10 YEAR OLD TIME CAPSULE POST ...Is the world ready for cues to evolve?

JB Cases said:
Sorry to disagree but pool is nothing like chess when speaking of the physical requirements. In chess you have to decide on your move and you don't even have to lift a finger as anyone can make that move exactly as you told them to without the slightest understanding of WHY you made it.

Try this exercise. Go to the YouTube video where Efren runs nine racks. Set up each rack and start from Efren's first shot after the break. Now you have Efren Reyes telling what to shoot each shot. Can you run those racks? If not why not? Is it because you don't have Efren's physical abilities? Because you don't have a cue that performs like Efren's or a combination of both?

I say it's a combination of both with some environment thrown in as well. In other words we don't yet know the performance limits of cues but we do know that cues perform differently. What "best" performance is has not yet been determined. Predator has advertised that it's about accuracy and that comes down to radial consistency and minimal deflection, i.e. the ball goes where it was aimed with the least amount of deviation as possible.

Other people might say that making cues which spin the ball more with less effort is desirable (Predator claims that their cues do this as well).

I don't know. It seems as if cues have evolved significantly into the proper shape and balance and construction for world class play. But if it's all a numbers game who is to say that a "better" cue wouldn't reduce the amount of misses in the pro game to such a degree that we see a difference in performance among the pros. That is after all the purpose of any innovation in equipment right? To enhance personal performance.
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I agree completely
 
8onthebreak said:
When I think about pool cues, it's hard to believe that they are made almost exactly the same as they were 30-40 yrs ago. Matter of fact, they even look the same. They screw together much the same, and utilize similar woods and materials.

What's scary, is that we actually try to duplicate the past instead of inventing the future, ie bushka, titleist, diamonds and points...seems that when it comes to pool cues, the past is what's marketable. Which begs the question...why?

I consider myself a traditionalist when it comes to pool cues. I want points. Simple. Diamond shapes. Wood, not space age material. I'm not in the least interested in a futuristic cue. But how long can cues go unchanged?

Consider where cars were 40 yrs ago, air travel, computers and cell phones didn't even exist...yet the pool cue has not changed one bit (with the exception of ld shafts and layered tips)...is it because we are not capable or because we are not ready for it?

What will a cue look like in 10 years, gps tracking chips, break speed sensors built into break cue, laser pointers built in, or break cues that have higher mph... Spring loaded ferrules, lol. Joint pins that magnetic locking 1 second together or apart time. Materials that do not warp...forever, tips that don't mushroom, ferrules that don't crack...seems that an alloy material ferrule would make for an incredible hit, and not get scarred by chalk, never crack, etc.

If you step back and think about it...it's easy to imagine looking back, and laughing about when cues were actually made of wood that cracked and warped, and easily dented, and couldn't be left in your trunk.

Do you think cues will ever evolve, will we ever be ready for it. If so, what will they look like ?
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Happy Thursday AZ! I was just looking through some old posts and found this gem. I think you'll all get a great read out of this time machine post. I just commented a couple weeks ago on how 70% of every cue on my pool team is carbon fiber shaft. Break cues, jump cues and playing cues- ALL CARBON FIBER SHAFT- The entire team's inventory. The teams collection of shafts are worth more than the value of the teams cues 5 years ago. CRAZY TO LOOK THROUGH THIS POST. WOOD IS VIRTUALLY DEAD ON THE TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT. NO MORE SHAFT DINGS. ENJOY THE READ.
 
Great find. Love that Wal mart was selling carbon fiber cues long ago. Amazing what some marketing and quality control can do.

WOOD IS VIRTUALLY DEAD ON THE TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT. NO MORE SHAFT DINGS. ENJOY THE READ.

I don't particularly pay attention to what pros are using, but seems like several of the top guys are still using wood. There is a guy around here (middle Tn) that is some type of fabricator. He is selling CF shafts for a couple of hundred bucks. Says he has even sold some blanks to the bigger companies, but who knows. According to him, there is no big secret or skill involved in making a CF shaft....

Anyway, there are probably 10-12 folks in our league playing with his shafts. I can't tell the difference between his 200 dollar shaft and the 4 and 500 dollar shafts from all the big manufacturers, and I don't play well enough that it is going to make that big a difference. Besides, I like the way my wood shafts look much more.

I do have a cue that has a microchip in it...in case it ever gets stolen and turns up somewhere...and I happen to have a chip reader on me... :ROFLMAO:
 
jokrswylde said:
There is a guy around here (middle Tn) that is some type of fabricator. He is selling CF shafts for a couple of hundred bucks. Says he has even sold some blanks to the bigger companies, but who knows. According to him, there is no big secret or skill involved in making a CF shaft....
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Some people around here might be interested and/or are always looking to look into the newest thing. What is the name of his shafts? Does he have a website? How would somebody from here reach him if interested?
 
Poolplaya9 said:
Some people around here might be interested and/or are always looking to look into the newest thing. What is the name of his shafts? Does he have a website? How would somebody from here reach him if interested?
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I'll ask around at league next week and shoot you a pm.
 
jokrswylde said:
I'll ask around at league next week and shoot you a pm.
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Appreciate it but I'm not personally interested, I'm just sure that there are people here who would be, especially if they are substantially cheaper than the competition. If the guy is ok with it perhaps you could just post the info here.
 
jokrswylde said:
Great find. Love that Wal mart was selling carbon fiber cues long ago. Amazing what some marketing and quality control can do.

WOOD IS VIRTUALLY DEAD ON THE TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT. NO MORE SHAFT DINGS. ENJOY THE READ.

I don't particularly pay attention to what pros are using, but seems like several of the top guys are still using wood. There is a guy around here (middle Tn) that is some type of fabricator. He is selling CF shafts for a couple of hundred bucks. Says he has even sold some blanks to the bigger companies, but who knows. According to him, there is no big secret or skill involved in making a CF shaft....

Anyway, there are probably 10-12 folks in our league playing with his shafts. I can't tell the difference between his 200 dollar shaft and the 4 and 500 dollar shafts from all the big manufacturers, and I don't play well enough that it is going to make that big a difference. Besides, I like the way my wood shafts look much more.

I do have a cue that has a microchip in it...in case it ever gets stolen and turns up somewhere...and I happen to have a chip reader on me... :ROFLMAO:
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There has to be some secret in making the CF shafts. I have one from a local cuemaker that I am incredibly impressed with. I have tried one from another person and I absolutely cannot stand the way it hits.
 
Shannon.spronk said:
There has to be some secret in making the CF shafts. I have one from a local cuemaker that I am incredibly impressed with. I have tried one from another person and I absolutely cannot stand the way it hits.
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When you say make them your referring to the finish fit them to the cue right? He doesn't actually make the shaft. I have read you can get CF blanks for as little as a few dollars.
 
Guns haven’t changed much either. Similar to cues. Some changes but not like computers,phones, cars.
 
Shannon.spronk said:
There has to be some secret in making the CF shafts. I have one from a local cuemaker that I am incredibly impressed with. I have tried one from another person and I absolutely cannot stand the way it hits.
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Yes there is. It's called R&D. Anyone whose producing shafts without testing is just riding the bandwagon and cashing in on the craze. Some may actually be quite good, but that's more due to luck than an intentional effort to crate a good product.
 
middleofnowhere said:
When you say make them your referring to the finish fit them to the cue right? He doesn't actually make the shaft. I have read you can get CF blanks for as little as a few dollars.
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I'd say finishing them. I would think only a large company could make enough blanks to be profitable. Carbons come in a few thicknesses but where and how weight is added along with the type of foam or no foam used makes them stand out from one another
 
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