Different shaft wood besides ash/maple ?
- Thread starter vsmavs23
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Besides maple and ash, I guess there are those who tried hornbeam as a shaft wood. This wood is a main shaft wood in building cues for russian piramid. It is a bit heavier and denser than maple so if you like stiffer shaft you can try it. If you want to go even stiffer I guess you can try straight grained purple heart too. It makes a good shaft for breaker or jumper. I'm also curious in trying very old Satinwood which is a beautiful light yellow color so might be more common for sighting and my guess should play a bit softer than purple heart but again stiffer than maple. There will be a weight of such shafts to consider so as the balance of the whole cue at the end.
P.S. I know just one best way to find out to try on your own. Everything depends on what the goal to achieve.
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Interesting. What I am curious about: are there any shafts made out of wood which is less dense than maple or ash? WRT the LD discussion, this might be significant. But I don't know enough about wood properties to know if such a shaft would be holding up to the forces in pool.
If your preference is to have a less densed wood there is no need to find other than ash and maple woods. There are as many species among maples and ashes to choose from. Look here for example...https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/differences-between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/
Thanks. However, I don't want a different shaft. I am just curious as to what could theoretically be used WRT LD properties. Theoretical interest only. Looking at https://cedarstripkayak.wordpress.com/lumber-selection/162-2/ with a density range from balsa all the way to ebony makes me wonder why so few woods have been explored in cue shaft making. I am sure there are good reasons for many of them being left out. Balsa for example certainly would not hold up to the tough treatment and the forces a pool cue gets. I don't know much about the mechanical/physical properties of many in the list, though.
What makes you think that “so few woods” have been tried in the first place? Lack of exposure to cues should be the only answer. If a wood is hearty enough to maintain some sort of straitness through the seasons, then it has been attempted to be made into a cue shaft.
JC
Coos Cues
I make my "butterscotch" break cues out of all solid goncalo alves. The shafts are extremely stable and are slightly lighter than purpleheart, much finer grained and not quite as stiff. I have had all positive feedback and no durability complaints and I have made quite a few of these. Here are some photos
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-1.jpg?bwg=1537339531
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-3.jpg?bwg=1537339531
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-2.jpg?bwg=1537339531
JC
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-1.jpg?bwg=1537339531
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-3.jpg?bwg=1537339531
http://www.cooscues.com/wp-content/...rted_from_media_libray/2-2.jpg?bwg=1537339531
JC
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I like PH for a break cue. The straight grain stuff is pretty stable. Sometimes use the break shaft for a player to re-calibrate my feel. It does require a good joint collar, the straight grain stuff also splits a little easier than maple, which surprised me.
Spruce would be a good candidate to experiment with, Sitka spruce is the highest strength & stiffness per weight in common practical woods, used for aircraft and used to be used for ladders. But it would require a finish to keep it smooth, and to keep it from eroding in the bridging area. This is probably why some types of wood are not used. They have to be smooth and durable.
The center of a column does not contribute much except weight and compression area, so a hollow shaft of a more common hardwood might get what you are looking for if you don't use shafts smaller than about 12mm. OTOH many people don't like the sound of a hollow shaft.
smt
Spruce would be a good candidate to experiment with, Sitka spruce is the highest strength & stiffness per weight in common practical woods, used for aircraft and used to be used for ladders. But it would require a finish to keep it smooth, and to keep it from eroding in the bridging area. This is probably why some types of wood are not used. They have to be smooth and durable.
The center of a column does not contribute much except weight and compression area, so a hollow shaft of a more common hardwood might get what you are looking for if you don't use shafts smaller than about 12mm. OTOH many people don't like the sound of a hollow shaft.
smt
An oak cue has won 15 world snooker championships.....Joe Davis
Justin Bergman was/is using a Kielwood Shaft.
JC
Coos Cues
This is about right. Many, many woods have been tried, but only a relative few see any regular use for shafts. Sapele is another of the woods that I haven't seen mentioned yet that does see some use for cue shafts here and there. I think osage orange and hickory have seen occasional use too.