Zerksies
Well-known member
Or learn to properly take care of a tip.
Things to consider for those forum members buying their first pool cue
- Thread starter manwon
- Start date
Well, the description has me drooling. The craftsmanship could make it a gem or a rock. All depends how it's made.
Bill Stroud cues were well made and beautiful at the upper end for price and quality.
Roger Petit made sneaker cues from broken cues salvage. A $60 cue with a small red fiber reinforced joint. It had a soft hit like McDermott. I made 150-250 a week with it.
A great hobbyists cue.I then persuade Roger to make a shaft with ivory ferrule. He did from a salvaged cue ball at the 211. It was a gem and cheap. Can't remember how much but I tipped him 20. My cue then had a hit very similar to ivory ferrule and between stainless or ivory joint. Oh the ivory joint gives a life to the hit. Like eating ice cream.
The salvaged maple was definitely stable. Bill Stroud knew how to cure the wood. Production cues depend on the skills of the craftspeople. Dufferin is my choice for a starter cue. They've been at it a while.
Color me Canadian Maple. 
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Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from and I certainly agree with you from what I’ve seen so far.
Thanks very much for your post. I appreciate your comments.
Craig
When purchasing a pool cue, the most important considerations are your playing style and personal comfort. The right cue should feel like an extension of your arm, which means paying close attention to its technical specifications, materials, and overall quality. Cue weight and balance: The ideal weight is a matter of personal preference, but cues typically range from 18 to 21 ounces.
Lighter cues (18–19 oz): Offer more control and are suited for players who focus on finesse and spin shots.
Heavier cues (20–21 oz): Provide more power for breaking and long shots.
Balance point: A cue with a forward balance point gives more power, while a rear-weighted cue provides more control.
Low-deflection shaft: This is one of the most important performance features. A low-deflection (LD) shaft reduces how much the cue ball "squirts" off-line when you apply side spin (English), which improves accuracy.
Tip size and hardness: The tip is the point of contact, and its characteristics significantly impact your game.
Tip size: Smaller tips (around 11–12mm) offer more control for spin, while larger tips (13mm+) provide a more solid and forgiving hit.
Tip hardness: Soft tips offer more control and spin but require more maintenance. Hard tips are more durable and suited for power shots, while medium tips offer a balance of both.
Shaft material and taper: The shaft material affects the cue's feel and durability.
Maple: Traditional and popular for its consistent performance.
Carbon fiber: Offers maximum low deflection and durability but is more expensive.
Pro vs. conical taper: A pro taper has a consistent diameter for part of the shaft for a smooth bridge stroke, while a conical taper narrows gradually.
Wrap and grip: The material on the cue's grip area affects comfort and control.
Irish linen: A common choice that offers a dry, non-slip feel.
Leather: Provides a firm and slightly cushioned grip.
Wrapless: Some players prefer the direct feel of polished wood.
Joint type: The material of the joint connecting the shaft and butt influences the cue's feel.
Wood-to-wood: Creates a softer, more fluid hit.
Metal: Results in a firmer, more solid hit.
Build quality and other considerations
Straightness: A high-quality cue should be perfectly straight. To check, roll it on a flat surface; any wobble indicates a warp. For best results, sight down the cue like a rifle.
Purpose: The type of cue you need depends on your play style.
Playing cue: A versatile, all-purpose cue for general gameplay.
Break cue: Heavier with a harder tip, designed for the initial break.
Jump cue: Shorter, lighter, and has a hard tip for jump shots.
Jump/Break cue: A multi-piece cue that serves both functions.
Budget: Cues range widely in price, from budget-friendly options for beginners to high-end, custom models for serious players. A higher price point often reflects more exotic materials and intricate inlays, but quality cues can be found at all levels.
Customization: Many production cues allow for weight adjustment, and separate shafts can be purchased to change playing characteristics. Custom cues offer a fully tailored experience but come with a higher price tag and a longer wait time.
Portability: Decide whether you need a one-piece cue for home use or a two-piece model that is easy to transport to pool halls or tournaments.
After-sales service: Check for warranty coverage on your cue, as some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty against warping or defects.
Trial and error: The most reliable way to choose a cue is to try different options and see what feels best for your game. Visit local billiards stores or ask to test a cue at a pool hall.
That's AI.
Lighter cues (18–19 oz): Offer more control and are suited for players who focus on finesse and spin shots.
Heavier cues (20–21 oz): Provide more power for breaking and long shots.
Balance point: A cue with a forward balance point gives more power, while a rear-weighted cue provides more control.
Low-deflection shaft: This is one of the most important performance features. A low-deflection (LD) shaft reduces how much the cue ball "squirts" off-line when you apply side spin (English), which improves accuracy.
