I have seen people speak of using other hard woods for cue construction than maple because they are harder. How much, if any, does this actually improve the performance of the cue? Is it really beneficial, or just a way to be able to market the cue better and charge more?
cue construction
- Thread starter mantis99
- Start date
Most cue woods that are used as structural parts (shafts, forearms, handles) are as hard as hard maple or harder. Is it just to market the cue? No, not in my opinion.
Ebony is harder than hard maple...purpleheart is ...bubinga is...rosewoods are...bocote is...bloodwood is....etc etc etc.
Using softer woods will change the hit, not to mention the cue just might not have the structural integrity it needs to withstand use and abuse of a lifetime.
Kelly
Ebony is harder than hard maple...purpleheart is ...bubinga is...rosewoods are...bocote is...bloodwood is....etc etc etc.
Using softer woods will change the hit, not to mention the cue just might not have the structural integrity it needs to withstand use and abuse of a lifetime.
Kelly
So do most of the better players choose cues with the hardest woods instead of maple? I have seen very high end cues like original Balabushkas made with maple. Do some just prefer the hit of maple? Is it worth the extra money for the harder woods? What are the actual advatages that a cue will have with a harder wood? Will it actually decrease deflection? I know that is a lot of questions. I just want to know if the playability improvements in the cues with exotic woods is worth the added cost.
along with the structural integrity of the stick, weight plays a major factor here. hard maple is lighter than most of the other hardwoods. tightness of grain for the shaft also plays an important part. hard maple has a nice tight grain.mantis99 said:
M.C.
part 2
M.C.
the added density of some of the more exotic woods sometimes can add a slightly better resonance to the feel of the stick when used in the handle.mantis99 said:
M.C.
mantis99 said:
Not trying to be evasive, but the only answer is, it depends.
If it helps at al, I can tell you that having made plenty of maple cues,
and plenty of exotic woods, it is by no means automatic that an exotic wood cue will "perform" better than one made of maple.
the problem is that the question of which cue is _better_, is such a highly subjective one that the only meaningful answer is
whichever one feels better TO YOU.
at the end of the day, most people want exotic wood because of the
beauty and...mystique<good enough for me>
BTW discussions of this subject appear regularly on the cuemaker forum
Dale Pierce
mantis99 said:
First of all most of the so called hard woods you are speaking of are to heavy to use alone. A major part of cue construction is ballance and weight control, that said many cue makers core / hollow out many of their cues forearms and butts.
For extremely heavy woods such as Ebony for instance, the forearm and butt are cored by many famous cue makers to reduce weight and to place the cues ballance point at a certain location. Then another lighter hardwood dowel is inserted in the cored section.
Depending on the desired weight purple heart or even maple may be used, so unless you personally know the cue maker, and he tells you how the cue is constructed most likely you will not know for certain if a cues forearm is solid or cored.
This concept may change you thoughts on this subject a little, because how do you know if the cue is cored or not? Lastly, I personally think that maple is as stable as any hardwood currently being used to build cues, and with that said the hit of any cue is very subjective any way, and while different woods will have a different feel what is good or bad is nothing more than a individual taste!!!!!
Have a nice Night!!!!!!
Manwon