Cut a Shaft

Island Drive

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
With all the goings on these days with tips/shafts/graphite/etc has anyone done anything....to try and make their existing cue/different?

Me, I am going to take a Very good 29 yr old shaft that is worn out/down the last few inches, and cut it back 2 3/4 ''. Over all length will then be 55 1/4, with an ivory ferrule. I know this will definitely ''stiffen'' up the hit and change the balance. I want reuse the ivory ferrule. I want to know how it feels with the equipment of today. Busty still uses wood :thumbup:

Who invented the cued length? Probably was the conditions of that era.

Why is a cue length of 58 or greater, the norm?

I've heard of Snooker pros using 55'' cues.
 
Island Drive said:
With all the goings on these days with tips/shafts/graphite/etc has anyone done anything....to try and make their existing cue/different?

Me, I am going to take a Very good 29 yr old shaft that is worn out/down the last few inches, and cut it back 2 3/4 ''. Over all length will then be 55 1/4, with an ivory ferrule. I know this will definitely ''stiffen'' up the hit and change the balance. I want reuse the ivory ferrule. I want to know how it feels with the equipment of today. Busty still uses wood :thumbup:

Who invented the cued length? Probably was the conditions of that era.

Why is a cue length of 58 or greater, the norm?

I've heard of Snooker pros using 55'' cues.
Click to expand...

There are some shots that are easier with a shorter cue. Other than that, wingspan/height combined with table size is all that matters to me.

There was a time that I carried a 53 inch cue for certain shots. My player back then was 60. I broke with my player in those days.

The days of str8 pool, 1hole, 7 and 9 ball. I didn't need to break as hard back then. Then came 10 ball, 9 on the spot, break in box etc....... all of a sudden my 10 ball break is 22 to 24 mph.

My 9 ball break very seldom needs to be over 18.

Back to shorter cue. I played my best str8 pool with a 57" cue. Played my best short games with a longer cue.

Why not have both?
 
whammo57 said:
I can see a shorter break cue but not a playing cue...... especially if you play on 9 ft tables

Kim
Click to expand...

Hi Kim
Here's a secret. Sometimes pool players are like women. Soon as we think we've got them figured out, they change the questions. Go figure! :eek:
 
I recall a conversation with Evan Clark. When I asked him why the cue he was sending me was 59 inches. He said that most of the top pros in the 70's and 80's were requesting 59 inch cues so, he just kept on making them that way.

Sent from my Moto Z2 Play using Tapatalk
 
whammo57 said:
I can see a shorter break cue but not a playing cue...... especially if you play on 9 ft tables

Kim
Click to expand...

I have a big swing, more in tune with the slower, raggier cloths of years back. Nowadays with the tables/rails so fast, having less Wood swinging might work better for me. I have Always liked shorter cues. I remember when Jerry Brock played with a Graphite shafts at Red in Houston early 80's, wasn't a good shaft, he tried tho.
 
Island Drive said:
With all the goings on these days with tips/shafts/graphite/etc has anyone done anything....to try and make their existing cue/different?

Me, I am going to take a Very good 29 yr old shaft that is worn out/down the last few inches, and cut it back 2 3/4 ''. Over all length will then be 55 1/4, with an ivory ferrule. I know this will definitely ''stiffen'' up the hit and change the balance. I want reuse the ivory ferrule. I want to know how it feels with the equipment of today. Busty still uses wood :thumbup:

Who invented the cued length? Probably was the conditions of that era.

Why is a cue length of 58 or greater, the norm?

I've heard of Snooker pros using 55'' cues.
Click to expand...

With regards to the standard length of the cue... Well there is no the one and only right length for everybody. I am a good example of the exception to the rule being 198 sm in height but it is the opposite to your case. For me playing with 58" cue is kind of awkward and not so fun but I started to learn the game with a simple 20$ house cue with my bridge hand fairly close to the CB therefore. In a year my teacher helped me to get my first own 60" cue and it was so much more fun to play with. Honestly my passion and all that time I've put in practicing and playing all the tournaments I could back then were the major factors for the improvement. Now I have a 62" cue I've built knowing what I want at the end and I enjoy it even more but that is a result of all my experience of playing, coaching and understanding where to look into and that nobody but me knows and feels what is the best for me. Of course you can have a good instructor to help you or just film yourself and look if you really need something different than a standard cue. There are so much info and choices around which was not the case 20 years ago for example but there is also the other side of the coin it is harder to make your choice. Stilll the time you put in and the quility of that time are of greater importance.
So as I love the game and interested in everything concerning it I am very curious about cue building and started to learn this craft too. And yes I like to try some ideas I have but when you try something you have to know what you want to achieve and understand where to look into and what to improve if there is really a need.
Good luck with your choice;).
 
