Five point cues

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dan Janes made me a lovely 5 point cue. It doesn't look at cluttered as a 6 point and each point still had enough thickness to them that they almost look like points on a 4 point cue. I really like it.

When I have talked to other cuemakers though it seem no one wants to do 5 points and I was just curious why that is.

I don't mind 4 points so it is no big deal, but it works so well I am surprised you dont see them more so I am thinking maybe it is more difficult.

Just curious. Certainly no urgency to the question
 

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Michael Webb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dan Janes made me a lovely 5 point cue. It doesn't look at cluttered as a 6 point and each point still had enough thickness to them that they almost look like points on a 4 point cue. I really like it.

When I have talked to other cuemakers though it seem no one wants to do 5 points and I was just curious why that is.

I don't mind 4 points so it is no big deal, but it works so well I am surprised you dont see them more so I am thinking maybe it is more difficult.

Just curious. Certainly no urgency to the question


Hi John
For myself it would be about indexing. I don't have any indexing on my plate for 5. My indexing slots go from zero to 360 which is zero again and I can lock it every 15 degrees.
 

Michael Webb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sometimes I hate cell phones. Had to charge it.
When I redesigned my point structure, I thought about your point and because I cut my points between centers on a lathe. I incorporated a taper bar that is adjustable to give me the length of points I wanted but have adjustable width at the bottom. So the taper bar has 3 locking positions at the top and slide adjustable at the bottom of the points where the
-A- joint is.
Examples
1st being a 4 point and then 3 six point

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PRED

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was looking at some real old McDaniel cues for sale and a couple were 5 point veneer cues. 70's stuff.
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sometimes I hate cell phones. Had to charge it.
When I redesigned my point structure, I thought about your point and because I cut my points between centers on a lathe. I incorporated a taper bar that is adjustable to give me the length of points I wanted but have adjustable width at the bottom. So the taper bar has 3 locking positions at the top and slide adjustable at the bottom of the points where the
-A- joint is.
Examples
1st being a 4 point and then 3 six point

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View attachment 554507

Yeah that works really well has a similar affect to the 5 point look.
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When I have talked to other cuemakers though it seem no one wants to do 5 points and I was just curious why that is

I suspect that if the cue includes veneers, it takes another purpose built fixture for mitering the veneer stack & for gluing it, that would be applicable only to 5pt.

As far as machining the parts. it hardly matters when short splice is used. It's just a different setting on your dividing head. + 25% additional labor for the extra point. :wink: 5 point could be machined with 90deg tooling or end mills by using a couple dividing head settings and changing the offset between. For efficiency, however, a dedicated 72 deg cutter is involved. E.g., high dollar custom.

Then, as has been mentioned, it depends on how the maker's fixtures are set up for changing tapers.

My machines are all general purpose heavy metal & wood-whacking machines. so need set up each time, for whatever op. But between set ups, any one is about as good as another.

From my impression, most cue-makers try to standardize their make. This is good for the customer because they can rely on a "John Doe" cue having the expected "John Doe" hit.
The appearance of things like point tapers will be the one they expect, etc. Even bigger, it allows the cue-maker to be more efficient making cues, keeping the price range favorable for the customer while perhaps allowing the maker a smidgeon of occasional profit for his time in a time consuming practice when everything goes smoothly. Adding 5 pts to the mix requires other dedicated tooling that takes quite a while to amortise, realisitically, unless a lot of 5 point cues are sold. Maybe even another set of dedicated machines to even begin to get the efficiencies in the same place as their 4 point cues.

smt

Edited: Actually, it just occurred to me - for a short splice cue, the cutter angle can be (more or less) "anything".
So a 5 point short splice cue could be built with regular 4 point parts and tooling. So long as the angles were considered to meet where desired.
IOW, set the dividing head for 5 spaces, but just use regular 90 tooling and adjust depth so it all works out visually. If that leads to short points, adjust taper until it looks better.

Is this how people who make them (5 pt) actually do it?

I tend to always think in terms of full splice, in which case the special tooling and fixtures are necessary or else the joinery gets complicated in a different way. :)
 
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dzcues

newbie
Silver Member
Edited: So a 5 point short splice cue could be built with regular 4 point parts and tooling. So long as the angles were considered to meet where desired.
IOW, set the dividing head for 5 spaces, but just use regular 90 tooling and adjust depth so it all works out visually. If that leads to short points, adjust taper until it looks better.

Is this how people who make them (5 pt) actually do it?

That is one way. There is one shown in this picture:
2N2B4273a.jpg
 

Ssonerai

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks much for posting that Bob!

I'll still have to make a 5 point FS at some "point".
Right after about 127 other projects ahead of it in line.

At least i've found time to get back to working on my wife's pool table.

smt
 

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
Kikel

I had Dave in 89 make me a 3 point butt, and gave em the cut dimensions of the handle. I've always been amazed at how a three legged chair is Stable on pretty much Any uneven surface, and I passed on my thinking into this type of handle Structure. No one's ever noticed (I could care less) but the High definition birds-eye look between the points is Much Larger than any 4 point handle. It looks like a 4 point unless your have it in Your hand and rotate it. Structurally I think a 3 point butt would play/feel different than one with more points. That's how I roll, think, and process structures.
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Some of the things I like about the 5 point is the point proportions are a bit thinner but look really natural and not "thin" like a 6 or 8 and you see more of the points on either side. It is subtle but neat.
 
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