Ash used by British Cuemakers

[tcollick]

Hi everyone,
Could anyone please tell me what type of ash the British cuemakers such as Trevor White use for the shaft. I have a cuemaker friend here and he wants to make a special cue to British specification. He heard that they use a type of Scottish ash but wanted me to clarify. He only has Canadian ash. If there is any difference please let me know. thanks in advance!

[poolqjunkie]

Hi everyone,
Could anyone please tell me what type of ash the British cuemakers such as Trevor White use for the shaft. I have a cuemaker friend here and he wants to make a special cue to British specification. He heard that they use a type of Scottish ash but wanted me to clarify. He only has Canadian ash. If there is any difference please let me know. thanks in advance!

My humble opinion is that a good piece of ash should have good density and good spring. I don't think its origin makes too much difference.
I am curious to hear what other cue makers think on this subject.

[alcotty321]

im with poolqjinkie , dont think its matters at all , ive just used english ash and ive used melia ash from indonesia both worked nice , the english ash is beautiful

[YDJ]

I use north american ash.
I believe most UK cuemakes will also use this.

[totlxtc]

My humble opinion is that a good piece of ash should have good density and good spring. I don't think its origin makes too much difference.
I am curious to hear what other cue makers think on this subject.

Agree with you fully mate. English ash tends to be a bit more expensive than American ash, so I know which way most makers would go unless the customer was to spec it. Only wood ive found that seems to be better from one place or the other is maple. North American maple is far better imho.

[trevs1]

American ash is used because it is harvested from a place which provides better growing conditions and arguably greater density of woodland. Such growing conditions yield larger trees, which in many circumstances leads to cleaner, straighter more evenly coloured timber with less defect. This is always going to be more cost effective for a cue maker than buying large amounts of English / European ash to grade through, which is often small, poorly shaped and regularly olive coloured through the heart. Yes, the English stuff is attractive (if you're making furniture or shopfitting), but not for cues, where good quality is highly dependant on visible aspects of the timber (especially the shaft).

Much the same as English oak compared to American white oak. The English stuff is more expensive, AND, more attractive. BUT, only because it is not produced in the sort of volume and consistent appearance that the American stuff is. This makes it more interesting and pretty to use. Again though, in the case of ash, that "pretty" figure is NOT what is required for good cue shafts.

As for the maple thing, well, the maple grown and produced in the UK or Europe is not hard maple (as the american stuff is) so is just not up to the task for cue shafts.

Simple as that.

[totlxtc]

As for the maple thing, well, the maple grown and produced in the UK or Europe is not hard maple (as the american stuff is) so is just not up to the task for cue shafts.

Learnt that the hard way....or should i say "Soft" way.

[poolqjunkie]

North American ash that I use comes from Quebec where it is very cold. I have also got some very nice and white maple from there as well.
I like the maple from Canada, we sometimes call it rock maple as it is indeed much harder than the maple from other parts of the world.

[ivanko]

North American ash that I use comes from Quebec where it is very cold. I have also got some very nice and white maple from there as well.
I like the maple from Canada, we sometimes call it rock maple as it is indeed much harder than the maple from other parts of the world.

what is the difference between rock maple and the timeless old grown maple?

[tcollick]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the great answers. I'll forward what I've learnt and I'm sure he'll stick with the Canadian ash that he has.