Tip size and hardness: The tip is the point of contact, and its characteristics significantly impact your game.
Tip size: Smaller tips (around 11–12mm) offer more control for spin, while larger tips (13mm+) provide a more solid and forgiving hit.
Tip hardness: Soft tips offer more control and spin but require more maintenance. Hard tips are more durable and suited for power shots, while medium tips offer a balance of both.
Shaft material and taper: The shaft material affects the cue's feel and durability.
Maple: Traditional and popular for its consistent performance.
Carbon fiber: Offers maximum low deflection and durability but is more expensive.
Pro vs. conical taper: A pro taper has a consistent diameter for part of the shaft for a smooth bridge stroke, while a conical taper narrows gradually.
Wrap and grip: The material on the cue's grip area affects comfort and control.
Irish linen: A common choice that offers a dry, non-slip feel.
Leather: Provides a firm and slightly cushioned grip.
Wrapless: Some players prefer the direct feel of polished wood.
Joint type: The material of the joint connecting the shaft and butt influences the cue's feel.
Wood-to-wood: Creates a softer, more fluid hit.
Metal: Results in a firmer, more solid hit.
Build quality and other considerations
Straightness: A high-quality cue should be perfectly straight. To check, roll it on a flat surface; any wobble indicates a warp. For best results, sight down the cue like a rifle.
Purpose: The type of cue you need depends on your play style.
Playing cue: A versatile, all-purpose cue for general gameplay.
Break cue: Heavier with a harder tip, designed for the initial break.
Jump cue: Shorter, lighter, and has a hard tip for jump shots.
Jump/Break cue: A multi-piece cue that serves both functions.
Budget: Cues range widely in price, from budget-friendly options for beginners to high-end, custom models for serious players. A higher price point often reflects more exotic materials and intricate inlays, but quality cues can be found at all levels.
Customization: Many production cues allow for weight adjustment, and separate shafts can be purchased to change playing characteristics. Custom cues offer a fully tailored experience but come with a higher price tag and a longer wait time.
Portability: Decide whether you need a one-piece cue for home use or a two-piece model that is easy to transport to pool halls or tournaments.
After-sales service: Check for warranty coverage on your cue, as some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty against warping or defects.
Trial and error: The most reliable way to choose a cue is to try different options and see what feels best for your game. Visit local billiards stores or ask to test a cue at a pool hall.
That's AI.
Well, to be exact, the center of gravity is somewhere inside the cue stick while the balance point is only about the distance from the end of the cue. Mostly, they are the same thing.
Yes, I think it would be best if the cue had no weight bolt at all because that is one less thing to go wrong. I've had a weight bolt come loose.
My point about the physics is that unless you x-ray the cue, it's impossible to tell exactly how any added weight is distributed. As long as everything stays solid, there is no difference in how the cue will feel in your hand, The balance point -- where your finger is under the cue when it balances horizontally -- is all there is to it.
Thank you. I figured for the sake of this discussion they were basically the same thing but I didn't want to assume and end up missing a point.
BTW….the weight range ratio is 18-22%……doesn’t mean 17 or 23% is wrong. I would have thought by now educated minds would recognize there’s no right or wrong when it comes to what you like, as long as it is legal.
The best minds agree ivory is unique and plays differently than any other material used in building pool cues. Just check the for sale listings of the best names in cue making and see what they produced. This isn’t imaginary or just a coincidence. But some folks are so narrow minded they resist studying the cues that the best cue makers actually made.
The numbers I cited are real. Just pay closer attention to cue for sale listings in the future. Simply divide the shaft weight by the playing weight and see what you now own and play with. In the future, it would benefit you to keep this in mind for any future cues acquisitions but that is entirely up to you. If you know a talented cue maker, just ask them
I’ve posted this in the Cue Makers Forum and to this day, it has gone unchallenged by any cue builders. Why has the greatest names in cue making built pool cues that coincided with this shaft/ butt weight ratio? Just do the research.
The best minds agree ivory is unique and plays differently than any other material used in building pool cues. Just check the for sale listings of the best names in cue making and see what they produced. This isn’t imaginary or just a coincidence. But some folks are so narrow minded they resist studying the cues that the best cue makers actually made.
The numbers I cited are real. Just pay closer attention to cue for sale listings in the future. Simply divide the shaft weight by the playing weight and see what you now own and play with. In the future, it would benefit you to keep this in mind for any future cues acquisitions but that is entirely up to you. If you know a talented cue maker, just ask them
I’ve posted this in the Cue Makers Forum and to this day, it has gone unchallenged by any cue builders. Why has the greatest names in cue making built pool cues that coincided with this shaft/ butt weight ratio? Just do the research.
