Dennis wanted stick 19 but it sold before he grabbed it. I’m building another for him — and so far, he doesn’t know — so I wanted to give him a surprise look at something integral to stick building (the way I do it. Materials place demands on construction.)

I core every stick. Meaning, I replace the wood in the center of the stick with other wood. Coring is usually done to prevent warping, to increase or decrease weight, and/or to add strength.

In this case, it’s to add strength. Stabilized wood is much less prone to warping because a lot of the wood’s pores (and fungi-degraded areas) have been filled with resin, which is hardened in an oven. The sticks run naturally at about 20-21 ounces, so I don’t need to change the weight unless it’s by request.

So why core? Why replace the center wood with hickory (some of the hardest, most durable material on the planet) and hard maple?

Alas… the resin leaves the formerly spongy wood very hard and durable, but while the plastic part of the stabilized wood is terrifically strong, it is held in place by a lattice of wood that is ultimately still degraded wood. The hickory gives the stick some flex, while retaining strength.

Bottom line, I’m building pool sticks, not baseball bats. Used as a cue and not a club, these sticks are fabulously strong. But they’re not strong enough to hit a baseball, or correct some knucklehead who didn’t call his 8 ball off the 3 nestled in the corner — and since the game’s for a C note, you can’t let that slide.

This is not a problem resolution stick.

It is not a stress reduction stick.

It’s a work of art.

It’s a pool cue.

Anyhow Dennis, I hope you did the stick.

1. 

   Gorgeous work. I’m a high end furniture maker, and I’d recommend a catalyzed polyurethane. The best I’ve found is an…

2. 

   I Can’t wait to play with her 🙂

3. 

   If your cues are as good as your writing, it’ll be amazing.

4. 

   Awesome looking, awesome workmanship, Awesome cues.

5. 

   This is all wonderful!!! I know you’ll have a ball watching and doing all this. Wish I could see it…