maple question

U

undertaker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hello,
if you make the same plain jane cue from straight grain maple, birdseye maple and curly maple is there a difference in playability? will one cue hit,sound.. better than the others? and what did you think is the best wood for a plain jane cue?
 
IMO, not really much difference in playability. All three woods are a hard maple species. I have made butts with all three maples and frankly the straight grain maple though not as pretty stays generally straighter. I usually core curly maple and birdseye maple or age them over a long period of time to keep them straight. So to answer your question, they play very similar so it mosly asthetic. Hope this helps your decision.


Happiness
Mark
 
undertaker said:
hello,
if you make the same plain jane cue from straight grain maple, birdseye maple and curly maple is there a difference in playability? will one cue hit,sound.. better than the others? and what did you think is the best wood for a plain jane cue?
Click to expand...

I prefer straight grain maple. I just think it has a nice clean look. I have had a number of custom cues built from Szamboti to SW and I always request a nice clean Straight grain maple front. I think it has a more consistent resonance as well. The thing is, a cue is like an instrument and there are so many elements that determine how the final cue plays including luck. Some cues, with everything being equal, just play better then others. I hate, "HATE", birds eye maple.
 
Straight grain get my vote.
Curly would be the last. I think they should be cored.
 
Maple

I am not a cue maker, but have played with quite a few cues and I would say that a straight grained forearm will play different than other maples, even if they are cored with straight grain. But, then again, it all depends on the maker too.
I have played with 8 or 9 different Rundes, with purple heart, various maple and ebony noses, and they all hit about the same, one was exceptional. But according to Bob, he cores all of his cues with straight grain maple, so this probably has something to do with the consistency of hit/feel.
 
PDX said:
I am not a cue maker, but have played with quite a few cues and I would say that a straight grained forearm will play different than other maples, even if they are cored with straight grain. But, then again, it all depends on the maker too.
I have played with 8 or 9 different Rundes, with purple heart, various maple and ebony noses, and they all hit about the same, one was exceptional. But according to Bob, he cores all of his cues with straight grain maple, so this probably has something to do with the consistency of hit/feel.
Click to expand...

True and the one that played exceptional must have had the best handle wood. The handle is the biggest single part of the cue. It's easily 50% of that butt's hit.
 
I make cues using all 3 of these Maples. Love them all & can't tell the difference. My playing cue (15th picture on my web site), has a Fiddleback Maple forearm & butt sleeve. The handle is Cocobolo. It is one of the best playing cues I've ever made...JER
 
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