ash or maple

[sunny3909]

I was planning to buy a new cue from master cue, should i go for maple or ash.Is there any difference in playability and the feel of these two woods.

[Watford]

Personal pref!
I like maple smoother no grain!

[Wity]

You collecting cues then Sunny? How many will that make?

I've read elsewhere Mastercue are not be as good as they once were. Ulkrit may not even own the company now he went thorough a divorce lost control of it and standards fell. Might be true might be just rumour I dunno.

Got a price list for them? I've one dated December which is in dollars and is way way lower than the one in pounds they sent me a couple of months back which is akin to what shops here are selling them for. Both are retail price lists.

[ADR147]

i have the trade price lists - can't see why you would not go o'min for same money. that said they can turn out a good cue

[ADR147]

oh - and from them i would go ash.

[sunny3909]

Thanks guys!The reason I was going for the master cue was bcoz I heard a lot of good things about them and so I thought I should try out there 1 piece cue but now I guess I should go for mike woolridge 1 piece.According to me he is the best cuemaker besides trevor white.

[lbs]

oh - and from them i would go ash.

any reasons why you would recommend ash over maple from master cue?

[ADR147]

i have seen both!

[Watford]

I saw a Master cue with a pear wood shaft on ebay years ago looked really good.
I liked the idea of having one for a bit. Super smooth and whippy as hell I hear!
Dragon cues used to still make pearwood cues but they've stopped now; too hard to handle a believe.
I think Mannocks tend to be pear!

What do you think about woods other than Maple and ash?
Pear
Hickory
Oak

[ADR147]

I saw a Master cue with a pear wood shaft on ebay years ago looked really good.
I liked the idea of having one for a bit. Super smooth and whippy as hell I hear!
Dragon cues used to still make pearwood cues but they've stopped now; too hard to handle a believe.
I think Mannocks tend to be pear!

What do you think about woods other than Maple and ash?
Pear
Hickory
Oak

twas me selliing that cue i think!

mannocks do tend to be made of steamed pear - hence the anti grip name.
pear feels nice the trouble is that it bends. the nicest are the straight (ie not steamed and pink) pear cues but you don't see many.

[gingerale]

How does one get a maple cue from o'min? And what would it cost? I've only seen retailers offering their ash cues.

[ADR147]

they make plenty of maples aswell - you could try paul morris - welshpool on ebay.

[Semih_Sayginer]

the hickory cue ive used was good, but quite expensive, so dont think it was value........

id prefer ash, but down to personal preference, as has been said

[Nugget]

This is what the cue maker Kevin Muncaster had to say:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/spor...8/cd_ash.shtml

And Steve Davis giving advice on picking a cue:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...er/4432771.stm

I love that he describes your cue as "your friend"!

[trevs1]

With referrence to the post above.

I'm not understanding Kevin Muncasters view that maple is unstable, and, what he means by untimbered has lost me.

If anyone here knows what untimbered means, I'd genuinely like to know, as I'm not familiar with the term.

I wouldn't agree that maple is any more difficult to obtain than ash, as either are readily available in this country. Maple does cost considerably more than ash, but, both can be found in sufficient quantities for high quality cue production, it just needs careful selecting.

I can't say I find maple any more difficult to use than ash either, and in fact, I'd say to finish an ash cue 'really' well, is arguably more work than it is with maple, as you've got the open grained nature of ash to contend with.

All in all, I would say a maple cue takes no longer to build than an ash cue.
My reasoning for why ash is used more is this:

A) Cost

B) Fashion

The following is an e-mail I recently sent a player who'd enquired about a cue, asking about the main differences between ash and maple.

THIS:

As for maple, it has no real advantage over ash, but, the main differences between the two are:

Maple has less figure than ash with no really pronounced, visible growth rings, so appears clear when sighting down the shaft.
Maple is also very fine textured and finishes very smooth, although when ash is finished very well, it also has an excellent feel.
Maple tends to have a harder sounding contact than ash, with a more 'woody' ring when striking the ball, though this will be less noticeable on a pool table.
Maple can be heavier than ash, offering a more naturally forward weighted cue, though again when built well, ash is every bit as good.

To sum it up, many people who use maple have used it for years, and, have trouble when sighting down an ash cue. However, ash is by far the more popular choice, people find it more attractive, many will use the grain patterns to aid their sighting and just like the 'feel' of it, as it does generally have a slightly softer feeling contact, and can often be a little more responsive with the cueball.

It's horses for courses though Lee, and ultimately, preference plays the biggest part as one is no better than the other.