13mm's makes no sense.

thefonz said:
Since when did 13mm for a shaft become a "standard" or was considered "full size"? IMO its pretty stupid to order a custom cue with full size shafts knowing fully well that you're not going to play with them - but not getting them would affect the resale value.

As far as I'm concerned, a shaft no matter what diameter as long as it was turned by the cue maker is ok.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying and on the playing part I agree that I can't play with a 13mm shaft, but trying to sell a high dollar cue with skinny shafts doesn't work well from my experience. I don't know where or how 13mm became the standard, but to get top dollar for a high dollar cue you have your best chance if you have 2 pristine 13mm shafts from the cue maker who built the cue.
 
SCCues said:
I hear what you're saying and on the playing part I agree that I can't play with a 13mm shaft, but trying to sell a high dollar cue with skinny shafts doesn't work well from my experience. I don't know where or how 13mm became the standard, but to get top dollar for a high dollar cue you have your best chance if you have 2 pristine 13mm shafts from the cue maker who built the cue.
Click to expand...

Perfect :thumbup::thumbup2:
 
13 mm vs smaller

when someone orders a cue from me and ask for a 11 1/2 or 12 mm shaft i hate it, because if after the cue is made they decide they dont like the hit, finish, looks, or their wife decides they cannot spend the money. then i am stuck with a cue that is almost impossible to sell.
the market for 11 1/2 mm shafts is very thin, so most boilders are making cues with 12 3/4 to 13 mm shafts, they can always be made smaller, but its real tough making them thicker>
 
With the exception of the LAST custom shaft I had made, I ALWAYS had the cue makers make me 14mm shafts for PLAYING with.

I can get as much English as I need with a 14mm. I can draw the cue ball up and down the table on a 9-footer. I don't think I would EVER need to draw the ball more than 18 feet in most situations.

I CAN'T count the number of people who have commented on HOW MUCH English I can put on the ball, with relatively ease...as compared to MOST of the people they see playing.

When they saw that I was doing it with a 14mm, they were even MORE suprised. They had never seen anybody playing with a shaft that big.

One guy nicknamed me "MONSTER STROKE" in a tournament when he saw how I could draw the ball so far with that BAZOOKA.

To each his own, but I will still SWEAR by 14mm shafts for playing with.
 
Just ran across this old thread, from long ago, when I was searching for something else.

It made me laugh.

I had Scot Sherbine make me a custom 14mm shaft just a month or so ago, when I sent one of my old Titlist conversions to him for refinish.
 
thefonz said:
Since when did 13mm for a shaft become a "standard" or was considered "full size"? IMO its pretty stupid to order a custom cue with full size shafts knowing fully well that you're not going to play with them - but not getting them would affect the resale value.

As far as I'm concerned, a shaft no matter what diameter as long as it was turned by the cue maker is ok.
Click to expand...

When I order my cues I get what I play with ( 12mm). I'm not thinking about nor worried about resale . I believe the 12mm thing is so it apeals to the most amount of buyers. ie : No one plays with a bigger shafts than 13mm ( other than a few freaks ) and there are a fair amount that likes 13mm . So if someone is buying a cue 13 is the " safe shafts size. If they like fat ( 13) they got it. if they like less - easily turned down to whatever. I totally get aLloyd of that, what I don't get is ordering and spending all that money on a new cue and not getting EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT and worrying about resale????? You're buying the cue for you, not the next guy. Screw the next guy . The only thing I can think of is maybe a wanna be flupper that thinks - I'll buy this and play with it for awhile and then sell it ( guess cause they can't really afford it in the first place????
 
Let me go ahead and just end this conversation right now..

1. 13mm makes sense if you plan on having it for an investment. That way, when you do sell it to somebody that wants to use it as a player, can turn it down to what the individual likes. In all woodworking, You always leave a little extra because you can't add more later on.

2. Additional shafts can be made and ring work matched if you wish to add value to a cue. It may not always be the same cue maker, but one of equal talent and willing to do it is sufficient. I personally like my shaft and taper smaller due to my small hands. I would buy a cue though with 13mm tips and turn down the shafts, or just buy a cue with smaller tips and taper.

3. Value has always been in the eye of the beholder. If somebody believes that it is worth it, then it is. If not, then they don't buy it.

So to answer your question 'thefonz', 13mm is not too big and not too small making it the "standard size" for shafts.

:D:D:D:thumbup::thumbup:
 
dr dave's research proves most of the above info factually incorrect

13 mm vs the popular smaller sizes means next to nothing
 
:smile:



Yes this is an old thread and I read through the responses and thought...

this was the old days when all the people responding actually shoot pool

and have experience.


:woot:


.
 
Snooker uses small balls and requires lots of accuracy.
It's played with small shafts/tips.

3-cushion uses large balls and requires lots of English.
It's played with small shafts/tips.

I rest my case.
 
Willie Mosconi

In his book he said 13 mm 19 oz. Kind of funny because he played 21 oz.
Bushwhacker beat everyone playing 19 oz 13 mm.
Dick the ball making machine played 13.25 mm 21 ozs. No one beat him either.
But they were money players.
And couldn't be beat.
Smaller shafts? Less deflection. Straighter shooting. Make you grow a heart and loose all your money!
Truth is whatever you are used to works for you.
Nick :)
 
From my observations, thin shafts, like 12mm, lean towards the lighter weight side.
Shaft weight proportionality is a factor in the feel of the cue........just play with shafts
weighing 3.3 - 3.4 ozs and then try shafts > 4 ounces. They do not feel the same (IMO).

Now before we embark upon discussing shaft diameter & taper length of taper that are
indeed very important factors, a 3.5 ounce shaft on a 15.75 ounce butt (19.25 ozs) tends
to feel kinda different than a 4.25 ounce shaft on a 15 ounce butt (19,25 ozs.). Every
cue-maker I've spoken with acknowledges that the wood selected for the cue's shafts is
very important and they were very careful about the weight of the cue shafts and cue butt.

Now admittedly I was speaking with cue-makers that build custom cues but be that as it may,
there was unanimous agreement that the weight of a cue shaft was very important to the
feel, balance, and hit of a cue. It is very hard to produce a 12mm shaft that weighs 4 ozs. or
more which is easy to accomplish with 13mm shafts, even when the shaft is flat faced wood.

The bottom-line is everyone plays with what they like & what one man likes another might not.
 
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