How much would you pay for these cored ebony blanks?

[Sheldon]

No...I'm saying the core is too big...why core it so big??? .625 is fine for coring...I like the step coring concept though...I would want to retain as much forearm wood to maintain its unique feel...

For that matter why core ebony at all? Unless you want a really light cue, I don't normally core ebony. Something like amboyna though, you HAVE to core, and I wouldn't want to rely on one only 5/8" wide. 3/4" is going to be a lot more solid.

 

[hadjcues]

Another option I've tried is using a tapered core, same taper as the foream so that forearm wood thickness would be the same throughout its length...

 

[Craig Fales]

For that matter why core ebony at all? Unless you want a really light cue, I don't normally core ebony. Something like amboyna though, you HAVE to core, and I wouldn't want to rely on one only 5/8" wide. 3/4" is going to be a lot more solid.

Except for the fact that the forearm wood is paper thin just under the joint...hence my favoring 5/8th for coring...

Another option I've tried is using a tapered core, same taper as the foream so that forearm wood thickness would be the same throughout its length...

I'm curious as to how you would cut a tapered hole through the length of a forearm...

 

[Ballistic Billiards]

I'm curious as to how you would cut a tapered hole through the length of a forearm...

very carefully

 

[Cue Crazy]

If a 13mm straight grain shaft can stay straight, why wouldn't a core that is 5/8? The core would have to be done the same as any other piece in a cue, slow and correctly. With the step coring, how accuratly could the step be made as to not have a gap where the 2 steps would meet? and the accuracy must be tough to maintain as one would need a looong boring bar instead of a gun drill, otherwise the step would be curved as the drill bit edge would be, not a sharp step therefore creating a gap that would need to be filled with glue. Just MHO.
Dave

Funny you should mention It, cause after My last post I started thinking the same thing, and would like that area to match up square Myself. There's a difference in the steps of about .125 that would need squared up according to Dave B's post, so the blade on the boring bar would have to have a slightly deeper cut then that, but it should still fit through the .625 bore at the front. This would depend on the lenth of the area, between the front and where the step is, but it may be possible to grind a boring bar with a back edge, and go through the front side of the core. It's kind of a reverse type boring done somewhat blinded, and really you would just be squaring that small area up, but I have tried something simular before, not sure how well It would work in this situation, just a thought that popped into My mind.

Edit, another posibility would be to put a radius on the male at the step portion to fit the round part the drill leaves.

Greg

 

[rhncue]

Except for the fact that the forearm wood is paper thin just under the joint...hence my favoring 5/8th for coring...



I'm curious as to how you would cut a tapered hole through the length of a forearm...

What's wrong with paper thin (actually around .045)? I've been using .750 for years now and have never had a problem. The reason for coring is to get the looks of an exotic wood with none of the drawbacks (weight, instability). The thinner the better I say.

Dick

 

[BarenbruggeCues]

If a 13mm straight grain shaft can stay straight, why wouldn't a core that is 5/8? The core would have to be done the same as any other piece in a cue, slow and correctly. With the step coring, how accuratly could the step be made as to not have a gap where the 2 steps would meet? and the accuracy must be tough to maintain as one would need a looong boring bar instead of a gun drill, otherwise the step would be curved as the drill bit edge would be, not a sharp step therefore creating a gap that would need to be filled with glue. Just MHO.
Dave

It's a pretty easy do.........punch a 1/2" hole the entire length
I use two different boring bars but you could only do one if wanted.
The boring bar leaves a flat cut at the bottom of the 8" deep/.750 side of the hole.....flip the piece around and bore a .625 hole on the other end through past the the 750 side.
Straight as arrow .....snug as a bug...no gaps for glue filler except where it gets scared specifically for that purpose. T-88 holds it all in place.

 

[Sheldon]

What's wrong with paper thin (actually around .045)? I've been using .750 for years now and have never had a problem. The reason for coring is to get the looks of an exotic wood with none of the drawbacks (weight, instability). The thinner the better I say.

Assuming your tolerances are tight, and your glue is good, there's no drawback that I can see. The larger core allows for a more consistent piece.

 

[rhncue]

Assuming your tolerances are tight, and your glue is good, there's no drawback that I can see. The larger core allows for a more consistent piece.

