First of all thank you for the replies in my last thread about trying to learn from another cue maker. Well now I'm on my quest to make my first cue and have questions about wood. I plan on making a full splice cue with bacote as the forearm and curly maple for the handle/butt. It will be a butterfly splice because I know it will be way to hard to make a full splice 4point on the first go around. I plan on getting all my wood from cuecomponents.com, do I need to let wood aquired through them cure? If so how long? What about shaft wood that has been preturned down to within a few turns from final taper? Btw I do have access to equipment to measure wood moisture. Thanks for everything. Hopefully you will see my final product within the next few months.
curing wood
- Thread starter goin2bepro
- Start date
one more ?
Any suggestions for an all around adhesive to bind the splice, joint pins, ferrule, butt cap etc? Sorry for all the questions. I've decided to learn completely from scratch, with your guys' help ofcourse.
Any suggestions for an all around adhesive to bind the splice, joint pins, ferrule, butt cap etc? Sorry for all the questions. I've decided to learn completely from scratch, with your guys' help ofcourse.
Most people who make cues let the wood they use cure for years after they receive it even if it has a low moisture content. Part of this is just allowing the wood to acclimatize to it's new environment and part is because they do not buy woods for single project. They buy in quantities and let it sit and cure while they are planning future projects. The hardest part about building cues is having wood that you trust and can depend upon, I think you are way behind the power curve if some one told me they wanted to start building cues in the future maybe four or five years from now, I would tell them to start buying their wood now. So long as wood is stored properly it will never go bad or become rotten it only becomes better with age.
JIMO
Do yourself a favor
And buy Chris (Cueman)Hightowers book, and read it, several times over. It is simple, but loaded with truths and tips. It was well worth the investment for me. It seems more complete than any of the videos out there, though the vids are great to go with it.
Several sources are out there for the vids: Chris, Unique, CueComponents, are the few I have and can recommend, and there are more. They all contain pearls of wisdom for you.
To buy wood, and make a cue within a few month? How lucky do yah feel? When many cuemakers buy a turning square for a butt, it sits for many months before we even turn it. Then it is turned in stages, I guess youy may get aged wood and cut it to size in six months. The shafts you are buying near size so you save a year there. But honestly it took me a year to just get all my basic equipment tuned in and set up for cue making. But we all have different goals and tolerances we wish to achieve.
I remember the feeling of wanting to make that first cue, it was so tempting to run down to my workshop and start turning wood immediately. Are you looking to make one for yourself, or thinking of getting into cuemaking? That makes all the difference here. Best of luck to you !
And buy Chris (Cueman)Hightowers book, and read it, several times over. It is simple, but loaded with truths and tips. It was well worth the investment for me. It seems more complete than any of the videos out there, though the vids are great to go with it.
Several sources are out there for the vids: Chris, Unique, CueComponents, are the few I have and can recommend, and there are more. They all contain pearls of wisdom for you.
To buy wood, and make a cue within a few month? How lucky do yah feel? When many cuemakers buy a turning square for a butt, it sits for many months before we even turn it. Then it is turned in stages, I guess youy may get aged wood and cut it to size in six months. The shafts you are buying near size so you save a year there. But honestly it took me a year to just get all my basic equipment tuned in and set up for cue making. But we all have different goals and tolerances we wish to achieve.
I remember the feeling of wanting to make that first cue, it was so tempting to run down to my workshop and start turning wood immediately. Are you looking to make one for yourself, or thinking of getting into cuemaking? That makes all the difference here. Best of luck to you !
OK, I only have a bit more experience than you. So take this with a grain of salt. I was lucky and bought wood with my lathe that had been sitting for years. I got quickly ahead of the curve that way. You should keep an eye out for other cuemakers that have been sitting on wood and are trying to sell some of it. That stuff shows up on occasion. You will still need to hold the wood for a few months to let it acclimatize. In the meantime, break open the checkbook and start storing wood for futrue use. I now have more invested in wood than I do in equipment.
