Mahogany in cue construction

[Catalin]

Hi all, I did a little search and it looks like mahogany is almost never used in cue construction. Is there a good reason for that? It seems to me that it would be at least as good as ebony.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Webb]

Hi all, I did a little search and it looks like mahogany is almost never used in cue construction. Is there a good reason for that? It seems to me that it would be at least as good as ebony.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

You can use just about any wood you choose, if you learn about. If you core all of your woods, you have more choices.
Jmo

 

[MVPCues]

Why do you compare it to ebony? True mahogany is rather lightweight.

 

[Ssonerai]

It seems to me that it would be at least as good as ebony.

Can you explain why you think so?

It used to be used in lower cost and bar cues.
Some true mahogany is fairly heavy/dense. Much more so than listed on the wood database.
Friend just had some from a project we were doing ID'd by NFPL it was so heavy/dense. It was true mahogany.
However, definitely not up there with typical cue butt woods which tend to have specific gravities past .90 & high janka numbers.
Most true mahogany is about the same density as black walnut (not very) and black walnut has 10% better Janka rating. You never see it in cues unless it is "claro" or burl, stabilized, and cored.

Bottom line, mahogany just is not very sexy in terms of rareness or cost, nor interesting looking in typical cue butt sizes, and it does not have the mechanical aspects to make it worth overlooking bland appearance.

As others noted, if you have a spectacular piece and stabilize (densify) and core it, you can use almost anything.

smt

 

[The Old Jaybird]

Black Walnut was my father's favorite. I often wondered why you never see black walnut in cues, but quite often in gun stocks. Any more info appreciated.

 

[Dave38]

Most black walnut is bland....BUT burl or claro, as stated above is used. This is my black walnut burl cue and extension. It is cored.

 

[pooldawg8]

Most black walnut is bland....BUT burl or claro, as stated above is used. This is my black walnut burl cue and extension. It is cored.View attachment 692479View attachment 692480

That`s a beauty you got there Dave. I`ve never seen that wood used before either. Really nice figure in that wood.
Thanks for sharing you cue pics, much appreciated
Jeff

 

[Kim Bye]

Can you explain why you think so?

It used to be used in lower cost and bar cues.
Some true mahogany is fairly heavy/dense. Much more so than listed on the wood database.
Friend just had some from a project we were doing ID'd by NFPL it was so heavy/dense. It was true mahogany.
However, definitely not up there with typical cue butt woods which tend to have specific gravities past .90 & high janka numbers.
Most true mahogany is about the same density as black walnut (not very) and black walnut has 10% better Janka rating. You never see it in cues unless it is "claro" or burl, stabilized, and cored.

Bottom line, mahogany just is not very sexy in terms of rareness or cost, nor interesting looking in typical cue butt sizes, and it does not have the mechanical aspects to make it worth overlooking bland appearance.

As others noted, if you have a spectacular piece and stabilize (densify) and core it, you can use almost anything.

smt

I do have some highly figured mahogany, so more interesting pieces do exist, but it's pretty light, so it will definently have to be cored.

 

[Jim Baxter]

I built 10 cues useing African Mahogany . 4 pointers with shaft undr 15 oz . Special order .

 

[Dave38]

I know Viking used mahogany back in the late 80-early 90s in some cues. Had to repair some after the forearms snapped just under the joint collars. I replaced the forearms with cored mahogany and they looked original afterwards.