The Straightness Checker Rollers are not a reliable way to test for straightness, in my opinion.

[vintagecollectibles831]

I just wanted to say that the Straightness Checker rollers, that you get from Amazon, for example, are not a reliable way to test for straightness, for a few reasons.

I believe that they must be perfectly aligned (in a perfectly straight line), when doing the straightness test, which is very hard to do, I think.

Also, each roller must be perfectly straight, if that makes sense.

And, the wider part of the roller is for the thick butt end, and the part that is not wide is for the thinner part, up near the joint. Some people might do that part backwards, lol.

Anyways, I am back to the feeling that rolling a cue on a pool table is the best way to test for straightness, other then an actual cue makers lathe, or other type of professional lathe, to put pool cue butts, and shafts on.

The only reason that I like the rollers though, is so that I do not have to take the cue all the way to the pool hall, which is very far away. I just believe that it is a little more complex then people think, to set up the straightness test.

I wish there were a high quality set of rollers that came with a perfectly aligned thing that they were attached to, under it, so that the test would work good, and right every time. I just do not fully trust the Rollers test anymore.

And, I believe the one from Amazon is just very cheap, and maybe there are better ones out there.

Edit: I see that a lot more companies or brands have them these days, but they are all probably very cheap, and might not offer a reliable test, unless set up perfectly.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[straightline]

They show wobble better than anything else.

 

[skor]

Once you put the cue on them, they will align and be straight.
The ability to move their position can suggest where the issue is like the a-joint or the shaft joint or something else.
There is no better tool to test straightness.
You can test just the butt, just the shaft and the whole cue.
Rolling the cue on the table can’t tell you much as there might be a taper to the butt that will make you think that there is a wobble that is not really there.
Textured wrap like lizard skin may cause the cue to wobble as well when rolling on a surface.
Not needing to go to the pool hall is a big big plus

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Once you out the cue on them, they will align and be straight.
The ability to move their position can suggest where the issue is like the a-joint or the shaft joint or something else.
There is no better tool to test straightness.
You can test just the butt, just the shaft and the whole cue.
Rolling the cue on the table can’t tell you much as there might be a taper to the butt that will make you think that there is a wobble that is not really there.
Textured wrap like lizard skin may cause the cue to wobble as well when rolling on a surface.
Not needing to go to the pool hall is a big big plus

Okay, I understand. The rollers make a hair of a warp, look really bad though. If a cue only shows less then the thickness of a credit card of movement, up near the joint, when rolling it on the pool table, then that might look far worse with the rollers, and that really bugs me. Also, a cue can look pretty straight, overall, when rolling it on a pool table, both together and apart, but when you roll that same cue on the rollers, it might look far worse. A cue really must be dead straight, to really look perfectly straight, when spinning the parts on the rollers.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

They show wobble better than anything else.

Why is it that when I spin the full cue on the rollers, it looks very warped, but when I roll the cue on a pool table, it appears to be pretty straight, overall? I already know the answer, lol. It is because the slightest bit of so called warp, in the cue, makes the entire cue appear to be extremely warped, when spun on those rollers.

And, this is due to a credit card (or less) thickness lift, up near the joint, on the pool cue butt.

I am just so angry. This ebay buyer is telling me that I sent him a cue with a really bad wobble, which is completely untrue. When I showed a video of how the cue rolls on a pool table, which is pretty straight, overall, without any wobble, and very slight movement in the shaft, which the video showed. I also explained the very slight movement in my description.

 

[skor]

Okay, I understand. The rollers make a hair of a warp, look really bad though. If a cue only shows less then the thickness of a credit card of movement, up near the joint, when rolling it on the pool table, then that might look far worse with the rollers, and that really bugs me. Also, a cue can look pretty straight, overall, when rolling it on a pool table, both together and apart, but when you roll that same cue on the rollers, it might look far worse. A cue really must be dead straight, to really look perfectly straight, when spinning the parts on the rollers.

You need to know how to judge it and decide for yourself if it’s acceptable or not.
Additional rolling on a table is fine to get a final verdict but if you want to test absolute straightness, then this rollers are the best.

And again, I have a cue that rolls funny on the table but it’s dead straight on the rollers due to a bump in the lizard wrap

 

[JasonATX]

Why is it that when I spin the full cue on the rollers, it looks very warped, but when I roll the cue on a pool table, it appears to be pretty straight, overall? I already know the answer, lol. It is because the slightest bit of so called warp, in the cue, makes the entire cue appear to be extremely warped, when spun on those rollers.

If you can separate the pieces and they roll straight on the checker, then it's possibly a joint facing or pin alignment issue. I'd have to find it, but if it's the joint face, there's a way to mate a shaft to a particular butt that minimizes that.

 

[straightline]

Try spinning the stick with both spinners on the butt end.

 

[hejests]

Why is it that when I spin the full cue on the rollers, it looks very warped, but when I roll the cue on a pool table, it appears to be pretty straight, overall? I already know the answer, lol. It is because the slightest bit of so called warp, in the cue, makes the entire cue appear to be extremely warped, when spun on those rollers.

