olivewood

I core it, but I core everything. No matter what, you need to really slow. It likes to move all over from my experience.

I've never ordered from that site. Chances are the wood you get will not be as nice as the wood in the photo's. It also says air dried (I've never seen Kiln Dried Olivewood), so who knows how long it's been drying.

If you order from West Penn and call them, they will do their best to pick you out some nice pieces. I think they charge like $5 per order for selection. I've been in their store. They have some nice pieces. They likely aren't dry enough though, so it may be a long wait before you get any into a cue. I bought $1,000 worth of wood there last November. Most of it won't see a cue for a few more years. They do have some kiln dried stuff though. Not sure if they have it on their website.
 
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I've only made 2 Qs with Olive & I didn't core either. Something different, but not something I will be making more of...JER
 
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Dave imo,you should core it and i hear the African Olivewood is a little better or more stable than the mediterranean Olivewood.

it actually has a very crisp hit to it,good weight and polishes and takes paint better than any wood out there.

if you look around tou can find some already seasoned so you don't have to wait 3-4 years on it.
 
African olive wood is not wood from an olive tree. It just looks similar for a short time then gets dark.

Spanish and other Mediterannean olivewoods are very light weight, very hard to dry, very prone to developing surface cracks and splits, tend to warp and change slowly to a darker olive toned wood.

If I am going to use it for a large component, such as a butt sleeve or front, I let the wood sit for a few years then work it for a couple years and if it is still good, I send it off to be impregnated with clear acrylic resin, then bore and core it. It's a little soft for using otherwise.
 
dave sutton said:
looking for some info on olivewood. does it need cored. did a search and found some cues but no info. any input about weight stability and playability would be appreciated. also had anyone delt with this company yet?

http://www.bethlehemolivewood.net/Billiard_Blanks.htm
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I've gotton woods from them.
Mostly green and wet. They also come from branches.
They've been sitting in my shop for 2 years and will prolly sit a few more.
Good for inlays and points but am afraid will shrink if not aged for 5 years here.
I scaraped most of the wax and left the ends waxed.
African olivewood is definitely better and more expensive. Depending on the grain. it most likely needs to be cored. I had one cored piece twist the next day .So I just let sit and will rebore later.
 
There is a wood sold as African olivewood that is 50-70% more dense than spanish or Italian olivewood and a lot harder. While it has similar color and grain patterns it is a totally different wood. s.g. on true olive is around .4 and the africanized variety is about .65.
 
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