Who makes a cue that plays like a house cue?

S

sigep1967

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have recently started back playing after several years of using the home table of a storage area:rolleyes::rolleyes:. At first I was having trouble moving tha ball around especially draw shots but the past few weeks that has finally come back around. Now about the house cue question. I have several house cues that I spent a lot of time picking out to try to get decent straight tight grain. Heck one of them is about 18lpi anyway I was just messing around the other day with the house cue and notice it put WAY more action on the ball than my two piece cue. Almost effortless draw follow and side. It also didn't seem to squirt/deflect whatever you want to call it:p;) as much as my custom cue. My custom cue is not stiff by any means much closer to a Meucci than anything else. I am wondering if this is normal? the tip size of the House cue was 12.8 and the custom is 13 so not much difference there also both have pretty hard tips on them. It just seems like the house cue drove through the ball easier. Is this normal? Should I be looking for a MUCH stiffer cue? Who do you guys recomend? Blackcreek? Carmeli? who?
 
I would suggest buying THAT cue from the room owner and having someone put a joint in it.

LWW
 
This was on a house cue at my home. I did think about doing that but it is only 57" and seems a little short. I really am more interested in the insight of the "players" on here about the difference in the stiffer house cue putting more action than my custom cue that is much more whippy. I was under the impression that the whipper shaft would give more action. It just doesn't seem that way after this little experiement. I understand the solidness of the one piece cue feeling different but never expected that much action and the ease of applying it with the stiff house cue. So is it true the stiffer shaft is easier to apply spin or not?
 
This is a tough one to respond to because I can't imagine anyone wanting to play with a house cue. The only time I ever played with one was when I was between cues and needed something to get me by while my new player was being built, and then I only used the butt.
You might try Muellers, or any of the on-line supply houses.
 
I have a Bob Frey sneaky pete that plays pretty close to a house cue (looks like one too!). Not selling it but you can find them for ~$400 give or take.

Otherwise I second the recommendation above to get a joint put in the house cue you like. Every cue plays a little bit different and if you find one you like, why keep looking?

Edit: Moochis are really whippy cues. If you liked a stiffer cue you're probably best ditching the Meucci and going with, well, anything else.
 
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Come on guys you are not reading the question I am not saying I WANT to play with the house cue. I am asking about why it would have been easier to move the cue ball around with it. Is it the stiffness? The solidness of the construction? I was pretty surprised by how well it played and how easy it produced spin. I would prefer a nice custom cue but having only played with a few not sure what to look at as far as stiffness. My cue is not a Meucci it has a taper much like a Meucci maybe a little stiffer but not much. It just felt like the house cue was crashing through the ball imparting max spin with little effort that is what I want in a custom cue. Now I was always told the whippier shaft produced more english but not so sure now.
 
sigep1967 said:
Come on guys you are not reading the question I am not saying I WANT to play with the house cue. I am asking about why it would have been easier to move the cue ball around with it. Is it the stiffness? The solidness of the construction? I was pretty surprised by how well it played and how easy it produced spin. I would prefer a nice custom cue but having only played with a few not sure what to look at as far as stiffness. My cue is not a Meucci it has a taper much like a Meucci maybe a little stiffer but not much. It just felt like the house cue was crashing through the ball imparting max spin with little effort that is what I want in a custom cue. Now I was always told the whippier shaft produced more english but not so sure now.
Click to expand...
The reason you're not getting a fully instructive response here is that there are too many variables to allow an easy explanation of what you're experiencing. You seem to be zeroing in on the amount of spin you get with one cue vs. the other, rather than cueball deflection, shot accuracy, feedback, or other variables. IMO, the greatest single factor affecting amount/magnitude of spin is the tip, period.

Although you seem to think that the tips on your two cues are similar, I am betting that they differ in some key attribute. Try lightly scuffing the entire surface of your custom cue tip, then chalk thoroughly, and see if you don't suddenly start getting much more spin with it.
 
On the tips i tryed that as well. I have a talisman M on my normal playing cue and no idea what is on the house cue but it is hard as a rock. Shaped both of them then shot side by side. Also the squirt seemed to be less with the house cue as well. I see lots of folks talking about the stiffer hitting cues and am just wondering if the stiffer hit is better for imparting spin?
 
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southwest

I play with a southwest and I can go from my cue to a house cue pretty easily but I have a hard time playing with anyone else's custom cue. I would imagine many of the Southwest knock offs may play similar but I dont know about that, it would depend on the taper. Sorry I don't have a cheaper answer for you!
 
It helps if you included the maker of your house cue? As others pointed out Valley and Dufferin are the common ones, and taper is an important variable.

Second, all the house cues I've seen are full spliced. Is your custom cue full spliced, or is the butt assembled from several pieces (short spliced forearm)?

You could take a house cue and have it converted. Vintage dufferin sneaky pete, the ones I've seen looked like they were converted from 1 piece cues, with continous grain lines.
 
Sneaky Pete Cues

One issue for me is I wouldn't call out any cuemakers I know and say that
their cues hit like a house cue.
Even when they build a basic sneaky pete cue converted from a house cue
they make a new shaft, properly tapered with a decent ferrule and tip on it.
I can't think of any cuebuilders that are out to achieve the house cue hit.
There is a special full spliced hit you can get from a good sneaky or a
conversion made from a full spliced blank such as a John Davis blank,
or a Titlist cue conversion.
Several cuebuilders will make a full spliced cue from a good blank.
They typically play real good.
 
I would say the tip is a good place to start your analysis. Then look at the ferrule, is it shorter or longer than you usually see (1"). The shaft configuration & the balance of the cue, can add to the feeling as well.

Take a good look at the cue, analyze it. Measure it, check the balance & the shaft taper. Maybe these dimensional idiosyncrasies make a difference for you.

Sometimes a good feeling cue can just make a difference in our ability. Hence, the custom cue.
 
CHUCK STARKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chuck makes a cue with a wood pin that hits exactly like a high quality house cue. I love'm. Nothing I've used compares to the hit... with the possible exception of some of the South West's I've used. I had not used every cue on the market. But Chuck's cues are just so dammed good that they stand out whenever I see a thread like this. talk to desi2960 here on azb.
 
Imho most playablity happens before the joint. Most all house cues use a conical taper (at least all the 1's i see around where i live). Conical tapers typically have less deflection (predator z and ob 2 and all snooker cues). It could be as easy as getting your custom cues shaft retapered. As most customs use a modified pro taper, i've seen meuci's with a 16" pro taper that were very whippy. Hope this helps.
 
predator

You may want to try a pred 314 shaft.IMO the deflection is about the same as a house cue but it has a better taper to it.
 
I have no idea who made the house cues. No name on them anywhere. I did search through the whole stack looking for the best straight grain ones I could find. It has a 1" ferrule the material looks different definately not high grade. The taper is conical which I do not really like as I have short stubby fingers. I guess what trying to figure out is it normal for the stiffer shaft to produce more/easier cue bal spin? I read a lot on here where people want the stiffer shafts and harder/more solid hits. I am thinking of buying a new cue soon and wondering who I should be looking at as far as stiff/hard/solid hit. My current cue is not spliced but a solid piece of BEM not sure what is under the wrap though. It shoots good but it is just not a solid of a hit as the house cue. I tried a pred shaft one time and hated it it felt hollow.
 
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