And, this is due to a credit card (or less) thickness lift, up near the joint, on the pool cue butt.

I am just so angry. This ebay buyer is telling me that I sent him a cue with a really bad wobble, which is completely untrue. When I showed a video of how the cue rolls on a pool table, which is pretty straight, overall, without any wobble, and very slight movement in the shaft, which the video showed. I also explained the very slight movement in my description.

In my experience, a cue always "looks" straighter when rolled on the table and it's usually because the tip and some part of the butt make contact first on the table, gravity then pulls the rest of the shaft closer to the table by a hair (basically, the weight of the cue is pulling the cue shaft towards table slightly when rolled). IMO best way to check for straight: 1. roll the shaft on a set of rollers. 2. Roll the butt on a set of rollers 3. place 1 roller towards the front of the butt and one roller towards the end of the butt and spin the full cue (no roller on the shaft). #1 shows you how straight or round your shaft is, #2 does the same for the butt and #3 tells you if you have a minor joint facing issue or maybe a bent of offset pin.

 

[Fvalstounge]

To get the best look at the straightness of a cue, I roll it on my table in the dark, with a bright little LED light behind it. With my cheek on the table, EVERY little gap or wobble along the entire length is visible. Any variation one can't see this way seems highly irrelevant. In addition, while somewhat crude, I use standard playing cards like feeler gauges to judge the amount of gap or change in taper. Each card is typically 0.3mm. Slide in the gap to block the light without moving the cue makes a decent estimate.

 

[straightline]

For me, a cue has to pass rolling with the shaft in the air past the rail. Most don't. Many aren't even close. Chances are though, cues with a slight wobble will still play better than I can.

 

[R2PQZ]

I just wanted to say that the Straightness Checker rollers, that you get from Amazon, for example, are not a reliable way to test for straightness, for a few reasons.

I believe that they must be perfectly aligned (in a perfectly straight line), when doing the straightness test, which is very hard to do, I think.

Also, each roller must be perfectly straight, if that makes sense.

And, the wider part of the roller is for the thick butt end, and the part that is not wide is for the thinner part, up near the joint. Some people might do that part backwards, lol.

Anyways, I am back to the feeling that rolling a cue on a pool table is the best way to test for straightness, other then an actual cue makers lathe, or other type of professional lathe, to put pool cue butts, and shafts on.

The only reason that I like the rollers though, is so that I do not have to take the cue all the way to the pool hall, which is very far away. I just believe that it is a little more complex then people think, to set up the straightness test.

I wish there were a high quality set of rollers that came with a perfectly aligned thing that they were attached to, under it, so that the test would work good, and right every time. I just do not fully trust the Rollers test anymore.

And, I believe the one from Amazon is just very cheap, and maybe there are better ones out there.

Edit: I see that a lot more companies or brands have them these days, but they are all probably very cheap, and might not offer a reliable test, unless set up perfectly.

Thanks for any thoughts.

I screw the cue together first. Put the tip on the table and the buttcap on the cushion. With the cue elevated you can really see what is going on. The same can be done with both pieces. Roll them separately elevated off the felt.

 

[R2PQZ]

I screw the cue together first. Put the tip on the table and the buttcap on the cushion. With the cue elevated you can really see what is going on. The same can be done with both pieces. Roll them separately elevated off the felt.

A way to check for straightness without a table is to stand the cue up on the bumper.
Hold the ferrule loosely and spin the cue while looking from the tip down.

 

[muskyed]

Keep in mind, rollers especially plastic ones aren't accurate themselves. If you were to put a dial indicator on the rollers you would see why a cue that looks bad on them really isn't at times. Unless it's a precision ball bearing roller, a plastic one is virtually useless as to checking straightness

 

[KINGSCOURT905]

i just roll mine on the table at end pocket too, the amazon rollers made my cue look way worse than it plays lol. when yours lifts a little near the joint like that do you trust the table roll or the rollers more

 

[fastone371]

I rarely check my cues for straightness, unless the bend is so bad that it makes a 90 degree corner its just not that big of a deal. I don't think anyone here is rotating their cue on their final stroke.

 

[muskyed]

I rarely check my cues for straightness, unless the bend is so bad that it makes a 90 degree corner its just not that big of a deal. I don't think anyone here is rotating their cue on their final stroke.

This really makes me chuckle as this fall at a little corner bar we hang out at in Door county by our summer place, the wife and I play quite a bit of pool there. There is one cue I usually use as I like the weight, 19 oz, and the tip is good. Actually all the tips are good as I repair them for them. Anyway back to straight cues, one day a few months back while playing, my wife grabs a different stick and I tell her to put it up and keep using the one we had been using. She says she doesn't like it as it's warped. Sure enough, warped pretty bad, I never noticed it. I don't think it's as much of a big deal as some make it out to be.