What types of wood are cue butts made of? How do they affect the way a cue hits?

bbb

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I happen to like rosewood cues. That is a lot of choices by my all time favorite is straight grain Camatillo with no sap wood. Dave Kikel made me one over ten years ago and I still love that cue!
does it hit like god/buddhists/jesus/other?😂
(from another thread)
 

Lawnboy77

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I prefer Ebony, or African Blackwood. They are beautiful woods and are hard enough to resist the casual dings.
 

Texas3cushion

Active member
Don't let the cue snobs hear you say this. I said I could feel the difference in the type of joint material and i was reamed a new asshole. Because i stated a stainless joint felt different then a Wood joint.
I have a wood joint carom cue made of maple I think. I love the softness of the hit, especially in straight-rail billiards. I think I get a lot of feedback from it which translates well with adjusting to shots imo. This is one reason I'm not a big fan of carbon shafts. They advertise NO VIBRATION with a good connotation. If I can't feel the shot it's harder for me to adjust.
 

Texas3cushion

Active member
Another inane thread about nothing. Anyone! Anyone! Bueller?
This is so true is some ways and so false in other ways.

You wouldn't use a cardboard cue to break with and you wouldn't use an aluminum cue to play with. although I think they're are some variations of the latter that have been sold.

My point is the joint material might not be why you missed the ball. but it might be what you're comfortable with. and being comfortable with your equipment goes a long way.
 

RDeca

AzB Silver Member
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I've never picked up a cue and said. That ebony or maple or purpleheart. sure does hit sweet. Basically you can't pick up a cue ND tell what wood is in it from playing with it. Diameter taper weight and balance is what makes the cue for you. No way am I paying premium for a merry widow..just because it has some piece of fancy looking or rare wood . Cuemakers are charging 1k extra sometimes just because a cue is made with some fancy or rare wood.
 

Brookeland Bill

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I've never picked up a cue and said. That ebony or maple or purpleheart. sure does hit sweet. Basically you can't pick up a cue ND tell what wood is in it from playing with it. Diameter taper weight and balance is what makes the cue for you. No way am I paying premium for a merry widow..just because it has some piece of fancy looking or rare wood . Cuemakers are charging 1k extra sometimes just because a cue is made with some fancy or rare wood.
Your right. All that purdy stuff on your cue butt don’t mean shēē-at.
 

MitchAlsup

AzB Silver Member
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The inside of the but is where the strength is, the outside of the but is where the 'look' is.
Do not confuse the two.
 

Das Cue-Boot

Active member
The main reason everyone focuses on maple is that it is good enough, readily available and relatively common. There are dozens of hardwoods that are harder, stronger, higher rupture modulus and higher density than maple, but because they are tropical, you don't see them as the dominant tree in a forest where an industry can be built around harvesting a specific species. Where I live now, I walk for an hour and see almost nothing but Ponderosa pines. When I worked in Brazil and Colombia, you can't even count or name the different trees you see in a forest there.
 
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kaznj

AzB Silver Member
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I saw a cue about ten years back. Entire butt was made from one piece of ivory. On display at sbe. Maker would not disclose price
 

kaznj

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He said ivory. Was sold. Owner allows maker to take to shows to display.
I also 2 cues for sale at sbe for sale, $260k and $140 k. 260 was sold.
 

Bob Jewett

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The vast majority of how a cue stick hits the ball is in the shaft and a large part of that is in the tip. If the butt and joint are solid, they will have very little affect on the hit.

Here is a related post about a test for joint type...


One of the strangest things cue makers do is to put two extra joints in the butt of the cue. Crazy stuff. If you are worried about how the type of wood changes the hit of the butt, you might want to worry about the wood that is in the handle.
 

RDeca

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Idk about ebony giving a stiffer hit. All things equal it might... its a much harder wood than maple... I played with and ebony jacoby with an hybrid edge shaft quite a bit and it's way More whippy than my maple schons.

I seriously doubt any human alive could distinguish the difference in butt wood without knowing there even was a difference first. if both cues were exactly the same construction..

there is no magic Wood period. But I can appreciate good craftsmanship and nice or exotic things
 
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