nmh2008 said:

Scott, Karl, and JJ all have such different styles.

Karl is totally cool with long and awkward pauses but light-hearted, funny, and a little self-deprecating.
Scott talks a lot, comes across as super complimentary and everybody's best buddy. Kind of the exact opposite of his on-table demeanor.
JJ is all business, he's not there for small talk he wants to talk about how Shane got a little funny on this 7 ball, will he settle for the long tough 8 ball or does he pound it pound it to the rail, bringing the miss into play but making the 8 & 9 ball easier.

I do like JJ best, but they are all pretty good in my opinion. This becomes obvious when you watch the abomination that is the Predator and women's announcers. Absolutely brutal

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i also think JJ has the best player knowledge. if the three of them had to go on their own and start a sportsbook for pro pool, he would do best

Purple heart- especially for break shafts.

Laminates, dymondwood and others...

Joss once experimented with Lignum Vitae. I think it was good but there was a supply problem. White, dense, straight grain. I never played one but they have been discussed here. (EDIT: I think that is wrong. More likely it was Areno Blanco.)

Ash- snooker cues.

Raminwood. Cheap "garbage cues" endangered wood.

Varieties of spliced shafts. Usually something into maple.

Color? Tiger maple can look impressive in a shaft.

Think about this though, there is a reason cue makers look for the straightes grain for their shaft wood.

You might consider color pressure infused woods. Several makers have done those.

lfigueroa said:

I have zero interest in buying a $3k cue only to have to sent it off for an extension, wrap, refinish, whatever.

If I were to have another cue built I would insist it be fitted for an extension.

Lou Figueroa

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Yeah, that sucks but if it's the cue you always wanted by a maker you desire a cue from and the price is right...............................
Right now that would be an Ebony tuxedo cue with no wrap and not an excessive amount of white. It's a "I would know it if I saw it" type of thing. And I am always a sucker for a Titlist conversion.

WestElder said:

I have made solid wood furniture for many years but am just learning woodturning. I want to make a shaft for my favorite cue using something other than maple. I'm looking for wood that has some color and variable grain. Are there other woods that can make a low deflection shaft with low potential to warp?

David

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Roasted Curly Maple (Kielwood) looks and plays great. Purpleheart is better for a break shaft.

I don't mind driving a bit either direction to Springs or Denver what rooms should I check out?

slide13 said:

I typically see most mid-extension users using them to get to a comfortable hand position where they're not falling off the back of the cue rather than keeping the same type of arm/hand position and sliding it forward. So you're right if they were just using it for extra length and keeping their back hand in the same position and relative to their body...but I think most are using them to get a more comfortable position instead. Which is unlike what many people who leave a rear extension on all the time are doing.

I use a 30" shaft, at just a hair shy of 6' that works for me great. I have a buddy who's got a solid 4-5" on me and uses a short mid extension for just that reason, he'd be too cramped on a standard length cue without and couldn't put his hand into the position he uses with his extension. the balance relative to your rear hand doesn't really change in that scenario.

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I was just referencing balance points. Yeah, I had a custom 2 1/2" mid cue extension made for my cue, at 58" my last 2 fingers were past the butt cap holding air, I still don't hold my cue where the wrap is but at least my whole hand is on the cue. In a case like that I don't see what difference balance point makes, its always going feel forward balanced because the entire cue is in front of my rear hand.

Frazer did hint at the Florida Open at another potential major in the U.S. in the future Really seems like WNT is putting a lot of eggs in the US basket, and I have to wonder why. What are they seeing?

I am a Swiftie!

The other kind of Swiftie.

If the plug for the WPC got pulled entirely due to the Iran conflict it would be understandable. MR would have been caught off guard. But I have to wonder if they were negotiating with the Saudis well before the event was canceled. If so, they failed badly in not finding a makeup date.

Oddly, Emily was in Qatar last year. Got me wondering whether she was seeing if they would be receptive to making the Qatar Open this year's WPC. Doubt it, but I do wonder what she was doing there.

