Question about pins

Michael Webb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So anything besides a 5/16x14 would be a big pin cue by him?


I have to say yes Sir. The real odd ball was the 3/8x10 acme. Mike Cochran told me they bought the threaded rods from McMaster Carr. The radial screws they used looked different on the end because they machined the bullet nose off. Tim and Mike both thought it was wasted space.
 
Last edited:

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
No confusion for me. I guess the real question is, does it make a difference in feel? The big pin felt different, but it could be a lot of things that made it feel different.
Here is a report of a "hit vs. joint" test that John McChesney did in 1991 -- almost 30 years ago now. I think that the cue tip is going to have far, far more effect on how the hit feels than the joint.)

(Thanks to Murray Tucker...) Here is a Post from John McChesney circa 1999:

Here's something interesting we tried in 1991:
At an event we had 16 cues with the butt, joint and the ferrules covered
with masking tape...then numbered. No one could "see" if the cue was a
steel, plastic or wood joint (as in a Pete), nor detect by the style of
ferrule. We had 70 players...each hit balls with the cues throughout the
weekend.

The results:
Of nearly 800 attempts over the time period, the players guessed wrong about
what type joint was in the cue more than 7 out of 10 times. A top pro
(Meucci staffer) happened to be there, having done an exhibition and the cue
he liked the most during the attempts: He thought was surely a Meucci,
plastic joint when in reality it was an older Adams with a piloted steel
joint; and additionally guessed the Meucci he shot with as a cue with a
steel joint. Again, I maintain that cues with different joint materials may
sound differently; may be balanced differently, but what is "hit" ? Doesn't
"hit" have to do with all the senses: Vibration (feel), sound, balance, etc.
What is a "soft" hit? What is a "hard" hit? (what does this mean, if not
the sound the cue makes upon impact, or are people ref. to the vibration in
the butt?) Does a hard hit vibrate more and make a different sound? A soft
hit vibrate less with a different sound? I maintain that the primary
criteria that differentiates one cue from another begins with: The tip
(soft, med or hard) The shaft diameter and density of the wood The taper (or
stiffness of the shaft) To this day, I still don't believe the joint has
much to do with the reaction of the cueball off the shaft, rather it is the
3 aforementioned that have far more bearing on how a cue plays than anything
else. Remember, what makes the predator shaft play differently is what is
located at the tip, inside the shaft, the ferrule and the laminations....not
the joint or butt. In closing, our experiment asked which cue the players
liked best: Of the 70 players, nearly 55 liked the hit of two cues with
different numbers: When the two were exposed, they both were sneaky petes,
wood to wood joints, (one a Scruggs and the other a Huebler); both about 19
oz., both about 13 1/4mm and tended to be on the stiff side of "hit". By
the way, the 55 who liked the hit of these two cues: more than half thought
they would be steel jointed.
 

Michael Webb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Here is a report of a "hit vs. joint" test that John McChesney did in 1991 -- almost 30 years ago now. I think that the cue tip is going to have far, far more effect on how the hit feels than the joint.)

(Thanks to Murray Tucker...) Here is a Post from John McChesney circa 1999:

Here's something interesting we tried in 1991:
At an event we had 16 cues with the butt, joint and the ferrules covered
with masking tape...then numbered. No one could "see" if the cue was a
steel, plastic or wood joint (as in a Pete), nor detect by the style of
ferrule. We had 70 players...each hit balls with the cues throughout the
weekend.

The results:
Of nearly 800 attempts over the time period, the players guessed wrong about
what type joint was in the cue more than 7 out of 10 times. A top pro
(Meucci staffer) happened to be there, having done an exhibition and the cue
he liked the most during the attempts: He thought was surely a Meucci,
plastic joint when in reality it was an older Adams with a piloted steel
joint; and additionally guessed the Meucci he shot with as a cue with a
steel joint. Again, I maintain that cues with different joint materials may
sound differently; may be balanced differently, but what is "hit" ? Doesn't
"hit" have to do with all the senses: Vibration (feel), sound, balance, etc.
What is a "soft" hit? What is a "hard" hit? (what does this mean, if not
the sound the cue makes upon impact, or are people ref. to the vibration in
the butt?) Does a hard hit vibrate more and make a different sound? A soft
hit vibrate less with a different sound? I maintain that the primary
criteria that differentiates one cue from another begins with: The tip
(soft, med or hard) The shaft diameter and density of the wood The taper (or
stiffness of the shaft) To this day, I still don't believe the joint has
much to do with the reaction of the cueball off the shaft, rather it is the
3 aforementioned that have far more bearing on how a cue plays than anything
else. Remember, what makes the predator shaft play differently is what is
located at the tip, inside the shaft, the ferrule and the laminations....not
the joint or butt. In closing, our experiment asked which cue the players
liked best: Of the 70 players, nearly 55 liked the hit of two cues with
different numbers: When the two were exposed, they both were sneaky petes,
wood to wood joints, (one a Scruggs and the other a Huebler); both about 19
oz., both about 13 1/4mm and tended to be on the stiff side of "hit". By
the way, the 55 who liked the hit of these two cues: more than half thought
they would be steel jointed.

It's a great story. It has always been a great story.
For the most part TODAY, people like what they like from Cue makers to different joint screws to shafts. It falls under, it is what it is and it's unavoidable as long as people have a difference of opinion. Jmo
 

BarenbruggeCues

Unregistered User
Silver Member
I have heard people refer to cues as 'big pin' and I never have been able to find an answer to what this means?

I was hitting with a guy's cue over the weekend, it felt great and he said it was a 3/8x10 big pin.

So I guess my question is there some pins that are considered 'big pins'? If so which are?

I didn't read thru all the answers to your questions but I've always referred to a big pin cue as any pin that screws directly into the wood of the shaft (or vice versa into the butt) without the aid of an insert. There are some anomalies but most I believe most are in the 3/8 inch or larger diameter range, give or take. Metal, glass, wood...it really is a broad stroke answer to the age old question. Which pin hits a ton better?
 
Top