This is one method of coring a
handle.
In this case, I used a cheap member of the rosewood family as the core. It
is solid, stable & a bit heavier than the standard maple core. I wanted
more weight since the other components are fairly light in weight: the amboyna
burl & the curly maple. The core is 13/16" in diameter for the length of
the handle area. It has a shoulder on the left end to retain the sleeves
and there are glue grooves at approx. 1/2" intervals. The diameter of the
core is cut down to 3/4" diameter in the buttsleeve area. There is an
extension on the right end that is threaded 3/4-16 so that a sacrificial "nut"
can be screwed on to tighten all the components against the shoulder on the left
end. The buttcap itself can be threaded & used as the nut but, to be
honest, I didn't think of it until it was too late.
This is the assembled core as the sacrificial nut is
being tightened. After it is glued, assembled, tightened & cured, the nut
will be machined off & the shoulder may be machined off or it may be used as a
pilot to locate the forearm. Nothing earth shattering here but sometimes
it's nice to see detailed pics of an assemble procedure.
Installing a Hoppe ring without using a weight bolt.
Many cues utilize the weight bolt
to retain the buttcap & Hoppe ring. But some cues either don't need a
weight bolt or they use a bumper style that is not compatible with a short
buttcap. If you're retaining your short buttcap with epoxy alone, there is
a risk that the buttcap will come loose after a slight bump. If there was more glue surface,
it wouldn't happen.
Here's one way to increase the glue area:
This curly maple buttsleeve has a counterbore into
which the following Hoppe ring components fit: a long bloodwood buttcap, an
amboyna burl Hoppe ring and a bloodwood trim ring to separate the burl from the
curly maple.
Here are the Hoppe ring components assembled & ready
to insert into the buttsleeve. You can see that this Hoppe ring has more
than triple the glue surface of the visible bloodwood ring when you consider it
is longer & receives glue on both the inside & outside diameters..
The finished assembly. This 1/2" long Hoppe
ring will not come loose. Ever. It's a little more work but it will
never come back for repairs.
Installing a Hoppe ring on a Sneaky Pete with no weight bolt.
Installing a Hoppe ring on a SP is a little trickier than the
previously described method. Since there is no buttsleeve or tenon, you
have to do a little machining to mimic those components. The picture above
shows the steps & components needed.
Just thought I'd stick this in
here, too.
It doesn't really fit anywhere else.
In case anyone is interested, it's another overly difficult solution to a
problem that isn't.
Trying something different.
Here's a highly figured birdseye maple forearm with
amboyna burl points. Both woods benefit from being cored.
Sequence shows the base of the forearm before & after boring lead holes, then
gun drilling the reversed forearm for the laminated core.
The highly figured curly maple handle will also be more stable with a
purpleheart core.