Ash shafts tech info

[denja]

I have noticed that ash shafts fall broadly in to the following 1/ Perfect chevrons (Darts) facing the cue ball and on the underside perfect chevrons facing the player. 2/ Chevrons facing cue ball and a a blank spine on the underside smooth with no grain.3/Some chevrons on top with a mixture of swirls and grain underneath. maybe some tech minded member could tell me what is the holy grail of a perfect ash shaft how is the ash selected and cut to arrive at the above shafts is it in the cutting or selection ?

[j6uk]

Selection, straight grain, though saying that having a straight grain cue with perfect even chevs is gonna guaranty a perfect playing cue. over the years Iv played with cues that have had real wild grain patterns and they've been some of the best cues iv played with in terms of touch and response..
Understanding wood in general and having 5-20 years experience is a plus i would think

[Terry Davidson]

I think a lot of cue buyers get overly concerned regarding chevrons on ash shafts. I believe all you need to have a really good ash shaft is reasonably straight grain as that will mean there are no knots or the edge of a knot in the ash wood.

A good cuemaker can 'tune' a piece of ash to give the cue buyer the number and spacing of chevrons that he requests but this takes extra work and care and will drive up the price but in the end it's still the same piece of ash.

I don't really think there is a 'perfect piece of ash' for shafts and players who demand a certain number of chevrons (usually 5 to 7) that are evenly spaced are just fooling themselves

Terry