Rare wood find

ELBeau

ELBeau

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My search for cue-sized pieces of palisander (dalbergia baronii) is finally over!
Palisander is one of several rosewood species from Madagascar, and is a close match to true Brazilian Rosewood (dalbergia nigra). Because of this, the wood is in high demand for musical instruments. It has that sweet "rosewood" smell, and the color varies from light to dark. Some pieces are plain in appearance, while top grade pieces have spider-web grain patterns. What makes it special is its tone. Some feel it is superior to Brazilian rosewood in this regard.
This stuff has been in the states for 10+ years and I'm looking forward to turning it into some cues. :)
 

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Elaborate please, i.e., tone? Do you mean the acoustics resulting from stroking a cue ball with the cue made from this wood or the color richness of the wood? TX


Matt
 
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Bavafongoul said:
Elaborate please, i.e., tone? Do you mean the acoustics resulting from stroking a cue ball with the cue made from this wood or the color richness of the wood? TX


Matt
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, yes acoustics/resonance.


Nice haul Beau!! I love Palisander.
 
How many did you score? One of my favorite woods. Super stable & yes, the tone trumps Brazilian in the pieces I have experience with. Brazilian is generally heavier, though.
 
I imagine it would be a challenge, not suggesting it could not be accomplished, to make a cue with a light cue butt. & ivory cap...say 14.2 ounces so that the cue would play 18.5 ounces with shafts weighing 4.3 ozs.

The wood just looks dense and inherently heavier so making a light cue butt with a standard diameter and weight bolt (smallest possible) and still make a 14.2 oz cue butt with ivory cap would not be easy.

That's entirely a supposition on my part but keep in mind I said it would be a challenge, not impossible, and so I wonder how compatible this wood might?

In my experience, acoustics is not important as ivory ferrules with the same tips pretty much all sound alike. However, having said that, with a heavier the cue, the "tink sound" of the stroke with a one inch ivory ferrule tends to be lower in pitch tone. My experience is that a light weight cue with an ivory ferrule creates a different pitch sound (higher tone) that a heavy cue creates......and all my cues have ivory ferrules.


Matt
 
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Bavafongoul said:
I imagine it would be a challenge, not suggesting it could not be accomplished, to make a cue with a light cue butt. & ivory cap...say 14.2 ounces so that the cue would play 18.5 ounces with shafts weighing 4.3 ozs.

The wood just looks dense and inherently heavier so making a light cue butt with a standard diameter and weight bolt (smallest possible) and still make a 14.2 oz cue butt with ivory cap would not be easy.

That's entirely a supposition on my part but keep in mind I said it would be a challenge, not impossible, and so I wonder how compatible this wood might?

In my experience, acoustics is not important as ivory ferrules with the same tips pretty much all sound alike. However, having said that, with a heavier the cue, the "tink sound" of the stroke with a one inch ivory ferrule tends to be lower in pitch tone. My experience is that a light weight cue with an ivory ferrule creates a different pitch sound (higher tone) that a heavy cue creates......and all my cues have ivory ferrules.


Matt
Click to expand...

It's not that heavy. Not as heavy as cocobolo. An 18.5oz cue wouldn't be out of question. I would differ on acoustics, though. IMO, tonal characteristics are indicative of a cue's feel, power, stiffness, sound, etc.
 
I got lucky enough to get 4 pen blanks of this stuff a few months back. It turns very easy and smells great. It's my favorite looking wood that I've worked with so far. You got a very nice score and can't wait to see some cues from this stuff.
 
Thanks for the kind words, guys. As has already been said, it has great acoustic tonal properties. Like most woods, the weight varies. Some of it is very heavy and some of it is light. All in all it looks and feels to be a great cue wood.
Eric, if it weren't for your thread about alternative rosewoods years ago palisander probably wouldn't have been on my radar. After getting positive feedback about the wood from some other respected cuemakers, the hunt was on. I've definitely got some for you.
Anybody else interested just shoot me a PM or email and I'll see what I can do.
 
ELBeau said:
Thanks for the kind words, guys. As has already been said, it has great acoustic tonal properties. Like most woods, the weight varies. Some of it is very heavy and some of it is light. All in all it looks and feels to be a great cue wood.
Eric, if it weren't for your thread about alternative rosewoods years ago palisander probably wouldn't have been on my radar. After getting positive feedback about the wood from some other respected cuemakers, the hunt was on. I've definitely got some for you.
Anybody else interested just shoot me a PM or email and I'll see what I can do.
Click to expand...

:grin-square: Hook it up!!!
 
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