Shaft -- maple vs ash...?

i think the brass ferrules hit way too hard for the heavier pool balls. i would suggest maybe a tan phenolic ferrule or even a short white pool ferrule.
 
McChen said:
i think the brass ferrules hit way too hard for the heavier pool balls. i would suggest maybe a tan phenolic ferrule or even a short white pool ferrule.
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You might be right. But for now I'll try it out, and then I'll probably cut it even shorter (as I've done with my other Parris), if not cut it off completely -- similar to what Bob Jewett has.

-- peer
 
Ash has less flex than maple. That's why it is used more in snooker cues than pool cues.
 
Peer said:
You might be right. But for now I'll try it out, and then I'll probably cut it even shorter (as I've done with my other Parris), if not cut it off completely -- similar to what Bob Jewett has.

-- peer
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most of the snooker style pool cues i've seen like steve davis' are phenolic around 1/2" or less, though tony drago has 1" white ones. i tried pool with a brass ferrule and it felt really bad to me. definitely need something a little softer. though i love the brass for snooker.
 
ratcues said:
Ash has less flex than maple.
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Hum, I thought it was the other way around. Although I can't find any stress/flex test for woods on the web, I think my dad told me that maple is slightly harder than ash, but less flexible. Anyone with a pointer to a wood flex test?

-- peer
 
The verdict...

I just spoke with a wood specialist from Hayden, Colorado -- he says that ash is indeed more flexible than maple, although maple is harder than ash.

-- peer
 
Peer said:
I just spoke with a wood specialist from Hayden, Colorado -- he says that ash is indeed more flexible than maple, although maple is harder than ash.

-- peer
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Please explain the difference.

Harder but more flexible... I don't understand
 
BPG24 said:
Please explain the difference.
Harder but more flexible... I don't understand
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Well, for example; the hardest wood there is, ebony, isn't very flexible and hence will easily break if bent. While ash is quite flexible but not nearly as hard as ebony. Although the hardness between maple and ash isn't as great, maple is still the harder of the two (but less flexible).

-- peer
 
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Jule said:
I always thought ash was harder. Is there a way to find out for sure?
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Yes, for hardness there is. The so-called Janka Hardness test measures the pounds of force it takes to drive a .444" diameter steel ball half the way of its depth into the wood. In this test, maple got a Janka hardness rating of 1450, while ash has 1320. As a reference, ebony's Janka rating is a whopping 3220.

There might be a similar test for flexibility, but since I haven't found one yet, I got in contact with that wood expert who told me that ash is more flexible than maple.

-- peer
 
Peer.

In your opinon, based on your findings. Do you now believe that Ash will make a better playing shaft?

I am interested in this after reading what Leanord Bludworth had to say about it. Sounds like I may have to try one
 
BPG24 said:
Peer. In your opinon, based on your findings. Do you now believe that Ash will make a better playing shaft?
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Well, at least it convinced me to call my cue maker (John Parris) to have him make an ash shaft for my new cue that he's currently building, (originally it suppose to be maple). Here's the spec for that cue, which, by the way, will take him 8-10 weeks to build:

Pool cue built from the Champion snooker design (including the flat part) -- ebony butt with kingwood face & white veneer:

Butt length: 29"
Shaft length: 29"
Total weight: 18.5 oz
Shaft: Ash with Euro taper
Tip size: 11mm
Ferrule: Brass (cut as short as possible)
Joint: UniLoc (with black phenolic collar)
S.D. Extension joint in the end of the butt
Hand-signed


-- peer
 
#1
Ash is ugly.

#2
It's got a very hard hit.

The only ash I've played with was a snooker cue,,,I can't even imagine how hard it would hit if it was 13mm.
 
the hard hit you mentioned from the snooker cue is mainly from the taper and the brass ferrule. i don't think ash necessarily gives a hard hit if used for a pool cue.
 
LAlouie said:
#1
Ash is ugly.

#2
It's got a very hard hit.

The only ash I've played with was a snooker cue,,,I can't even imagine how hard it would hit if it was 13mm.
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I think ash is beutiful, and I think that the hard hit is mainly from the brass ferrule.
 
i like ash as well, though i like it the way it is on the snooker cues, where the grain goes 3/4 of the way down the cue, into the splices. for me, it would look odd on a pool style cue, where the grain would only be on the shaft part and end abruptly at the 1/2 joint
 
The only cue I own that has an ash shaft is a modified Parris snooker cue which I use for pool. Its ferrule is a mini brass ring, and it has very little squirt (deflection). But since the tip is only 10mm, I wanted a similar cue but with a 11mm shaft and that broke in half -- 29"/29".

-- peer
 
I'm currently having a cue made for me in New Zealand. It's going to be a 3/4 butt cue with 2 shafts, one a UK 8ball shaft of 8.5mm (brass ferrule) made out of REWAREWA (Knightia excelsa), and a 11.5mm 9ball euro taper shaft (fibre ferrule) made out of TAWA (Beilschmiedia-tawa) You can see these at http://cuesdirectnz.co.nz/index.html

These are NZ native timbers, so will a little different from the run of the mill ash and maple. Also, I've yet to see a 3/4 length 9 ball cue. I just wanted something a little different that I could use for both my cue sports that would fit into 1 case:)

Also, these are being spliced onto a purpleheart butt, so apart from the 3/4 joint, they'll have a sneaky pete look.

Daniel:D
 
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