Just got to keep good, clean centers. I take a piece of tape and put it on both ends of my coring dowel to insure no glue gets on the centers. Once the dowel and prong are all glued up I wipe off the excess glue on the dowel and remove the tape leaving perfectly clean centers. When dry I then can run between centers and true up the prong to the core. Piece of cake. If your centers get glue on them then you can expect trouble as chances are the prong cannot be turned concentric to the center of the dowel and one side of the prong may wipe out. My coring dowels are turned to around .745 or so. What ever is a light snug fit. I leave three inches at one end around .900 so that after all glue is dry and everything is trued up I can turn this end down for a snug fit on my deco-rings and then I bore the handle to fit.

Dick

 

[Sheldon]

I use the tape trick as well. Or, sometimes I use a little beeswax to keep the centers from getting glue in them.

 

[Cuemaster98]

I have some of these and the core is approx .715 and the od is approx .930 at the joint and 1.285 at the butt.Theses are great blanks and will weigh in somewhere between 17oz and 18oz before weight bolt is added.Hope this helps.

Sorry, didn't realize there were so many feedbacks on this thread..funny enough...no one answer my question except "craig" ironically LOL. Wow...worthless!! Man there are hundreds of cues out there (High End Custom and Production Cues that uses this quality blank).

DB is right on the money in regards to the OD around .935 in front and 1.29 at end according to my digital caliper. (The core is around .72). Heck if you don't want them cored, I have them also uncored version of this blank but it's really heavy so a phenolic butt sleeve was added to distribute the weigh. Originally had about 20 plus of the cored and 30 plus of the uncored...I'm down to my last 4 cored and 3 uncored and just want to get feedback on them as they were really slow in moving them online. I sold a bunch of them in the last valley forge convention...for some reason they are harder to sell online.

Anyway, any taker?? 2 for $165 shipped. These are really nice blanks, perfect for cNc inlays or just as is. We also have these with birdeye maple and they are really nice as well.

Regards

 

[JoeyInCali]

I use the tape trick as well. Or, sometimes I use a little beeswax to keep the centers from getting glue in them.

Beeswax here too.

 

[rhncue]

I have some of these and the core is approx .715 and the od is approx .930 at the joint and 1.285 at the butt.Theses are great blanks and will weigh in somewhere between 17oz and 18oz before weight bolt is added.Hope this helps.

Sorry, didn't realize there were so many feedbacks on this thread..funny enough...no one answer my question except "craig" ironically LOL. Wow...worthless!! Man there are hundreds of cues out there (High End Custom and Production Cues that uses this quality blank).

DB is right on the money in regards to the OD around .935 in front and 1.29 at end according to my digital caliper. (The core is around .72). Heck if you don't want them cored, I have them also uncored version of this blank but it's really heavy so a phenolic butt sleeve was added to distribute the weigh. Originally had about 20 plus of the cored and 30 plus of the uncored...I'm down to my last 4 cored and 3 uncored and just want to get feedback on them as they were really slow in moving them online. I sold a bunch of them in the last valley forge convention...for some reason they are harder to sell online.

Anyway, any taker?? 2 for $165 shipped. These are really nice blanks, perfect for cNc inlays or just as is. We also have these with birdeye maple and they are really nice as well.

Regards

Although Ebony is getting expensive, these type blanks can be built much cheaper with little effort. However, the main drawback is not the price but the inability to put a different deco-ring at the A-joint.

Dick

 

[dzcues]

.750 core in the fore will work fine.........it does get a little thin right at the collar.
Best IMO......is step core.....625/750.....

As usual, I'm playing catch-up on this forum but there's some good information here & I wanted to add my 2 cents.

If I have a forearm that requires a core, I always step core using an 11/16" core through most of the forearm with a 13/16" diameter step for several inches near the handle. This leaves 1/16" at each end for a final truing cut.

Attached pics show an amboyna burl forearm with a maple core. You can see the radial glue grooves and the step very clearly. Less clear, though visible, are the grooves that run the length of the core.

West System epoxy bonds well enough that I've never had a forearm & core separate while cutting a V-groove for points.

Another point worth repeating is the need to cultivate a supply of cores, using the same care that you'd use when selecting & culling your shaftwood. You can't just grab any old hunk of maple & whack it down to use as a core. If it warps, you've wasted a lot of time & effort along with an expensive piece of forearm wood.