Snooker cue and ebony

[Scott Walker]

I've just started to make a few snooker cues and looking for a few ideas from you lovely lot.

1) keeping a shiny finish. I'm finishing with cellulose sanding sealer, then with RAW Linseed oil but the ebony is dulling quickly. Don't want to varnish etc..

I'm going through the grit to 2000 wet and dry.

Should I use wax? Or a different oil mix?

2) Im after AAA ebony blanks but can't seem to find a regular supplier at the top AAA quality end in my size. 1.5" 19". Any ideas.

3) I'm after a strawberry red colour wood blank in 19" blanks too. Can't find the right Red Heart yet. Looked at stabalized wood but again only seem to be pen blank sizes.

 

[Trevanion]

I've just started to make a few snooker cues and looking for a few ideas from you lovely lot.

1) keeping a shiny finish. I'm finishing with cellulose sanding sealer, then with RAW Linseed oil but the ebony is dulling quickly. Don't want to varnish etc..

I have no idea why you would use raw linseed oil on top of sanding sealer, especially cellulose. The oil won't penetrate into the timber through the sealer and it's a pointless affair as it just wipes straight off the sealer. It's always oil first, then sanding sealer, you can use sanding sealer on top of linseed oil but not vice versa. You really should only be using lacquer or varnish on top of cellulose sanding sealer as that's what you use it as a base for, it's not really meant for use with the more natural products.

You'd be much better doing a base coat with boiled linseed oil (Raw will stay sticky for a very long time, boiled dries off much quicker) or danish oil after sanding to at most 320 grit as it would be pointless to go any higher as the grain will raise and all effort for getting a smooth 2000 would be ruined. Then I would coat it with a few (3 minimum) coats of shellac sanding sealer rubbing down with 0000 wire wool in between coats and then wax it (Soft beeswax or similar) and buff it to whatever shiny finish you want. The wax will make the cue much slicker in your hands and will give you that shiny finish you're after.

An ideal world would be using the cellulose sanding sealers with spray lacquer to get the perfect plastic smooth feel. But I can see why it puts people off.

2) Im after AAA ebony blanks but can't seem to find a regular supplier at the top AAA quality end in my size. 1.5" 19". Any ideas.

Very seldom will you get that high of a grade of Ebony in a decent size, they're all pretty much snapped up instantly by the bespoke instrument makers before they even come close to the public market. Exotic Hardwoods UK do have Ebony in the size you require but whether it's the correct grade is another thing. Is it a good enough grade for a pool cue? More than likely. If you want really black timber African Blackwood is a good alternative and pretty much looks the same as Ebony in some cases and is much easier to get a hold of.

3) I'm after a strawberry red colour wood blank in 19" blanks too. Can't find the right Red Heart yet. Looked at stabalized wood but again only seem to be pen blank sizes.

Have you looked at Padauk? It's a brilliant red when it's first finished and the colour does last a long time before dulling (Red Heart also dulls to a brown with time) It's also a LOT cheaper than Red Heart in the sizes you want. Bloodwood is also a good contender if you can actually get a piece that size anymore. Pink Ivory is also an expensive option but is also a very pinky red colour. Anything other than that is either impossible to get a hold of any more or you'd be locked up trying to get it!

Those are very nice looking pool cues by the way.

 

[Scott Walker]

Thank you.

Still learning what does what without spending a fortune. Sealers vs oils and waxes. Some great suggestions here.

 

[marcros]

truoil would work nicely as a finish/. it is used on guns, and guitars. I don't see why it wouldn't on a cue, but having never made one, nor used one of any quality do some further research, at least on scrap.

 

[novocaine]

don't finish the first 20" of cue, it's a pain in the arse to clean it back off for use. as to the rest of the cue, take a look at any half way high end cue and it will be a matt finish, normally wax over oil, lots of layers, occasionally matt poly.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have a very nice two part cue (no, pics, unfortunately, camera's died.) Nice? I paid £60 for it in 1981 ....... By the bye ........... the butt and the other end are finished totally differently - the butt is a very hard high gloss, and the other end is virtually untreated (maple). You don't want a high gloss where they slide over your hand, so I suppose an oil based finish like TruOil could be good as you could use more coats on the butt end and flatten or gloss the cue as you wished.

 

[Woodmonkey]

Have you looked at rocklite ebano? It's a sustainable alternative to real ebony.
https://www.rocklite.co.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/ ... ent&part=3

I've used it for the fretboard of a bass I've been building, most luthiers who have used it seem to rate it highly.

 

[alexnharvey]

Hi Scott. I am also thinking of making a cue. I wondered if you. Or anyone else, has a good source of straight grained ash blanks?