could ash replace maple?

ShootingArts

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Silver Member
Decent shaft maple is getting harder and harder to find so it seems that a substitute must be found. One option is using lesser grade maple and laminating it together, essentially replacing growth rings with glue lines. Another option might be ash.

Ash and old growth maple are about equally stiff. However there is a possible issue with ash. When used in baseball bats the cell structure of the wood breaks down in a relatively short time(a few years) due to flexing. After this although the bat still functions the hit is duller, taking away some of the snap when a ball is hit.

It would seem that much the same thing would happen to a cue shaft however I also know that the one piece snooker sticks are often used for a person's entire career. Perhaps a player simply adjusts to the softer hit or maybe it is indeed better for most shafts.

Richard with X Breaker cues has mentioned he would be happy to discuss this and I hope others with thoughts, information, or experience will join in.

Thanks,
Hu
 
i've heard of ashwood shafts before. i don't remember where but i thought they were supposed to be pretty good, but a little rougher
 
Since Ash is a lighter weight wood, it might reduce deflection and reducing deflection is the trend.
 
Ash is rough, and has a definate texture I dont believe the masses would accept ASH as a Maple replacement. Totaly differnt feel.


SPINDOKTOR
 
exactly

poolplayer2093 said:
i've heard of ashwood shafts before. i don't remember where but i thought they were supposed to be pretty good, but a little rougher
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Ash shaft wood is readily available although I don't know about the quality. It is a coarser grained wood which as you note isn't as pleasing. However it was a rude awakening to see the poll by JoeyA a few weeks ago. The last results I saw showed that only about 50% of players are using traditional maple shafts. I could be mistaken but I think that is a reflection of the quality of the current shaft wood available.

Even as recently as the early nineties I went to a department store when I needed a quick replacement shaft. Picked through about three dozen cheap cues they had with maple shafts and for forty dollars I was back in business until I could get exactly the shaft I wanted made. Now it is hard to find high quality maple blanks at any price because we compete for the same logs with the veneer makers who can pay far more. Too, old growth maple gets rarer all the time just due to the nature of things.

Hu
 
If it played better, I for one would use it. I'd looked into finding a cuemaker who does ash shafts before, but couldn't find anything. I had a friend I've unfortunately lost contact with; he had a snooker background, and had a custom "snooker" cue that was made to pool cue specs. It had the thin brass ferrule, ash shaft, etc -- but the taper, tip size and length were of that of a pool cue.
 
Almost all snooker cues are made with ash shaft. They are smooth.

I use maple shaft for pool and ash for snooker and can't tell any difference in the feel of the shaft on my bridge hand
 
ash has been used for snooker cues for quite some time now because of it's stiffness. it does however have a more open grain and needs to be properly sealed to keep it stable.

i have messed around with birch and it has some similar characteristics. tight grain white color but is a little stiffer.
M.C.
 
I play with both Maple and Ash and a good piece of ash is a thing to behold. It's not for everyone. Some people can't handle looking at or the feel of the grain. Any imperfections show up from across the room.

Nick
 
Every snooker cue I ever owned was ash. My current El Cheapo pool cue is maple so it'd be unfair to compare the two but I never had an ash cue that was as "whippy" as the maple cue. Solid hit every time with ash. Yes, they can be very grainy to look at but I never had a problem with that.

I still think about buying a snooker cue to play pool with now, just what I'm used to I guess.
 
Maple

If you have a good piece of Ash or a good piece of Maple...I will take Maple every time. I have played with both > playing Snooker and both playing Nine ball. I do not care about the grain or color of the wood, as long as it hits well. *note...the snooker cues have a much different taper.
 
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i think a goof piece of maple has better spine than a good piece of ash. ash is just stiff, imo.
 
Ash has very long fibres,so when working on a lathe splintering is more prevelant..alot of handles for axes,hammers ect.are made from Ash..i guess if it was better or even close more cuemakers would use it..this is a very interesting thread and i hope some cuemakers will chime in...
 
If people are looking for a pool cue made like a snooker cue then i can highly recommend Craftsman cues. There is a link to them in my signature. They can work with most different woods.
 
Nick B said:
I play with both Maple and Ash and a good piece of ash is a thing to behold. It's not for everyone. Some people can't handle looking at or the feel of the grain. Any imperfections show up from across the room.

Nick
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Is it hard to find "a good piece of ash" in Vancouver?
 
thanks and please keep the replies coming

Thanks for all of the replies and please keep them coming. I do have dozens of maple blanks on hand but I am looking for options. I will be buying some ash and I have also located some birch, a wood not considered before this thread.

All replies are very much appreciated!
Hu
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Is it hard to find "a good piece of ash" in Vancouver?
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I've never seen any downtown. Most of the Ash comes from Eastern Canada (Quebec).

Nick
 
Tennesseejoe said:
Is it hard to find "a good piece of ash" in Vancouver?
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You could probably go to the sporting good store and turn down any Louisville Slugger you find. They are ash.
 
PROG8R said:
You could probably go to the sporting good store and turn down any Louisville Slugger you find. They are ash.
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But a number of major league players have converted to maple bats:D
 
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