What is a "blank" and how does it affecta cue??

[bbb]

there is a thread in the main forum regarding tascarella and balabushka
a post was made that george used
titleist/spain/davis/szamboti (gus) ,,,,,"BLANKS "
what is a blank and why would a cue maker buy one from someone else rather than make it themself???

 

[Kim Bye]

there is a thread in the main forum regarding tascarella and balabushka
a post was made that george used
titleist/spain/davis/szamboti (gus) ,,,,,"BLANKS "
what is a blank and why would a cue maker buy one from someone else rather than make it themself???

A blank is an oversized butt, usually a fullsplice, meaning two parts of wood are spliced together, sometimes with veneers in the splices.
Some cuemakers have specialized in making fullsplice blanks. Burton Spain and Gus Szamboti are rare and highly priced. John Davis blanks are quality spliced blanks, many quality cuemakers uses his blanks as a basis for some of their cues.
You can also get reasonably priced blanks from the big suppliers in the cue biz.
I have some from schmelke I'm working on, very nice blanks for the price.

 

[Michael Webb]

A blank is an oversized butt, usually a fullsplice, meaning two parts of wood are spliced together, sometimes with veneers in the splices.
Some cuemakers have specialized in making fullsplice blanks. Burton Spain and Gus Szamboti are rare and highly priced. John Davis blanks are quality spliced blanks, many quality cuemakers uses his blanks as a basis for some of their cues.
You can also get reasonably priced blanks from the big suppliers in the cue biz.
I have some from schmelke I'm working on, very nice blanks for the price.

Forearms with points are also called blanks. Another name for them is called Prongs.

 

[bbb]

A blank is an oversized butt, usually a fullsplice, meaning two parts of wood are spliced together, sometimes with veneers in the splices.
Some cuemakers have specialized in making fullsplice blanks. Burton Spain and Gus Szamboti are rare and highly priced. John Davis blanks are quality spliced blanks, many quality cuemakers uses his blanks as a basis for some of their cues.
You can also get reasonably priced blanks from the big suppliers in the cue biz.
I have some from schmelke I'm working on, very nice blanks for the price.

Forearms with points are also called blanks. Another name for them is called Prongs.

thanks guys..:thumbup:

 

[bbb]

so when getting a blank the cue maker has to make the joint and wrap and put in inlays only??
no coring ?? A joint??
sorry for my ignorance....
just trying to learn as a cue user..:smile:

 

[Kim Bye]

so when getting a blank the cue maker has to make the joint and wrap and put in inlays only??
no coring ?? A joint??
sorry for my ignorance....
just trying to learn as a cue user..:smile:

A blank is as the word implies: a blank. It`s a stick of oversized wood.
Coring a 30" long piece of wood is not that common, so fullsplice cues aren`t cored (to my knowledge atleast...) and since it`s one piece of wood, there is no A joint either.
You still have to fit a buttcap, joint collar, pin. inlays if you want them, a weight bolt system, taper, seal, sand and finish the cue. So it`s still quite a bit of work.

 

[measureman]

I always thought that making house cues years ago full splice was to try to eliminate warping.
If this is true then a full splice blank would not need to be cored.
Is this correct?

 

[Michael Webb]

I always thought that making house cues years ago full splice was to try to eliminate warping.
If this is true then a full splice blank would not need to be cored.
Is this correct?

No Sir. It is not correct. Each construction method has it's own pro's and con's.

 

[billiardthought]

I always thought that making house cues years ago full splice was to try to eliminate warping.
If this is true then a full splice blank would not need to be cored.
Is this correct?

I thought splicing was to get a better weight distribution between lighter maple and a heavier butt wood.

 

[jasonlaus]

A blank is an oversized butt, usually a fullsplice, meaning two parts of wood are spliced together, sometimes with veneers in the splices.
Some cuemakers have specialized in making fullsplice blanks. Burton Spain and Gus Szamboti are rare and highly priced. John Davis blanks are quality spliced blanks, many quality cuemakers uses his blanks as a basis for some of their cues.
You can also get reasonably priced blanks from the big suppliers in the cue biz.
I have some from schmelke I'm working on, very nice blanks for the price.

I think its way more common for short splice blanks

 

[cueman]

there is a thread in the main forum regarding tascarella and balabushka
a post was made that george used
titleist/spain/davis/szamboti (gus) ,,,,,"BLANKS "
what is a blank and why would a cue maker buy one from someone else rather than make it themself???

It just makes things easier if you can use something already made. It is like screws and weight bolts. Many cuemakers could make them if they wanted to, but most choose to let shops who specialize in that type of thing make them for them. Same thing applies to threaded ferrules, tips and many more things. While there are suppliers willing to build quality parts for a price that made them not worth their time to produce, there will always be a market for those items. I used to buy full splice point blanks with veneers from Spain before he passed away. I still have a few of them.

 

[cueman]

so when getting a blank the cue maker has to make the joint and wrap and put in inlays only??
no coring ?? A joint??
sorry for my ignorance....
just trying to learn as a cue user..:smile:

No. The cuemaker has to do everything else to the cue except build that point blank. If it is a forearm blank, He has to put in the A joint, butt sleeve, build the handle, all the ring work, joint work, tapering, tip and ferrule, inlays, fit and finish that goes into any other cue. That is why I believe calling someone a "Cue Assembler" as a derogatory term because they used a point blank is out of line. They are still cuemakers in my book.

 

[jasonlaus]

No. The cuemaker has to do everything else to the cue except build that point blank. If it is a forearm blank, He has to put in the A joint, butt sleeve, build the handle, all the ring work, joint work, tapering, tip and ferrule, inlays, fit and finish that goes into any other cue. That is why I believe calling someone a "Cue Assembler" as a derogatory term because they used a point blank is out of line. They are still cuemakers in my book.

They also still need to get the points even