McDermott joint ?

[flyrv9]

A friend gave me her McDermott cue to have fixed because it would not screw together completely. It got hard to twist after being about 2/3 of the way together. I took it down to my local Cue builder and all they had to do was run a tap in to clean out the threads of the shaft. The cue now screws together like it should. This cue has a metal pin but wooden threads in the shaft. Is this common?

All the cues I've seen or own have a metal threaded pin that joins up with a metal threaded insert in the shaft. I suppose the shaft might not be original but the rings seem to match. Also in the case of the wooden threads, is there any care required to keep them in shape? I thought of some kind of wax or boelube but didn't want to do anything without some info from you experts - thanks.

 

[poolguppy]

I have a custom sneaky with 3/8 10 thread that had the same problem into wooden joint. Wood swells sometimes and just a tiny amount can make it tight for threads, nothing to worry about. I used wax and didn't feel the need to retap it, wax alone made it much easier to screw in

 

[ginsu]

a little soap will do the job.

 

[AtLarge]

... This cue has a metal pin but wooden threads in the shaft. Is this common? ...

Yes, that 3/8 - 10 joint pin (3/8" in diameter, 10 threads per inch) into wooden shaft threads is one of the standards of the industry. McDermott has been using it for about 40 years, and many other cue makers use it, or a modified version of it, as well.

 

[flyrv9]

Ok thanks. I decided to use a Boelube and it worked just fine.

 

[Lesh]

A friend gave me her McDermott cue to have fixed because it would not screw together completely. It got hard to twist after being about 2/3 of the way together. I took it down to my local Cue builder and all they had to do was run a tap in to clean out the threads of the shaft. The cue now screws together like it should. This cue has a metal pin but wooden threads in the shaft. Is this common?

All the cues I've seen or own have a metal threaded pin that joins up with a metal threaded insert in the shaft. I suppose the shaft might not be original but the rings seem to match. Also in the case of the wooden threads, is there any care required to keep them in shape? I thought of some kind of wax or boelube but didn't want to do anything without some info from you experts - thanks.

Correctamundo! The main joint that McDermott uses is the 3/8x10 metal screw into a live-tooled wood female end in the shaft. Best joint on the planet IMO. Most Carom cues use a live-tooled joint as well but go one step beyond with having the male end tooled form wood as well as part of the SHAFT instead of the butt, screwing into the butt section... Thereby bringing it one step closer to being as close as it gets to having a one piece wood cue that breaks down. I am really considering using a carom cue for use in my game (one pocket). Tiger has some nice looking Carom Cues.

I have owned a McDermott Cue or cues with a similar Pin for around 25 years and have never had a problem with obstruction on the threads. McDermott does offer a lifetime warranty on their cues BTW.

http://www.mcdermottcue.com/mcdermott_pool_cue_warranty.php

Regards,

Lesh

 

[flyrv9]

I think the owner, somehow, either had some debris in the shaft; or slightly crossthreaded the joint while screwing it together. I can see how the metal pin - wood threaded shaft joint could last with proper care.