Can you please tell me little bit more about this V splice? How it's made? Is it only glued? Is it made only for better weight and balance, or does it improves performance of cue; maybe transfer of "energy" is better, or something like that? And why is it done only by couple of cuemakers? Is it hard to accomplish or what? I'm really interested in cue making, so any information would be fine, and I will be very grateful.
Ty
That is an Eddie Prewitt full splice all the way. Everything you see in that cue Ed did. That 'V' splice you're talking about is a full splice where the wood is specially cut to mate perfectly with each other. the short 'V's' you see were cut and then mated to each other with glue then turned down. The longer points were spliced in with 4 different veneered pieces of wood. The points were cut out on 4 sides of the forearm, and were then glued back together with separate wood.
House cues you see are full splice. The shaft wood is mated to the handle wood specially cut on a machine to fit each other. They are glued together and then turned round. The large surface area provides plenty of bonding strength when the appropriate surfaces are met flush and with plenty of clamping pressure.
The hit of a full splice cue, to me is the best type of hit. I play a simple dufferin conversion. It has no weight bolt. The only metal in it is in the rings and the radial pin. The full splice has wood-wood contact which does provide a better type of energy transfer, but the non-full-splice is also wood-wood with a steel connecting pin which does provide energy transfer, but it is just different. The reason you don't see everyone doing it is not because it's too difficult, it's because you have to have a special set up just to do that function. Cue making is complicated enough as it is. Many cue makers (me included) are limited to how many machines they have in their shop. Cue makers already have their machines dedicated to one task only. You could have one lathe or a table saw for tapering shafts. You can have another lathe for assembly. You can have a mill or another lathe for doing points. There is normally a wood lathe for finishing. Some even have another lathe for tapering butts, and even another for doing tips and ferrules. Now add to that, the setup to do full splice cues. There are many who would rather not, and instead, just go buy a quality full splice from any of the quality providers such as Schmelke, bell forest, or prather. The one's who do full splice are the one's who want to because they can and want that extra satisfaction. It is an admirable accomplishment. The best cue maker is the most well-rounded cue maker IMO. To be able to do old school, including inlays without CNC and full splice says you are a great cue maker.
Normally, cues like the above are mated with a tenon and a connecting screw which will change the weight. Some thread their tenons instead of using a connecting screw. It is all personal preference.
If you are still confused, that is probably normal. Keep searching. Go buy Chris Highower's ADvanced Cue Making DVD. It shows how a full splice is cut on a bandsaw. It also shows how points are cut, and how a cue goes together. It will cost you $50, but you will have the visual confirmation you're looking for as opposed to a wannabe cue maker like me trying to explain it to you. Watch this
video on you tube. It will show you how a cue goes together. It is called a half splice which represents the points in the forearm. I don't believe you can watch a full splice any other way except Chris' DVD.
