Is wood grain naturally black?

[mchpddl1]

Hello,
I notice in ash cues, the grain pattern (chevrons) etc, are black or dark brown color. Is ist natural for grain to have colour, or they are just dyned?
Thanks, it interesting to know more of wood properties.
Barry Chow

[Wity]

Doubt you will ever find an Ash cue thats been dyed but the cut of the wood what it's treated with, what if any polish is applied, and how old the cue is will all effect the colour of the wood and the darkness of the grain.

Ash like any wood will vary in its look for example see..
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/ash.htm

[jimmymoller]

a custom cue maker in my area puts fine shades of ebony in the grain

[Wity]

a custom cue maker in my area puts fine shades of ebony in the grain

eh?


lol cant submit just "eh?" the board software says the message is to short but how else can i say it.... erm.. what? how? who? why?

[Qubit]

I think most cue makers use some kind of staining and filling process for ash. But this is only what my limited experience has shown me. Im sure that someone with more knowledge (Trevs1?) will be along to prove me wrong.

[cueman]

Ash has deep grain and therefore needs to have a filler applied to fill the grains and make the wood smooth. There are all sorts of different fillers out there and it depends what you like to use.

[Wity]

What a load of crap.

[mchpddl1]

So what is the right answer, i can imagine filling the grains with fillers, but why they appear as black, and most cues use black? i prefer to use blue if possible :-)

[Qubit]

What a load of crap.

What are you referring to as a load of crap? Ash is an open grained wood, and therefore the grain must be filled in some way. There are various ways of doing this. The grain is light in most ash and will usually require some kind of staining, darkening to get the look usually seen on most ash shafted cues.

ADR147 recommended shoe polish in this thread for staining the grain:http://www.thesnookerforum.com/cues-...-cue-4996.html

[Wity]

Maybe cueman was getting mixed up between fillers and sealants, maybe I'm totally wrong but I doubt it so much theres a fiver here for any cuemaker who tells me he uses a "wood filler" on a new ash shaft.


Shoe polish is basically wax, yes it can be used to darken a ash shaft and make the grain appear darker as can a kiddies crayon. It's a filler of sorts (crayons work good on minor dents in a car panel for instance) but it's not permament and a long way from being a wood filler in the true sense of the phrase as a wood filler is usually fine sawdust mixed with a glue used as a repairer to fill in inperfections dents gashes and the like. Many if not all pieces that have had a filler applied are noticeable by eye unless another coat ie paint is applied.

Oils such as linseed whose primary use in cues is to repel moisture thus less chance of warping soak into the wood through the pours which goes someway to filling them up and a good polishing /burnishing afterwards will finish the seal leaving a smooth finish. Waxing on top of that is not really needed but it'll be another coat and add a shine.

Any cuemaker who uses a wood filler in an ash shaft doesnt know how to select a good piece to start with I reckon. I know I would not want one thats been filled thats for sure.

see also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_filler

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_finishing

[Qubit]

Im short on time so cant really reply fully. I think theres some confusion here. We're not talking about wood filler. Its grain filler - do a search. The grain must be filled in some manner, but there are other ways of achieving it, such as generating a slurry from sawdust from the cue and perhaps linseed or other oil. Shoe polish not used for filling the grain, used for staining the grain. Maple doesnt require grain filling as it is a closed grain timber

[cueman]

Yes Qubit, it is a grain filler, rather than a wood filler.
All ash cues will have some sort of grain filler applied to fill the deep lines that ash has in it. Regardless of what Wity says, all ash cues have this done, hence why all cues tend to have dark grain and chevrons, it is the filler that makes it dark, not the natural colour of ash!

[Qubit]

Yes Qubit, it is a grain filler, rather than a wood filler.
All ash cues will have some sort of grain filler applied to fill the deep lines that ash has in it. Regardless of what Wity says, all ash cues have this done, hence why all cues tend to have dark grain and chevrons, it is the filler that makes it dark, not the natural colour of ash!

The grain filler can be light or dark, or any shade in between. Or it can be filled and then stained. Usually the grain is stained in some way as its more aesthetically pleasing

[Wity]

Absolute bollocks.

For a start off a grain filler is a wood filler.

[Wity]

quote cueman:

All ash cues will have some sort of grain filler applied to fill the deep lines that ash has in it. Regardless of what Wity says

Yeah sure




This quote is taken Mike Wooldrige's site...

As a cue matures and ages, the grain tends to get darker, but even in a new cue this characteristic is obvious.

In fact, many new cues are artificially aged by using dyes and fillers.
Personally I prefer a natural sanded and oiled finish where the grain takes on it's own colour and ages naturally.

Every piece of Ash is different. It can vary greatly in colour, with some pieces naturally very dark and others vary pale. This has no effect on the quality of the wood and how well it plays, it just comes down to personal preference and whether you like the way it looks.

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

Again, there is no rule that says any one type is better than another. It just depends whether you find it pleasing to the eye.

That one top cuemaker who does not use fillers.
ADR doesn't either but he's in France at the mo so he cant confirm it.
Trevor' s around so he might throw in his two cents (and possibly take my fiver from me)but going back to how he recommended I treat an old cue I'd sanded down he never mentioned fillers so I doubt he uses them either.

Hell even the B.S. cue I have here aint got any in it