Construction question on cues with points.

nineballsafety8

nineballsafety8

6ft 5" 285, hits 'em hard
Silver Member
Just curious about something that dawned on me upon receipt of my most recent cue. I have a double splice/ full splice, butt sleeved "custom", and it made me wonder something...

In cues that have points, whether it have veneers or not, 4 points, 6 points, or 8 points... It seems that generally the forearm is constructed and then built into the cue with a "handle wood" under the wrap, and then the buttsleeve attached under that.

this question really only applies to cues without rings on either side of the wrap... but on such cues that dont have "wrap rings".

Why would you go to the trouble of all those steps, rather than building a full splice cue, and then cutting a wrap groove into it?

Does it affect the way the cues play? Is it about achieving "your hit". Is it to help keep the cue "stable?

It just seems like alot of extra work.

I hope I explained this in a way that makes sense...

Your input is greatly appreciated!
 
The majority of cue makers do not have the set up to do full splice cues.
 
excuse my ignorance... what more is needed to do a full splice over cutting channels for a forearm? I may be completely wrong on this, but is it not similar equipment that cuts the forearm section on both kinds of cues, and for the butt section on a full splice, could you not build a fixture to hold the lower section while the mill cuts it out (whether it be CNC or manual, i would think this is still possible).
I am in now way a cue maker, and I am in no way trying to be sarcastic, i am genuinely trying to understand.
 
nineballsafety8 said:
excuse my ignorance... what more is needed to do a full splice over cutting channels for a forearm? I may be completely wrong on this, but is it not similar equipment that cuts the forearm section on both kinds of cues, and for the butt section on a full splice, could you not build a fixture to hold the lower section while the mill cuts it out (whether it be CNC or manual, i would think this is still possible).
I am in now way a cue maker, and I am in no way trying to be sarcastic, i am genuinely trying to understand.
Click to expand...

The equipment (and setup) is different. When cutting V grooves in a forearm, you don't care about what happens at the base of the cut. A 90 degree router bit or milling bit is used, and you are not cutting all the way through the forearm. One pass with a cutter establishes one Vee groove. The base of the forearm gets cut and faced off when it is attached to the handle. (It isn't quite that simple in all cases, but close enough.)

When you make a full splice cue, you can't use the same type of cutter (at least for both components you can't) because the cut needs to end with a sharp corner in the handle section. For this, the cutter is usually slicing clean through the wood (lengthwise), and is a saw blade. One pass with the saw blade establishes one side of two different points on opposite sides. This would typically be done using a radial arm saw or a band saw. The setup is quite different and needs to be more permanent/dedicated than cutting Vee grooves in a forearm.

I don't make full splice blanks, so this description is likely incomplete, but it should help you understand.

Kelly
 
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DoubleD said:
It is, in theory, possible to make full splices completely with the same cutter as used for cutting points into a half splice. Holding the material and keeping things from vibrating due to long, thin sections would be very difficult.

Note, I haven't done this, don't intend to try, but have modeled the two pieces in Solidworks.

As an aside, if anyone wants to figure out how full splice cues are traditionally made, just grab a beat-up old dufferin and cut it into 2" long sections. If a few hours of looking at those doesn't turn your lightbulb on, you are probably well beyond hope.

dld
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This would require the base of the points to taper out, essentially points in both directions, no? Do you know if anyone actually does this? I have only seen setups where the base of the points in the handle was always a square cut.

Kelly
 
Kelly_Guy said:
This would require the base of the points to taper out, essentially points in both directions, no? Do you know if anyone actually does this? I have only seen setups where the base of the points in the handle was always a square cut.

Kelly
Click to expand...

this is the only way to truly obtain "0" on top and bottom....only 2 guys do it this way
 
Building cues with an A joint requires less equipment. Full splice cues that have points in both directions require even more work than a regular full splice requires, which is still more than I can do currently. Those that build them deserve the accolades they receive.
 
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