Cue pin material

rayray said:

I was wondering why some cue makers use a brass pin (Southwest Brick, etc) versus a stainless or plain steel pin. Plain brass pins are only like .2 oz heavier than stainless.

A plain brass pin will bend much easier than a stainless one if they are the same size, thread, length, etc. I think you can also buy a bronze pin which would probably be stronger than a stainless pin. Is bronze the material they use on high end custom cues?

Thanks in advance

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Some might just like the color. Some might make their own. The biggest reason is to add weight to the front over a stainless pin. .2 ounces is 10+% of the typical cue weight range, so it is a good option when needed.

If you bend the brass screw, you better be happy it bent b/c if that were SS, you might crack the collar or forearm.
There is absolutely no reason why a 3/8 brass screw would bend during usage.

If you have to remove the brass screw, you would not need to blowtorch it .
You can cut it off then drill and bore it out .
Good luck in doing that to a SS screw.

I use brass and aluminum, both of which are considered weak metals in comparison to steel and titanium. I can't say I have yet to see one come back bent.

I use woid pins on some of my cues

Never had one fail, yet. Why do i use them? I like the hit.

Good discussion here. Titanium would be pretty light weight and strong. But I like what Joey had to say. I'd rather have to replace a bent pin than a fractured shaft. Worse would be damage that wasn't easily visible. I also wonder how hard it would be to bend a pin with a cue securely fastened. I'd think the joint collar properties would probably be pretty important there. In any event, the stress of bending a cue is going to go somewhere. If you protect a joint, it's just gonna put more stress on the rest of the shaft. Best is not to try and snap your cue.

If I were to make a guess I would say it was just to to be different and Brass is easier to machine. So when you start making custom size pins like SW did I would suspect they machined some of them in house at first and it was the easier material to machine. I doubt the little bit of extra front weight was the main factor. But that is just a guess. I can even thread mill brass pins and inserts with a router.

I use brass pins mostly for looks to go along with the brass rings I use in some cues, same with copper.