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boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
CF is pretty divisive. It's not needed and there is a beauty to wood. But in all honesty if someone I knew was "getting serious" about pool and wanted to improve, wanting their first cue I would suggest CF to them. They are mostly LD, slick, don't get dings like wood etc.
This isn't to say wood is bad in any way, but it does take a bit more care and maintenance. We all know that no matter how careful you are shit can happen.
And honestly you can get a CF shafted cue for $200-400 and it will flat out play. It's surprising how good "cheap" ones play. There are some absolute junk out there, but that's wood and CF both, but the good budget CF is pretty damn good.
I think, if you get obsessed about the game, from the start. I don't think it really matters. If on the other hand, your only intending to play twice a week or something like that. Then Your advice should be taken.
It's funny because once you feel it cues will never feel the same in your hands. And it's shockingly different from cue to cue. I've got an old Auerback with a cocobolo forearm and butt sleeve with a Birdseye handle that I picked up in a trade years ago. Phenolic joint and shaft collars. It's a nice lower end custom. A buddy of mine has a Bluegrass with the same wood combinations. From across the table, one could pretty easily be mistaken for the other at a casual glance. But if you pick them up... They're not even in the same realm. I even took the massive weight bolt out of the Auerback and it still feels like a log compared the the Bluegrass that feels like a you're holding a Stradivarius violin or something like that.
Oddly enough, I did sell the best hitting cue I ever had. It's the only thing I've ever regretted selling. I was going through a weird time with cues and decided I didn't need it anymore and would rather have a pistol. So I sold it and bought the pistol.
I had a similar experience with an old kenny murrel cue, I brought. (One of his early ones) which was pretty beat up.with a stack leather wrap. Anyway compared with some of my others, this cue just hit amazing. Quality like that, you can feel in the cue. I ended up trading it back to the original guy, who had it made. A professional player, He missed his cue
when i heard he was looking for it, i had to get it back to him.
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DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Oh, so now it's a range of nearly an ounce. That pretty much covers every maple shaft.
You've been told numerous times by well respected makes that ivory was the best material available at one time and now it is only used because of the price.
Paul_#_
Well-known member
I agree that I could not easily tell where weight is added along the length of a cue stick if I could only rely on the balance point of the cue.
I disagree that I could not tell a difference in how the cue would feel in my hand. Let me give an example where I easily could tell whether the cues had different weight distributions and where the cuemaker placed the weights along the length of the cue.
Imagine two 60-inch cues made of hard, but light, plastic. Two 8-ounce lead weights are placed on the cues so as to make a balance point at 30 inches.
In one cue, the two lead weights are fastened within a few inches of each side of the balance point at the middle of the cue. In the other cue, the lead weights are fastened at each end of the cue but still with the same balance point as the other cue.
When comparing those cues with the same balance point in your hands, you can very quickly tell that one cue has weights near the cue center and the other has weights near the cue ends. Do this by simply holding the cues in your hands near and far from the balance point. Holding the cues a few inches from the center will show that there is little weight toward one of the cue's end (the one with lead weights near the balance point) and much weight near the cue center. This would feel much different compared to the other cue that had weights fastened near the cue ends.
Is there something to Bavafongoul's and Jimmmy Betmore's points?
Or, am I missing something here?
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DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Physics says you are wrong. You can't tell the weight distribution by simply holding the cue. You could tell by swinging the cue like a sword or practicing your baton skills. When hitting the ball the vibration will change due to the nodes caused by the heavy added mass.
What you are describing is true on a practical level because we don't hold the cue at the balance point. When you are far away from a heavy mass, there will be a moment (torque in layman's terms) that your resolve by holding away from the balance point. In a uniform weight distribution this will be different than with weights added. Early 200 level Statics class for engineers.
Per Bob's comment, the center of mass is the balance point. The centers of inertias will be different.
I dont recall a current top player that uses a hard tip, so why should a beginner..?
The best cue for you is any cue I put up for sale.
Trust me.
Trust me.
I have sold a few things I regretted forever after. Hunger can be a powerful motivation!
For the people talking weights, if it is a spec cue the type of pin plays a role in weight and balance. When adding weight it can be added behind the pin as well as near the bumper. In extreme cases weight can be added to the shaft too.
My cue has a balance point 21" from the bumper and isn't forward balanced. The catch is that while we call out the balance point from the bumper what really matters is where it is at from the tip. With my sixty inch cue the balance point is exactly the same from the tip as the common cue with a 58" length and 19" balance point.
The materials to make a cue can vary in weight a good bit so sometimes a cue builder has to do a little magic to suit a customer. Designing it themselves they should need little or no extra weight. Pin choices from stainless to G-10, length of pin, collars, some other choices, the weight added can be built into the design.
Hu