Finally ready to make an attempt at turning my first cue

lvlss42190

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've spent the last year or so while getting everything in order reading books and all the forum posts here and I have finally got the set up that I want in my garage and the equipment I feel that I need to make a simple cue.

So, my question to the professionals and hobbyists alike, knowing what you do now, if you were to make a suggestion for materials on a first time build, what woods would you use? Simple (cost effective in the fair chance I have at screwing up) yet still good looking in a finished product.
 
no problem. it's also readily available in 30" lengths, giving you extra to make rings and joint protectors if you so choose out of the same piece.

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Maple and purple heart or maple and cocobolo would be my recommendation. Stay away from anything to figured in your first builds.

Good luck!

Larry
 
I would see if you are allergic to any of the Rose woods 1st before buying a whole lot of it. I am very allergic to the Rosewoods but am fine with Maple, lucky me.
So I can't get the dust off rosewoods on me etc. Safest for me is to not rework Rosewood cues and have none in the shop.
Worth checking out put before you get too far into it.
Neil
 
You don't say that you have or haven't done this yet but my recommendation would be to
start by turning 'house-cues' into 2 pc cues. You wouldn't be wasting any purchased wood.
It would allow you to develop your jnt-work skills and keeping things centered.
Deliberately plan on a 29" shaft, 30" if you're brave enough. Now you've got a 26"
handle to contend with. You can leave it as-is or start working on how to extend it.
In that thought process, consider how to do a wght. system that doesn't compromise the butt.
Once you've mastered that you'd probably want to move into adding ring-work and 'bling'.
At this point you're building a cue but still haven't spent a dime on purchased wood.
Most house-cues are stable enough that you could begin as soon as you have the cue.
With the purchase of virgin wood there may be some 'wait & hang' time until it's seasoned.
You may be tempted to forge ahead with your newly purchased wood and learn to regret it.
Turning squares to rounds isn't done all in one session. There's hang-time btwn cuts.
If your newly turned wood starts to move, it goes into the 'questionable' category.
The 'fair price' you paid for the wood doesn't seem so fair anymore. Some will be waste.
That's part of the learning process though. Now you have to mentally learn to deal with that.

Do the house-cue trip for about 3 yrs. purchasing small amounts of wood as you go.
Start the turning process soon after purchase if their moisture content allows.
Let them hang btwn cuts to acclimate to their environment.
Continue this throughout your cue-building career. Your goal is to establish a 'river of wood'.
Or you could decide to stay with the house-cue gig and never have to buy any wood.
At some point you'll come to the realization that there's little to no money in building cues.
Couple that with the fact that there are already 2,000 doing just that, making an attempt.
But then this is a hobby right ? Meaning, your overall financial structure will dictate what
you can and can't do. If you have family and/or other responsibilities, think long and hard.
It never ends and it only gets more expensive. Have I made you more informed yet ?

I've been doing this for 26 yrs. I have no family and I'm financially comfortable.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I get paid by the world's largest Predator dealer to repair cues.
The money I make goes into my cue-building endeavors so I can afford it. Not everyone can.
Can you ? Don' forget, some have become world renowned just building sneakies from house-cues.

KJ
 
You don't say that you have or haven't done this yet but my recommendation would be to

start by turning 'house-cues' into 2 pc cues. You wouldn't be wasting any purchased wood.

It would allow you to develop your jnt-work skills and keeping things centered.

Deliberately plan on a 29" shaft, 30" if you're brave enough. Now you've got a 26"

handle to contend with. You can leave it as-is or start working on how to extend it.

In that thought process, consider how to do a wght. system that doesn't compromise the butt.

Once you've mastered that you'd probably want to move into adding ring-work and 'bling'.

At this point you're building a cue but still haven't spent a dime on purchased wood.

Most house-cues are stable enough that you could begin as soon as you have the cue.

With the purchase of virgin wood there may be some 'wait & hang' time until it's seasoned.

You may be tempted to forge ahead with your newly purchased wood and learn to regret it.

Turning squares to rounds isn't done all in one session. There's hang-time btwn cuts.

If your newly turned wood starts to move, it goes into the 'questionable' category.

The 'fair price' you paid for the wood doesn't seem so fair anymore. Some will be waste.

That's part of the learning process though. Now you have to mentally learn to deal with that.



Do the house-cue trip for about 3 yrs. purchasing small amounts of wood as you go.

Start the turning process soon after purchase if their moisture content allows.

Let them hang btwn cuts to acclimate to their environment.

Continue this throughout your cue-building career. Your goal is to establish a 'river of wood'.

Or you could decide to stay with the house-cue gig and never have to buy any wood.

At some point you'll come to the realization that there's little to no money in building cues.

Couple that with the fact that there are already 2,000 doing just that, making an attempt.

But then this is a hobby right ? Meaning, your overall financial structure will dictate what

you can and can't do. If you have family and/or other responsibilities, think long and hard.

It never ends and it only gets more expensive. Have I made you more informed yet ?



I've been doing this for 26 yrs. I have no family and I'm financially comfortable.

