could ash replace maple?

[TWOFORPOOL]

Ash Shaft

I have been using an Ash Shaft for my break cue for about 3 years now. I also have a jump cue with an ash shaft. It has a stiffer hit than maple and breaks the balls better (about 2 mph faster). It also jumps a little better. Greg Sowder (Sowder Cues - in 3rd Edition Blue Book) has been making ash shafts for around 5 years now for both a break cue and a jump cue. He made all of my cues (playing, break, jump) and I must say they are great cues.

Its good to see that somebody else wants to use ash shaft on break/jump cues.

Bob Olson

 

[DaveK]

Dufferin used to make an ash 9 ball cue, 13mm tip iirc. They were/are quite popular around here. I know a couple of guy who use theirs as a break cue.

Dave

 

[Jason Robichaud]

I was set up in the 90’s to start selling maple blanks to a large distributor in Canada. Their starting order was for 30,000 blanks monthly @ $1.50-$2.25 each. Unfortunately a mill I was dealing with ripped me off and I lost over $140,000 on a cedar fence contract and didn’t get the chance to start supplying the Blanks. Unlimited supply of high quality maple in New Brunswick, Canada. The maple has 20+ growth rings per inch (the more rings the stiffer the shaft). I believe the problem with U.S, warmer weather, causes the maple to grow faster resulting in larger spacing between rings giving the shaft more flex. It isn’t the old growth that gives the high quality…it's the slow growth. Laminating pieces together can give the cue-maker the optimal ring count resulting in a consistent shaft. I could give even more boring info on how they cut the wood etc…which makes a difference, but I‘ll stop here. I know tons of maple will be available for many, many years…Maybe I should start selling again put the blanks on E-bay or something. Kind of hard to invest without regular orders though.