My first wood
- Thread starter D-Rock
- Start date
bellforestproducts.com
westpennhardwoods.com
birdseyecreations.com
gilmerwood.com
or,
you can do the smart thing and......
#1 Click Here
after you have acquired that,
#2 Click Here
westpennhardwoods.com
birdseyecreations.com
gilmerwood.com
or,
you can do the smart thing and......
#1 Click Here
after you have acquired that,
#2 Click Here
I (personally) wouldn't bother with Barringers...enough said
Westpenn Hardwoods has some great deals and I've bought a lot from them. However, most of the wood I've gotten from them has been less than seasoned and you'll have to wait a year or two before you would want to start cutting on it.
Bell Forrest Products (or their cue specific division - Cuewood.com) would be my choice if your just buying wood now and your ready to start cutting. Most everything I've gotten from them has been well seasoned. I still usually wait six month to a year before I use it, but that may not be necessary.
If you can wait a couple months, I may be able to help you out. I've got some wood in my shop that is already turned round and has been hanging for 2 or more years. You never really know what a piece will look like till you turn it round. I have some that are good solid pieces, but the figure of the wood didn't end up looking as nice as I would have liked. I usually just end up using them for handles on wrapped cues, but I could probably set you up with some good wood to get started with at a relatively cheap price.
The problem is that I'm in Florida till March/April and the wood is in my shop back up in Illinois. If you're interested and can wait till March/April, let me know.
Westpenn Hardwoods has some great deals and I've bought a lot from them. However, most of the wood I've gotten from them has been less than seasoned and you'll have to wait a year or two before you would want to start cutting on it.
Bell Forrest Products (or their cue specific division - Cuewood.com) would be my choice if your just buying wood now and your ready to start cutting. Most everything I've gotten from them has been well seasoned. I still usually wait six month to a year before I use it, but that may not be necessary.
If you can wait a couple months, I may be able to help you out. I've got some wood in my shop that is already turned round and has been hanging for 2 or more years. You never really know what a piece will look like till you turn it round. I have some that are good solid pieces, but the figure of the wood didn't end up looking as nice as I would have liked. I usually just end up using them for handles on wrapped cues, but I could probably set you up with some good wood to get started with at a relatively cheap price.
The problem is that I'm in Florida till March/April and the wood is in my shop back up in Illinois. If you're interested and can wait till March/April, let me know.
dave sutton
Banned
you can get some straight grain maple handle wood for 2-3$ each to start practicing turns on. i agree with eric pph is cheap and i buy mostly from bell forest. you can get like a 10 pc pack for 100$ bacote is cheap too buy something kiln dried
http://shop.ebay.ca/tdv56/m.html?_t...7C72%3A2513&_ipg=&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_pgn=1
Heres a guy on EBay that sells a few cue parts. I don't care for the idea of finger jointed cues but its something to start on and its cheap. I've bought quite a few pins from him and theres nothing wrong with them. If you keep an eye on his store, he does have some 30" straight grain maple on occasion. I bought a whack of it before and its pretty decent for the price.
Heres a guy on EBay that sells a few cue parts. I don't care for the idea of finger jointed cues but its something to start on and its cheap. I've bought quite a few pins from him and theres nothing wrong with them. If you keep an eye on his store, he does have some 30" straight grain maple on occasion. I bought a whack of it before and its pretty decent for the price.
play materials
It might sound silly,but try and find out what you are allergic to.That way you don't go buying alot of wood you won't like using.For me,I am allergic to cocobola and a few other woods. I stay away from those.
For practice and learning,I suggest going to a local lumber yard and getting some maple or oak to slice up and practice on.
Then when you are happy with that get some nicer woods that you want to make a good cue from.
Sometimes you do come across some nice grain wood at a lumber store and often it will be a good price.I like using 1/4 sawn woods myself.I like the look and contrast it gives.
For cheap ferrules you can use abs water pipe. It is a yellow tan colour. Turns ok and plays ok as well. It will make uncapped ferrules and you get it almost free from plumbers,if you just want a foot or so.
Neil
It might sound silly,but try and find out what you are allergic to.That way you don't go buying alot of wood you won't like using.For me,I am allergic to cocobola and a few other woods. I stay away from those.
For practice and learning,I suggest going to a local lumber yard and getting some maple or oak to slice up and practice on.
Then when you are happy with that get some nicer woods that you want to make a good cue from.
Sometimes you do come across some nice grain wood at a lumber store and often it will be a good price.I like using 1/4 sawn woods myself.I like the look and contrast it gives.
