Is wood grain naturally black?

[Qubit]

The grain MUST be filled somehow. There are numerous ways of doing so, but it must be done. It can even be done by oiling the cue and then sanding and repeating, effectively creating a slurry which gradually fills the grain. But it MUST be done in some way.

[Wity]

Sealed yes filled no. Big difference i've already explained.

[Qubit]

Sealed yes filled no. Big difference i've already explained.

Yes filled. Then sealed, or you can sort of combine both processes in a way as i already described. Have you ever seen a completely bare (ie not yet made into a cue) ash shaft?
EDIT:

I dont wish to get involved in an argument. I dont know everything, and neither do you.

[Wity]

You still aint clicked it have you? you seal the wood to stop moisture getting in and warping the cue. You fill the wood to fill in inperfections dents gouges etc. Filling in wont seal it and sealing it wont fill it.

I've a couple of 2 piece cues here I'll take some photos of and post if they come out but both have been heavily sanded down to the bare wood lightening them both considerably as they were both old and darkened with age. Both of them I thought were all ash (butt and shaft) with painted butts. The one to which I repainted the butt red was all ash. the other I did blue had a ramin (i think) joined to ash butt.
I sealed them with linseed and then used a mahogony wood stain on both butts as i had no undercoat to hand then spray painted them with acrylic car paint. The all ash red now has a perfectly smooth finish. The blue ramin ended one is naff. pitted horribly. I realised then that i needed to either powder coat it as it probably was originally or use a filler. That proved it to me that some woods need to be filled to become smooth but ash doesn't.

The shafts on each turned out great better than they were when new but that dont say much as they were both originally lacqured but they are equally as smooth as the class cue i had off ADR Both have grains as dark as in fact darker in places than ADR's. The visible main difference being the colour. ADR's is pretty dark due methinks not only to the natural colour but also because he uses a guttering pipe filled with linseed and soaks his cues in it whereas others apply it by hand with paper towel. The more thats applied the darker it'll be.

[cueman]

Trevor, please tell Wity he is wrong, he won't have it otherwise!

[Qubit]

Sorry mate, its you who havent clicked. I have 4 ash shafts at home, 3 from one cue maker, and one from another (I wont name them). All 4 will require the grain to be filled before they are made into completed cues. I am still trying out various ways of achieving this. You dont fill dents, gouges, you can attempt to steam them out or a number of other ways involving heat/friction and/or moisture to expand the wood back to the correct level. You are not in posession of all the facts.

http://www.maximumbreak.com/forum/vi...?tid=41&page=8

(post by Dave Buswell of Mastercraft cues near the bottom of this page.)


Can i have my fiver please?

[Wity]

Trevor, please tell Wity he is wrong, he won't have it otherwise!

lol shall we call it a draw then if he does as i've already proved your wrong.

[cueman]

No, you should just take your medicine and admit you are wrong. I wouldn't post unless I knew I was right.

[cueman]

Sorry mate, its you who havent clicked. I have 4 ash shafts at home, 3 from one cue maker, and one from another (I wont name them). All 4 will require the grain to be filled before they are made into completed cues. I am still trying out various ways of achieving this. You dont fill dents, gouges, you can attempt to steam them out or a number of other ways involving heat/friction and/or moisture to expand the wood back to the correct level. You are not in posession of all the facts.

http://www.maximumbreak.com/forum/vi...?tid=41&page=8

(post by Dave Buswell of Mastercraft cues near the bottom of this page.)


Can i have my fiver please?

Just to say, regarding that post near the bottom, the person asking the question (matt992) also known as Cueman, me!

[Morse]

having talked to trevor about a guy who wanted blue chevrons and how its done it is a filler/dye of some sort wity ash isnt normally black and white it has a natural grain but it is emphasised by the cuemaker what it is i am not sure but as i told you you can have an ash shaft with blue chevrons so unless it is a tree from the famous blue forest? i guess its a dye!

[Wity]

I said "I doubted any top cuemaker would use a filler"
Fair enough some do that does not prove me wrong as I never claimed none use it.

Cueman though catogorically stated:
"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 quote off Wooldriges site proves he's wrong ! And he thinks i'm gonna give him a fiver :roflmao: Dream on kiddo.

Re the mastercraft post at max break.."like the cheaper chinese and taiwanese for example, their cues have normally been coated with sanding sealer."

Funny that, many of the top yank cuebuilders swear by sanding sealer.

[Wity]

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.

Ah erm yes well hmmmm okay I'll accept the Mastercraft guys use it even though he aint told me.

p.m. me your email addy cueman and I'll paypal you the fiver.


Your still wrong though not all do

Note to self... Stupid bugger Wit. Make a bet by all means but dont offer money ever again ! Arrogant arsehole.

[Qubit]

err hang on. You owe me the fiver!


Only kidding mate. No hard feelings, only online banter.

Anyway, im sure Trevor will be along to tell us that we're all a bunch of idiots and completely wrong!

[cueman]

Its okay Wity, I didn't make a bet with you in the first place. I don't even have a paypal account and what's five quid to me anyway!

[Wity]

Lol, since last posting i went downstairs and watched the prince of Belair if anyones familiar with the proggy it was the one where he gets hustled in a pool hall and the judge/uncle comes to the rescue and re husles his money back.

Cant help but feel i've hustled myself here seeing as i've read the thread at maximum break long ago.

Cueman + QUbit.. Beers on me if your ever in Wolvo then.