Custom Cue #1 (Break)

Cue Type	Break
Construction	Full laminated hard rock maple core
Handle	Victorian Mountain Ash
Forearm	Magogany
Butt Sleeve	Tomahawk
Butt Collar	Tomahawk
Joint Collar	Full laminated hard rock maple core
Butt Cap	Tomahawk
Rings	Black Acrylic/Brass
Pin	Uniloc Quick Release
Shaft	Rock maple with carbon fiber core
Ferrule	Juma capped
Tip	Samsara

I have always wanted to take a shot at making a cue, and this was my first. It is a break cue.

The timber for the butt core and the shaft were imported, while I used locally sourced timbers for the handle and forearm.

Handle is Mallee burl, and the forearm is Mahogony. These were glued to the core with West System epoxy.

Butt sleeve and joint collars are made of Tomahawk. I added some brass rings to dress it up.

Ferrule is capped Juma.

Pin is Uni-loc quick release.

Turned Maple core was grooved to assist adhesion.
Cored forearm was tapped one end to match thread cut in core to give mechanical as well as an adhesive bond.
Threading core for butt cap. I moved the high speed engraving spindle from my mill to my CNC lathe to cut the threads.
Finished core ready for glue. It is threaded for forearm and butt cap. There is a step down to a smaller diameter for the forearm.
Another view of the finished core
Handle bonded with West System epoxy. Rings will fit on the parallel section, then the forearm will be glued and screwed to the core.
Rings in place
Forearm glued in place
First pass profiling forearm
Unfortunately the handle developed some cracks that I was not happy with.
So, the handle was turned off for another go! At least I proved that the West System epoxy did a great job.
Machining the Tomahawk for the butt cap. The end is threaded to screw on to the core. This material will also be used for the joint ferrules and shaft ferrule.
Butt cap glued in place. The new handle was made from Mountain Ash fiddleback. Profiling next.
Cutting the taper on the handle
Butt ready for final sanding
Uni-loc Quick Release pin fitted.
Butt was bored and tapped for a weight bolt and cue extension.
Final sanding handle.
Final sanding forearm.
First layer of epoxy finish applied.
The shaft was bored out for 300mm and a carbon fibre core glued in with epoxy.
Sanding Shaft

Custom Cues