Spalted Maple?

R

raemondo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Have any of you out there ever used this wood, or have a cue made out of this wood? I really like the look, and am considering making a cue out of it. I'm also trying to find out how this wood "hits" and if generically a cuemaker would charge more for using this kinda wood.

thanks!
 
raemondo said:
Have any of you out there ever used this wood, or have a cue made out of this wood? I really like the look, and am considering making a cue out of it. I'm also trying to find out how this wood "hits" and if generically a cuemaker would charge more for using this kinda wood.

thanks!
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Spalted maple is usually soft...very soft. I am sure somone has used it, but for a front or handle, I think it would hit like a sponge IMO, and wouldn't hold up. It would be pretty as an inlay or maybe floating points.

I am not a cuemaker, so take it for what it is worth, but I purchased some spalted hard maple to try it out, and it doesn't hold up to my fingernail at all.

Spalted wood is partially rotted woood by definition.

Kelly
 
Spalted maple is much like birdseye maple in the fact that the spalting is actually a fungus. It is an inherently unstable wood, especially with respect to cues. Whereas, the birdseye is a much, much stronger wood.

I don't make cues either, but my husband used to hunt maple burls all the time in Oregon from downed trees, and he certainly knows his maples. :)

Lisa
 
Thanks guys for the comments!

Yea after reading the 2 posts it sure seems like using spalted maple is a baddddd idea for a cue....I wouldn't wanna hit with it only to have it in pieces on the table. A pity though...I think that it's a beautiful beautiful type of wood.....looks like I'll prolly be doing ebony or tulipwood instead.

thanks,
ray
 
I have a DP with a spalted butt. Looks ok.

I wouldn't expect it to be used for the fore of a cue because it is so unstable.

I have turned spalted maple before and it was a total waste of my time. I was very unhappy with how it behaved on the lathe.
 
Mr. Wilson said:
I have a DP with a spalted butt. Looks ok.

I wouldn't expect it to be used for the fore of a cue because it is so unstable.

I have turned spalted maple before and it was a total waste of my time. I was very unhappy with how it behaved on the lathe.
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Hey Mr Wilson,

Would you mind posting pix of your cue? It'd be great to have an idea of what it looks like with finish.

thanks,
ray
 
Spalted Maple

raemondo said:
Hey Mr Wilson,

Would you mind posting pix of your cue? It'd be great to have an idea of what it looks like with finish.

thanks,
ray
Click to expand...

I have a beautiful example, but I don't know how to post the pic...JER
 
ridewiththewind said:
Spalted maple is much like birdseye maple in the fact that the spalting is actually a fungus. It is an inherently unstable wood, especially with respect to cues. Whereas, the birdseye is a much, much stronger wood.

I don't make cues either, but my husband used to hunt maple burls all the time in Oregon from downed trees, and he certainly knows his maples. :)

Lisa
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There was a thread regarding this previously. I don't believe a fungus causes birdseye, and birdseye maple, other than maybe some tear out when cutting the pieces with the really large birds eye is definitely not unstable like spalted maple. I have some birdseye with sections showing 50 growth rings per inch, very dense, very stable, definitely not fungus wood. Birdseye maple might be a little more unstable than unfigured maple, but it is not considered an unstable wood.
Kelly
 
pic of the wood

Here's an example of spalt maple that Kenny Murrell was going to put on for me. I decided to go with curly maple as the buttsleeve to match the curly maple forearm.

(there's no finish on it, so it might even look better when finished!)

Very nice wood though!
 

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eeng168 said:
Here's an example of spalt maple that Kenny Murrell was going to put on for me. I decided to go with curly maple as the buttsleeve to match the curly maple forearm.

(there's no finish on it, so it might even look better when finished!)

Very nice wood though!
Click to expand...


Hey eeng168,

Now that sure is one nice type of wood right there...I am POSITIVE with the finish it'll be really sweet, especially if ends up looking a little yellowish with the squiggly lines showing up really well. However, it was prolly a better idea to go with whatever that's on the forearm.

Could you also tell Jerry at Blackheart cues how to post pix up here like that so he can show us his cue?

thanks,
ray
 
raemondo said:
Hey Mr Wilson,

Would you mind posting pix of your cue? It'd be great to have an idea of what it looks like with finish.

thanks,
ray
Click to expand...


I'll do so tonight.
 
eeng168 said:
Here's an example of spalt maple that Kenny Murrell was going to put on for me. I decided to go with curly maple as the buttsleeve to match the curly maple forearm.

(there's no finish on it, so it might even look better when finished!)

Very nice wood though!
Click to expand...

That is a very nice piece. Just the right amount of veining to be attractive, but not too far gone. My spalted maple is very close to that, with tighter zig zag veining. Still, mine is pretty soft for a sleeve. Bang it against a chair walking around the table, and I'd worry. Stabilizing it with Pentracryl or some other technique might make it hold up fine.
Kelly
 
BLACKHEARTCUES said:
I have a beautiful example, but I don't know how to post the pic...JER
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Blackhearts maple pictures. Cropped them a bit from original
 

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Spalted Maple Cue

Here's a link to a spalted maple cue. I don't think it is required, but sometimes, you can send out woods like spalted maple and have them epoxy impregnated. At that point, they're very strong and stable, plus you can have them colored if thats your thing.


http://www.pfdcues.com/html/cues/0304.html#
 
Rangercap said:
I have seen this used for guitars, and the figuring is pretty wild. Here is a guitar link...

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/woodpages/quiltedmaple.html

Brian
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Those are quilted maple. They are soft and have bad tonal characteristics.
Not good for cues. OK for ELECTRIC guitar but not for accoustic guitars.
Spalted maple is even softer and spongier.
Even cored, I won't use them for forearm. They just have no reasonance good enough for pool cues imo.
But, to those who like eyecandy cues that hit soft, have at it.
Same with burlwood.:)
 
Posted up blackheart photo's on page one. And added one here because I like it.
 

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