Bowling alley shafts?

Scratch

Scratch

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It seems alot of cue makers are using old bowling alley floors for their shaft wood. My question is would this make a better shaft and why? Logic would tell me that 50 or so years ago a bowling alley would not pay for premium maple with a large growth ring count on its playing surface. Is this just the next thing like $30 chalk or does this aged wood make a better shaft?
 
Scratch said:
It seems alot of cue makers are using old bowling alley floors for their shaft wood. My question is would this make a better shaft and why? Logic would tell me that 50 or so years ago a bowling alley would not pay for premium maple with a large growth ring count on its playing surface. Is this just the next thing like $30 chalk or does this aged wood make a better shaft?
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And some would say that a long time ago such a resource was not scarce and a lot of higher grade maple was just cut up for such planking.

Some will say the aging makes it better, some say worse because of how it was used.

Some say it's snake oil, some say magic pixie dust.

From what I have read even those who like it and use it have to go through a lot of boards in search of the suitable ones, so even they aren't proposing it's all perfect.

It's a source of hard maple. Some feel it's better. I like the fact that it is recycled/re-purposed.

I am more curious about the lake woods actually. They have been subjected to a very different environment for a long time. Many of the logs have some really excellent wood. I have read a lot about it but I have seen no consensus on exactly how the wood is affected nor how that applies to pool cues.


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Chopdoc said:
And some would say that a long time ago such a resource was not scarce and a lot of higher grade maple was just cut up for such planking.

Some will say the aging makes it better, some say worse because of how it was used.

Some say it's snake oil, some say magic pixie dust.

From what I have read even those who like it and use it have to go through a lot of boards in search of the suitable ones, so even they aren't proposing it's all perfect.

It's a source of hard maple. Some feel it's better. I like the fact that it is recycled/re-purposed.

I am more curious about the lake woods actually. They have been subjected to a very different environment for a long time. Many of the logs have some really excellent wood. I have read a lot about it but I have seen no consensus on exactly how the wood is affected nor how that applies to pool cues.


.
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That pretty much sums it up !!!!!!!!
 
I have a friend that makes bridges for banjo's from old pianos he tears down. Most of the top bluegrass musicians in the country use one of his bridges.

Says that the vibrations in the piano piano tunes or orients the wood to be sound sensitive, hence making a better bridge.

I wondered about old piano maple for a shaft when I saw the bolling alley stuff. Maybe we should be thinking about using old pool tables.
 
I also like that it is recycled. Do you think great maple was so avalible that it was used in bowling alleys? I do want to say I am not knocking bowling alley shafts. I am just interested and curious. The ones I have seen I do like the dark honey color.
 
Regarding the Lake wood salvaged shafts I have some input.

I've been through about 900 board feet of 5/4 maple salvaged lumber from a number of different sources and a couple different northern lakes, all over 100 years old. The final yield from these boards is no different than it would be from a selected contemporary saw mill. The grain might be a little tighter on most boards and a lot tighter on a few boards but the overall yield of good grained shafts is still in the 20% range with a lot of wood rejected because it had degraded too much.

All the wood has a characteristic smell and is darker than new wood. It turns fine and seems to have less movement and stays straight. I weighed 200 old growth shafts and 200 new growth shafts and found that the OG wood is on average about 2-3% lighter in weight. It has a little cleaner and crisper threads when live cutting but when tapping it tends to be more prone to loosening over time. This latter problem is solved by first plugging the socket with a new dowel then drilling and tapping. The chatoyance and appearance of the wood is a lot more interesting than plain maple.

As far as flexibility, I measured 150 OG and 150 new growth shafts and didn't see any noticeable difference in flex per weight or overall as a group. Having said that, I admit that a lot of my customers both here and abroad believe that the OG shafts are stiffer and I always make one for whatever cue I am trying to play with at that moment, though that might be because they look better to me.
 
I have heard "rumor" that many of the Cue-builder in the Philippines, snatch up the old bowling alley wood from the US bases, USAF Clark Field, and USN Subic Bay.

I recently saw some Cues made over there that were shall we say very art deco, and the shaft had the appearance of being very old. Could they have been part of the stash of woof from USAF Clark Field, and USN Subic Bay? I do not know.

But within two weeks of coming to AZ the shafts were very warped, as the Cue much have not been made with seasoned wood, in a climate controlled shop..BUMMER.
 
Going from the tropical Philippines to arid Arizona is asking an awful lot. Give the shafts a month or so to acclimate before deciding that they are warped. If they're still bent, then that will be their happy place, but not yours.
 
B. alley wood

Old growth wood is denser, would it make a better shaff, if aged right and cut right i think so.

Dale
 
Chopdoc said:
And some would say that a long time ago such a resource was not scarce and a lot of higher grade maple was just cut up for such planking.

Some will say the aging makes it better, some say worse because of how it was used.

Some say it's snake oil, some say magic pixie dust.

From what I have read even those who like it and use it have to go through a lot of boards in search of the suitable ones, so even they aren't proposing it's all perfect.

