder and harder to find.
 
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