Points vs No Points
- Thread starter whiteoak
- Start date
I've had a lot of both. All cues have their own 'hit' but i've never felt that points/no points entered in to how they hit or played. Too many other factors( shaft/butt taper, ferrule, tip, etc) that go into this.
I played most of my life with a McDermott Merry Widow up until about 2 years ago I started playing with a 4 point African Blackwood with BEM and old school maple shaft. Yes, they hit completely different, but I don't think the points are what makes them different. I'm thinking the ivory ferrule on the 4 pt. vs. the McD with fiber ferrule along with the different taper is where the real difference is.
At the end of the day, a cue with precise tolerances will hit however the builder wants it to hit. Your nerves are not sensitive enough to detect the difference in time through a pointed cue versus a solid piece of wood.
Like any organic material, there are variations. I own an old $29 Minnesota Fats brand cue from Sears or wherever, the worst shaft wood I have ever seen, and it is a powerful cue. Lots of action, the ball finds the hole. Feels dead, but gets results. Has the worst build quality imaginable while still staying assembled as a pool cue.
Sorry to blather about this. Short story long, you won't notice a difference aside from weight in most cases.
Like any organic material, there are variations. I own an old $29 Minnesota Fats brand cue from Sears or wherever, the worst shaft wood I have ever seen, and it is a powerful cue. Lots of action, the ball finds the hole. Feels dead, but gets results. Has the worst build quality imaginable while still staying assembled as a pool cue.
Sorry to blather about this. Short story long, you won't notice a difference aside from weight in most cases.
Don't see how that is even possible.
If you are so sensitive to the weight, or whatever points do other than their visual, then it is probably taking away
from your concentrating on the table.
A lights out player can take a stick off the wall and beat everybody in the room.
He ain't thinking about points as he's playing.
Points or bar bells or dots or or cut diamonds does not change your knowledge
and how you see the layout.
No discernible difference between the two assuming everything else was the same.
I think if you play with production cues that have pantograph points and one from the same brand that is a PJ, you will notice how similar they feel. Try the same with a spliced forearm and a PJ and odds are there will be a greater difference in hit/feel.
A good custom will have their distinctive hit/feel regardless.
A good custom will have their distinctive hit/feel regardless.
So I have played with both and never noticed a difference. I also experimented with different cue joints types and still did not notice a difference. I think the shaft taper, shaft material, ferule and tip make the most difference in feel. There is a section in this forum to ask a cue maker. They would be your best resource on cue construction opinions (they have done the R&D). My opinion on cues and
in life is K-I-S-S keep it simple...
SSDiver2112
2b || !2b t^ ?
This is just an educated guess, but I would assume inlay points would not have any affect since they are just a thin ornament in the outer layer and the core is unaffected. Spliced points could affect the feel of the hit based on the types of wood used, but I don’t think they make it a worse hit than no splice. Many no point cue still have joints between butt and forearm, rings etc. so I would say get what you like.
Now don’t get me started on how overlay graphic points can throw off your shot...
Now don’t get me started on how overlay graphic points can throw off your shot...
I have often wonder if you put in lays in a Cue does it dampen some of the quality of hit?? As I would assume when you Cut for inlay, you are killing vibration/power .
One of the nicest playing Cues I have ever personally play with was a PVC Special. Gave the 70 year old plus Brunswick One Piece Cue that Nicname, as it was carried in PVC Case, that was like 5' long, with plastic Caps on each end. Did have a New Tip PRN (as needed) but Cue was not bell of ball beauty.
One of the nicest playing Cues I have ever personally play with was a PVC Special. Gave the 70 year old plus Brunswick One Piece Cue that Nicname, as it was carried in PVC Case, that was like 5' long, with plastic Caps on each end. Did have a New Tip PRN (as needed) but Cue was not bell of ball beauty.
I've conducted years of research and discovered 4 points cause the cosmic forces to align properly and result in a pure hit.
Also always play with a cue with uneven points and on shots requiring side English put the longest point on the side where you applying the spin for maximum effect.
I should be charging big money for these tips but I provide them for free just to show what a nice guy I am.
Also always play with a cue with uneven points and on shots requiring side English put the longest point on the side where you applying the spin for maximum effect.
I should be charging big money for these tips but I provide them for free just to show what a nice guy I am.
Totally, I had a 6 pt ebony into birdseye SouthWest and if I rotated the cue so a long point was facing down I would over run position and if it lined up between the points facing down I would come up short. So I would have to make sure every time I shot the short point was facing down and like Goldilocks it was just riiight.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
I was told, as a child, that the purpose of the full splice was to provide a way to cushion, or diffuse, the impact of a cue. (Why are cues made like that? Why not a solid piece of wood?) I was never sure whether the goal was to lessen the impact on the player or the cue ball, but even then I wondered why such a small force would require such a complex structural modification. Anyone?
My take is that each cue/shaft has its own subtle peculiarities -- most so subtle I do not ordinarily recognize them. The more important thing is that a player shoot with a particular cue/shaft often enough to "know" it and learn how to use it. Think about your first experiences with a Predator shaft, or some other variant. I hated them at first, but after repeated use, something unconsciously crept into my arm, wrist, and eyes, and it suddenly dawned on me that this was an amazing improvement. However, I can still pick up one of my older cues and shoot, again unconsciously, equally as well. If I live long enough, maybe I will know enough to match a cue to a particular shot and change cues like a golfer chooses clubs.
My take is that each cue/shaft has its own subtle peculiarities -- most so subtle I do not ordinarily recognize them. The more important thing is that a player shoot with a particular cue/shaft often enough to "know" it and learn how to use it. Think about your first experiences with a Predator shaft, or some other variant. I hated them at first, but after repeated use, something unconsciously crept into my arm, wrist, and eyes, and it suddenly dawned on me that this was an amazing improvement. However, I can still pick up one of my older cues and shoot, again unconsciously, equally as well. If I live long enough, maybe I will know enough to match a cue to a particular shot and change cues like a golfer chooses clubs.
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Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
WILL SOME SCIENTIST HELP ME OUT. Here is what I believe is one of the problems in answering this type of question. Too many uncontrolled variables -- wood type, joint, splice, grain, taper, ferrule, tip -- to be able to know which one is producing what effect. If I understand scientific method, we would preferably only test one variable at a time and control the rest. This would require the construction of several identical cues, except, for instance, the type of joint. With such a group of prototypes, we could then conduct a valid examination of the effect of different joints. I know of no other method to impose the necessary controls. Would statistical manipulation be a possibility here? If so, how?
My guess is that the butts are made of multiple pieces woods glued and mechanically fastened together to prevent warping and also for ornamental purposes. Does anyone know if snooker cues are spliced, they are 1 piece cues for the most part I think?
They are spliced. The hi-end ones are not only spliced but they are PLANED by hand to get them round. Some players use 1pc and others a 3/4 jointed version.
I absolutely don't believe you. If anything, I might grant that the shaft grain orientation may have some slight effect. But the points? Nope.Totally, I had a 6 pt ebony into birdseye SouthWest and if I rotated the cue so a long point was facing down I would over run position and if it lined up between the points facing down I would come up short. So I would have to make sure every time I shot the short point was facing down and like Goldilocks it was just riiight.
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I sure hope you don't. It's called sarcasm