The absence of Hanoi is an even bigger mystery. Last year's event was a tough one because of the monsoon. Conditions in the arena were difficult since it didn't have AC and it was so humid.

But is MR really abandoning Vietnam and leaving it to WPA/Predator? Hard for me to think so, but then, Frazer and Matchroom don't tells us anything. I think they do a disservice to fans by not communicating more openly.

Bavafongoul said:

I’ll get back to you…..

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If you can, take some pictures too. I'd like to see what these look like.

lfigueroa said:

I have zero interest in buying a $3k cue only to have to sent it off for an extension, wrap, refinish, whatever.

If I were to have another cue built I would insist it be fitted for an extension.

Lou Figueroa

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I'm having 3 cues built right now. All will be set up for a Predator style extension bumper and the big one will have a matching extension.

fastone371 said:

I wouldn't let the absence of a butt extension keep me from buying a cue that I really fancied. You should be able to find a local (maybe) cue maker to modify the cue for a butt extension and maybe even build a matching extension, or just use carbon.

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I have zero interest in buying a $3k cue only to have to send it off for an extension, wrap, refinish, whatever.

If I were to have another cue built I would insist it be fitted for an extension.

Lou Figueroa

Just looked at the calendar again. Seems a slim possibility at best of a WPC being held this year.

The only potential weeks still available are November 3-9, November 10-15 and Dec. 8-13, it looks like. Other WNT and WPA/Predator events are scheduled for all other time slots, plus the Qatar Open.

Matchroom made a lot of progress this year in scheduling. Most, but not all, events were announced earlier than usual. Matchroom has also already announced the dates for the next World Masters, PLP and Florida 2027 opens.

Still, not having the WPC is a big miss. Ditto for the absence of the Hanoi Open.

This is a complicated thread. I don't believe everyone can attain greatness in any sporting endeavor unless they have some innate god given intellect and physicality for what they're trying to accomplish. To me, it's the "Ah Ha" moment you arrive at when you figured the puzzle out. You see it all the time in every aspect of life. In our world of pool, we've had the prodigies come along stay for awhile and leave the scene because they couldn't maintain the Ah Ha Greatness because of the work they had to do to maintain it. When they lose it, it's hard to recover it. Babe Ruth was great and lost it, then recovered it only to come back greater. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at 46 yrs of age and my favorite is George Foreman losing the title to Ali at 27 yrs old and coming back to be champion at 45 yrs old. Willie Hoppe maintained his Ah Ha for five decades retiring at 55 yrs old as champion. Lastly, Shane is maintaining his Ah Ha moment because he believes in himself and works very hard to stay relevant. Maybe we should all take up ice fishing.

WestElder said:

I have made solid wood furniture for many years but am just learning woodturning. I want to make a shaft for my favorite cue using something other than maple. I'm looking for wood that has some color and variable grain. Are there other woods that can make a low deflection shaft with low potential to warp?

David

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Purpleheart or roasted maple. Just now turning roasted curly maple. Beautiful with sanding sealer applied. Considered low deflection.

Nothing wrong with evolving!

fastone371 said:

Wouldn't the mid cue extension make it more rear weighted? My thinking is that the tip stays in the same place with or without extension so that dictates where you hands are so you would have more of the heavy end of the cue sticking out of the rear.

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I typically see most mid-extension users using them to get to a comfortable hand position where they're not falling off the back of the cue rather than keeping the same type of arm/hand position and sliding it forward. So you're right if they were just using it for extra length and keeping their back hand in the same position and relative to their body...but I think most are using them to get a more comfortable position instead. Which is unlike what many people who leave a rear extension on all the time are doing.

I use a 30" shaft, at just a hair shy of 6' that works for me great. I have a buddy who's got a solid 4-5" on me and uses a short mid extension for just that reason, he'd be too cramped on a standard length cue without and couldn't put his hand into the position he uses with his extension. the balance relative to your rear hand doesn't really change in that scenario.