curly maple shaft???

m.libre10

m.libre10

Banned
what do you call it?? I've seen shaft that has a lot of rings to it and wondering what its called. Can anybody tell me? Looks like a curly maple down size to a shaft. My friend has one and I really like the hit and Im wondering if anybody knows anybody that makes it. thanks!!
 
Fiddleback maple shaft?
I remember that Mr. Jack Madden posted about them awhile back...

Might wanna give him a try.
 
Craig Fales said:
Fiddleback, curly and tiger maple are different names for the same thing...
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Craig, they are not so much different names as they are different intensities of figure in the wood.

With that said, curly Maple has the least amount of figure, Tiger maple has a great deal of pronounced figure, and in many cases Fiddleback has outstanding figure. Fiddleback is also known as Luthier Grade lumber or Musical Instrument Grade figured Maple.

Have a good day!!!
 
m.libre10 said:
what do you call it?? I've seen shaft that has a lot of rings to it and wondering what its called. Can anybody tell me? Looks like a curly maple down size to a shaft. My friend has one and I really like the hit and Im wondering if anybody knows anybody that makes it. thanks!!
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Hey guy, mostly in cue shafts you find Curly Maple or Birdseye maple, if there is any figure at all. In many cases these woods are not preferred by many people, because the figure in the wood can be very distracting.

Birdseye, for shaft wood would not be my first choice. Since the shaft of a cue is exposed to a great deal of stress through its use for Breaking and shooting, the straighter and tighter the grain the better. Since Birdseye maple is the result of any infection in the wood, it will also be weaker if it is highly figured where the eyes are concentrated, and for this reason I would not use it as shaft wood.

Curly Maple on the other hand is caused by compression, and this is what creates the ring effect. I personally like the hit of a curly maple shaft, they are stiffer than regular straight grain and they appear to me any way to transfer the hit better. However, as I stated above the figure of the wood may be distracting to some people, but I think that if the distraction is not a problem for you personally, slightly figured curly Maple is the way to go.

By the way, I also think that Curly Maple due to its compression is as close to Old Growth as you can find for shaft wood on the market today!!!!

Have a great Day!!!!!!!
 
m.libre10 said:
what do you call it?? I've seen shaft that has a lot of rings to it and wondering what its called. Can anybody tell me? Looks like a curly maple down size to a shaft. My friend has one and I really like the hit and Im wondering if anybody knows anybody that makes it. thanks!!
Click to expand...

IMHO, they don't play that good. I used to have one and I swear you can actually feel the rings.
 
I agree with you Ho, they're a novelty at best. Light to moderate curl occurs in shaftwood lots on occasion. I have also seen what could be called fiddleback shafts. Also, previous posters...there're a world of difference between "hard curly" maple and soft curly, or Tiger maple. Soft curly often has very pronounced figure but it is not suitable for good quality cues (unless maybe cored with large dense hardwood core). "Fiddleback" is used to describe the well prounounced and tight striped figuring that appears on quartersawn soft curly and hard curly. The "fiddleback" figuring also occurs on other woods. "Tiger" is a term that is used more frequently used to describe soft curly maple. Hard curly maple with extremely prounounced and tight figuring is the rarest and hardest to find maple. It is highly prized and sought after by, I believe, most cuemakers. YMMV.

Martin

Jazz said:
IMHO, they don't play that good. I used to have one and I swear you can actually feel the rings.
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This is "AAA" Flame Maple.
 

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manwon said:
... Since Birdseye maple is the result of any infection in the wood, it will also be weaker if it is highly figured where the eyes are concentrated, and for this reason I would not use it as shaft wood.
....
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That might be true, but as far as I know, there has not (to date) been found a conclusive cause for the formation of birdseye. Some studies have found that birdseye does not significantly alter the physical properties of sugar maple.
Related reading:
http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/news/407
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp/rppdf/x99-155.pdf
Regards,
Greg
 
gb6491 said:
That might be true, but as far as I know, there has not (to date) been found a conclusive cause for the formation of birdseye. Some studies have found that birdseye does not significantly alter the physical properties of sugar maple.
Related reading:
http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/news/407
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/rp/rppdf/x99-155.pdf
Regards,
Greg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information, but I know from experience that Birdseye maple is weaker than non-effected wood that surrounds it. This is partly due to the fact that the actual eyes in the Birdseye are not securely adhered to the surrounding wood. During turning if care is not take they will pop out, and leave small pits throughout the piece of wood where they were. Also through time, I have seen many cues break through normal use where the Birdseye effect was most prominent.

Now I am not the only one who believes this even George Balabushka did not want to use Birdseye in his cues forearms, and to my knowledge he would never use a this wood for a shaft.

Thanks again, and have a great day
 
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I like the way my curly maple shaft hits. But I can feel the rings, I can also feel the thread on my wrap too;) . I wonder if a good clean and seal would take care of the ring feel, i'll probably never bother. The shaft is probably 25-30 years old.



andy
 
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Craig,
Thanks for the relating your "hands on" with birdseye and turning. I've never turned it, but I see where you are coming from. I have planed, scraped and sanded it making furniture without significant problems, but then again different application. I don't think I've ever seen a birdseye shaft (a photo would be appreciated if you have any). :)
Regards,
Greg
 
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