Coring a forearm and leaving it empty in an attempt at moving the balance point

[Chili Palmer]

Anyone ever core the front of a forearm and leave it empty?.

I have a Huebler I'm trying to 1) move the BP back about 1.5" and 2) reduce the overall weight by approximately 2oz (give or take .5oz). The number one thing is I do NOT want to mess with the finish in anyway. My current thought is to remove the 5/16 - 18 pin and replace with a G10 or aluminum 3/8 x 10 - I'm sticking to the 3/8 because that's what all of my players have/will have. The 5/16 pin (according to my research) weighs approximately .5 oz while the G10 is .33oz and the aluminum is .4oz so I won't gain much, if any, benefit from that but I will have to remove more wood in the forearm for the larger joint pin. One thing I have considered is drilling/coring the forearm deeper than needed for the 3/8 pin and leaving it empty, similar to an LD shaft.

One other note: The shaft will lose a little weight because of the larger hole for the 3/8 pin, and the shaft needs to be re-tapered, it's pretty thick starting at about 12". I haven't put much thought into that part though so not sure how much weight I will lose, I would give it a rough guess of .25 to .5oz overall overall weight reduction, give or take .25oz? This can/will be done first so I have an idea of how much I need to modify the butt.

In essence, I'm trying to nickel and dime my way to the desired weight/BP.

Thoughts and ideas?

 

[Sheldon]

You will not change the balance point much at all with a 3/8" hole in the forearm, even if you get it all the way back to the A joint. It wont hurt to try it though, and go ahead and take what you can out of the shaft. Just don't expect much movement.

 

[Michael Webb]

Sounds like a lot of work with very little results.
What's in there for a weight bolt?
Remember Heubler weight bolt systems can be a burden.
Hollow Forearms are a bad idea. I've worked on Cues that had that surprise waiting for the unaware..SURPRISE!!!!
Not production Cues either, CUSTOMS!
I laughed, the customers didn't.
You'll lose some weight on the shaft. Re- tapering but not from the insert. Heubler inserts are plastic.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[Catalin]

You want to move the balance back?! Said no one ever Just add a bit of weight at the butt end instead.

 

[JoeyInCali]

Buy a new cue

 

[Chili Palmer]

You will not change the balance point much at all with a 3/8" hole in the forearm, even if you get it all the way back to the A joint. It wont hurt to try it though, and go ahead and take what you can out of the shaft. Just don't expect much movement

As much as I agree with you, I'm willing to push the limits to get close enough, this is the cue I would play with forever if I can get the weight correct. I would like something in the 18oz range so maybe 18.5oz and the right balance works, we'll see what happens. I did play with a 20oz cue for almost two decades, but that was a long time ago.

Let's say I get .2oz out of the shaft, and .16 out of the pin change, that's still about .316oz total removed. It's not nothing

Buy a new cue

Blasphemy, I suppose you'd recommend a carbon fiber shaft next (I actually don't believe you'd do that, I've seen the cues you build )? No offense but, in my world, old wood is the only wood.

You want to move the balance back?! Said no one ever Just add a bit of weight at the butt end instead.

Eat a dick.

 

[Catalin]

As much as I agree with you, I'm willing to push the limits to get close enough, this is cue I would play with forever if I can get the weight correct. I would like something in the 18oz range so maybe 18.5oz and the right balance works, we'll see what happens. I did play with a 20oz cue for almost two decades, but that was a long time ago.

Let's say I get .2oz out of the shaft, and .16 out of the pin change, that's still about .316oz total removed. It's not nothing



Blasphemy, I suppose you'd recommend a carbon fiber shaft next (I actually don't believe you'd do that, I've seen the cues you build )? No offense but, in my world, old wood is the only wood.



If we're being realistic - I said I want to move the BP back in post #1 The problem is it's already at my max weight of 20oz (technically 19.9oz), past that it doesn't matter of the balance, it's simply too heavy for my liking. It needs to be ligher.

I'll preface this with saying I don't know what kind of wood it is but that's a whole other thread (it's #2 in this link - https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/my-modest-cue-collection.537956/) of After Sheldon's comment I did some quick calc's.

But, since Sheldon's post I came up with a .00045oz weight reduction (based on a 4..5lb's per board foot weight - see above about I don't know what type of wood it is yet) for every 3" of a 5/16" hole. Not very promising but, it's not nothing.

At the end of the day, and after putting some real thought into it, I realize the chance of making any real difference would be more complicated than my current plans but that's what this thread was about - thoughts and ideas.

Side note: it has a SS collar and as much as I don't want to get rid of it, I might consider going with a different collar as that, I believe, would solve the problem.

After you hypothetically make all these changes, you will end up with a different cue which might not be the cue you want to keep for the rest of your life. You can keep it as a backup or sell it and buy one that you like the weight and balance of. Or quit being a little bitch and use it as it, you can get used to any weight cue, Sanchez Ruiz and Shane play with 23-24 oz cues and Efren played with a 21-22 oz.

 

[Chili Palmer]

After you hypothetically make all these changes, you will end up with a different cue which might not be the cue you want to keep for the rest of your life. You can keep it as a backup or sell it and buy one that you like the weight and balance of. Or quit being a little bitch and use it as it, you can get used to any weight cue, Sanchez Ruiz and Shane play with 23-24 oz cues and Efren played with a 21-22 oz.