It's a source of hard maple. Some feel it's better. I like the fact that it is recycled/re-purposed.

I am more curious about the lake woods actually. They have been subjected to a very different environment for a long time. Many of the logs have some really excellent wood. I have read a lot about it but I have seen no consensus on exactly how the wood is affected nor how that applies to pool cues.


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Do you ever make a bad post?
 
LAMas said:
It is said that Efren's first cue was made of bowling alley wood.
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The shaft of his $15 cue was from a bowling alley.
I tried it once and was amazed it actually shot good.
Albeit the cue was some 21+ oz and some 60" long.
At that time when it was made, it was probably the best source of maple they had down there in the Philippines. Since those US bases were built there right after WW II, maybe they had good maple on those alleys. I was shocked to learn later, they cut those planks on an angle to get more shaft material. Even if they crosscut the grain. A ton of them became crooked after that I bet.

That wasn't Efren's first cue. He won it on a bet. He had someone used it then the tip broke in and he liked it. It became his main cue after that. He won the US Open and World 9 with that cue.


Bowling alley shafts here is just a gimmick. Sorry, those boards were not cut with cylindrical end-product in mind. The best shafts are from boards cut with pool shafts in mind.
Here's a shaft supplier who is probably the most popular source today.
http://champeau.com/en/product_billiard.php
Double-taper primary sawing. This technology allows for alignment with the natural grain of the wood. Only straight-grained white boards are selected for these components.
 
JoeyInCali said:
The shaft of his $15 cue was from a bowling alley.
I tried it once and was amazed it actually shot good.
Albeit the cue was some 21+ oz and some 60" long.
At that time when it was made, it was probably the best source of maple they had down there in the Philippines. Since those US bases were built there right after WW II, maybe they had good maple on those alleys. I was shocked to learn later, they cut those planks on an angle to get more shaft material. Even if they crosscut the grain. A ton of them became crooked after that I bet.

That wasn't Efren's first cue. He won it on a bet. He had someone used it then the tip broke in and he liked it. It became his main cue after that. He won the US Open and World 9 with that cue.


Bowling alley shafts here is just a gimmick. Sorry, those boards were not cut with cylindrical end-product in mind. The best shafts are from boards cut with pool shafts in mind.
Here's a shaft supplier who is probably the most popular source today.
http://champeau.com/en/product_billiard.php
Double-taper primary sawing. This technology allows for alignment with the natural grain of the wood. Only straight-grained white boards are selected for these components.
Click to expand...

IMHO it is Efren's skill that make him great, not his TOOLS that make him great.
 
JoeyInCali said:
The shaft of his $15 cue was from a bowling alley.
I tried it once and was amazed it actually shot good.
Albeit the cue was some 21+ oz and some 60" long.
At that time when it was made, it was probably the best source of maple they had down there in the Philippines. Since those US bases were built there right after WW II, maybe they had good maple on those alleys. I was shocked to learn later, they cut those planks on an angle to get more shaft material. Even if they crosscut the grain. A ton of them became crooked after that I bet.

That wasn't Efren's first cue. He won it on a bet. He had someone used it then the tip broke in and he liked it. It became his main cue after that. He won the US Open and World 9 with that cue.


Bowling alley shafts here is just a gimmick. Sorry, those boards were not cut with cylindrical end-product in mind. The best shafts are from boards cut with pool shafts in mind.
Here's a shaft supplier who is probably the most popular source today.
http://champeau.com/en/product_billiard.php
Double-taper primary sawing. This technology allows for alignment with the natural grain of the wood. Only straight-grained white boards are selected for these components.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That is the type of information I was seeking.
 
Old growth shafts

Bowling alley shafts.

Out of 200 finished OG bowling alley shafts I have a had 1 fail.

I have some snow white shafts too.

I like both as long as they have a good solid hit, stay straight, and sound solid. In other words SOLID MAPLE

Always a big topic on different kinds and makes of shafts , tapers , tips ferrules. LD , laminated, bored, filled with all kinds of wood, foam.
Hey if you like it thats all that counts.

MMike
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
Bowling alley shafts.

Out of 200 finished OG bowling alley shafts I have a had 1 fail.

I have some snow white shafts too.

I like both as long as they have a good solid hit, stay straight, and sound solid. In other words SOLID MAPLE

Always a big topic on different kinds and makes of shafts , tapers , tips ferrules. LD , laminated, bored, filled with all kinds of wood, foam.
Hey if you like it thats all that counts.

MMike
Click to expand...
Mike OG and bowling alley are not synonymous .
I highly doubt those planks were from first harvest logs.
They might be very good, but they are not first harvest logs unless that bowling alley was built at the turn of 19th century I think.
I could be wrong.
During the two west coast shows I went to. I saw bowling alley planks being sold. I didn't buy any.
 
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Hey Joey
Just keep using those ugly dark shafts you use now & I`m sure you will be happier.
Jeff
 
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