many of the newer cue makers
- Thread starter deanoc
- Start date
No reason at all, they are used to define the wrap area, and to protect the exposed edges of the wood. However, some people use these rings as buzz Rings to help reduce noise where the handle and the forearm / butt meet. But, even if this where the purpose they could still be hidden under the wrap.
i have heard that george balabushka put rings there because the glues he had did not seal wood to wood good
jerry franklin told me the modern epoxies were good enough to get the job done,he also said one joint wood to wood was better than two caused by the use of a plastic piece
this was many years ago and i was wondering why so many top tier cue makers did it today
i personally have never heard the buzz on any cue i have owned,but if it does a
job then so much the better,but it is not attractive to me
jerry franklin told me the modern epoxies were good enough to get the job done,he also said one joint wood to wood was better than two caused by the use of a plastic piece
this was many years ago and i was wondering why so many top tier cue makers did it today
i personally have never heard the buzz on any cue i have owned,but if it does a
job then so much the better,but it is not attractive to me
Very debatable.
First if someone uses black, it better be exposed. He could have used tan which is a lot cheaper than double black.
I've see a few cues with " buzz ring " rattle. One was 3 inches long.
Thomas Wayne mentioned here GB did that " buzz ring " b/c the spindle of his lathe did not fit forearms and handles.
One can also make an internal buzz ring out of phenolic tube or rod.
Burton Spain used buzz rings on all of his cues, he believed they were a necessary evil. Now many cue makers are building a buzz ring into the handle, and if they are not using decorative rings at the A-joint the buzz ring will be hidden by the cues wrap.
What I found on a number top cue makers cues is that they attach Phenolic to the under wrap section that butts up to the cues forearm, and then they cover it with the cues wrap. In many cases this phenolic sleeve on the under wrap / handle is about 1/2 in length.
Do you check them for buzz?
You often won't find it just hitting a few balls.
I had several very good quality cues in my hands that had a good buzz. I don't own them or I would demonstrate it for you. Heck I would send them to you to see for yourself.
Of those that I remember, one was a 1970's fancy JOSS, another was an early nineties Espiritu (after he did away with the catalog production stuff), and a Scruggs.
None of them showed a buzz when you shot with them. But if you struck them with the heel of your hand from the side on the handle near the A joint, you could find it very easily. It was the classic A joint buzz in all three cases.
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speaking of hitting a cue with your hand to either hear or watch vibration is
according to Jerry Franklin
dangerous to the cue
the cues were not designed to take a slap from the side
and actually this action causes the buss because it breaks something down
according to Jerry Franklin
dangerous to the cue
the cues were not designed to take a slap from the side
and actually this action causes the buss because it breaks something down
I don't disagree that cues are designed for the primary force encountered to be linear. But the kind of force that I am talking about is not sufficient to cause a buzz that did not exist before. In fact, if such a force would, then the cue was deficient in materials or design.
The kind of force I am talking about would be commonly encountered by any cue in regular use. I only suggest looking for it in a cue that is being flipped, inspected, or not regularly used for some reason. If you were to use such a cue regularly you would encounter the buzz without purposefully striking the cue from the side.
No disrespect to any cue maker, but if the smallest of lateral force causes damage to a cue, that cue was not made well anyway. Such a cue would in fact not even be suitable for normal handling and/or play.
The first example I ever encountered was the JOSS I mentioned. It was for sale about 22 years ago. The guy let me try it out for a little while at the Cue and Cushion on Rt 51 North in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. The price was great, so I asked him why the price was so great. He said it had a buzz. I told him I had not felt it. He took the cue and lightly struck it on the side with the heal of his hand. The buzz was small but obvious. He said that he had tried it before he bought it off a guy from out of town and paid quite a bit more for it. The evening after he bought it he played several hours with the cue and every once in a while he thought he felt something odd. The next day he took it to Mottey's shop and told him about it. Mottey picked up the cue, lightly tapped the side, and demonstrated the A joint buzz for him. He checked the weight bolt and joint collar to make certain they were not the culprit then pronounced it confirmed to be an A joint buzz.
So, as the story goes, I indirectly learned it from Mottey, who was a cue maker of some substantial reputation by anybody's estimation. Of course, I got that story second hand, so it is entirely possible it is complete BS.
That was the first time I had ever experienced an A joint buzz.
As I said, no disrespect intended and I don't want to contradict more experienced people. I am just relaying my experience and where it originated. Mottey's actions and/or involvement could be complete BS for all I know.
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The kind of force I am talking about would be commonly encountered by any cue in regular use. I only suggest looking for it in a cue that is being flipped, inspected, or not regularly used for some reason. If you were to use such a cue regularly you would encounter the buzz without purposefully striking the cue from the side.
No disrespect to any cue maker, but if the smallest of lateral force causes damage to a cue, that cue was not made well anyway. Such a cue would in fact not even be suitable for normal handling and/or play.
The first example I ever encountered was the JOSS I mentioned. It was for sale about 22 years ago. The guy let me try it out for a little while at the Cue and Cushion on Rt 51 North in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. The price was great, so I asked him why the price was so great. He said it had a buzz. I told him I had not felt it. He took the cue and lightly struck it on the side with the heal of his hand. The buzz was small but obvious. He said that he had tried it before he bought it off a guy from out of town and paid quite a bit more for it. The evening after he bought it he played several hours with the cue and every once in a while he thought he felt something odd. The next day he took it to Mottey's shop and told him about it. Mottey picked up the cue, lightly tapped the side, and demonstrated the A joint buzz for him. He checked the weight bolt and joint collar to make certain they were not the culprit then pronounced it confirmed to be an A joint buzz.
So, as the story goes, I indirectly learned it from Mottey, who was a cue maker of some substantial reputation by anybody's estimation. Of course, I got that story second hand, so it is entirely possible it is complete BS.
That was the first time I had ever experienced an A joint buzz.
As I said, no disrespect intended and I don't want to contradict more experienced people. I am just relaying my experience and where it originated. Mottey's actions and/or involvement could be complete BS for all I know.
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I have to agree, cues are not musical instruments and certain do not need to be treated like one.
Not uncommon.
First buzzer I encountered was when I was apprenticing with Kerry Zeiler.
He kept two cues from the same maker. Both were given up by the owners.
He band-sawed one. The A-joint was a flat-face/no tenon 3/8 10.
I saw a few more. One was from a very reputable maker. Oddly enough, it had a 3" long phenolic buzz ring between the forearm and the handle. The maker was also even epoxy expert.
The Joss you mentioned afaik has a finger-joint. It's not supposed to buzz.
A few weeks ago I mocked up a cue. Maple to maple. No joint pin or collar. Just two maple pieces wood threaded on tight . I tapered it a three days after gluing.
I then left it in the car and tapped the side of the cue everyday to see if it held up ( it had no buzz ring btw ).
After 5 days in the car, it started to buzz when tapped from the side.
My conclusion was the heat in the car shrunk the wood and weakened the joint or separated the two faces.
Environmental elements can be brutal for wood. No matter how good the epoxy is or how good the construction.
After that experimentation, I've reinforce my A-joint. Won't go into detail on it but the way it is now, there is one more layer of epoxy before elements get to the A-joint stud.
I had a Black Boar with a buzz you would not believe!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad as the cue had a TON of ivory.