Do any cue makers use English Ash any-more?

[foss13]

Gav @ Mike Wooldridge Cues uses English Ash with superb results

[kadobau]

Gav @ Mike Wooldridge Cues uses English Ash with superb results

Gav only ? Mike ?

[warren132]

No one uses so called English ash anymore due to the face that it was all used up years ago.

[Leo]

No one uses so called English ash anymore due to the face that it was all used up years ago.

You can tell just by looking at the ash used by the top cuemakers of today that it's not English ash as it looks new so to speak, and getting all these perfect chevrons on English ash wouldn't have the same effect.

[strobbekoen]

I had a cue made of Acacia wood once, and that was actually very good. He said it was used in old days for the undercarriage of coaches as it was tough but bendable. I guess the choice of woods also has to do with the available supplies.

[Leo]

You don't know which cuemaker is using which supplier so in theory your £250 ash shaft could well be from the same place as your £800 shaft, but then you go down the road of who made that actual cue ,that's where the prices will change considerably.

[foss13]

Gav only ? Mike ?

I Believe Mike has a stock of Engish Ash. I had 1 made last year with English ash superb cue, but then again all mikes cues are;- even his so called sin bins

[Stupree]

Do any cue makers use English Ash any-more?

English Ash is available in board form but not in abundance, and it may not be as desirable to the masses who are becoming accustomed to pale chevron perfect North American and Siberian timber.

ADR is correct in stating Chalara is playing its part in affecting the growth of Ash in this country, however it does mean that when a nice piece can be found it is likely to have a nice bit of age to it. I will forever have my eyes peeled for an ideal piece of ash for 'the one' :snooker:

[strobbekoen]

how would you identify a ash cue being made out of english ash ?

[perpetualboredom]

Just wondered if you did want old English ash cue now is no one doing this at all or do you have to now buy an old rack cue and have it re-spliced or a burwatt champion or something?

Exactly that! In fact theres a half decent player(!) bobbing over to mine today to have a look at a few cues with a mind to do just that!

[Stupree]

how would you identify a ash cue being made out of english ash ?

Not easily as colour and grain can be similar.

English Ash does come certified for growth in this country but unless you've seen the board itself you still have no guarantee that's what you've ended up with.

[jrc750]

how would you identify a ash cue being made out of english ash ?

I try shouting at my cue, if it understands me and does as it's told it must be English

[j6uk]

I try shouting at my cue, if it understands me and does as it's told it must be English

in that case then spotting an english cue will be easy, they'll be crap on the floor around it and it will be the most battered cue with no tip or ferrule and it'll have people living in the open splices

[jim evans]

ive got a couple of cues that are english ash,made about 17 yr ago.

[vmax4steve]

wood is wood, its all the same, most want what looks the best first then think about using it last

Ash and maple timber is best from countries that have cold climates as that induces slow growth which makes the grain tighter and straighter. So north america and siberia have the best climates to produce timber which is more consistantly tight, straight grained, thus more of the best quality timber for snooker cues can be found in a large quantity of timber sourced from those countries.

Global warming will put paid to this in the future, the climate in the Uk is never consistantly cold enough in winter to produce an abundance of cue quality ash, but it can be found when selecting certain boards that have a tight straight grain in certain areas of them.
I have just bought two such boards from ebay where on one side of each board the grain is very tight and straight before spreading out on the other side of the boards. So from these two boards I should be able to get at least four good shafts of premium quality and four of lesser than premium quality, but still good if they don't bend too much during the planing process.
No idea if this ash is english as the ad doesn't state where it comes from, but it looks browner in colour than the normal NA and siberian ash so it could very well be.

As the Uk is ravaged by ash dieback and trees are felled to stop the spread of the disease it could be that the timber will be used for burning in power stations, but if the timber isn't too badly effected by the moths larvae an awful lot should be cheaply available and if selected wisely one could get some really good stuff at cheap prices.
That won't mean cheap cues though as we all know that products are nowadays priced at what consumers are prepared to pay rather than sticking to a profit margin that keeps the business ticking over.

So no, wood is not wood, and it's not all the same. You have to search out the good stuff.