saw a busted cue tonight.

[lorider]

a guy at league had a cue split in half from the wrap to the joint. i never saw one do that before.

i asked him if he broke with it and he said no.i did not know some cues were made with a pin holding the handle to the fore arm. i mean the fore arm split right in half. wow !

it was a russ espirito cue btw. i took a couple of crappy pics with my phone. lemme try to figure out how to up load them tomorrow.

i do have a team mate that breaks and shoots with a predator. its amazing he has not broke his shaft yet.

 

[lorider]

here is a pic

 

[Poolplaya9]

i did not know some cues were made with a pin holding the handle to the fore arm. i mean the fore arm split right in half. wow !

Not only are they made like that, almost all cues are made like that. A couple of exceptions are the rare cue that just uses one solid piece of wood for the butt, or a full splice cue (like a house cue). But most cue makers use the construction in your picture even if it appears to be one piece of wood to your eye. That joint is hidden at the ring work or under the wrap etc.

 

[Cracktherack]

He probably missed a ball worth $2.00, has a bad temper and had to slam his cue on the edge of the table to vent his rage, since he hasn't missed in 3 or 4 shots. He should be immediately disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, but instead they will probably give him a patch and a "attaboy."

 

[KCRack'em]

Can't imagine it just broke, but I know someone who was lightly tapping a Perry Weston shaft on the floor and it basically shattered.
Who knew?

 

[chefjeff]

We were playing partners 8-ball at a hall near a college campus. One of our opponents missed his 8-ball and was about to smash his cue on the table. He stopped just before doing that, gave a funny look at his cue and then tossed it to the floor instead. Not real hard, just in disgust. It landed flat as could be, but the butt split open just like this one did. The look on his face...

I had to hide behind a post so he didn't see me laughing. It was a $20 game and we needed the money for sure. He didn't play anymore.

Ah, skool days,


Jeff Livingston

 

[worktheknight]

A friend of mine "had" a wonderful old Schon, awesome cue. He missed a shot and hit the cue in the forearm with the palm of one hand while holding the cue in the other and it split in two in the forearm. Possibly hit the cue just right in a weak spot as cues do not like anything sideways of impact !! The look on his face induced and hundred laughs even though seriously, it was a shame. Cues with a lot of inlays may be more acceptable to sideways abuse. Not that he slammed the cue on anything, but, cues just don't take sideways pressure very good, even if it's just a open hand slap.

 

[West Point 1987]

A friend of mine "had" a wonderful old Schon, awesome cue. He missed a shot and hit the cue in the forearm with the palm of one hand while holding the cue in the other and it split in two in the forearm. Possibly hit the cue just right in a weak spot as cues do not like anything sideways of impact !! The look on his face induced and hundred laughs even though seriously, it was a shame. Cues with a lot of inlays may be more acceptable to sideways abuse. Not that he slammed the cue on anything, but, cues just don't take sideways pressure very good, even if it's just a open hand slap.

Wow...that's one hell of a hand slap! Interesting, I thought all ST and SL Schons were cored...I guess not! I've seen cues come apart like that (Meucci cues) but never Schons or other well made cues. I had a custom cue come apart at the A joint, it started making a "click" sound that drove me nuts for about three months, then during a tournament the finish cracked around the A Joint and cracks ran up the veneers (it was a half splice). I couldn't draw a CB 6 inches with it at that point, Damnedest thing I ever saw. Apparently, there was a structural flaw (glue surface voids) that worked the splices loose after three years of heavy play. The cue maker refunded me my money after all that time, as it was clear there was a construction issue with it. I have decided to go full splice from here on out.

 

[Careyp74]

Not only are they made like that, almost all cues are made like that. A couple of exceptions are the rare cue that just uses one solid piece of wood for the butt, or a full splice cue (like a house cue). But most cue makers use the construction in your picture even if it appears to be one piece of wood to your eye. That joint is hidden at the ring work or under the wrap etc.

I thought they were mostly wood to wood with either a flat face like a dowel or a routed screw surface. Are metal pins that common? What about the back joint below the grip?

 

[Russell Cues]

I thought they were mostly wood to wood with either a flat face like a dowel or a routed screw surface. Are metal pins that common? What about the back joint below the grip?

Nearly all cues, with some exception, are made with a connecting pin/tenon connecting the handle to forearm. The butt sleeve can be attached with the same method as the handle/forearm or there is a tenon cut in when the handle is being tapered to slide the rings, buttsleeve, butt cap etc over it.

 

[SouthernDraw]

Wow...that's one hell of a hand slap! Interesting, I thought all ST and SL Schons were cored...I guess not! I've seen cues come apart like that (Meucci cues) but never Schons or other well made cues. I had a custom cue come apart at the A joint, it started making a "click" sound that drove me nuts for about three months, then during a tournament the finish cracked around the A Joint and cracks ran up the veneers (it was a half splice). I couldn't draw a CB 6 inches with it at that point, Damnedest thing I ever saw. Apparently, there was a structural flaw (glue surface voids) that worked the splices loose after three years of heavy play. The cue maker refunded me my money after all that time, as it was clear there was a construction issue with it. I have decided to go full splice from here on out.

That one appears to be cored. Look closely at the point v cuts, you can see them a little round in the center of the cue. So maybe they were cut and then cored. A closer pic would help. I'm looking on my cell now.

BTW, that is a different break than the other cue. Straight across rather than straight north and south.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!

 

[West Point 1987]

That one appears to be cored. Look closely at the point v cuts, you can see them a little round in the center of the cue. So maybe they were cut and then cored. A closer pic would help. I'm looking on my cell now.

BTW, that is a different break than the other cue. Straight across rather than straight north and south.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!

