Joint question

I have a cue with a piloted 5/16X18 stainless steel joint, as in this picture:



What I've noticed is that when I've screwed on any number of regular 5/16 X 18 flat-faced shafts onto it that the hit is a bit weird, and quite different from the shaft made for the cue.

Is there a way to fix this problem with the hit, perhaps by filling in that space with epoxy or something else so that the joint will be flat-faced?

Thanks for the help.

Flex

Paul Dayton said:

It isn't the brass nipple at the bottom of the shaft that is different, it is the new shaft itself. It has a different taper, diameter, ferrule, tip, weight or a combination of these factors.

I very much doubt that the brass nipple contacts the steel joint at all, and if you fill the hole, you have to machine the nipple off the shaft.

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Thanks, Paul.

I should have been clearer in my original post. I'm not happy with the original shaft and the way it plays, it squirts the cue ball too much for me. I suppose that I might retaper the shaft down to about 11 mm, and cut the ferrule down so it's about 1/2 long, and try that first.

But, I probably have 8 or 10 regular flat faced 5/16 X 18 shafts -- OB-1, 2 Meucci black-dots that I've basically retired, an Ed Young shaft, and several others, that I'd like to use on the butt with the cutout around the joint pin.

I have a Meucci black-dot shaft that I think may have cracked under the joint ring due to being used on a butt with that cut out, not sure about that though.

It just seems that a solid area under the shaft would be stronger than having all the stress of the shaft concentrated on the area where the steel joint is minus the center section.

What do you think about filling that cutout in with epoxy or some other material?

Thanks.

Flex

Paul Dayton said:

flex,

Filling the joint hole isn't going to change the solidity of the cue, either in the way it feels or in the Axtual physical strength of the joint itself.

A shaft retaper is your best bet though you can use any of the flat face shafts with no problems.

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Thanks, Paul.

Guess I'll go the retaper route first, and also take care not to over tighten the other shafts as mentioned below by Bandido.

BTW Paul, your website is excellent. What fantastic looking cues you make; I bet they hit great too.

Flex

bandido said:

Flex,
Don't over tighten when using your non-piloted shaft with your recessed stainless joint cue. You just might break the bond of the brass insert to the shaft. I've even seen some brass inserts start to get pulled out.

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Thanks for the tip, very helpful.

Flex