Maybe George moved away from the furniture bolt to connect the handle and forearm?
Have you thought of asking Bill Schick? He once told me he patterned the dimensions of his cues on a Balabushka cue. Martin
Martin
Its my understanding that George always used the same bolt and that that bolt always looks just like the one in my x-ray which matches the x-ray in Ernie's shop so exactly (right down to the space drilled for and aft) that they appear to be of the same cue (but they are not).
Kevin