I see solid maple forearm throughout the center...with inlaid points/veneers. No core that I can see. Some of the points (the longer ones) appear deeper than the short points, but appear to be inlaid into a solid fiddleback maple forearm.

 

[Masayoshi]

A guy I was playing had his cue break like that, except for the fact that the forearm was turned into toothpicks and it was because he smashed it against the corner of a brick wall.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

That one appears to be cored.

I don't think so Buddy. Unless you have better eyes than I, which is entirely possible.

If that cue had a core in it, maple or whatever, it is doubtful that it would break that clean across, and right thru the coring dowel with the same break. It would be obvious that there was a dowel in the center.

 

[Inaction]

My Huebler Jump/Break cue broke similar to the Schon (but a cleaner break) on the very first break shot, making it a four piece cue. I sent it back, and received the replacement in about a week. It has held up well since.

 

[BmoreMoney]

A friend of mine "had" a wonderful old Schon, awesome cue. He missed a shot and hit the cue in the forearm with the palm of one hand while holding the cue in the other and it split in two in the forearm. Possibly hit the cue just right in a weak spot as cues do not like anything sideways of impact !! The look on his face induced and hundred laughs even though seriously, it was a shame. Cues with a lot of inlays may be more acceptable to sideways abuse. Not that he slammed the cue on anything, but, cues just don't take sideways pressure very good, even if it's just a open hand slap.

Damn, same as my girl ir sounds like ! Lol. Calm down guys; just an inside joke with my girl ( and no def not a bad one ) and yes she's a member here too and can't wait till she sees this - she gonna luv it lol

 

[galipeau]

you should be able to have the forearm replaced on the espiritu

 

[sfleinen]

I don't think so Buddy. Unless you have better eyes than I, which is entirely possible.

If that cue had a core in it, maple or whatever, it is doubtful that it would break that clean across, and right thru the coring dowel with the same break. It would be obvious that there was a dowel in the center.

I agree, Terry. That cue to me looks like it had an uncored exoticly-grained piece of decorative wood for the forearm, both in posts #2 and #7 (two different cues, with the same construction technique).

That brings up an interesting question, too. Curly maple obvious has the figuring it does (i.e. the "curling" of the grain) which extends deep into the wood. To me, anything that might even have a *hint* of cross-graining -- i.e. curling, swirling, or whatever -- that might extend through to the other side, *should* be cored. Otherwise, you're just asking for even a small hit or crack to follow that grain all the way through to the other side, resulting in an easily-broken piece of wood. If you look carefully at those pics in posts #2 and #7, you'll see that's EXACTLY what happened, too -- that the fracture occurred 100% following the grain, from one side, diagonally through to the other side.

For example, you would never use a forearm, handle, or shaft cut from a piece of stock where the grain runs crossways through the diameter of said forearm, handle, or shaft, right? That logical thinking should extend to exoticly-grained wood as well -- i.e. curlies, burls, etc.

Maybe that's just my "clueless AZB reader" mentality, but being as detail-oriented as I am (and from the I.T. thinking that I have to use everyday, which is "if it can go wrong, it WILL go wrong"), if I suddenly started to take up cuemaking, I'd make sure to core those pieces of wood where there was even a chance of that decorative piece of wood having cross-graining.

Thoughts?
-Sean

 

[JoeyInCali]

Not only are they made like that, almost all cues are made like that. A couple of exceptions are the rare cue that just uses one solid piece of wood for the butt, or a full splice cue (like a house cue). But most cue makers use the construction in your picture even if it appears to be one piece of wood to your eye. That joint is hidden at the ring work or under the wrap etc.

Not quite .
At least half have the threads on the handle .
Some don't use metal studs.
That cue wouldn't have split there if wooden threads went down the handle imo.
Metal in the forearm acts like a wedge to me.

 

[MVPCues]

I agree, Terry. That cue to me looks like it had a solid piece of curly for the forearm.

That brings up an interesting question, too. Curly maple obvious has the figuring it does (i.e. the "curling" of the grain) which extends deep into the wood. To me, anything that might even have a *hint* of cross-graining -- i.e. curling, swirling, or whatever -- that might extend through to the other side, *should* be cored. Otherwise, you're just asking for even a small hit or crack to follow that grain all the way through to the other side, resulting in an easily-broken piece of wood. If you look carefully at those pics, you'll see that's EXACTLY what happened, too -- that the fracture occurred 100% following the grain, from one side, diagonally through to the other side.

For example, you would never use a forearm, handle, or shaft cut from a piece of stock where the grain runs crossways through the diameter of said forearm, handle, or shaft, right? That logical thinking should extend to exoticly-grained wood as well -- i.e. curlies, burls, etc.

Maybe that's just my "clueless AZB reader" mentality, but being as detail-oriented as I am (and from the I.T. thinking that I have to use everyday, which is "if it can go wrong, it WILL go wrong"), if I suddenly started to take up cuemaking, I'd make sure to core those pieces of wood where there was even a chance of that decorative piece of wood having cross-graining.

Thoughts?
-Sean

Curl in wood isn't created by cross-graining that extends through to the other side. Curl is created by light reflectance off of the individual fibers of the wood. It has to do with how the individual fibers lay in relation to the ones above/below it. If they lay differently, the light reflects differently. A hologram would not be a bad comparison.

Careful studies would need to be conducted to determine if straight grained non curly maple is significantly stronger than straight grained curly maple. Curly maple has more of a reputation for moving, which *is* why curly maple gets cored often. But, curly HARD maple can be quite strong and stable. Curly maple being slightly stronger than non curly maple due to the different fiber orientations creating an essentially interlocking composition can't be ruled out without actual data.

Curl and grain orientation are independent, except for the fact that curl rarely shows up well on flat sawn faces.