Snakewood, why? why not?

ykndoit

ykndoit

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Silver Member
I really like the look of snakewood and curly/tiger maple together. The next cue I want built is of those two woods together but I have heard a few complaints about Snakewood splitting. Is there a way to prevent this or is it just so brittle that you are taking a chance on every piece? I would like to use snakewood in the butt sleeve and in the points in the forearm surrounded by curly. Maybe the handle section or is that too big as to where it could cause problems? Pro's? Con's?

I seen a Gina with a 3 piece handle section of Snakewood and wondered if that was why he separated the snakewood into 3 sections to avoid the splitting?

Or should I just stick to a real nice piece of 'grainy' cocobolo?
 
Snakewood is known for cracking and splitting. I do however use it for points without any problems at all. I have also used it in the butt sleeve without any issues. Anytime you are dealing with Snakewood you always have that possibility for cracking during building and sometimes later down the road. It is one of the most beautiful woods out there IMO.

Let me know if I can help with your new cue.

Thanks
 
Snakewood

The shorter the pieces are the less likely they will crack. Hence the 3-piece handle. Also, Snakewood should be cored to relieve stress.
 
I think it was Mike Lambros (but I could be wrong) that told me Snakewood was very oily too and it requires much more prep work to get it cue-ready. He also said that because of the price of the wood plus the extra work involved it adds a good bit to the price as well.
 
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