6 ash cues in good condition

[kev267]

the mike cue seems a machine spliced one, correct me if i am wrong

The Mike cue is a Custom Shark. The splices are butterfly spliced (handmade with 2 ebony splices) and not machined spliced.

[poolqjunkie]

A butterfly spliced cue is a machine spliced cue, with one single piece of ebony spliced to the shaft--not 2 ebony splices, and not spliced on like a hand spliced cue. It is not to say it will make the cue better or worst, just the way the cue is spliced.

[Slasher]

For clarification on splicing types.

http://www.handmadecues.com/info/52-splicingmethods.htm

[poolqjunkie]

Yes, thanks for the link.
Butterfly spliced cues are not hand spliced cues. To make a butterfly spliced cue, a block of ebony is cut into a v notch at one end, which is then glued to a pointy shaft with a V point cut at one end--this glued block is then turned on a lathe. It is made in a very similiar fashion as a machine spliced cue with 4 sharp points in the sense that a sold piece of ebony is glued to a shaft then turned on a lathe. Basically the cue consists of 2 major components (i.e. shaft + solid ebony butt).
Hand splicing refers to splicing 4 seperate splices of ebony spliced onto a shaft. A hand spliced cue consists of 5 major components (i.e. shaft + 4 different pieces of splices).
Also, with a butterfly cue, once the two components are spliced together, the block can be turned to give the "butterfly" look of having two round prongs like a pair of butterfly wings; however, with a hand spliced cue, the shaft has to be planed from a block to round first, then flats are cut and 2 ebony splices are spliced on, clamped and wait to set, planned by hand, then 2 flats are again cut, 2 ebony splices are spliced and again clamped on and wait to be set and then planed to give the cue the look of a hand spliced cue with 4 round prongs. More time and steps are involved and, in my opinion, it is much more difficult to get the prongs all even with the latter method.
If you look at the price of a butterfly spliced cue and a hand spliced cue from the same cue maker, there is usually quite a big difference. Sometimes the difference could be closed to half for a butterfly cue.
Butterfly splicing is a form of machine splicing. But unlike 4-sharp-point machine spliced cues, butterfly cues have only 2 round prongs. It is because the ebony block and shaft are cut differently before being turned. Nevertheless, the construction is basically the same, and is very different from that of a hand spliced cue.
One major difference in terms of construction is that with a machine spliced 1 piece cue, it does not have its shaft through the grip hand of the player--it ends at the bottom of the prongs (where the ebony meets the shaft); while with a hand spliced 1 piece cue, 4 splices of ebony are spliced on a long piece of shaft wood (ash/maple) like a "glove" so the shaft goes all the way to the end of the cue.
It is worth noting that butterfly splicing is not made by hand splicing two pieces of ebony splices onto a shaft; it is made like a machine spliced cue with an ebony block cut then glued to the shaft then turned. It is for this reason that butterfly splicing is considered a variation of machine splicing.
Hope this helps.
Thank you.

[kev267]

Thanks very much for your insight into cue building and the difference between machine and handsplicing Pooljunkie. Have you considered producing Aurora Butterfly spliced cues also? Your cues are quite impressive to say the least! cheers

[poolqjunkie]

Thank you. I am only interested in building hand spliced cues the traditional way.
We have a cue maker here in Canada called Kevin Deroo who is very famous for his butterfly spliced cues.

[jasonx]