What is the best pool cue joint/pin type?
- Thread starter BrokeHustler
- Start date
IMO, the best joint type is flat-face big pin, Radial, 3/8-10, 3/8-11, etc. Much better to not have full steel joint and all the mass in that part of the cue. Ivory, phenolic, thinwall steel or steel half joint are the best IMO. Of course there is more to a good playing cue than the joint.
Martin
You won't find out which pin or joint is the "Best" from this thread, but you will find out people's favorites. Maybe you can poll everyone's answer to find out which one is more popular.
MY favorite pin is the 3/8-10. I love it when it's wood to wood, but it doesn't really matter. My first cue was a Schmelke and I liked it, but then I graduated to a McDermott and it gave me a feel that I just fell in love with.
That started my love affair with the 3/8-10 pin!
MY favorite pin is the 3/8-10. I love it when it's wood to wood, but it doesn't really matter. My first cue was a Schmelke and I liked it, but then I graduated to a McDermott and it gave me a feel that I just fell in love with.
That started my love affair with the 3/8-10 pin!
Goosekeeper
Active member
Tiger has a fantastic pin.
Which one plays the best? I put a couple of cues with different joint configurations on my pool table the other day. I’d say it’s a tie. Neither of them could make a ball.
Tadaimarlon
Well-known member
All my cues are wood-to-wood, preferably radial, but 3/8-10 is good too.
Gives the best feedback in my opinion.
Gives the best feedback in my opinion.
No BEST, just choices, and personal likes.
Ask Cuemakers why they offer what they offer?
Ask Cuemakers why they offer what they offer?
The best pin is the one that holds the shaft tight to the butt.
In other words all of them.
In other words all of them.
soyale
Well-known member
You revived a 12 year old post to say..... that?
wasn’t there some kind of blind pepsi challenge done where they taped off the joints to see if any players could tell the difference in pins?
i want to say i remember reading about that on here at one point but would love a source. From what i recall nobody could tell the difference
I have owned several Unilocs over the years and only one remains, my BK Rush. I only kept this one because I haven't found another break cue I like. Every once in a while I have to retighten the stick because of the damn Uniloc joint.
11 years with my Lucasi Uniloc pin and I have never had to retighten it while playing.
I do clean it once in awhile with a Q tip and alcohol.
dirtvictim
Ignore the entitled they haven't earned respect
Well since someone revived this dead horse I'll butt in. I love wood to wood joints and SW 3/8-11 is my fav however I have an AE wood to wood with a g10 radial pin that is very good natural feel.
I do not think the kind of joint used to join the butt and the shaft makes more then 0.000,1% difference.
I, personally, do not like metal joints as these make the front of the cue heavier than my preferred grip point.
I, personally, do not like metal joints as these make the front of the cue heavier than my preferred grip point.
Goosekeeper
Active member
Yeah… SO?
soyale
Well-known member
oh i dont mind or anything i just thought it was kind of odd.
Like, were you itchin to talk about how much you liked your pin, so you searched for a thread about pins and found one from twelve years ago?
i mean, if so, thats exactly the type of pool nerd i am. i just cant imagine being that excited about a pin, personally. It makes me happy to think that others may be.
take care man!
Goosekeeper
Active member
I currently have three conversion cues all with Radial. New to radial. Before these I’ve mainly used 3/8:10 and 5/16:14, both which I love.
The radial pins hit good, honestly I can’t quite tell the difference in hit, but they do come slightly loose. Two days ago, I broke with one and the cue started rattling after, during shots. Thought I’d cracked something. Turns out the joint came loose and needed to be tightened.
I’m friends with the guys over at Tiger. I go over there (too often) and usually end up in long conversations with their cue maker. This is the guy who brought the stacked leather wrap to the billiard world. He does all wraps for Tiger and many other cue brands and cue makers outsource directly to him for wraps. He’s old school. Cuts the channels by hand with a chisel. Takes just a few seconds. Amazing to watch. He also built most of the machines they use in the shop himself, by hand. He’s the designer of their tips and is also the guy who designed and engineered their unique pin.
He explained the original uses, and issues with the various pins used in cues. Radial, for example, the threads of that type of pin are not designed for or ideal for holding two separate pieces of material together. The threading can begin to fail over time and impacts to it, structurally cause loosening over time.
The pin/threading that their pin is based on is an existing type, meant to hold machine parts of some kind together, firmly, without fail. They made some modifications to it, adding a slight taper to the threads and so forth. It’s designed to actually tighten, as opposed to loosen. The diameter of their pins are the same as radial but the threading is superior from an engineering standpoint. They can actually tap a shaft already tapped for radial, so that it works with either radial or their own pin at the same time.
I’m looking at having my pins all changed out. Found this thread and read the comments which are really good. Wanted to see if there were any thoughts on Tiger’s pin. Didn’t think to check the dates.
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I take that with a grain of salt. The uniloc radial pin was built from scratch via work between an aeronautics/medical/defense/semi-conductor professional and Bill Stroud.
They could have chose whatever thread pitch/count and pin diameter they wanted.
Nothing wrong with that. Old threads are cool. And what you said was cool.
Good content on AZB, joint technology hasn’t changed much and it was great comment
Subjective. I prefer 5/16 14.