Various Woods

u12armresl

u12armresl

One Pocket back cutter
Silver Member
Can someone or several people explain the wood that goes into pool sticks to me please.

I am not sure what the rarest wood in the world is, or where it is even harvested from, but I wonder where do most trees that pool sticks are made come from?

When someone cuts down a tree how does someone get it to the point where they can make a stick or sticks out of it? I see blanks?? that are for sale but I don't know who makes those or how those are made.

Say someone found a tree they thought to be rare, how would they know? Is it just knowing, research, call a tree person?

Thanks for the help.

BTW this isn't for me making cues, but I have always wondered if this is where someone may go to South America, cut down a tree and have some rare wood to make a stick with.
 
Google "Exotic wood wholesalers"

That should give you a good idea.
 
It appears that African Blackwood or Kingwood is the most expensive?

Is there no one particular wood that is really hard to find and much more expensive?

Also some are 1.5 x 1.5 x12 but that hardly seems long enough for a pool cue
 
u12armresl said:
It appears that African Blackwood or Kingwood is the most expensive?

Is there no one particular wood that is really hard to find and much more expensive?

Also some are 1.5 x 1.5 x12 but that hardly seems long enough for a pool cue
Click to expand...

There are more expensive woods than the two you listed, but African Blackwood is fairly expensive. Kingwood is not the cheapest rosewood, but it is not the most expensive either.

Shafts are made of hard maple for the most part, harvested in north eastern America and Canada. Typical butt sections in modern cues are made from 3 pieces, the forearm (just below the joint), the handle, and the butt sleeve (below the wrap/handle at the very bottom of the cue). Given that, a 12 inch piece of wood may just be enough for a handle or forearm, but most cue square blanks are 18 inches in length.

Exotic (some are rare, some are really not at all) woods come from all over the world, but many from central and south america and Africa. Some from the far east. I don't think cuemakers make enough money to take a trip to Africa to search out rare trees and cut them down (probably would get in big trouble anyway). Cuemakers rely on wood suppliers to supply the harder to get woods from places very far away. There are a few exceptions to this here and there. They are bought in either dimensional lumber form (boards), or turning squares. The boards are cut up into squares, then turned round on a lathe, and eventually pieced together to make a cue. Some places do some of the piecing together for people, in which case cue "blanks" are offered for sale for a "cuemaker" to finish making into a cue, add his shaft, etc.

Acquiring materials, the right materials, at a fair price, is a huge job of a cuemaker, and sometimes is a huge percentage of his time and money investment. I hope this helps.

Kelly
 
Woods of the world

u12armresl said:
Can someone or several people explain the wood that goes into pool sticks to me please.

I am not sure what the rarest wood in the world is, or where it is even harvested from, but I wonder where do most trees that pool sticks are made come from?

When someone cuts down a tree how does someone get it to the point where they can make a stick or sticks out of it? I see blanks?? that are for sale but I don't know who makes those or how those are made.

Say someone found a tree they thought to be rare, how would they know? Is it just knowing, research, call a tree person?

Thanks for the help.

BTW this isn't for me making cues, but I have always wondered if this is where someone may go to South America, cut down a tree and have some rare wood to make a stick with.
Click to expand...
I'm not a cue maker but I am a woodworker. The last time I looked pink ivory was one of the most expensive woods around selling by the pound for about $4. That would be a piece about 6 inches long and 1-2 inches square making it around $40 a board foot. Since then, I've noticed a new wood being harvested in New Zealand that is from trees that are 50,000 years old. Go to www.ancientwood.com to see the store. It's running about $250 a board foot for the highly figured stuff. Not sure what kind of cue it would make but I've seen guitars made from it and they looked and sounded magnificent! I plan to order some to make a wedding gift for my son this spring. Perhaps I'll get our local cue wizard to make something out of what I have left. I'll keep you posted. Good luck!

Brian in VA
 
Are the more expensive woods you mentioned lighter or heavier than say the wood the majority of sticks are made of?

Is it something you would play with or just put on display?
 
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