What is it? I am mailing out pics of the unknown cue that I have to Kikel to see if it is one of his. But in my quest, I was told it wasn't somebody else's because it didn't have a buzzring. What is it and what does it look like?
Buzzring?
- Thread starter subdude1974
- Start date
Most butts have a joint above the wrap. This is called the 'A' joint and it has end grain butted up against each other which tends to suck up moisture, epoxy included. This wicking action tends to pull glue into the wood and away from the joint, leaving less glue to hold the joint together. This sometimes leads to a void in the glue, which will cause a buzz after time. A 'buzz ring' is simply a nonwood ring placed in the joint to separate the end grain.
Thanks for the info.
To my understanding, the "buzz ring" began with George Balabushka, who used a short length of phenolic tube between the forearm and handle section of his non-full-splice cues. Balabushka was very secretive about his cue-making processes and - legends being what they are - others began calling this a "buzz ring" and attributing great things to it. I doubt George ever referred to it as that (or at all, for that matter).
Like most good stories the truth is never quite as good as the legend. Balabushka's lathe had a small through-hole in the headstock, forcing him to do most of his work "between centers" - under those conditions it's much easier to cut a tenon than a large mortise (hole) to receive that tenon. The so-called "buzz-ring" simply allowed George to cut one tenon on the forearm, a second tenon on the handle section, and a corresponding length of phenolic tube to splice the two together.
Maybe the phenolic sections made his cues play better, maybe they didn't - but almost certainly the technique arose out of necessity rather than masterful invention.
TW
I would think he would have used a steady rest with a bearing ( with a large ID ) .
I don't know if the phenolic in compression made his cues hit better. Phenolics don't quite ping like a good wood IMHO.
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Thanks for the lesson. So, is the rest of my story all wet? I know in cabinetry and other woodworking, butt joints tend to starve the joint of glue. I thought that was the reason for the buzz ring. Live and learn.
Balabushka never really shared much of his thinking on cue construction, so most of our knowledge has to inferred from the samples of his work that continue to exist. For example, from my experience I believe that virtually all of his cues were finished with nitrocellulose lacquer, but at least one supposedly "reliable" source claims he finished his cues with "hand-rubbed oil". I suspect this questionable information arose out of secondhand knowledge of other things he did, and became the result of a story being told and retold enough that it gained an undeserved toehold in popular lore.
Having been in George's shop shortly after his death and being able to examine his tooling, jigs, and supplies Bill Schick probably knows as much or more than anyone on the subject. I was fortunate enough to spend time with Bill authenticating Balabushkas and Szambotis on an ACA committee and learned a lot about what really went on in George's shop. (I was chosen for that committee based on my early work in X-ray analysis of historic cues)
There is a lot of questionable "information" about early cuemaking techniques that has arisen over the years, both from assumptions made by would-be experts and also due to the plethora of "counterfeit" cues that were made in the 70's and 80's. I personally would consider Schick to be the go-to source for Balabushka knowledge, but as a caveat I should mention that he may be unwilling to share too much information, due to his understandable interest in reducing future counterfeiting efforts.
FWIW, some current cuemakers still use a phenolic "buzz ring" in their cue construction - most notably Richard Black. I'm sure Richard believes it to be a good and reliable technique that produces a quality cue - and I am NOT for one second saying it isn't - but I'm also quite sure it was originally born out of the need to solve a construction problem (for G. B., that is) rather than out of a quest seeking a better "hit". If it did produce a better hit, that can only be considered a happy accident, in my opinion.
TW
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It's funny how much "they" say is inaccurate, and that goes for all fields of study. Thanks for the info Mr. Wayne.
Buzz Ring
I guess Gus liked it also, cause he used one almost identical to George's.
Neither one of them did anything just for fun. May have been lathe
bore, may have been quality of adhesives, may have been playability.
Don't think we'll ever know for sure.
I guess Gus liked it also, cause he used one almost identical to George's.
Neither one of them did anything just for fun. May have been lathe
bore, may have been quality of adhesives, may have been playability.
Don't think we'll ever know for sure.
Balabushka preceded Szamboti by at least a decade, so it would be hard to think Gus wasn't influenced by looking at what George did.
A great many good ideas have been come about through accidental discovery; it's up to the individual cuemaker to decide if the phenolic "buzz-ring" is one of them...
TW
Thanks so much for the GB info. Very interesting! I think you are right about the "happy accident". We do the best with what we have access to. Thanks again for posting! :thumbup: