60” playing cues

7

7Baller

Member
I’m 6’4” & I’m after a cue that’s longer than the standard 58”. I’ve tried playing with an extension but I’ve not been comfortable with the extra weight at the back end. Are there any 60” production cues? Alternatively, what can I expect to pay for a merry widow custom cue?
 
7Baller said:
I’m 6’4” & I’m after a cue that’s longer than the standard 58”. I’ve tried playing with an extension but I’ve not been comfortable with the extra weight at the back end. Are there any 60” production cues? Alternatively, what can I expect to pay for a merry widow custom cue?
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Give Pechauer a call. They're a production cue company with outstanding customer service that will make pretty much anything you ask for. It's worth a try.
 
If you are willing to use a mid cue extension, suddenly every cue you see for sale is now something that will fit you. The cues you thought were too light (<19oz) and the cues that are short by 1/2" no longer matter: you can just slap a 4"-6" mid cue extension on the cue, and suddenly the cue will be heavier and more forward balanced (desirable in my opinion). The one issue that will remain is: grip size. With a mid cue extension, you will probably slide your hand forward 3"-5", and you will grip the cue where the butt has tapered to something narrower than the diameter at the end of the butt (where you are probably gripping a 58" cue now). If you don't care about butt diameter, then a mid cue extension is all you need. They typically cost less than $100.

If you have big hands, you might like a fatter diameter butt, and there aren't many choices available. Almost all production and custom cues are constructed with butt diameters less than 1.25" at the end of the butt, and sliding your hand forward will mean the grip area will be even skinnier. Most custom cue makers won't even make cues with old style 1.29"-1.30" diameter butts, although it so happens there are a couple of cues with fat diameter butts currently listed in the For Sale forum:

Custom Merry Widow By Ron Betts LOWER PRICE

Custom Merry Widow new cue for sale. Highly figured Bocote Prong and Butt Sleeve. Mahogany Handle. 3/8-10 joint pin. Holly Butt Cap. Ivory substitute joint. Butt weighs 14.77 oz. Shaft weighs 3.38 oz with Deer Antler 12.8 mm Ferrule and LePro tip. Deer Antler and Ivory ferrules hit the best...
forums.azbilliards.com
(the other one sold)

For production cues, I think your only choice for a fatter butt is Viking, where the standard butt size is 1.295". Viking also sells mid cue extensions.

You should be able to find a custom cue maker that will make you a 60" custom merry widow for under $1k. However, I think ordering a 58" cue with a mid cue extension to get an even longer cue is a better option. Viking does sell 31" shafts, so you could pair a 31" shaft with one of their 29" butts to get a 60" cue.

Check out Shortstop On Pool's video describing what he thinks is the proper cue length for tall players.


My 58" cue has a 4" mid cue extension (1.25oz), and I think it's great. I want to try a 6" mid cue extension. I also have an 8" rear extension (3 oz), and my favorite configuration is playing with both the mid cue extension and the rear extension on all shots, for a total length of 70".
 
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7stud said:
If you are willing to use a mid cue extension, suddenly every cue you see for sale is now something that will fit you. The cues you thought were too light (<19oz) and the cues short by 1/2" no longer matter: you can just slap a 4"-6" mid cue extension on the cue, and suddenly the cue will be heavier and more forward balanced (desirable in my opinion). The one issue that will remain is: grip size. With a mid cue extension, you will probably slide your hand forward 3"-5", and you will grip the cue where the butt has tapered to something narrower than the diameter at the end of the butt (where you are probably gripping a 58" cue now). If you don't care about butt diameter, then a mid cue extension is all you need. They typically cost less than $100.

If you have big hands, you might like a fatter diameter butt, and there aren't many choices available. Almost all production and custom cues are constructed with butt diameters less than 1.25" at the end of the butt, and sliding your hand forward will mean the grip area will be even skinnier. Most custom cue makers won't even make cues with old style 1.29"-1.30" diameter butts, although it so happens there are a couple of cues with fat diameter butts currently listed in the For Sale forum:

Custom Merry Widow By Ron Betts LOWER PRICE

Custom Merry Widow new cue for sale. Highly figured Bocote Prong and Butt Sleeve. Mahogany Handle. 3/8-10 joint pin. Holly Butt Cap. Ivory substitute joint. Butt weighs 14.77 oz. Shaft weighs 3.38 oz with Deer Antler 12.8 mm Ferrule and LePro tip. Deer Antler and Ivory ferrules hit the best...
forums.azbilliards.com
(the other one sold)

For production cues, I think your only choice for a fatter butt is Viking, where the standard butt size is 1.295". Viking also sells mid cue extensions.

You should be able to find a custom cue maker that will make you a 60" custom merry widow for under $1k. However, I think ordering a 58" cue with a mid cue extension to get an even longer cue is a better option. Viking does sell 31" shafts, so you could pair a 31" shaft with one of their 29" butts to get a 60" cue.

Check out Shortstop On Pool's video describing what he thinks is the proper cue length for tall players.


My 58" cue has a 4" mid cue extension (1.25oz), and I think it's great. I want to try a 6" mid cue extension. I also have an 8" rear extension (3 oz), and my favorite configuration is playing with both the mid cue extension and the rear extension on all shots, for a total length of 70".
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I actually prefer a narrow grip so I will definitely try a mid cue extension. Thanks.
 
I'd recommend looking for a 60" sneaky pete from a reputable maker. You can get yourself into one for probably as low as 400-500 bucks. Pat Diveney, for example, makes a ton of 60" sneaky petes, so you can probably find one on the secondary market, and his cues are excellent. They're probably more towards 500-700 but they hold their value and are really great players. They're quite slim in the handle as well.

Once you're talking merry widow, things get more expensive. I'd recommend the sneaky pete route to start. Make an ad on here in the Wanted section and see what's out there.
 
A friend of mine Billy Saunders built pool tables , pool cues and was a road player before his health started to decline .
He made the first " Sneaky Pete cue " I've ever seen for his brother Lance who could do things with it like very few others ever could .
This cue was 64" long and I asked Billy to make one with a 13 mm shaft , I love the Billybuska he made for me so much so I had 2 extra shafts made for it from Duffren ( ? On the spelling , sorry )
It hits a ball very well and I can carry it into anywhere in Montana with out any problems .

Just a thought from a 6'2" guy that likes different types of pool cues . Some food for thought .
 
The down side to the cue is in some bars it's to long for some shots but in a pool hall with a lot of room it can be a good cue in case you need to stretch for a shot .

At the time I'd never seen a sneaky Pete cue before for a case I used 2" pvc plastic pipe with a cap on one end and a clean out adapter on the other talk about bullet proof !
I was asked why I brought my fishing rod to the bar quite often my response was that I heard there were some fish in there to be caught ha ha
 
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Lately, it seems that most of the builds I'm doing are 30/30. People like the extra inch on the shaft and the taller folks like the 60" overall. Since I've been spending more time on 9' tables, folks seem to like the 60" cue because it eliminates the need for bridges on the shots where you "just" need one with a 58" cue. Perhaps just a trend but in my recent experience, it sticks.

Every butt and shaft I've purchased in the past 1-1/2 years is 30/30. I just finished a nice Coco/Ebony/Copper Merry Widow at 60" and think I may stick to this for a while.
 
tg_vegas said:
Lately, it seems that most of the builds I'm doing are 30/30. People like the extra inch on the shaft and the taller folks like the 60" overall. Since I've been spending more time on 9' tables, folks seem to like the 60" cue because it eliminates the need for bridges on the shots where you "just" need one with a 58" cue. Perhaps just a trend but in my recent experience, it sticks.

Every butt and shaft I've purchased in the past 1-1/2 years is 30/30. I just finished a nice Coco/Ebony/Copper Merry Widow at 60" and think I may stick to this for a while.
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I'd like to see a photo of your merry widow when you have time.
 
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