Any idea what Joss does to get complete glue saturation sliding those long sleeves on the core?
JC
No idea. And I don't know what kind of adhesive they use in there either. Nor do I know their tolerances for that core and the parts that sleeve over it. I don't see any glue grooves there, but I don't know if that is a finished core as used.
We know Janes experimented with a variety of A joints in the 80's through the early 90's including a finger joint. As I hear it the finger joiner is collecting dust in their shop. This solution does away with the A joint completely.
I have yet to hear of any modern Joss that has developed any kind of buzz or rattle in the butt. Would love to hear it if there is one. I have also yet to see any one of them broken.
I think you ask a very interesting and pertinent question.
On their blog, where they originally posted pics and info about that core, Janes calls that the most expensive piece of wood in his shop, because of the years of development that went into it.
I have found it a very interesting point of construction since I first learned about it. I find the mechanical nature of it intriguing. The joint collar and butt cap threaded on retain everything in between in compression. It seems to make the adhesive secondary rather than primary, at least as far as holding it all together.
I am no cue maker, but I can say that I do understand the pertinence and importance of your question. Perhaps a discussion with Janes himself would be productive if you catch him at his booth at SBE. I may make it there this year and intend to engage him in discussion of his construction techniques. If that happens I will be happy to share.
I am just the humble observer. But I will say that this construction seems to inherently make sense to me. Obviously I am lacking in the finer details of it such as the adhesive type and technique as well as the tolerances. When I compare it to other things I have seen in this forum from "parallel" makers such as Mezz and Schon I am a bit taken aback. I have seen broken Schon cues with no core here, and I have seen broken Mezz cues with an eccentric core seemingly set in a big void filled with epoxy. Obviously those makers prices are a bit higher than Joss, and their resale is stronger. But I don't see the attention to the internal construction with them that I see with Joss.
I am no Joss "fan-boy". I have two block letter Joss cues, a Joss jump cue that Janes made for me about 1992, and a Joss made about 2003 that my wife bout for me as a gift. But I do follow the cue makers and what they do. I study the construction techniques with great interest. IMHO this stands out as being different from what everybody else is doing. So it grabs my attention.
Your question is one that I would expect from someone who knows what they are doing and knows what they are looking at. I wish I could answer it.
I will also add that it is intriguing enough for me to want my cue made with this technique. I have been saving a blank that Janes agreed to use for me using this construction, with two shafts made from his best shaft wood. I have waited several years and this is my year to have it done. Yes, I know...I could select a "custom maker". But to me, Janes is such a man and at the top of the field. It just will not have the resale it would if I had another do it, but I will not sell it so I don't care.
There is more than one way to skin this cat. And obviously some of the greatest never cored from George, to Gus, to Burton, etc. They could "tune" a cue to play and knew how to synergistically put wood together to make some of the finest feeling and playing cues. Heck, George put that furniture screw in the A joint and many of us desperately want to own one or play with one. No custom maker in his right mind builds a cue like that now unless he's trying to counterfeit George's work.
Sorry so long, but you really did ask a great question. I guess it just took me so many words to say "I don't know", but I sure am passionate about trying to understand.
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