European taper

kiinstructor

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is a European and conical taper the same? I guess I should rephrase the question. In most shafts they have a pro or elongated taper for 12 or so inches from the ferrule. Is the European from the ferrule to the joint in one continuous taper or are there variations? Im in the process of designing a cnc program for making such a taper but Im not sure I want it end to end or partial or what. I played with a shaft that had an end to end taper but the tip was about 11.5 mm. Very stiff in design and hit really well. But Id like something with a bit more leather say about 12.25mm or so. Im debating doing a taper from the ferrule back about 20 inches and the a little more profound to the joint. Is that a conical taper?
 

Hits 'em Hard

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Is a European and conical taper the same? I guess I should rephrase the question. In most shafts they have a pro or elongated taper for 12 or so inches from the ferrule. Is the European from the ferrule to the joint in one continuous taper or are there variations? Im in the process of designing a cnc program for making such a taper but Im not sure I want it end to end or partial or what. I played with a shaft that had an end to end taper but the tip was about 11.5 mm. Very stiff in design and hit really well. But Id like something with a bit more leather say about 12.25mm or so. Im debating doing a taper from the ferrule back about 20 inches and the a little more profound to the joint. Is that a conical taper?

Conical means cone. Straight from the joint to the tip or bottom of the ferrule. And yes European and conical mean roughly the same thing. Most playing cues that use a conical taper have tip sizes under 12mm. Most break/jump cues that use a conical taper have tips anywhere from 12.75-14mm. It's not often you run into many conical shafts that are in the 12-12.5 range. Most are a modified pro/conical taper. I don't think anyone would recomend a 20" pro taper with that small of a tip.

Now there are some shafts out there that use a super modified taper like Schon. It's thicker a few inches from the join that a standard conical taper is, but it also has a very short pro taper(avg 10") compared to a standard pro taper(18"). It's up to you to make a taper that you feel is best for a 12.25mm tip.
 

cueman

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Yes European pretty much means conical. It can vary slightly just like the pro taper can. It varies on whether the ferrule is tapered also or not from one maker to another.
 

scdiveteam

Rick Geschrey
Silver Member
Hi,

Ray Schuler created shaft tapers for pool and carom cues.

I play with one of his tapers named "The European" which is a carom shaft that is also known as the Ceulemans taper named after Mr. 100. AKA Raymond Ceulemans.

It has a huge climb but is is not 100% conical even though Ray's joint is very thick. There is a compound and a transition built into the geometry.

Rick
 
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Guillaume

Registered
Hi Rick,

You're right... European taper is like most European shafts products such as longoni, if you compare with conical taper, European shaft is thinner in the middle.
Conical taper is used by several 3 cushion players for maximum control on brand new tables and European taper to play straight billiard.
Ray's European taper was truly unique and stiffer than regular European products shafts.

Guillaume
Pericles Custom Cue
 

scdiveteam

Rick Geschrey
Silver Member
Hi Rick,

You're right... European taper is like most European shafts products such as longoni, if you compare with conical taper, European shaft is thinner in the middle.
Conical taper is used by several 3 cushion players for maximum control on brand new tables and European taper to play straight billiard.
Ray's European taper was truly unique and stiffer than regular European products shafts.

Guillaume
Pericles Custom Cue

Hi Guillaume,

I started out with that real small tip George Ashby size and it was not good for me. When I changed to the European I went from a .28 to a .39 within 1 month as I was hitting more small ball naturals.

BTW, I am in my shop now and Stew is here and says hello from Palatine.

Rick
 
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JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Is a European and conical taper the same? I guess I should rephrase the question. In most shafts they have a pro or elongated taper for 12 or so inches from the ferrule. Is the European from the ferrule to the joint in one continuous taper or are there variations? Im in the process of designing a cnc program for making such a taper but Im not sure I want it end to end or partial or what. I played with a shaft that had an end to end taper but the tip was about 11.5 mm. Very stiff in design and hit really well. But Id like something with a bit more leather say about 12.25mm or so. Im debating doing a taper from the ferrule back about 20 inches and the a little more profound to the joint. Is that a conical taper?

Most shafts have 3 or more angles.
The first 3 to 6" from the joint is close to the taper or a little steeper than the cue's forearm. The average taper of forearms these days is about .013-.014" per inch.
The taper from the tip to the middle of the shaft ( 14.5" ) is all by preference.
NO taper for that length would make it "whippy" .
2MM taper for that length would be considered stiff.
I prefer 3 angles for that lenght.
Some would be ok with one angle/taper or even curve for that length.

Caliper for favorite shafts and you can decide from there.
 
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