Why not mahogany?

B

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
Just curious.

I'm much more a guitar player and builder than a pool player, but as I learn about pool cues I wonder why mahogany isn't used.

There are two woods used for guitar necks (the part that receives the most stress): maple and mahogany.

Mahogany has an incredibly uniform grain structure that stains well and finishes beautifully. It's straight as an arrow and very stable. Seems like it would be ideal.

Just curious about why it isn't used.
 
brunswick

used it in many of their one piece cues, i have converted many old cues and see it all the time. i think it plays great but looks very blah
 
I have a buddy who gave me a piece of it and I was excited to turn it round. Once it was turned, it looks like a very straight smooth dog turd. Its awful, lol. I have no plans on using it. Maybe a core or something, lol.

Joe
 
I'm currently building a cue with a Titleist color theme that has a lightly figured mahogany handle & purpleheart points. The customer gets the wrapless feel he wanted with a nice looking wood that isn't the distraction (or the expense) that a highly figured handle can sometimes be.

I've done several cues using cored mahogany & I'm very happy with its contribution to the hit of the cue.
 
mahogany cue video

I just installed the joint pin so I took a quick video of the mahogany handled cue. It has not been sanded or sealed or finished yet so the grain is still sort of blah but at least now you can see a cue with mahogany in it.
 
Bob,

Your videos rock man. Great presentation!

BTW, that cue is very sick and I love every feature element. Masters work personified!!!!!!!!

Thanks for showing that man, it is a wake up call to all cue makers to get busy.

You set a very high standard my friend and I for one enjoy all that you do and share.

Rick
 
Unless it is highly figured, it isn't particularly pretty in comparison with other available woods. It is also pretty light.
 
I took a quick video of the mahogany handled cue in bright sunlight to show off the grain. The cue isn't finished. It only has a few coats of clear on it. And some of the vid is out of focus - I can't really see the LCD screen in the bright light - but you can get an idea of the figure in this mahogany. IMO, this is the perfect wood choice in this application.

You can see the video HERE.
 
I had an all-mahogany Joss. Played with it for a few years, until it broke right behind the joint. Played reasonably well for as long as it lasted, and was straight as an arrow. To this day I still can't believe how easily it broke, though. Shocking! Of course cues weren't cored back then. One would think a cue would break in front of the joint if over-bent by mistake, but there was absolutely no elasticity to the butt, so it did seem logical. Bummer, was a particularly pretty piece.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
I play with a mahogany Omega/DPK.

It's not exactly pretty, but perhaps the best playing cue I've hit with.

-s
 
dzcues said:
I took a quick video of the mahogany handled cue in bright sunlight to show off the grain. The cue isn't finished. It only has a few coats of clear on it. And some of the vid is out of focus - I can't really see the LCD screen in the bright light - but you can get an idea of the figure in this mahogany. IMO, this is the perfect wood choice in this application.

You can see the video HERE.
Click to expand...

Wow! I can't believe the difference the clear made. Maybe I better rethink my idea for using mahogony as a core. Thanks Mr. D.

Joe
 
mahogany

I think its a very pretty wood but toxic and respitory problems.


Dont know if this will help
the one with the purple heart rings has mahogany top and bottom it is
linseed oiled then cleared coated.
IMG_3868.jpg


the bed of the wagon has been stained sedona red 222 min wax. sorry the wagon is not finished.
IMG_3124.jpg

the wheels axles are mahogany too sorry about my bad photography
IMG_3135.jpg


I have a stained test strip of mahogany about 6 or 7 different stains tested on mahogany. if you want me photograph it and post it i will.
getting a even stain on mahogany isnt easy .
I hope this helps
MMike
 
One particularly noteworthy thing about Mahogany is its chatoyancy (slight color shift when lit/observed from different angles).
 
There are different mahoganies but most all of them have striking grain patterns that need a large surface to show it off, such as a table top or drawer front. A pool cue is awfully small .

The nicest mahogany is san domingan or uban mahogany which is heavier by about .15 s.g. than hondouran, has darker color, is harder, more grainy and hasn't been on the market much for the last 150 years he most prized figure is crotch but it is too unstable for anything but veneer. Honeycomb grain is too big as is plum pudding.

It makes very nice furniture and doors but for a cue e stick it it pretty dull.
 
Probably the best use for mahogany is something like this


thttp://forums.azbilliards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=229963&stc=1&d=1340064585







yeah, I built it . . .
 

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