southwest cue construction

G

giant killer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi guys, I had in the past a conversation with Pete Tascarella about the tone that a finished butt makes when struck. He said the higher the tone or note the more solid and lively the cue is. He said that the denser the woods will make for a higher tone and also if the cue is constructed with epoxy it will make a higher tone versus wood glue.
From my experience with testing many cues, it seems to me that the southwests with denser woods like ebony, purple heart etc make for the highest toned cues that I have tried. And I tend to like the cues with higher tones. I mean no disrespect to any other cue makers and am not in any way trying to put down there work. I am just trying to figure out what makes up these tones?
I had a very good cue maker make me a southwest copy. He used the same woods that are in my southwest, he used a brass 3/8 11 pin like they use and it looks almost identical but his cue has a much lower tone than the southwest, why is this?
This made me wonder why southwest uses a parabolic taper on there butts, why the butts are around a half inch shorter than 29 inches? I'm pretty sure that the cue maker that made the copy used wood glue instead of epoxy, could that account for the much lower tone? Could it just be down to the way sw assembles there cues? Do rings and how many veneers have an effect. I've heard that they dont use connecting pins between the nose and handle and handle to the buttsleeve, is this true? Are there any other factors that have an effect on the tone of the cue? Thanks for your time and any imput you can share
 
giant killer said:
Hi guys, I had in the past a conversation with Pete Tascarella about the tone that a finished butt makes when struck. He said the higher the tone or note the more solid and lively the cue is. He said that the denser the woods will make for a higher tone and also if the cue is constructed with epoxy it will make a higher tone versus wood glue.
From my experience with testing many cues, it seems to me that the southwests with denser woods like ebony, purple heart etc make for the highest toned cues that I have tried. And I tend to like the cues with higher tones. I mean no disrespect to any other cue makers and am not in any way trying to put down there work. I am just trying to figure out what makes up these tones?
I had a very good cue maker make me a southwest copy. He used the same woods that are in my southwest, he used a brass 3/8 11 pin like they use and it looks almost identical but his cue has a much lower tone than the southwest, why is this?
This made me wonder why southwest uses a parabolic taper on there butts, why the butts are around a half inch shorter than 29 inches? I'm pretty sure that the cue maker that made the copy used wood glue instead of epoxy, could that account for the much lower tone? Could it just be down to the way sw assembles there cues? Do rings and how many veneers have an effect. I've heard that they dont use connecting pins between the nose and handle and handle to the buttsleeve, is this true? Are there any other factors that have an effect on the tone of the cue? Thanks for your time and any imput you can share
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Here are some discussion about wood tone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIOAn55nMVU

Who'd want to argue with Pete Tascarella?
The tone is a sum of all parts and processes imo.
Wood as the biggest factor imo.

Some people just use maple . Some use a lot of exotics or even redheart or oak.
Different woods, different hit.
 
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How Southwest selects their wood, and what steps they take could have a lot to do with it. Their waiting list is 10 years it could be their wood is also 10+ years hanging. :)

Mario
 
I'd like to see someone do a real example cut away view.

Will someone chop one of these in half for the sake of educational purposes?
 
I, for one, will not post others' construction techniques without permission. Its kind of an unwritten rule, of sorts.
 
giant killer said:
What have you guys seen? Can u share it, thanks for everyone's input
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I agree with Ryan on this one. I have been to the Southwest shop and they are very open with their construction procedure. I just would not feel comfortable sharing that info without their permission.

I have learned alot from some of the best cue makers in the world but feel it is best to keep it to myself and let the source decide what info they want to share and to who they share it to.
 
ratcues said:
I, for one, will not post others' construction techniques without permission. Its kind of an unwritten rule, of sorts.
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Hmm, someone posted a repaired Schuller and Schon here one time. :grin-square:
OP got a bad info and was dis-spelled ( albeit not totally ).
I don't know if Laurie would answer his inquiry but a suggestion to have him call her , maybe would have been a better advice.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Hmm, someone posted a repaired Schuller and Schon here one time. :grin-square:
OP got a bad info and was dis-spelled ( albeit not totally ).
I don't know if Laurie would answer his inquiry but a suggestion to have him call her , maybe would have been a better advice.
Click to expand...

I've had 3 Schulers Xrayed. The old one used no metal at the A joint. The two newer ones (prior to '02) used Ray's joint at the A joint as well.
 
i know very little about sw, but

i had a very good cue maker make me a southwest copy. He used the same woods that are in my southwest, he used a brass 3/8 11 pin like they use and it looks almost identical but his cue has a much lower tone than the southwest, why is this?


you can have a cue maker build you 2 cues using the same method, and the same woods from the same tree and same, tip, ferrule, joint, rings, and pin.
chances are that the 2 cues will play a bit different and have a bit different tone, as you are dealing with organic materials and most are a bit different.
 
desi2960 said:
i had a very good cue maker make me a southwest copy. He used the same woods that are in my southwest, he used a brass 3/8 11 pin like they use and it looks almost identical but his cue has a much lower tone than the southwest, why is this?


you can have a cue maker build you 2 cues using the same method, and the same woods from the same tree and same, tip, ferrule, joint, rings, and pin.
chances are that the 2 cues will play a bit different and have a bit different tone, as you are dealing with organic materials and most are a bit different.
Click to expand...

Give a food recipe to 10 cooks, or a drink recipe to 10 bartenders. You will find everyone will come out different.

It comes down to the technique and methods of doing things. Two people can glue, weld, or solder something using the same material and they will not look or perform the same.

People work for years as apprentices to learn from a master and are constantly being tested until they get it right, and some may get close. Many masters like Michelangelo had others do their work but they supervised and then approved.

You can watch Efren play pool and be given all of his techniques but try to go out and do the same.

🎱
 
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