What wood plays better ...
- Thread starter WilleeCue
- Start date
IMO i like a tight grained slightly yellowed shaft. Not too yellow but I think the "pure white" maple is a little softer and I like a stiffer shaft.
WilleeCue said:
Plays better? I think this is a great question William. I must be the dumbest player out there because I can't tell the difference. For me, it's always been about taper, diameter, weight, and sound. If the grain and color affect these (like weight and sound), then I guess that would help me play better. But, I don't seem to notice any difference between two seemingly identical shafts, one with old growth, tighter grain vs. newer, lighter wood.
Fred
I don't know. I say give me the same taper, weight, ferrule and tip and then I'll know more. The cuemakers I respect on here say yellow/tight grain, so I'm inclined to believe them.
Side note I pulled out an old cue with a really tight-grained 4.2 oz. 13 mm shaft the other day. The thing deflects so much I have no idea how I played with it for a year or so. It hits great but I could barely make a long shot with it. Switched shafts and played much better.
Side note I pulled out an old cue with a really tight-grained 4.2 oz. 13 mm shaft the other day. The thing deflects so much I have no idea how I played with it for a year or so. It hits great but I could barely make a long shot with it. Switched shafts and played much better.
I got some wood you can play with.
ZzzzzzIiiiNnGg!!!
ZzzzzzIiiiNnGg!!!
WilleeCue said:
Tight & Yellow
yellow vs white
Normally the yellow or slightly off color wood is dried by a different process than the whitest of the white wood. The off color wood will generally be a little livelier. The white wood is pretty, the off color wood will play more traditionally I believe. Of course color and grain are only two of the things that are part of a quality shaft. Sometimes the grain and color are not the final indications of how the shaft will play and this is even before dipping shafts and other things that affect their play. If a shaft blank looks fairly decent perhaps the best test to determine how it will play is the ping test. The ping test is a highly technical and involved method of testing that only the best cue makers can perform properly.
:wink:
Well over a dozen things affect how a shaft plays. Probably several dozen and many of these can't be seen or felt until a shaft is finished and played with.
Hu
Normally the yellow or slightly off color wood is dried by a different process than the whitest of the white wood. The off color wood will generally be a little livelier. The white wood is pretty, the off color wood will play more traditionally I believe. Of course color and grain are only two of the things that are part of a quality shaft. Sometimes the grain and color are not the final indications of how the shaft will play and this is even before dipping shafts and other things that affect their play. If a shaft blank looks fairly decent perhaps the best test to determine how it will play is the ping test. The ping test is a highly technical and involved method of testing that only the best cue makers can perform properly.
:wink: Well over a dozen things affect how a shaft plays. Probably several dozen and many of these can't be seen or felt until a shaft is finished and played with.
Hu
old wood
I am doing some brunswick conversions and i am trying to save the old wood for the shafts. I really like the way the honey color shaft wood plays, and have found some 30 to 40 growth rings in some of the cues. growing up using house cues or bar sticks that had that old used honey color just seems natural to me. the ultra white shafts just look phony to me. i have never seen any natural wood that is as white as some shafts sold today. so i guess my answer to the question is , dark, straight tight grain shafts. thanks chuck starkey
I am doing some brunswick conversions and i am trying to save the old wood for the shafts. I really like the way the honey color shaft wood plays, and have found some 30 to 40 growth rings in some of the cues. growing up using house cues or bar sticks that had that old used honey color just seems natural to me. the ultra white shafts just look phony to me. i have never seen any natural wood that is as white as some shafts sold today. so i guess my answer to the question is , dark, straight tight grain shafts. thanks chuck starkey
Fatboy said:
This is true, I've got some heay ass 4+ oz. yellow shafts on my fullsplice Madden that have a great feel to them
desi2960 said:
I own cues from Chuck with white shafts and old growth conversions with honey colored shafts. When I get around to selliing a Starkey or three I'll get rid of the white shaft cues first, even though the butts are prettier. The honey colored conversions hit so good that I'll not be parting with the two I have.
I also have a Sugar Tree (is it one word or two? I always forget
) that has old growth lakewood shafts and the hit is just outstanding. The hit of the Starkey conversions and the Sugartree lakewood cues is every bit as good as the Franklin era cues I have. Imo.