What is the best maple you can get?

[poolqjunkie]

I am not sure if Trevor agrees, but I believe that vacuum kilned could produce whiter maple.

Does it make the shaft make better? Well, probably not directly.

But I know people who are very fussy about their maple--they like it not just snow white but also with very tight grains and some even specify a particular weight.

For them, it is not a simple matter to just ask the cue maker to pick a piece for them, because what the cue maker thinks is good may not be good enough for them as far as appearance is concerned.

I believe every cue maker has its own grading system.

Obviously if you go to Craftsman cue, you should not expect the quality to be in the same range as a Trevor White. Even may be they both are using "AAAAAAAAA" grade shafts, they will most likely be in a different league.

I also know of some people who like, believe it or not, very dark maple. They have an obsession on very old dark maple--brown blemishes do not seem to bother them. I think the idea is that the old "honey toned" aged maple is stiffer, more stable, and drier as they are really old.

Some also believe that these darker heavier maples are better players as well. There are some companies selling these "old growth maple" or "timeless timber".

If you feel uncomfortable with the maple on your cue, that may affect how your play your game.

From reading your posts, I think you are not asking what type of maple would play well but that how do you make sure you get the type that you like when you order your cue.

I think this is a completely legit question, and I can relate to how frustrated you must be when the cue you paid for did not come with the maple that you thought you have paid for.

Since everyone has a slightly different idea about the type of maple that he likes, you just need to be very specific with your cue maker, communicate with him with pictures and so on until you are sure he totally understand what you want. If a cue maker does not seem to understand or respect your needs, try someone else.

Hope this helps.

[j6uk]

Nice one pooqjunkie! I feeling better already I was thinking of quitting, the game itself is hard enough!

[Watford]

Craftsman def waxed.
Loads of mates with them been there a few times not noticed a very heavy finish really.
Did you speak to Dave about it?

My cue from Trevs1 is quite a honey colour, I did say when I ordered that I wasn't bothered about white maple. I think it looks better than a very white maple.
I know sod all about playing qualities though

[thai_son22]

Obviously if you go to Craftsman cue, you should not expect the quality to be in the same range as a Trevor White. Even may be they both are using "AAAAAAAAA" grade shafts, they will most likely be in a different league.

wrong. nothing wrong with craftsman cues in terms of league. i think it has more to do with material costs. trevor would pay higher im assuming for his materials than craftsman.

e.g darker ebony, more consistant pattern in materials.

thats from my experience anyway.

[poolqjunkie]

wrong. nothing wrong with craftsman cues in terms of league. i think it has more to do with material costs. trevor would pay higher im assuming for his materials than craftsman.

e.g darker ebony, more consistant pattern in materials.

thats from my experience anyway.

I meant the cues from Craftsman and the cues from Trevor would be in a different league, not necessarily the maple itself per say.
I respect your opinion, and I am not trying to disagree with you. I just feel that Craftsman cues usually have rougher finish, not as precise splice work, and like you said the quality of the material being a bit inferior, as compared to Trevor's cues. But all these are reflected in the price, hence my comment that one should not expect them to be in the same league.

[thai_son22]

I meant the cues from Craftsman and the cues from Trevor would be in a different league, not necessarily the maple itself per say.
I respect your opinion, and I am not trying to disagree with you. I just feel that Craftsman cues usually have rougher finish, not as precise splice work, and like you said the quality of the material being a bit inferior, as compared to Trevor's cues. But all these are reflected in the price, hence my comment that one should not expect them to be in the same league.

yea i hear what u saying. agree. but i think playability, i havent had a problem with any. i dont want to state that they are on par with trevor on playability, but from what ive played with, both as good as each other

[andy carson]

the simple straightforward answer..

the best maple you can get comes from the maple tree - if it comes from an oak tree reject it, it aint good maple

(what i mean is you cant really tell good from bad until you try it out in a cue and see how it goes playing with it - it might look amazing and play crap, it might look crap and play amazing, or somewhere in the middle........)

[sanman]

what does it matter what is good or not in terms of qulaity. If you comfortable with it. If it improves the rate of getting balls in the pocket and if it improves skill and positioning I couldn't care if it looks like crap or feel like a brick as long as it satisfies the above requirements. at the end of the day a pice of equipment should be used with two requirements. to get the job done satisfactorily and two to improve you ability.