LOL, I went ahead and edited my reply to you to emphasize my opinion of you after your childish response. I asked a technical question in a forum for actual cue builders, to the best of my knowledge, you're not an actual cue builder so - see my response above (which I'm sure I'll get banned for).

Oh, and I PM'd you my email address, if you're as tough as you think you are you'll send me your address sweet pea.

The ball is in your court.

 

[Michael Webb]

In case you haven't seen Heublers weight bolt system.

 

[Catalin]

Oh, and I PM'd you my email address, if you're as tough as you think you are you'll send me your address sweet pea.

The ball is in your court.

I appreciate the invite but you are not my type honey

 

[Chili Palmer]

I appreciate the invite but you are not my type honey

Just in case you didn't know, your response indicates you have been called out, on the internet of all places, and you realize your back is to the wall so you chickened out and used some stupid, and childish, response in an attempt to make it look like you have controlled the conversation but, in reality, anyone who reads this in the future will realize you are, in fact, are the b****.

P.S. Maybe the following forum would be better for you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/

I sent you my contact information, the ball is in your court Lassie.

 

[Chili Palmer]

In case you haven't seen Heublers weight bolt system.

Thanks and yeah, I've seen, and read, about his weight bolts. Huebler happens to be may favorite maker of all time and I currently own 5 of his cues. Below is the cue in reference, even if the rear weight was an issue I don't think I'd touch that with my skill level. And at the end of the day, the weight issue is in the joint area.

 

[triley41395]

Thanks and yeah, I've seen, and read, about his weight bolts. Huebler happens to be may favorite maker of all time and I currently own 5 of his cues. Below is the cue in reference, even if the rear weight was an issue I don't think I'd touch that with my skill level. And at the end of the day, the weight issue is in the joint area.

Just wondering what wood the forearm is? You didn't mention it so I'm assuming maple.

 

[Chili Palmer]

Just wondering what wood the forearm is? You didn't mention it so I'm assuming maple.

I'm not sure and fully admit I put the cart before the horse by starting this thread before confirming the wood type. If you follow my link below you can see the cue (it's #2 in that list), if you have any input I'd appreciate it. The grain is a mix between goncalo alves and Bacote, I'm aware that doesn't mean anything but, it seems to be a lighter wood and given goncalo alves is 4.92 lb's per board feet and bacote is 5.0 lbs per board feet I used 4.5 lb per board feet in my calculations, which means I would save even more weight than calculated. And I will add that, after my calculations, weight savings may be irrelevant, but it's not immeasurable.

My modest cue collection

Not really sure I would call it a collection as I don't really "collect" cues. My first cue was an Adams (ebony points, mother of pearl inlays) my dad had given me in 1986 that he acquired in roughly 1977. Not long after that I picked up...

forums.azbilliards.com

 

[Kim Bye]

I agree with what has allready been said, it's a lot of work for a very, very small payoff. If you want a different balance point, a new cue is the way to go. If Huebler is your thing a Huebler inspired cue would definently be possible.

 

[aphelps1]

First, where is the balance point on the cue butt with the shaft now? Second, the front of a cue butt is a stress point and you will be weakening that part by creating a cavity. Third cavities can resonate, so again probably not a desirable thing. Just my morning thoughts before coffee.

Alan

 

[Hard Knock Cues]

First, where is the balance point on the cue butt with the shaft now? Second, the front of a cue butt is a stress point and you will be weakening that part by creating a cavity. Third cavities can resonate, so again probably not a desirable thing. Just my morning thoughts before coffee.

Alan

All good points,
I'm wondering if you bored the forearm but instead of leaving a void you plugged it with a lighter wood. Then did the pin change.

Robert

 

[JoeyInCali]

All good points,
I'm wondering if you bored the forearm but instead of leaving a void you plugged it with a lighter wood. Then did the pin change.

Robert

How much weight would that take off?
Collar tenon is only 5/8 so you probably have some .550" by 10" to take out. Who has a boring bar that long?
Anyone who takes on this project ( if you call it that ) is nuts.

 

[Hard Knock Cues]

How much weight would that take off?
Collar tenon is only 5/8 so you probably have some .550" by 10" to take out. Who has a boring bar that long?
Anyone who takes on this project ( if you call it that ) is nuts.

Sounds more like an eval experiment than a project! Ya know, make some chips and dust and see what happens

 

[DeeDeeCues]

Thanks and yeah, I've seen, and read, about his weight bolts. Huebler happens to be may favorite maker of all time and I currently own 5 of his cues. Below is the cue in reference, even if the rear weight was an issue I don't think I'd touch that with my skill level. And at the end of the day, the weight issue is in the joint area.

Interesting comment. Huebler is your favorite maker ever, but all of your playing cues have 3/8 pins? You've probably figured out that I put very little stock in the pin changing the hit much, but these statements seem a bit contradictory.

Personally, for what you are trying to gain, I would leave the cue alone. They aren't going to resurrect Paul and restart Huebler cues. I'm a big Huebler fan, also, leave the cue and enjoy it for what it is.