> There was an article in Pool & Billiard several years ago where it said that the old Micarta was indeed Asbestos based,pretty much super thin,dense insulation wrapped around a dowel and dipped in molten epoxy. It was originally made by General Electric (GE),as an insulator and washer/bushing material. David Kersenbrock supposedly popularized it's use for ferrules and joint collars. When it came out that it was terribly harmful to anyone exposed to it with regularity,anything with it as a component had to cease and decist,thus the reformulation with a dense cotton or linen paper. For their original intended use,it worked beautifully,and was cheaper to boot. For our purposes,it SUCKS. Even the stuff Schon used to use wasn't as good as the real yellow stuff seen on old Kersenbrocks and JF-era Southwests. I've seen several cues with these ferrules in Memphis,but I have no idea where to contact the guy that installed them,last I heard he relocated to Florida. Several of the simple cues he made for local players also have joint collars and butt caps made from it as well. A rep for GE was supposedly contacted once asking for some of the old stuff,and was told there wasn't enough money in New York STATE to make even one more stick of it. Tommy D.
