cue making

[wilbs]

Hi All
Been visiting as a guest for a little while and thought you guys would be in the know. I'm after a supplier of ash/ maple for cue making, can you recommend any companies. I keep sending emails to various companies but to no avail. I make purely as a hobby but as you all know you can only get good results with decent materials. Looking forward to hearing from someone/ anyone!!!

[ADR147]

try HDL in Manchester - Mr Simon Marsden. or ask your nearset cue maker nicely.

[wilbs]

Many thanks to you ADR147
I've managed to locate an email address for HDL and will drop them a message, as for my local cuemaker, I'm in Devon. Any ideas?

[trevs1]

Many thanks to you ADR147
I've managed to locate an email address for HDL and will drop them a message, as for my local cuemaker, I'm in Devon. Any ideas?

On what scale are you proposing to build cues???

That information would be useful in pointing you in the right direction.

[wilbs]

Hello Trevor
Thanks for your interest, basically I have worked on cues for many years, mostly in a small repair capacity, ferrules, tips, etc. I was given some ash many years ago and although mostly unsuitable for cues I have worked my way through it and learnt quite a bit along the way. I work full time and so want to build cues purely because like many readers of this post I've always had a keen interest in the weight, feel, look and playability of the cue. My experiments have been many and educational, I can certainly relate to so of the earlier posts regarding 'my first cue' and ripping ebony by hand! Anyway I now have a decent bandsaw and lathe to mechanise some of the precision work, but I actually use a jackplane for most of the wood removal. I'm not interested in trying to make a living from cue building, it is purely a self fulfilling hobby/ interest/ passion. My request for decent materials to work with is hopefully the next step/s in taking my hobby further. Hope this is helpful and thanks again for your interest.
Wilbs

[craigslater]

Hi

Cuemaking is an artform which not a lot of people are good at, just thought id drop a message to wish you luck on your cue building journey, i would love to hear how it comes along....

[trevs1]

Hi again Wilbs,

So what are you looking for with the ash and maple???

Are you after the rough sawn timber, selected blanks specifically for shafts or finished shafts?

[wilbs]

Morning Trevor, Happy New Year to you and all.
I'm looking for specially selected blanks for shafts, I think I remember that you source your own materials, but I'm hoping to be put in contact with a reliable company who can supply some good quality blanks. I would suppose part finished/ finished blanks would be more of a commercial purchase and therefore more expensive? I'd be happy to read your thoughts on the matter. Oh and many thanks to craigslater for his good wishes.
regards wilbs

[trevs1]

Well, H.D.L in Manchester used to deal with selected blanks for cue making I know, but, it's been a long while since I used them for anything at all, so wouldn't really know now.

The problem is, if you want the very best quality timber for shafts, you will have to buy a reasonable amount of it, as even great looking stock can have defect within that is not too easy to spot in the board, or, even blank form. This leads to wastage, and this then can be costly. I guess it all depends on how you'd grade the quality yourself, and, what the minimum quality you'd be willing to accept actually is.

I hope I'm making sense here.

If you're willing to go to a timber yard, select you own timber, then convert it to shaft form, then you have the freedom to select what you see as good enough. However, if you are just going to buy from the likes of HDL, then you will be trusting to them as to what 'good enough' means. This can be where the disagreement kicks in.

The bottom line is that the very very best shaft materials do take time and considerable effort to find, besides the cost. If you want nothing but the best stuff however, I think that it might be the only way to ensure you get it, as most cue makers will place extemely high value on their 'A grade' shafts, and WILL NOT want to sell it. These are the kind of shafts 'everyone' wants, although most people will have no idea how small a percentage of the timber worked, actually yields finished shafts of this quality.

This is partly why the very best cues, built from the very best materials, cost what they do.

It's a tricky one for you I know.

[wilbs]

Thanks Trevor for your time and input, your points are very valid and informative and as you rightly say a tricky one to consider. At this moment in time my options are fairly limited, but at least HDL is a possibility and I'll follow that up this week and keep you posted.

[Unkle Jackie]

don't know if the shipping would be cost prohibitive, but a lot of poeple in the USA use www.bellforestproducts.com

just a thought,,,,,,,,,,,j

[ADR147]

don't know if the shipping would be cost prohibitive, but a lot of poeple in the USA use www.bellforestproducts.com

just a thought,,,,,,,,,,,j

no use for us. in the usa they call a shaft length 27-30" long - or half what we use.

[wilbs]

Thanks for the thought Unkle Jackie

Regards Wilbs

[cocked hat]

Cue timber

Hi Wilbs,
I expect you've already thought of them but as you're close to Axminster power tools,have you given them a try?They don't sell any wood long enough for our use as a rule but I've always found them very helpful and knowledgeable,if they didn't have anything they might point you in the right direction.
I've just finished making my first,hard work but very rewarding.I'm just off to give it the first outing of the year.Good luck with your quest.Tony.

[wilbs]

Hello Tony
Thanks for the thought, I have bought small amounts of hardwood from them, as you say they only seem to sell the 'woodturning blanks'. But hey it's worth a try I suppose.
regards Wilbs