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The first topic Hoppe writes about in his book (published in 1941) was the cue stick. He said the leading players favor cues between 54 to 57 inches. He used a 55 inch cue for 3C and a 54 inch for other forms of billiards.

He also recommended a weight between 19 and 21 oz.and a hard leather tip that's 1/2 inch diameter.

Don't know why a longer cue is used today. Maybe the average male height has increased since the 30s - 40s?
 
Vorpal Cue said:
The first topic Hoppe writes about in his book (published in 1941) was the cue stick. He said the leading players favor cues between 54 to 57 inches. He used a 55 inch cue for 3C and a 54 inch for other forms of billiards.

He also recommended a weight between 19 and 21 oz.and a hard leather tip that's 1/2 inch diameter.

Don't know why a longer cue is used today. Maybe the average male height has increased since the 30s - 40s?
Click to expand...

I'm not a cue builder but have known a couple. Billiard cues seem to be rear weighted. In Hoppe's day the buts were much larger than today. I'm thinking that helps with the rearward balance.

I picked up a 55" cue a couple weeks ago and tried to make a shot and pulled the ferrule completely past and out of my hand. Kinda funny but tried to adjust for a few shots and it was still awkward. This cue was a Dieckman so was well made just not for me. I'm short. 5'5" but use a 57" Dieckman. For a little extra reach on the 10' table.
 
One of the things I don't like about cutting down a shaft, even 30" down to 29", is the change to the taper.
I had a 30" Schon shaft someone cut down to 29" and it didn't feel like a good Schon shaft.
One inch changed the taper by quite a bit
 
cuesblues said:
One of the things I don't like about cutting down a shaft, even 30" down to 29", is the change to the taper.
I had a 30" Schon shaft someone cut down to 29" and it didn't feel like a good Schon shaft.
One inch changed the taper by quite a bit
Click to expand...


If these shafts were NOT worn out/wippie I would still use them, but they are ''played out''.

Look closely below the ferrule a couple inches, both shafts the wood goes in after the ferrule, then out, then back in then out.

Shafts are perfectly straight, but unplayable. So tomorrow Wed. I'm gonna visit Ernie Martinez in Denver and cut one.

I'll let ya know. I'm 6'6'' and When I ordered my first Zamboti in 1978, I got it 60'' and hated it, too long. EVERYONE pool detective in the world said that's what I needed. I left myself and out, a few years later, Stroud cue all 3 shafts back 2'' reused the ivory ferrules, and the cue played great, tho I ended up hating that leather he used, too shiny, not enough tack for my grip. I sold it, when my SW cue arrived, couple years later sold that, no wrap, too slippery of a grip. Irish linen.
 

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Island Drive said:
If these shafts were NOT worn our/wippie I would still use them, but they are ''played out''.

Look closely below the ferrule a couple inches, both shafts the wood goes in after the ferrule, then out, then back in then out.

Shafts are perfectly straight, but unplayable. So tomorrow Wed. I'm gonna visit Ernie Martinez in Denver and cut one.

I'll let ya know. I'm 6'6'' and When I ordered my first Zamboti in 1978, I got it 60'' and hated it, too long. EVERYONE pool detective in the world said that's what I needed. But I left myself and out, a few years later, Stroud cue all 3 shafts back 2'' reused the ivory ferrules, and the cue played great, tho I ended up hating that leather he used, too shiny, not enough tack for my grip. I sold it, when my SW cue arrived, couple years later sold that, no wrap, too slippery of a grip. Irish linen.
Click to expand...


Are those old Kikel shafts?
 
cuesblues said:
Are those old Kikel shafts?
Click to expand...

Yep.........with a ton of play. In match play....beat almost everyone in the 90's in match play with those two pieces of wood. Never used abrasives and never cleaned the shafts, cept with a damp cloth once in awhile.


LOL....awhile back I asked Kikel why?....his hair stood up, he thought I was complaining about his work, that's Dave.

Was just ''asking a question'' because I knew they had been through 30+ hrs of play a week/minimum for about ten years. I would need a new tip/lepro about every 90 days back when I played Allot.
 
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