Chevrons

[tomeestrings]

I Have been reading many threads with regards to Ash V Maple , I have also been looking at Cues for sale and what confuses me most is that for some reason ? Some say that the two chevron shaft is rarer suggesting that they may be more valuable ?? But most people want equally spaced 6, 7, 8 chevron cues . Is this about : Playability V Cosmetics or can an Ash plank be cut to reveal as many or as little chevrons as is required ?? Waste being no consideration !!! What plays best ??

[Neil Taperell]

I use a cue with 2 chevrons . But normally don't want anymore than 5 . Purely cosmetic for me .

As i like to spin the cue to have the chevrons facing upwards .

[tomeestrings]

Cheers for the reply

[PetMarmoset]

My cue has 3 chevrons, which I quite like (but didn't specify). A cuemaker may correct me but I think number and spacing of chevrons has little to no bearing on playability; it's purely cosmetic. Also, cue makers can't cut a piece of ash to have a certain number of chevrons. They have to find a piece of timber that naturally has the properties they're looking for. This process involves a lot of waste in wood and labour.

I think Mike Wooldridge has more information on his site. He and Trevor White are certainly the most knowledgable people on the forum about this sort of thing.

[tomeestrings]

Thanks I am sure they will both know if the cut of the grain makes any kind of difference to playability . I have quite a few cues and the shafts seem very stiff one way but not in another direction surely this would make a slight difference ?? Does anybody agree Dis-agree ??

[PetMarmoset]

From Mike Wooldridge's site:

"Every piece of Ash is different. It varies in grain pattern, weight, and colour.

Some grain can be tight and wild, running all over the place with lots of arrows and lines, other pieces can have very wide grain lines with very few arrows.

Some pieces are naturally heavy, some are light.

Some are naturally dark, others pale.

None of these factors has has any particular effect on the quality of the wood and how well it plays and there is no rule that says any one type is better than another.

In fact, for those people who think they can tell if a cue will play a certain way just by looking at it, think again. Wide or tight grain, it can be stiff or whippy. I've seen and handled thousands of cues. This is a fact.

The only way to tell, is to actually test it. Not just look at it."

Not sure what more there is to say. Every shaft is different.

[vmax4steve]

An ash shaft with very straight grain running along it will have very few chevrons while one with grain that runs in waves along it will have many more. It's these waves that bring the grain to the surface of the two plain faces of the shaft that creates the chevrons.
Wood when it dries out will tend to move with the grain so therefore a shaft with very straight grain should stay straight so is considered premium quality but if a piece of ash that has been slowly seasoned or properly kiln dried is used for a shaft and is looked after by its owner this shouldn't be an issue.
Then again I have split many pieces of timber over the years on a bandsaw that seem to be premium quality and immediately on cutting one or both subsequent pieces can peel off and bow to a great extent making the wood useless. This is caused by tensions within the wood that just can't be recognised simply by looking at it and one can waste good money on seemingly good timber when this happens.

[asprey]

Just pick which ever you fancy. The arrows should not have too much of a impact on how you play. However may i add, if you feel good, you will naturally play better .

[tomeestrings]

Thats great Guys thanks Those answers are the type I was kinda hoping for Cheers Tommy .