NOW AT AUCTION

Spalted/Stabilized Tiger Maple on Solid Purple Heart BUTT with JOINT PROTECTOR: $775

Notes about the auction:

• Must register and have card info entered to bid.
• Bids received in last 5 minutes trigger 5-minute overtime session.
• After the auction closes, winning bidder can check out via this product page.
• If you’d like to add a shaft or extension, we’ll communicate by email or phone, and then I’ll adjust the product page to match the order.
• Butt can also be purchased during the auction using the “Buy Now” button.  

Notes about the build: This is a special cue that is going to feel a little different in the hand. You’ll notice the mass and balance right off. The butt began as a 1.5″ square, 30 inch piece of lightly curled purple heart. I turned the bottom part into a 3/4″ dowel and the top became the forearm of the cue, so one contiguous piece of purple heart runs through the butt.

Purple heart has a Janka score of 2,520, denoting the amount of pounds-force required to sink a .444″ steel ball half way into the wood. It’s a quick way to learn a little about the density and hardness of the wood. Hard maple, prized for cuebuilding, only has a Janka of 1,450. Yes, for most cue building applications, more is better.

Why does a higher hardness/density translate to a better shooting experience?  The butt communicates energy to the shaft instead of absorbing it; equipped with an excellent shaft (I suggest purple heart for breaking, birch or carbon fiber for regular play), the hit will be solid and snappy. Greater stiffness means less deflection, and while that’s mainly important for the shaft, the butt matters too. (A side note, for the shaft, high stiffness and LOW END MASS are necessary for low deflection. That’s why most cue builders drill the part of the ferrule inside a carbon fiber shaft. Every gram matters, up there at the business end.) A very light, low density cue will bend on a hard hit. That isn’t going to happen with this butt. Not unless you’re Thor shooting bowling balls. Plus you’ll get less vibration than with a low density wood, and last, with this butt being entirely purple heart or stabilized wood (also high density), the balance is palpable. It just feels right.

As to the look: the purple heart has a slightly translucent appearance. You’ll have a sense of depth looking at the wood, and through the super gloss finish you’ll see subtle waves and changes in the grain. The ant-eaten spalted tiger maple, (that I stabilize in Cactus Juice… which requires drying the wood to zero humidity, then submerging in resin while under vacuum, then cooking for hours until solid) has no dye added. Spalted wood contains not just the character of the wood grain but also the lines and coloring of various strains of fungus. That’s why some areas of spalted wood are quite different from others. Added to that, this tiger maple was eaten by ants. All those holes are now filled with resin and/or purple mica combined with CA glue. The finish is CA brought to a super high gloss. CA is one of the most common finishes used by cue builders, as it produces very hard and durable shines. 

The last cool detail: the Joint Protector is the end of a purple heart shaft that I pulled out of production when it developed a wobble in the turning process. The shaft happened to have both matching purple heart and tiger maple, and I thought the joint end of the shaft otherwise destined for the burn pile would look fantastic as a joint protector. 

To make this butt into THE ideal break cue, add a purple heart shaft with a Triangle tip.

To make this butt into an elegant everyday shooter, pair with a carbon fiber or birch shaft and consider adding an extension. (Please add at time of order, as an extension requires additional hardware in the butt.)

Woods Used: Purple heart, spalted/stabilized tiger maple, beech (purple rings)

Core: solid purple heart forearm becomes tenon inside tiger maple handle. This is going to be a very solid hitting cue for regular play or breaking.

Butt Length: 29 7/8″

Pin: Brass 3/8-10

Collar Diameter: .845″

Butt Diameter: 1.216″

Butt Weight: 16.9 oz (drilled and tapped to add up to 2 additional ounces.)

A word about shafts:

I build shafts out of ten species and carbon fiber. My advice is this: if you have a shaft you love to use, buy this butt to match that shaft. If you’ve heard of a famous shaft that you’d like to try, buy that shaft to match this butt.

However, if you’re into the art of it and want to have fun, try something new, and make your Character Cue fully badass, consider one of my ten species or carbon fiber with a like-wood decorative ring.

Read about the different species here: https://charactercues.com/comparing-10-shaft-wood-species/

Shafts: (with decorative like-wood ring)

• Carbon Fiber — $450
• Purple Heart — $400
• Maple — $350
• Birch — $350
• White Oak — $350
• Cherry — $350
• Walnut — $350
• Sassafras — $350
• Ash — $350
• Hickory — $350
• Black Locust — $350

Like Wood Joint Protector: $75 each

Like-Build Extensions:

3 -6″ — $250
7 – 12″ — $300