Do SW rings match up?
- Thread starter PDX
- Start date
No they do not,I asked Laurie about this and she told me they do that on purpose.
It's just as easy to align rings as it is to mis-align them; both are done deliberately.
It's done for artistic expression; in both cases.
Aligning rings is easy (and very boring).
Give a 12 yr old a straight-edge and a pencil and in less than 3 min. he'll align your rings.
It's the builder's/artist's choice.
Obviously, it has no effect on how the cue plays, only how the buyer/owner looks at his cue.
Funny thing is, when a player is down on a shot, he can't see his cue.
You can summarize that by considering which is important to you; how your cue plays or how it looks.
Since alignment can't be altered once the cue is built, the builder is making a statement.
Many builders don't align their rings, Schon and SouthWest are prime examples.
Do you think they are incapable of of doing so??? Gus also built cues with misaligned rings.
IMO, if you're buying a cue based on whether it's rings are aligned, you're buying the cue for the wrong reason.
Unless of course, you're a contemporary collector, in which case alignment is the norm (and very passe').
Those cues may be pretty and some even well built but they weren't built with performance as the ultimate objective.
Clinically speaking, it's about what the mind's eye perceives and is comfortable with.
If you are someone who isn't comfortable with misaligned rings, it's very simple. Don't buy the cue.
Not everyone is capable of looking at a cue and reading the builder's expression.
All they see are the rings and whether they're aligned or not. Yet they want to own a piece of art.
They're looking right at it but can't see it. 'Se La Vie'
In certain cases, alignment is what the cue's design calls for. Again, it's the builder's choice.
As a builder, I don't align rings (on purpose). If that doesn't sit well with you, simple, don't buy the cue.
HTHs, KJ
It's done for artistic expression; in both cases.
Aligning rings is easy (and very boring).
Give a 12 yr old a straight-edge and a pencil and in less than 3 min. he'll align your rings.
It's the builder's/artist's choice.
Obviously, it has no effect on how the cue plays, only how the buyer/owner looks at his cue.
Funny thing is, when a player is down on a shot, he can't see his cue.
You can summarize that by considering which is important to you; how your cue plays or how it looks.
Since alignment can't be altered once the cue is built, the builder is making a statement.
Many builders don't align their rings, Schon and SouthWest are prime examples.
Do you think they are incapable of of doing so??? Gus also built cues with misaligned rings.
IMO, if you're buying a cue based on whether it's rings are aligned, you're buying the cue for the wrong reason.
Unless of course, you're a contemporary collector, in which case alignment is the norm (and very passe').
Those cues may be pretty and some even well built but they weren't built with performance as the ultimate objective.
Clinically speaking, it's about what the mind's eye perceives and is comfortable with.
If you are someone who isn't comfortable with misaligned rings, it's very simple. Don't buy the cue.
Not everyone is capable of looking at a cue and reading the builder's expression.
All they see are the rings and whether they're aligned or not. Yet they want to own a piece of art.
They're looking right at it but can't see it. 'Se La Vie'
In certain cases, alignment is what the cue's design calls for. Again, it's the builder's choice.
As a builder, I don't align rings (on purpose). If that doesn't sit well with you, simple, don't buy the cue.
HTHs, KJ
I think rings that are not aligned are just put on without thinking of aligning them, or just not taking the time to do so. To me, it's just another piece of carefully thought out cuebuilding and makes the cue look nicer. Some do, some don't. Most cuemakers will do it if you ask when ordering a cue. Southwest would probably charge extra for it. I had a Bender that had the shaft's spine aligned with the spine in the maple nose, don't know if it made any difference or not, but I thought it was really cool and have asked the last two cuemakers to do this for me when I ordered because it makes a difference to me. jmo.
Yep, it's one of the finishing touchs that one would expect from an esteemed cuemaker. The tips of the points should match, the rings should be registered, & the inlays should be similarly aligned. Not too much to ask IMO.
If they don't take the time to do something like that, what else are they skimping on?
I recently had picked up a cue done in the SW style and noticed the rings didn't match. It doesn't bother me, I just figured he didn't care. Now I guess he really wanted it to look like a SW to the T. Rings matching or not, do nothing for how the cue plays, but it does represent, at least to me, attention to detail.
If someone is shelling out close to 3k for a new SW, or any cue for that matter, details and quality of materials matter a whole hell of a lot.
Are you going to notice/care if you bought a new Mercedes and the interior doesn't match, I'm sure you will not? Would you buy a new car with 4 different, but really, really close tires? Probabaly not. How about a nice sport coat from Saks with a slightly different alternating buttons, say cream vs white?
And when does symmetry equal boring?
I guess if they lined up half of the time, they would called lazy the other half of the time. If they never lined up in the first place, that would be the accepted norm and a menial aspect to the cues creation.
I'm sure Schon's don't match up, because part of their intent was to make a cue that can have any of their shafts fit and match.
Anyway, I was just curious, not trying to make people pissy. Just making observations.
If someone is shelling out close to 3k for a new SW, or any cue for that matter, details and quality of materials matter a whole hell of a lot.
Are you going to notice/care if you bought a new Mercedes and the interior doesn't match, I'm sure you will not? Would you buy a new car with 4 different, but really, really close tires? Probabaly not. How about a nice sport coat from Saks with a slightly different alternating buttons, say cream vs white?
And when does symmetry equal boring?
I guess if they lined up half of the time, they would called lazy the other half of the time. If they never lined up in the first place, that would be the accepted norm and a menial aspect to the cues creation.
I'm sure Schon's don't match up, because part of their intent was to make a cue that can have any of their shafts fit and match.
Anyway, I was just curious, not trying to make people pissy. Just making observations.
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This is an excellent post. Whether or not rings line up has never meant a thing to me. With me, it's mostly how well the cue plays, and the overall integrity of the cue in stability and construction. In my opinion, Southwest still makes the most reliable, and best performing, cue in the world.
Roger
It does def take more time to align rings however most any cuemaker is capable of doing it so its not that "special". I do however think most top shelf cues should be unless otherwise commisioned. It shows a better attention to detail which is one of the top reasons I think people order custom cues. At the end of the day it makes no difference. Just looks better IMO.
