good piece of maple?

[desso]

How can one tell a good piece of maple from the appearance alone? Unlike ash, there isnt much to look at :-P thanks

[DeanH]

well there you go...
the lack of any blemishes/features

but looks do not necessarily make a good player

[jaffa.johnson]

Very difficult, its about feel rather than look. I have same opinion about ash although i am maple guy!

I would recommeding reading the below.

http://www.handmadecues.com/1-Home/24-ashormaple.htm

[eaoin11]

Blemishes can make a new maple shaft look a bit cheap, especially if they are lacquered. But I find that even the most blemished cues actually look fine and gain character as they age if they have an oiled finish.

[Leo]

The look of an ash or the look of maple on a cue shouldn't even cross peoples minds when choosing a cue,when I pick a cue right for me I'll knock a few balls in and don't give a monkeys wether I've got zig zag chevrons that spells out t*t on the shaft as long as it plays well it's all what matters.

[bradwight]

I learnt a lesson about maple when making one of my first shafts... It had a tiny little brown speckle on it, smaller than a pin head. It never changed size all the way through the planing process but when Id finished it and started the sanding it snapped immediately. Turned out the tiny dot was hiding a large cavity, about 4mm across) which just happened to be completely hidden inside the shaft. I now make sure I don't pick maple with any blemishes whatsoever on them. Pissed me right off at the time but at least I learnt something from it and still have the remnants for making a 3/4 shaft at some point in the future.

[desso]

Thanks all for the advises.

[Maverick54]

i learnt a lesson about maple when making one of my first shafts... It had a tiny little brown speckle on it, smaller than a pin head. It never changed size all the way through the planing process but when id finished it and started the sanding it snapped immediately. Turned out the tiny dot was hiding a large cavity, about 4mm across) which just happened to be completely hidden inside the shaft. I now make sure i don't pick maple with any blemishes whatsoever on them. Pissed me right off at the time but at least i learnt something from it and still have the remnants for making a 3/4 shaft at some point in the future.

woodworm

[bradwight]

That was my first thought but it clearly wasn't. It was a naturally occurring blemish in the wood. No holes leading to it or any other sign of something having entered or departed. Just a tiny little cavity surrounded by knot like wood and by sheer chance it ended up inside the shaft instead of me finding it during planing. Vant begin to describe how feckin pissed off i was when it snapped!