Another way to get a cue made in the short term is to buy a sneaky pete blank. You still need to buy it and let it sit for at least a few months. But, it gets you closer than new wood.
Hope this helps.
Another way to get a cue made in the short term is to buy a sneaky pete blank. You still need to buy it and let it sit for at least a few months. But, it gets you closer than new wood.
Hope this helps.
thanks
thanks for all the input and preventing me from rushing into things. the cues i make will mostly be for myself and my father to shoot around with, though i know it will not compare to his previous richard blacks and c14 mcdermott. for now i just want to build something to get the ball rolling on my learning of the art, if they come out being really good playing cues all the better. i will follow all of your advice, buying some wood now for the futue and starting with some premade full splice blanks along with getting the hightower book. im in the air force and will be using all of the bases woodshop equipment, hopefully they'll have everything i need. i know they have lathes and probably most the wood working equipment i will need but i'm sure they dont have the specialized things for cues. i'll just have to use my imagination on that one. once again thanks for everything. hope to be putting up pics a few months. cross you fingers.
thanks for all the input and preventing me from rushing into things. the cues i make will mostly be for myself and my father to shoot around with, though i know it will not compare to his previous richard blacks and c14 mcdermott. for now i just want to build something to get the ball rolling on my learning of the art, if they come out being really good playing cues all the better. i will follow all of your advice, buying some wood now for the futue and starting with some premade full splice blanks along with getting the hightower book. im in the air force and will be using all of the bases woodshop equipment, hopefully they'll have everything i need. i know they have lathes and probably most the wood working equipment i will need but i'm sure they dont have the specialized things for cues. i'll just have to use my imagination on that one. once again thanks for everything. hope to be putting up pics a few months. cross you fingers.
Bell Forest is another great source of wood. Check their listings as not all of it is kiln dried. If you really want to make a cue soon, you need to have kiln dried wood.
Pick out some wood and buy it. Let it sit in your shop a month or 2 while you gather other parts and tooling.
Cut it slowly... especially the shaft wood.
A full splice cue is a little agressive for the first cue. Walk before you run.
Go to the archives of this forum and read it all. Read Chris Hightower's book several times. Practice with your equipment until you know it well.
Your first cue might not be perfect. I know mine wasn't.
good luck
Kim
Start playing with cheap wood that dries fast and let the expensive wood age.
thanks
I appreciate all the input. So since I am now going to start with a premade full splice blank, what do you guys think about cueman/hightower blanks from their website? I've been pricing around and searching for a quality blank for a decent price and they are on the top of my list. Thank you ahead of time.
I appreciate all the input. So since I am now going to start with a premade full splice blank, what do you guys think about cueman/hightower blanks from their website? I've been pricing around and searching for a quality blank for a decent price and they are on the top of my list. Thank you ahead of time.
good idea
Mr. Gracio I will definately do that. I'll try to get a feel for the process on some cheap stuff before I throw my money down the drain with ebony fire wood. LOL. It's supposed to be a cold winter here in Spokane.
Mr. Gracio I will definately do that. I'll try to get a feel for the process on some cheap stuff before I throw my money down the drain with ebony fire wood. LOL. It's supposed to be a cold winter here in Spokane.
And make sure & spend plenty on dust collection & lung safety...many parts of cuemaking will kill you...no joke.
I think a pre made splice is a good choice to start. But back to your question about which glue to use for the full splice. I like to use West System Epoxy for my full splices. I have also used Tight Bond wood glue. Tight Bond will hold fine, but I trust West System a little better. A butterfly full splice is pretty easy to make with just a band saw and angle jig. I sell the jigs for $40 on my site. The 4 Point v-groove full splice takes a little more equipment and a lot more practice to get right.
I have yet to purchase any full splice blanks from Chris, but I have purchased a lathe, inlay machine, loads of wood, and lots of other parts. His customer service is top notch and the wood I've gotten from him has been excellent.