Good wood...bad wood

Retail1LO

Retail1LO

Pass the sugar!!!
Silver Member
I know I have my favorites...and least favorites when it comes to the types of wood I enjoy in my cues...from both an aesthetic stand point, and hit. I was wondering however...if the guys that build the cues have any wood in particular that they enjoy working with, as well as any that they avoid using if possible, if not all together. I've heard cocobolo is incredibly poisonous and requires a top notch ventilation when working with it. Are there any other types of wood that are easy to work with, or pose obstacles when working with?

I personally love tulipwood, amboyna burl, curly woods (maple, purpleheart, koa, and pink ivory), and sapelle (although you don't see it used too often).
 
Purpleheart is very tough to finish.i love Blackwood and most all Rosewoods including Cocobolo.doesn't really bother me unless i am making lots of dust like on the table saw or something.

Olivewood is very easy to work with and OK for cues as long as you core it.it polishes up as good as anything i have worked with.

i like really good Maple as well.
 
masonh said:
Purpleheart is very tough to finish.i love Blackwood and most all Rosewoods including Cocobolo.doesn't really bother me unless i am making lots of dust like on the table saw or something.

Olivewood is very easy to work with and OK for cues as long as you core it.it polishes up as good as anything i have worked with.

i like really good Maple as well.
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Is Blackwood similar to ebony? I've seen some NICE pieces of Olivewood. Bryan Mordt has such a cue in the gallery on his website...and it looks absolutely mean with a wet, high gloss finish.
 
Blackwood is better than Ebony in every way except it doesn't really look black like Ebony.
 
masonh said:
Purpleheart is very tough to finish.i love Blackwood and most all Rosewoods including Cocobolo.doesn't really bother me unless i am making lots of dust like on the table saw or something.

Olivewood is very easy to work with and OK for cues as long as you core it.it polishes up as good as anything i have worked with.

i like really good Maple as well.
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Although I've made many Purple Heart cues I've never had trouble with finishing any of them but now I'm going to take a better look. It has always been one of my top 5 favorite woods to work with. Until I found a good sealer, Cocobolo was always the most difficult one for me to finish. I made one cue out of Olive Wood. I love it's subtle figure and color. However, the one cue that I made a prong from, I cored with a .750 maple dowel. I made a couple passes on it and then just had it resting in the shop. When Eric Crisp was passing through town on his way from Alaska to his new digs in the Southwest he stopped by my shop. At some point he picked up the olive Wood cue and let me know that it had a crack about 6 or 8 inches long. That's the first and last time that I have considered Olive Wood for a structural part of one of my cues.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Although I've made many Purple Heart cues I've never had trouble with finishing any of them but now I'm going to take a better look. It has always been one of my top 5 favorite woods to work with. Until I found a good sealer, Cocobolo was always the most difficult one for me to finish. I made one cue out of Olive Wood. I love it's subtle figure and color. However, the one cue that I made a prong from, I cored with a .750 maple dowel. I made a couple passes on it and then just had it resting in the shop. When Eric Crisp was passing through town on his way from Alaska to his new digs in the Southwest he stopped by my shop. At some point he picked up the olive Wood cue and let me know that it had a crack about 6 or 8 inches long. That's the first and last time that I have considered Olive Wood for a structural part of one of my cues.

Dick
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Olivewood twists a lot from what I've found.
I drilled one and the next day the drill wouldn't fit anymore.
So, I'll let it sit and re-bore it later before I plug it up.
 
rhncue said:
Although I've made many Purple Heart cues I've never had trouble with finishing any of them but now I'm going to take a better look. It has always been one of my top 5 favorite woods to work with. Until I found a good sealer, Cocobolo was always the most difficult one for me to finish. I made one cue out of Olive Wood. I love it's subtle figure and color. However, the one cue that I made a prong from, I cored with a .750 maple dowel. I made a couple passes on it and then just had it resting in the shop. When Eric Crisp was passing through town on his way from Alaska to his new digs in the Southwest he stopped by my shop. At some point he picked up the olive Wood cue and let me know that it had a crack about 6 or 8 inches long. That's the first and last time that I have considered Olive Wood for a structural part of one of my cues.

Dick
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I also found a piece of BIRDSEYE african blackwood he had stashed away. He wouldn't budge, no matter how much I begged. If anybody wants a cue made from an absolutely rediculous piece of blackwood, get in touch with Dick.
 
Spanish olivewoood is a little light weight, but with a core or for points it is fine.

The biggest problem with olive is that it takes a very long time to properly dry and if you dry it even a little too quickly, it will develop cracks, both big and little. It smells great.

If I'm using it as a front, I season it for 2 years, then core it with a .750 core and season it for a few more years. Even then it can still get cracks.

Good African blackwood is really a pretty wood. Good ebony is just black.
 
qbilder said:
I also found a piece of BIRDSEYE african blackwood he had stashed away. He wouldn't budge, no matter how much I begged. If anybody wants a cue made from an absolutely rediculous piece of blackwood, get in touch with Dick.
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Hey Dick...do you have a picture of that birdseye blackwood? I've never even heard of such a thing. I'd lot to see a picture of it if you have a chance. :-) Anyone else have a unique piece of good wood sitting around? Put it up!
 
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