SW and the brass pin
- Thread starter William
- Start date
Because DPK believed the softer brass would bend more in harmony with the parabolic taper creating a sweeter & less deflecting hit. :thumbup:
Seriously...I have no idea. Just wanted to see if I could sell the above BS.:grin:
Yeah. Ive heard the softer and balance. I am wondering now that someone pointed out its the exclusive pin he used.
Not so much...maybe. While I'm no where near a DPK expert...I am a big fan. If my feeable memory serves me correct...I have seen him use an aluminum pin before. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong. I believe he's still at Ed Young's shop...and Ed indeed has used aluminum...so if DPK was 100% brass for a reason...I'd think Ed would be too. I know SW has never strayed.
I'd guess that it was cheap, and easy to machine. No internet in the 80's so information on where to buy parts was probably a little harder to find.
If it works, then why would they change?
Yes I can answer this one. Dave was one of my mentors. I asked him this question specifically. He told me he wanted to come up with a different pin, something no one else was using. This was in the beginning, pre Jerry Franklin. He came up with essentially what he's so well know for sort of by accident. He'd decided he wanted a Stainless Steel pin like what he's using. He ground a carbide lathe tool to match the profile and made up about 50 of them in brass. He planned to send the brass pins off to a few screw shops and get bids on having them made in S.S. and use the rest as proto-types in a batch of cues he was building to take to the Classic Cup in Chicago (aprox 1986). He set up a table and showed his cues. He let a bunch of players hit some balls with his cues. This was when David was sort of "discovered". He sold every cue he brought and took orders for many more. He told me he'd have rather started off with the S.S. pins but his feelings were that the pin material was rather insignificant to the hit and overall quality of the cue. He said as long as the two mating surfaces were tightly connected, thats all that mattered. But, with the overwhelming success in Chicago, he decided to stay with the brass just to keep the ball rolling.
As for Jerry Franklin, Dave Kersenbrock taught Jerry to build cues and eventually sold out his shop to Jerry when he had to go away on a little "vacation". Jerry continued to build cues in the same way as he was taught, changing very little in his designs or processes. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Last edited:
Interesting information. Thanks for the reply.
When did Dave Kersenbrock start building cues? I ask because of your date of 1986. I had one of his cues in 1983 and I bought it used so it was older then that. I have to say though, I don't remember what kind of screw it had.
IIRC it was the early 80's in California. Then he moved to the Vegas area and started making cues. Jerry did some tax/accounting work for him and some auto/mechanical work in exchange for a cue. Soon Jerry was apprenticing under David and would buy him out when he had to go away for a while. David is a genius and has some of the quirks associated.
The best information I can find is David started building cues in 1972. His brass pin had pretty much the same thread design as Harvey Martin was using. But David changed the thread pitch to 11 threads per inch and put the center hole and the pilot on the end of the pin.
What a coincidence that this thread exists, especially on p.1 of this forum.
Last night I talked to my cuemaker for the first time in almost two years... I've had an order in for a new cue for ~2.5 years... he went through a difficult divorce, lost the house and his shop to her and also lost his lust for cue making... and he was telling me about some work he has been doing for several of the top players here in the PNW... and he mentioned that a couple of them play with SW cues... and he was trying to figure out why the SW hit is so preferred.. and he mentioned the brass pin, questioning what role it had in the "preferred hit"... interesting... and this information is very timely... thanks guys.
My best guess is my new cue with have a brass pin.
Now, what else do I want... decisions, decisions.
Last night I talked to my cuemaker for the first time in almost two years... I've had an order in for a new cue for ~2.5 years... he went through a difficult divorce, lost the house and his shop to her and also lost his lust for cue making... and he was telling me about some work he has been doing for several of the top players here in the PNW... and he mentioned that a couple of them play with SW cues... and he was trying to figure out why the SW hit is so preferred.. and he mentioned the brass pin, questioning what role it had in the "preferred hit"... interesting... and this information is very timely... thanks guys.
My best guess is my new cue with have a brass pin.
Now, what else do I want... decisions, decisions.