For cheap ferrules you can use abs water pipe. It is a yellow tan colour. Turns ok and plays ok as well. It will make uncapped ferrules and you get it almost free from plumbers,if you just want a foot or so.
Neil
woods...
There is no such thing as GOOD AND CHEAP...
Good wood is expensive.
Just my 2 cents...
Tom Penrose
There is no such thing as GOOD AND CHEAP...
Good wood is expensive.
Just my 2 cents...
Tom Penrose
good wood
is hard to find, so definitely do not waste it on practice sessions. If you can get handle wood and coring wood, and even some shaft wood rejects you may be able to learn a lot for little outlay of money. ANd along the way when you collect the ugly wood you will run into some gems that you squirrel away for when you feel confident you can create that perfect cue!
Maple is cheap, I buy mine from a saw mill in Northern Ohio. It works out cheaper than any other source, and I sometimes find exceptional curly as well. As far as the exotics: stay away from cocobola for you first try. It is pretty but hazardous for many, no need to take any risks for practice. Purpleheart though is great. I have found it cheap at Rockler stores and Woodcraft. It is nice to sort though boards in person for straight grained cue wood. I usually buy the 8/4 lumber and cut it to size. The best will make some fine cues and the less pretty cuttings will be fine for learning with. And the PH those stores sell is kiln dried.
is hard to find, so definitely do not waste it on practice sessions. If you can get handle wood and coring wood, and even some shaft wood rejects you may be able to learn a lot for little outlay of money. ANd along the way when you collect the ugly wood you will run into some gems that you squirrel away for when you feel confident you can create that perfect cue!
Maple is cheap, I buy mine from a saw mill in Northern Ohio. It works out cheaper than any other source, and I sometimes find exceptional curly as well. As far as the exotics: stay away from cocobola for you first try. It is pretty but hazardous for many, no need to take any risks for practice. Purpleheart though is great. I have found it cheap at Rockler stores and Woodcraft. It is nice to sort though boards in person for straight grained cue wood. I usually buy the 8/4 lumber and cut it to size. The best will make some fine cues and the less pretty cuttings will be fine for learning with. And the PH those stores sell is kiln dried.
I've bought a lot of rings and pins from him aswell. Really good prices.
Except he's looking for junkwood just to practice on.
Don't shoot the messenger please... He's asking for GOOD AND CHEAP wood and I'm just saying that he shouldn't fool himself because GOOD AND CHEAP does not exist.
You can practice with old house cues and waste a lot of wood but if you don't have the correct knowledge or information on what you're doing, it would just be a waste of money and time...
I'll bet you he'll want to shoot balls with the first cues he makes.
That's why I think he should get some GOOD pieces of wood and ask for GOOD ADVICE how to make a cue...
Just my 2 cents
Lot's of woods have been mentioned for building cues. If you're looking for junk wood to tune in a taper bar or something, I used to buy poplar dowels at lowes. You can buy 48 inch dowels for next to nothing and you're not butchering something you might sell later for $100 or more.
Get some old, oversize bar cues. Go to the bars and look for broken bar cues, see if you can have them or buy them for a couple bucks. Cut them into pieces and put some turns on them. You're going to ruin/mess up at first. Those finger jointed cues on ebay, while they aren't something you would want to let out of the shop, they would be good practice for turning down and putting on some rings and a joint pin. You could even practice some finishing on them. And the most important part to practice on those finger jointed cues, when you finally have one that is perfect in every way, take the cue to your bandsaw and CUT IT IN HALF!!!! 
In terms of "good" for learning, the best wood to learn on is cheap. Nothing we work with is more stable & stays straighter than paduak, puyrpleheart, jatoba & straight grain maple. Nothing is cheaper, either. I think folks are getting confused with the term, "good". Good wood for me as an accomplished builder that specializes in figured woods will be something like cocobolo burl, and that's not cheap. Good wood for a solid, good playing cue that stays straight & is virtually dummy proof is a completely different plane of existence, apples & oranges. And an attractive cue can be built with those woods if a guy can be creative enough.
Thanks for the replies. I use the term "good" loosely. It's meant as good to practice with. Not as in good to play with. And no, I'm not going to shoot any balls with my first cue, think I'll enter a track and field event and use it as a javelin instead. Of course I'm going to hit some balls with it. Will it be my main player? Defiantly not. But who the hell builds a cue and doesn't at least hit a couple balls around to see how it feels?