I'm one of the lucky ones. I get paid by the world's largest Predator dealer to repair cues.

The money I make goes into my cue-building endeavors so I can afford it. Not everyone can.

Can you ? Don' forget, some have become world renowned just building sneakies from house-cues.



KJ



KJ
I really enjoy to read your straightforward and honest opinions on many topics. And I have to say I agreeable with you.
Much respect
Cencen


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No need to quote me Sir, my post is right above yours.
I do appreciate the sentiments though. I try to appeal to a progressive and worldly audience.
Thanx again.

KJ

PS - Before anyone feels the need to say this, let me go ahead and get it out of the way.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM! We've had to put up with his BS for 10 yrs now and we're about tired of it."

Lol
 
I suggest Brazilian Rosewood forearm with desert ironwood handle.
Stag joints and butt plate.

Some of these guys are cheap.:grin:
 
I suggest Brazilian Rosewood forearm with desert ironwood handle.
Stag joints and butt plate.

Some of these guys are cheap.:grin:

Maybe you'll want to inform him/her of the CITES restriction/s on Brazilian Rosewood...Or are you hoping to see him, or her jailed/fined? :eek: :D
 
Maybe you'll want to inform him/her of the CITES restriction/s on Brazilian Rosewood...Or are you hoping to see him, or her jailed/fined? :eek: :D

He's building for himself.
Hell, use ivory.

Not so costly woods that look ok?
Granadillo, Braz Cherry, Bolivian or Honduran rosewood and bocote ( non-figured).
 
Maybe you'll want to inform him/her of the CITES restriction/s on Brazilian Rosewood...Or are you hoping to see him, or her jailed/fined? :eek: :D

There is Brazilian that was in USA prior to the ban; ergo, no restriction.

Dale
 
I would urge you to think every step of the process through and plan all the details in such a way that you can refrence them if you get stuck, mess something up etc.
A maple/purpleheart blank can be had for under $50, so the cost of f*****g up isn`t that high.
It`s a very good place to start and if you take it easy and don`t rush anything you can actually make a playable cue on your first attempt.
Make sure you have all the tools and supplies you need from the getgo.
Choose tried and tested materials, like Juma for joint and buttcap, a pin that is easy to install, like Radial. Read up and watch tutorials about finishing as it`s one of the most difficult aspects of cue building.
Buy some shafts in different stages, so you can get a playable cue reasonably fast, but experiment with making your own dowels, cones etc.
If you want to go for a morte advanced build, go for a full length core design.
you can make some very nice, stable cues witch can show of your cue philosophy, or you can build some cues with different cores and materials to hone in on how you like a cue to play.
A full length .750" core is where I`m at now. I have cores in maple, purpleheart, yellowheart and jatoba. The next step is to core the wood I turned round this summer and start gluing sometime in january. I`m looking forward to see if my ideas about balance, hit etc. match up with expectations.
 
There is Brazilian that was in USA prior to the ban; ergo, no restriction.

Dale

That's where Ivory use to be :) Back to the original post: Play around with house cues and never mind the other woods. You need to be able to center, drill, tap, turn and have a straight butt and shaft. Raw woods require acclimation, level of dryness, time between cuts, wood stabilizers, tapering, on and on and lots of waiting time. Hard to build anything if you don't even know what tools you need or basic knowledge of how to use them.

Mario
 
And should come in just a tad under 25 oz.

Should play like a canary singing to a concrete wall.
But then that depends on the taper.
Maybe just a brick wall.
 
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FWIW, for my first cue I did exactly the opposite of most of the advice here. I built something from scratch, out of maple w/Aegis and Phenolic ringwork (and some ebony too, because I didn't have the right size phenolic but did have some ebony I could use), A joint, etc. No points or inlays. Leather wrap, which I had to do 3 times and it's still not perfect but it's not horrible either...

I retired the butt because the balance isn't quite perfect and the wrap is annoying. The shaft has become my main playing shaft and I feel lost without it at this point. Hey, beginner's luck coupled with at least SOME idea of what I like in a shaft.

Anyhow, I didn't really expect to have something usable or straight at the end of all of this. I just wanted to slap it together as quickly as possible and get through all the steps at least once. I doubt I have more than $20 worth of wood in it...a few more bucks for pins. Overall it turned out better than I had any right to hope for. I learned a TON along the way, it forced me to really tune up my lathe properly, I ended up with a very nice shaft in the process (again, lots of luck here but I'll take it), and got a nice little confidence boost. I was afraid that I'd spend all this time trying to make some perfect masterpiece, and then discover I made a mistake 2 months ago and have to start all over. Now at least I have some idea what it takes so I can maybe see some of the bigger mistakes coming and avoid them.

All I'm saying is while you're taking all this other great advice and doing things the right way, there's no harm in also grabbing some cheap wood and slapping something together, just to see what it's like. Don't put any pressure on yourself to make it perfect, and don't sweat mistakes (even big ones), but do actually complete it right through to final sanding and finish. Plan to toss it out when you're done. I think you'll learn a lot.
 
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