Sugar Sap Marks in Maple Shafts

I got a batch with some sugar marks, and they were all really good playing shafts. I wouldn't mind some more like them.
 
Sugar-sap marks? Meaning birds-eyes?

CocoboloCowboy said:
Do these sugar sap marks in Maple Shafts hurt the shafts, or cause warpage?

Are you making reference to the birds-eyes as in birds-eye maple by any chance?

Found following on Wikopedia:

Canadian Maple, often referred to as "Canadian Hardrock Maple", is prized for pool cues, especially pool cue shafts, and the highest grades of this white wood are used by virtually all (both production line and custom hand-made) cue makers to make high-quality shafts. Some production-line cues will use lower-quality Canadian Maple wood with cosmetic issues (such as "sugar marks", which are (most often) light brown discolorations that are visible on the shaft, caused by sap from the wood. Great shaft wood has a very consistent grain, and no marks or discoloration. Sugar marks usually don't hurt anything and do not affect how the cue plays, but are not as high of quality as those without it.)
 
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Sheldon said:
I got a batch with some sugar marks, and they were all really good playing shafts. I wouldn't mind some more like them.

Say it aint so :shocked2: Seriously, I see sugar marks as a positive in shaft wood. I don't know any builder who doesn't like the way they play & how stable they are. But nobody uses them because they think the buyers only want white & clean. I'm lucky enough that my buyers expect cosmetic flaws like sugar stain & dark colored wood. Many even request it.
 
qbilder said:
Say it aint so :shocked2: Seriously, I see sugar marks as a positive in shaft wood. I don't know any builder who doesn't like the way they play & how stable they are. But nobody uses them because they think the buyers only want white & clean. I'm lucky enough that my buyers expect cosmetic flaws like sugar stain & dark colored wood. Many even request it.

I value playability more than good looks. Of course, good looks is a plus if a shaft plays well.
 
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