Bowling alley shafts?

Like anything new to you, you have to try them and form your own opinion. From scratch I bought a Jim Pierce with 2 bowling alley shafts. Didnt know if I would like them or not, slight gamble on my part. Turns out the cue is not only a good looker but both shafts give good reponse. Mine have Kamui tips and love the feedback combination feel. Hit is subjective, not everyone agrees whats best. I have other nicer cues to make this comparison and have been playing 15 years. Only one mans opinion. Some of you bowling alley boys chirp in and help the op.
 
I have had a few Cokers and Jim Pierce cues with bowling alley shafts....I LOVE them....I request them when ordering a cue...The hit for me is super....Can't explain it but they work for me..Will always try for bowling wood shafts when ordering..
 
Bowling alley shafts are inferior to good hand picked shaft wood. But hey, if you want to believe the hype, go for it. :rolleyes:
 
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...

Not really sure why people think these shafts from other sources are better than wood cut specifically for cue shafts. I doubt wood for a bowling ally is anything other than standard saw mill or lumber yard maple not graded for straightness of grain or color. I guess I have a broken watch that tells the exact perfect time twice a day is better than my rolex that losses one minute every 2 weeks by this method of thinking
 
The only advantage I can see from bowling alley wood is that it is aged and has been in a stable environ for an appreciable length of time. Flooring wood is randomly selected. Grain orientation is not a consideration. That said, the selection process is the same with bowling alley wood vs. new wood, you pick the best grain for the purpose. someone posted that 20% of bowling alley wood is good for shafts, I would suggest that that is also the case for new wood, perhaps less due to the declining quality of wood over time.

So the point of this ramble is that just being bowling alley wood does not make it good shaft wood. If it is good shaft wood, the aging will make it better shaft wood.
just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary:grin:
 
Joey if you think bowling alley shafts are hype I won't even tell you about the 4 leaf clover and lucky rabbits foot shavings I put in my cues lol

I bought hype at first....... now just give me gold strait grain 10 gpi or better and 10 gallons of resolute lol
 
shaft wood

JoeyInCali said:
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.
Click to expand...

Hi joey

I am will to except that I have lots of room to learn.
What should I be looking for ?
I have shaft wood it averages 14 to 20 GRPI. most of it is straight grained and straight.

MMike
 
mortuarymike-nv said:
Hi joey

I am will to except that I have lots of room to learn.
What should I be looking for ?
I have shaft wood it averages 14 to 20 GRPI. most of it is straight grained and straight.

MMike
Click to expand...

Those are good shafts.
Timelesstimber has lake salvaged maple.
 
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...


I shouldn't have said first cue for that might have been a whittled down broom stick at age 5 years for all I know. But it was said to be the first that he had in the US.

Efren told a friend of mine to use a tight bridge and a loose grip on the butt. So, a heavier cue might help overcome a tight grip.

--------------- Googled
observer wrote:

The only exception would be Jesse's $13 cue that Efren used when he first came to America.
Of course the one and only Efren is an exemption to the cue rule. It's not the arrow, but the Indian...

That $13 cue had bowling alley old growth maple shafts.
So, even though it had cutex nail polish domino painting and yellow lacquer finish, sprayed over snakeskin wrap and weighed 23 oz, it hit great.
I tried it one time at Efren's kumpare's house.
Kinda sick but it had some pandikit from Efren's nose.
 
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