anatomy of a snooker cue

[SPINDOKTOR]

I was wondering what make up the componets of a snooker cue and why do you feel these materials are used? AKA ASH and the brass ferrule.

Why? is the butt cut at an angle?

these sorts of things.




SPINDOKTOR

 

[conetip]

I heard a rumour from a friend in NZ that the angle end of the but goes back to the 1800's. When it was thought not proper for women to bend over a table. So they would hit the cue ball with the cue like a club, like Croque.I cant be sure but it sounded plausable to me.
The brass ferrule is just a thin ring usually, to stop the ash from splitting.
Neil

 

[WesleyW]

It's just a guess. A snooker cue is quite thin. So you need some strong wood. I think, when you are using maple, the shaft would been whippy. So they use ash. On a snookertable, the balls need to travels a lot. When play safeties, the CB usually travels 25 ft hitting an OB and 2-4 rails. So you need to apply some power. Brass ferrule is strong, like RVS, but it looks also nice on Ash. Ash is pretty dark, so a dark metal would look nicer.

 

[Scaramouche]

Why? is the butt cut at an angle?
SPINDOKTOR

Unconfirmed Theory
The cut angle provides a reference so that you will always hold the cue the same from shot to shot. Have no idea if the cut is in any way related to the run of the grain of the shaft.

Confirmed Theory
Provides a handy place to attach a plaque

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=72155

 

[Integrale]

The cut angle at the butt was used in the beginning of snooker as a bridge and the player use the angle as a mark to hold the cue the same at every shot.
David

 

[Safety]

The cut angle at the butt was used in the beginning of snooker as a bridge and the player use the angle as a mark to hold the cue the same at every shot.
David

I forgot from where...but I've heard the same thing. Before the bridge was invented, the butt would be used to make hard to reach shots by laying the flat/angled part of the cue on the table while holding the tip end. After the bridge was invented, the angled part was kept since that is how it has always been made and now players use it to hold the cue in the same orientation for every shot. I've already seen this talked about in two different snooker instructional videos.

 

[Olive]

1. the cut out wedge serves no purpose in the modern game apart from as a reference point.

2. the brass ferrule is again just something that has been used for a long time, it provides a stiff hit. I personally would like to replace it with something that would have the same consistency, but would glue better, and not become as dull or dirty etc. Maybe the ferrule material used for pool break cues, is it available in white, anyone know?

3. the brass joint in my opinion SHOULD be replaced with a nice wood to wood pool cue joint as it DEADENS the feel and cuts the feedback. This is something i am looking to do right now as soon as i find a reputable maker willing to take it on It has been done before and the owner claims with wood2wood his cue feels like a one piece (good). This i believe is also part of the reason why most snooker cues are 3/4. There are ofcourse also balancing issues etc.

4. maple and ash are both solid choices for a snooker cue.
this is just a guess: sugar maple originates from the US, whereas traditionally ash would have been more readily available for the UK cuemakers thus, became the traditional wood for a shaft.

I have played with both ash and maple for an extended period of time (3 and 4 years respectively), and prefer ash. I have an ash pool cue shaft currently in the works by a snooker cue maker.


in conclusion i would just like to say, that similarly to the game itself, snooker cue construction relies heavily on tradition. i am trying to work with various makers in the uk and us to combine the 2 crafts, but it is quite difficult to convince some of them ... however i will have a few cues coming through fairly soon by the best cuemakers from both continents and results will be shown and recorded - some of these cues just might become available to purchase btw

any questions shoot me a pm and i can try to answer or contact my snooker cue maker..

cheers, olly