What is a AAA shaft?
- Thread starter WilleeCue
- Start date
Willee this is as close as I can come to info. aaa aa I think just hype. a is a is a shaft wood is very tough to grade mainly because everyone has their own idea of what an a or aaa or a+ shaft is..
Straight grain clear high ring count is an a imo.
http://wwww.cuestockinc.com/products.html
Joey you type too fast.... Beat me to it...
Straight grain clear high ring count is an a imo.
http://wwww.cuestockinc.com/products.html
Joey you type too fast.... Beat me to it...
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WilleeCue said:
I have never seen a published guide for shaft wood, classifications: But below is what I personally use to grade shafts for myself.
AAAA - Technically perfect, Perfect Grain, Perfectly Blanked, Great Natural Color light or Dark, good weight 3.8 oz plus before joint and ferrule application, and good harmonic tone when taped on a hard surface. Shaft dowels not weighting at lest 3.8 before joint and ferrule application can only be AAA at best in my opinion.
AAA - Perfectly straight grained, Perfectly Blanked finished dowel. Color may very from dark to light / white in my opinion, however, bleached wood made to change the color can at best in my opinion be AA. Very light sugar / mineral marks not in the stroke zone do not effect a shaft dowel from being AAA grade in my opinion. Weight can be no less than 3.5 oz before joint / ferrule application or the shaft must be given a AA rating. Great harmonic tone when taped on a hard surface.
AA - Straight Grain, blanked shaft may have a very slight deviation in the life line, wood that has been Bleached is acceptable and the color can be dark or light, Sugar marks / mineral marking are present, however very slightly in the stroke zone. Weight can be no less than 3.5 oz before joint / ferrule application, shaft must have good tone.
A - Mostly straight Grain with small deviations, shaft may have a small deviation in the life line. Bleached wood is fine and the color may vary, Sugar marks / mineral marks are present even in the stroke zone. Weight can be no more than 3.1 oz before joint / ferrule application, and the shaft must have good tone.
I no that by posting this a can of worms has been opened, however, these are the standards I us to grade shaft wood, and these standards are mine alone.
Have a good day!!!!!
It's all BS. It's marketing. No two suppliers agree on shaft grading, and therefore make up their own grading.
Wes Hunter & I sold some shafts here a while back. We had 3 grades, "Diamond", "B", & "C". I was surprised at how much difference there was in how we each graded shaft wood. The end result worked out ok but we clearly had different views on what was quality & what was not. I personally don't mind sugar lines & slight grain run-off in certain areas of the shaft. He wanted clean. Ultimately we both agreed that the straight grain, tight grain & clean shafts were best, our differences of lesser grades varied a little. This is two builders who share very similar views on cue materials & quality issues. I can not even imagine what all the other suppliers' differences would be from ours'.
To me, i'll take that old brown/yellow shaft with slight grain wobble & a few suger lines if it's straight, stiff & weighs 4.0oz+. I'll toss the white, clean, perfectly straight grain shafts if they are light, flexy, dull in tone & constantly move during cutting. Judging shafts is different for everyone, so unfortunately there is no universal grading guide.
Wes Hunter & I sold some shafts here a while back. We had 3 grades, "Diamond", "B", & "C". I was surprised at how much difference there was in how we each graded shaft wood. The end result worked out ok but we clearly had different views on what was quality & what was not. I personally don't mind sugar lines & slight grain run-off in certain areas of the shaft. He wanted clean. Ultimately we both agreed that the straight grain, tight grain & clean shafts were best, our differences of lesser grades varied a little. This is two builders who share very similar views on cue materials & quality issues. I can not even imagine what all the other suppliers' differences would be from ours'.
To me, i'll take that old brown/yellow shaft with slight grain wobble & a few suger lines if it's straight, stiff & weighs 4.0oz+. I'll toss the white, clean, perfectly straight grain shafts if they are light, flexy, dull in tone & constantly move during cutting. Judging shafts is different for everyone, so unfortunately there is no universal grading guide.
WilleeCue said:
"While viewing the annual rings at one end of the dowel, follow the center annual ring to the other end of the dowel (30" of length).
Grade 1. The center annual ring at one end remains near the center at the other end. Not more than plus or minus 1/4" deviation from the center.
Grade 2. The center annual ring at one end deviates slightly more than plus or minus 1/4" at the other end of the dowel, but less than 1/2" (i.e. the center annual ring remains on the dowel)
Grade 3. The center annual ring at one end of the dowel runs down the center for about 1/2 the length, but then runs off the shaft. These are best oriented such that the straight-grained section of the dowel coincides with the narrow end of the shaft.
Grade 4. The center annual ring runs off the dowel right away. This is a low-grade dowel based on grain structure. However, it is given a pool cue dowel grade because it is PHYSICALLY STRAIGHT. Physically-straight, bright-white maple dowels are still high-quality dowels.
Grade 5. These are dowels that are NOT physically straight. Their grain structure may be grade 1 through grade 4 quality, and they are always bright-white... but if they are not straight, they are lumped in this final grade. Great for smaller lathe projects: chess men, pen blanks, etc."
Tap, tap...my having to ship to different continents (inconsequential local market) causes me to have a different criteria than the ones stated above, of which mostly are based on visual inspection. Audio and mechanical property inspection is part of mine or I end up spending more time on correcting complaints. Replacement material expense, labor&time plus FedEx charges can eat up profit real quick.qbilder said:
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bandido said:
Yeah, I can understand that. Wes is about the same. He chooses the same way I do to a point, but then goes further to ensure that the shafts are visually pleasing as well. He's actually pickier than me when it comes to shaft wood. As such, his waste is considerably higher. Shafts I set aside for my fancier cues he will use even on his basic stuff. Don't get me wrong, each shaft I use will meet certain criteria for playability & stability. But his meet those standards PLUS have to look good. There are not many shafts that have it all. I can see where that culls a lot of otherwise good shafts & easily get costly for the builder.
Shafts are like women. Some look great but too young & have horrible personalities. Some are ugly but great personalities. Some are ugly & old but fun as hell!!! And very few look great AND are fun with great personality. Those are the gems. I only know one builder who has only these in his shop, and it's not me.
Some are like politicians.qbilder said:
Old, ugly, cranky and crooked.
Those you chop off, get good 15 inches and sell to me for a dollar each.:thumbup:
qbilder said:
The women or the shafts?
<~~~if it's the women...I want to have a job in his shop.................
qbilder said:women for me. And no, I have everything control & don't need anybody's help
Ah Yes.......days filled with fun..........nights filled with even more fun...........
<~~~fun working in the shop of course...............
Thnx.qbilder said:
No rush.
One more month . :thumbup: