GB2354177A - A resin cue butt - Google Patents

Abstract

A snooker cue in which the cue butt includes an outer coaxial layer formed entirely from resin material. The specific gravity of the resin may be adjusted to change the balance and weight of the cue. Preferably the cue butt is moulded directly onto the shaft of the cue and the resin affixes directly to the shaft. The shaft may be cut in order to provide a mating surface. Optionally the shaft can be formed from timber and the resin may be a mixture of polyurethane and polyester.

Description

2354177

DESCRIPTION

A METHOD OF MANUFACTURE OF A CUE BUTT The present invention relates to a method for the production of a snooker, pool or billiard cue butt.

In the present application the term 'butt' refers to the rear, wider section of a cue, the circumferential periphery of which is gripped by the player when playing a ball.

The large majority of cues are made from timber, although metal and graphite cues are also known. All cues, whatever material they are made from, have an overall frusto-conical shape.

Timber cues usually comprise an ash or maple shaf t, which at the butt is cut to taper toward the rear of the cue and is embraced coaxially by a complementary layerof ebony or other hardwood.

An existing method of manufacture of a cue butt will now be described, with reference to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

A length of timber (ash or maple) is roughly turned so as to form a frusto-conical shaft 10.

Two identical wedge shaped pieces of timber are then cut f rom the rearward section of the shaft to form a rearward facing wedge having two opposed flat sides 12a, 12b.

A replacement wedge shaped piece 14a, 14b of ebony or other hardwood is then glued to each of the -2newly cut sides 12a, 12b of the shaft (Figure 1) respectively. The two wedges 14a, 14b are then clamped to the shaft 10 and left for 24 hours to allow the glue to dry.

The shaft 10 is then rotated by 900 about its symmetrical axis and cut as before to form a rearward facing wedge comprising both ash and ebony. Again a wedge shaped piece 16a,16b of ebony is glued to each of the cut surfaces (Figure 2) and the wedges clamped for a period of 24 hours.

The result of these two steps is to produce a cue having a square butt.

The cue is then turned, removing the surplus ebony, ash or maple, to produce a smooth rounded cue having a butt 18 comprising a tapered core 10a of ash or maple coaxially surrounded by a complementary composite layer 14a,14b,16a,16b of ebony (Figure 3) The surplus ebony which is turned off the cue is disposed of as sawdust by dust extraction.

If the weight of the cue needs to be increased to meet customer requirements, a hole 20 is drilled into the rear end of the cue butt and a lead rod 22 is inserted into the hole and glued into position. A wooden dowel 24 is then inserted in the hole to hold the lead 22 in place and to f inish the end of the cue (Figure 4).

The cue is then repeatedly lacquered and sanded until the desired finish is achieved.

In the final product, the forward periphery of the ebony f orms a set of four matched and symmetrically disposed parabola or 'points' 26 (only three of which are visible in Fig. 3).

Although the above described method of timber cue construction has been universally adopted, there are many problems associated with the method and materials used.

The hardwood required to manufacture one cue is expensive, for example, the ebony required to manufacture one cue costs, at present E4. This cost is likely t:o escalate as the supply of exotic hardwoods becomes more limited. Furthermore, up to two thirds of the hardwood purchased is wasted as sawdust.

The existing process is extremely time consuming and requires skilled cue makers to produce timber cues of the required tolerance. Even so, the accuracy required to match the 'points' 26 on the butt results in a high rejection rat e.

Finally, in order to increase the weight of the cue it is required to insert an expensive lead rod into a pre-drilled hole in the rear of the butt.

The method of manufacture of the present invention eliminates all the above problems.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method of manufacture of a cue butt -4preferably, but not essentially, having a timber shaft, wherein at least part of the butt is moulded.

The method according to the present invention reduces the wastage and expense involved in the cutting and shaping of at least part of the cue butt.

Pref erably, at least part of the cue butt is moulded directly onto the shaf t of the cue. This allows the moulding material to be shaped, without having to provide a separate mould f rom which the moulded piece is transferred onto the prepared shaft.

Pref erably, the mould is an open ended frusto-conical cylinder, the dimensions of the mould corresponding substantially to the external dimensions of the finished cue butt.

It is also desirable that the moulding material affixes directly onto the shaft on hardening so that there is no need to apply adhesive to the shaft nor is it required to pre-mould the moulding material.

In order to aid bonding of the moulding material to the shaft, the shaf t may be cut in order to provide a mating surface. It is preferred that the shaf t is cut such that it tapers.

The moulding material itself preferably comprises a synthetic material, such as a resin, for example of a polyester and/or a polyurethane and may further include a catalyst(s) to facilitate the hardening of the moulding material, colouring and -Sfillers to achieve the required specific gravity.

A preferred composition for the moulding material is one which comprises a resin mixture containing approximately 2501 polyurethane resin and 751 polyester resin.

Resins used for the moulding process should be chosen such as not to react significantly with the moisture content of the timber forming the shaft and should harden to form materials which are tough, flexible, impact absorbing and capable of being highly polished.

The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figs. 1 to 4 illustrated the method of construction of a typical conventional cue; and Fig. 5 illustrates the performance of a method of cue manufacture in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to Figure 5, a roughly turned frusto-conical shaft 30, preferably made of timber, is cut to form four identical rearward facing tapered sides 32.

The shaft is then clamped vertically, the cut section being uppermost, and a conical mould 34, having internal dimensions corresponding to the finished cue, is fitted around the cut section and sealed at its -6bottom to prevent leakage. Resin is mixed with a catalyst, colouring and fillers to achieve the required specific gravity of the moulding material. The resin is then poured into the mould, so as to take the shape of the f inished cue butt. After the resin has set, the mould is removed, revealing the moulded butt joined to the shaft.

The finished weight of the cues can be altered by pouring in resins of different specific gravities. This saves the need to artificially weight the cues by inserting a lead rod into the butt.

The cue is then sanded and polished repeatedly to a finish. The resin butt, unlike the timber shaft, does not normally require lacquering which saves further on time and materials.

The invention is not restricted to the detail of the foregoing example of the present invention.

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Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS (1) A snooker cue where the outer complementary coaxial layer of

   the cue butt is entirely comprised of resin material such that it is effectively one solid unit.

   (2) A snooker cue as claimed in claim I where the specific gravity of the resin can be adjusted to effect the balance and weight of the snooker cue.

   (3) A snooker cue substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.