Custom light cue - What natural weight is possible?

[sootyvrs]

After experimenting with a lightweight cue (15oz) for UK Pool I'm now thinking of getting a quality custom cue made but would like to know the thoughts of experts of what is possible.

My current cue spec is
56" 17.1oz
8.5mm tip
16" 3/4 joint Ebony with 4 Makha wood splices 9.5oz
40" Ash Shaft is 7.6oz

I'm not sure if my current cue has artificial weight anywhere so I'm wondering if it's possible to have a cue with the following spec to be around 15.5oz?

55" 3/4 cue
8.5" tip
40" Maple shaft
15" Ebony butt

I have read that most cues have weight added to them to get above 16oz but not sure how true this is.

Also is there techniques that can be used to make the above lighter if required e.g. drilling and filling with lighter wood/material?

I assume another option is to go for a lighter butt wood instead of ebony although I do like the plain black ebony look?

[ADR147]

i think ebony is about 5 times heavier than ash or maple so thats one way of keeping the weight down.

[DeanH]

I have always thought that rosewood is less dense than ebony so maybe change the butt to rosewood and you may get a lighter resulting cue?

[jimmychins]

i think ebony is about 5 times heavier than ash or maple so thats one way of keeping the weight down.

I know that ebony is the only wood that sinks in water. That’s why boats are not made from it... I suppose its better that way

[DeanH]

I know that ebony is the only wood that sinks in water.

Incorrect, check out Lignum Vitae and other woods known as "ironwoods".

Another thought for sootyvrs, maybe the maker could do a very short ebony butt (if you really do want ebony) to compensate for weight <shrug>?

[sootyvrs]

I really would prefer a 3/4 cue (for convenience) and looking at my current butt at 9.5oz I'm thinking that losing 1" from the length assuming like for like perhaps will lose 1.5oz? I guess the Makha wood splices in my current butt perhaps makes it lighter than a full ebony butt

I'm also wanting the cue to be balanced around the ideal 17" mark hence thinking that a short ebony butt perhaps will make it have a balance point nearer the butt end.

[DeanH]

When I said a short butt of ebony, I was talking about the actual amount of (length of) ebony wood splices on the end of the shaft not the location of the joint
I am sure the only answer will come from a cue maker and their experience, but I believe that Crispian Jones (case maker) has gone through many cues of varying weights (and lengths) and plays pool with a very light cue. See if you can find some of his previous postings on the subject.
All the best

[jim evans]

hi sootyvrs look at the 1 i posted on the pics of your cues that is 58ins and weighs about 13 0z,might give you an idea as to what woods to use

[jaffa.johnson]

What you need to know is how the cues are made.

Having a 3/4 cue you will be having a solid block of your butt wood, whether this be rosewood, ebony, cocobolo etc.

Each piece will weigh different so you will need to speak to the cue maker to see what stock they have. Generally 3/4 cues are made to there weight by the cuemaker selecting a block to the requested weight. Sometimes weight will be added to the block for really heavy cues.

There is an option to have weight removed from the block to make it lighter. The cue maker can remove some of the wood making it weigh less and filling the gap with a dowel. Some cue makers might not do this for you though.

If you went the 1 piece option, this is done differently and the cues come out around 14-15oz and are then wegithed accordingly.

Or

You can request the cue maker to make your 3/4 the way they would a one piece and then get them to add the joint above the splices. There are examples of cues like this around the forum.


Do you know who you are buying from?

[the_paz]

i have a 1 piece, ash shaft, plain black ebony butt cue, 56 inch, 15 oz, bout an 8 mil tip which i use for pool, custom made by the main man mike wooldridge.

its superb, so the specs your after can be done mate but wont come cheap, but quality never is.

[deant1982]

As mentioned by someone above, I think the best way is to have it made as a 1pc cue, and a joint fitted. This can be done above, through, or possibly below the splices (below will give a short butt section though).
A friend of mine playes with a custom made JP ultimate, that weighs in at 15oz. It is centre jointed, but he was advised to go with sonokelling rosewood for the butt in order to keep the weight down.
I'm sure you could probably get away with using ebony for a 1pc cue and get it split to hit your required weight, but I think if you have a 3/4 made with a solid butt, you won't get 15.5 oz.

Also, there are several woods that sink in water. Any with a density over 1 will sink. Lignum vitae (as mentioned) is one wood that sinks, and faster than Ebony as it is denser.

[sootyvrs]

My plan is to use the same cue maker as I got my original cue as I really want an option to swap the butts between cue shafts.

I find that the ash shaft I have right now very responsive and is near perfect in feel but I'm still finding the ash grain distracting and having to rotate the grain pattern when I'm in mid flow cueing is affecting my concentration. In time I may get used to a pre-shot routine that makes this natural but in 3 months of using this cue, it hasn't happened.

This is why I want to try out a maple shaft and if it doesn't work out I will just use the lighter butt end with my other ash shaft which I know I can play well with. I will give exact diameter dimensions for the join to the cue maker.

From what Jaffa has mentioned on the first page I hope it will be easy for the cue maker to match up the weight to each part of the cue i.e. shaft & butt.

[trevs1]

If you have spoken to your maker, he should have told you that....You would be able to have the butt made of ebony, but not solid ebony.

This is done by lamintaing the ebony over a core of ash / maple. This is a simple process and is a way of reducing the weight of an otherwise naturally heavy 3/4 cue. The ebony is spliced onto a square block of a lighter timber i.e. ash or maple, and once turned round, would appear as a solid ebony butt, though far lighter.

The issue you have is that you want it with a maple shaft, which is generally heavier than ash, but if the timber is carefully selected, it shouldn't be too much of a prblem to get it close to your desired weight, especially as the cue is clearly short and thin.

[deant1982]

Trevor to the rescue.

It depends though Trevor, his regular maker is probably not to standard or experience level you are, so may not know to do that. I wouldn't have known, (but I'm not a cuemaker by trade).

One question relating to this, would having the butt made this way not severely hinder cue power?

[sootyvrs]

Thanks Trevor for your valuable experienced input.

I have just spoken to my cue maker and he has informed me that the weights I have requested should be possible.

He did not go into detail of how but I now feel happy that it seems as if the spec I want is achievable

Now the waiting game......