Thinner maple shafts

The resale value of shafts under 13MM is lower .
The population prefers 13MM .

I see no problem. Your local Cuemaker should be able to help you.

Mario

My first cue was a early 80's Viking that someone gave me without a shaft. I took it to Viking and asked them to make me a 10.5mm shaft and they talked me into a 11mm otherwise they would not warranty it. This was in about 1992, the cue went missing a few years later when I was working at a pool hall. Turns out years later when the pool hall closed it was in the lost and found and I randomly ran into the guy who purchased it. Anyway back on point, the shaft I had made in 92 is still perfectly true and has been back in my collection for a couple years now.

Many cue makers will build a shaft like that. I think a lot of people choose 13mm because it's seen as the standard and therefor it helps resale. I find it too thick for my taste. My Runde is the only cue I've custom ordered for myself and I ordered it with two 12.75mm shafts which is what I was playing at the time. Since then I've gone even smaller and had a third shaft made at 12mm which I really like a lot. Feels just right, especially with his taper. It's a cue I dont ever plan on selling so I don't care to have a 13mm shaft just for resale that I know I'll never use.

13 may be the norm

but I am having more and more ask for 12.25 to 12.5

JoeyInCali said:

The resale value of shafts under 13MM is lower .
The population prefers 13MM .

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Since I am a custom cue maker I make all shafts to the size ordered. I have found that most customers want something a little smaller than 13 mm. I would say that 12.5 to 12.75 are the most popular. I usually know who is a cue flipper when they want a 13 mm.

I have found that over the years standard shaft have become larger and standard butts have become smaller. Your old Titelist cues had shafts around 12 mm and butts were much larger than today's cues. I believe that cue makers have pushed the shafts diameter larger so as to have fewer rejects because of warping.

Dick

rhncue said:

Since I am a custom cue maker I make all shafts to the size ordered. I have found that most customers want something a little smaller than 13 mm. I would say that 12.5 to 12.75 are the most popular. I usually know who is a cue flipper when they want a 13 mm.

I have found that over the years standard shaft have become larger and standard butts have become smaller. Your old Titelist cues had shafts around 12 mm and butts were much larger than today's cues. I believe that cue makers have pushed the shafts diameter larger so as to have fewer rejects because of warping.

Dick

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I love the 1.3+ diameter handles of the Hoppes

rhncue said:

Since I am a custom cue maker I make all shafts to the size ordered. I have found that most customers want something a little smaller than 13 mm. I would say that 12.5 to 12.75 are the most popular. I usually know who is a cue flipper when they want a 13 mm.

I have found that over the years standard shaft have become larger and standard butts have become smaller. Your old Titelist cues had shafts around 12 mm and butts were much larger than today's cues. I believe that cue makers have pushed the shafts diameter larger so as to have fewer rejects because of warping.

Dick

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Heck, Joss comes with 13.25MM.
Those Titleists were whacked . .810 in the middle.

JasBy said:

I am curious as to how many of you make thinner shafts in solid wood.

*******
Yet I never seem to see any cues or shafts for sale made of solid wood in this diameter range. Is this because no one wants them? or no one sells them? or are they a specialty item because you need to do a more aggressive taper? (or as I just thought of - are they considered billiards or snooker shafts at that point?)

********

Thanks in advance for any input.

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Hi Jasby.

Well, i think the answer is in own your post , you got it by yourself :

much thinner shafts (between 10.5mm to 12mm) with conical -or almost- tapers , are , in fact, carom shafts. = shafts adapted to the carom disciplines . You can call that "specialty shafts", if you like.....
The only difference is the lenght , because to play pool "you" usually use a 57.5 to 58 inchs cue. carom cues are smaller , 55 to 56 inchs depending of the discipline and the size of the player.
Oh, and the collar diameter too. 22mm is the norm for traditionnal carom cues. pool norm being more near to 21.5mm

You know what ? you are discovering the advantages of carom tapers. With some time, you'll discover their disavantages too.

If you experiment o the table , spend time to play the pool disciplines (after all, a shaft can be excellent for one pocket, and another for straight pool ) with both kind of tapers , to compare a pool shaft (in regular maple) with a carom tapered shaft (but at same lenght) , then you'll discover , step by step , why for so many years, a pro taper is the norm when it comes to pool : the "tolerance" . . Pool shafts are especially tolerant . Carom tapered shafts are much much less mistake-tolerant and much much much less cue elevation-tolerant.

Small diameter + conical maple shafts do offer advantages , and disavantages too. That's like using different very arrows with the same bow , for different distances & targets. The older indian you are, more difference you'll find, and even you'll adapt to both, you'll end up by using the right arrow for the right shot.
For some shots, they are much more confortable and efficient , for other shots they are so mistake-untolerant ( especially curve, swerve generated) that they are mostly used for the carom discipline where you need "juice" at low speed ("performance?") , and very rarely for pool, where you need accuracy and regularity . It's sooo hard to have regularity with low mistake-tolerance , the probability to fail being much higher.

In my answer , i refer to regular maple shafts. High end stuff.Not the drilled with super light ferrule "low deflection" mass products, which reacts very differently. Another problem, another marketing/market.

You can easily compare/make the experiment by yourself : buy a cheap schuler-jointed butt , long if you can (30" is the graal , 29" is good), then you'll be able to build versatile cue configurations : buy pool tapered shafts for it, and carom tapered shafts. And you can even ask someone to craft you the 2 kinds, same lenght , with the same ferrule material/lenght and same tip. ( i am lucky enough to have a bunch of such shafts for my butts)

You'll see : of course you'll adapt to carom tapers , you'll even love them , they offer other , excellent properties . and i am 100% sure than , after days, weeks, or months, you'll really understand why pool taper is the traditional norm for the pool game. Because on the pool game, regularity in the accuracy is THE key , the major difficulty . IMHO. that's why a tolerant shaft is prefered by so many pool players, for a so long time...
I know, i know, straight pool is dying ... now we are living in the 8, 9, 10 world . hehe. <-- that's an important detail . do you play mostly rotation and 8 ball ?

PS : if one day you can meet Florian Kohler, speak with him about the different tapers advantages and disadvantages. He will explain you with many details , he knows both disciplines very well. World class trick shot artists, artistic billiard players are the men to meet , when it comes to various shaft tapers & diameters experiments , possibilities , knowledge, feedback .... about Florian, i am 100% sure he gonna smile and :blink: when/if he reads my post .hehe

PS(2) : an advantage (the only?) of the schuler joint i've noticed :