I have posted this before but I will say it again. I spent a full day with Frank Stellman of Racine Wi, he made Sailor Cues. He's a very experienced old time straight pool player and cuemaker. After watching me shoot pool for a little over an hour his one and only comment was I should play witha 59" cue. I dared not question him and since then had Dave Kikel make me a 30" shaft to match my cue. I have never looked back and not once put on a 29" shaft. I just feels great and that's good enough for me. I am now having Dave make me a new cue that is 59" split evenly at 29 1/2" shaft and butt. I had asked about doing this in the cuemaker section and many cuemakers that I have respect for agreed this is how they would build a 59" cue. Dave also stated that is how he builds longer cues. One other point is I am 5' 9" tall and my arm span is about 72" to the tips of my fingers.
60" (or longer) Cues ?
- Thread starter nancewayne
- Start date
Preferences.
Currently play with a 59" cue. My new one will be 59 1/2". I'm 5' 8" and love the longer cue. Without the longer length my grip hand is partially off the wrap. Which isn't the end of the world but since my hands sometimes sweat I'm happier with all finger on the wrap.
And no, my knuckles don't drag !!
Jo
Currently play with a 59" cue. My new one will be 59 1/2". I'm 5' 8" and love the longer cue. Without the longer length my grip hand is partially off the wrap. Which isn't the end of the world but since my hands sometimes sweat I'm happier with all finger on the wrap.
And no, my knuckles don't drag !!
Jo
I've shot with 58" cues for years, had a 59" cue I loved, and now have a 60" cue that works best of all for me (30" butt, 30" shaft)...I'm 6'3", and can't figure out why I didn't try this years ago. I always felt choked up playing with a standard cue...a 60" cue totally freed up my stroke and felt like an old friend from the first stroke on!
When you make contact with the cue ball your arm is suppose to be at 90 degrees.....if I hold a 58" cue that is impossible for me. I would have to adopt a Allen Hopkins stroke.
The 63" I play with allows that.
Shrug...maybe I need to work on other things..
R
I am going to pick up my 31" shaft that John Bender just finished making me this week.
Then again he made my cue so he is familiar with long cues and shafts
Drop him an email
johnbendercues@verizon.net
R
You probably know this, but just in case..... Your bridge length has a 1 to 1 affect on where the proper grip on the butt falls.
JO
60" (or longer?) Cues?
I certainly agree with you that the ratio of length of bridge (at contact point on cue ball) with length of cue IF the grip hand is at the proper location to have BALANCE of the cue. A longer stroke requires both a longer length of the bridge AND a longer cue to keep BALANCE ! I've started playing 3-rail Billiards and you have to hit some shots very hard requiring a much longer stroke. I.M.O.
I certainly agree with you that the ratio of length of bridge (at contact point on cue ball) with length of cue IF the grip hand is at the proper location to have BALANCE of the cue. A longer stroke requires both a longer length of the bridge AND a longer cue to keep BALANCE ! I've started playing 3-rail Billiards and you have to hit some shots very hard requiring a much longer stroke. I.M.O.
I am 6 feet tall and have a fairly long wing span. A long time ago I started playing with the 30" shaft, that was better but never great, I did not know any better. I played with my hand graving near the but cap for almost all shots. Last year at DCC I purchased a cue extension and nod day practicing at home I left it on and WOW, freedom. With the extension on the cue must be 68" or so. I realized that playing fitter back my eyes could focus better and yes my stroke is very long but it seems to me that it helped my game in numerous areas. I can't play in tournaments with this set-up so I got a cue made last fall. (truthfully I made up my mind about this after the Earl vs Shane 10' match, but I am no Pearl). Chris Bartram plays with a longer cue and he always advocated for keeping your shaft length and adding the extra length in the but. This is the route I went. The cue will roughly be 67" when assembled. Shaft will be predator 314(2) 30" the but will be in two parts. The first part will be the forearm and handle which will be 29" that will fit nicely in my cue case. The second part the but will be a 8" quick release. So I can remove it when in a tight spot, which will make the cue normal length when needed. I have tried to make the cue balance forward as much as possible since all the extra length is in the but. I have 2 more months to wait for this cue, and since I really can't play with a regular length cue anymore (feels like a toothpick) it will be awesome to compete again. I think most taller players have no idea what they are missing on because they adapted to what was sold everywhere 58" cues, it was a big improvent for me, everything is much more comfortable when I play, even if my friends think it's all in my head.
Lol...why do people always think taller person=longer cue.
Your height has nothing to do with it. It's all about your bridge length. Longer bridge=longer cue. That's why shorter cues were normal when everyone played 14.1 with 4" bridges. In fact, it makes more sense for shorter people to use longer cues for reach issues.
The main drawback of a longer cue is clearance around the table. Pool rooms try to cram as many tables as possible in the smallest amount of space. With a longer cue, you start bumping into things a lot more often.
Your height has nothing to do with it. It's all about your bridge length. Longer bridge=longer cue. That's why shorter cues were normal when everyone played 14.1 with 4" bridges. In fact, it makes more sense for shorter people to use longer cues for reach issues.
The main drawback of a longer cue is clearance around the table. Pool rooms try to cram as many tables as possible in the smallest amount of space. With a longer cue, you start bumping into things a lot more often.
Wingspan counts, too...it's not just bridge length. Anything longer than 6 inch bridge and at my height/wingspan I'm gripping the buttcap with two fingers on a 58" cue...unless I want to choke up 14.1 style about 1 or 1 1/2 hand lengths forward of 90 degrees on the stroke hand. Holy elbow drop, Batman!
Well, usually...taller people have longer arms...unless you're a T-Rex of course...:grin-square:
Clint
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Same here Johnny. I had a 60 incher made for me few years ago and really like the way it plays. The only shortcoming is shooting off the rail with a short bridge, and having the extra weight behind the rear hand. I was using a jump cue off the rail for a while and that worked well.
Make your own
I bought the Mezz extension which is 6", for my Mezz Ace K.
I then cut it into two pieces, 4" and 2". My friend had an extra metric hangar bolt so I was able to create two screw-in extensions.
I own both 29" and 30" inch. shafts (Mezz and Predator offer 30" inchers) so I can configure my cue however I like.
As for cases, Giuseppe makes extra long cue cases. I bought one but it was very heavy, so instead I'm using a simple square padded rifle case, which is 36" long and cost $49.
I bought the Mezz extension which is 6", for my Mezz Ace K.
I then cut it into two pieces, 4" and 2". My friend had an extra metric hangar bolt so I was able to create two screw-in extensions.
I own both 29" and 30" inch. shafts (Mezz and Predator offer 30" inchers) so I can configure my cue however I like.
As for cases, Giuseppe makes extra long cue cases. I bought one but it was very heavy, so instead I'm using a simple square padded rifle case, which is 36" long and cost $49.
> 60" (or longer) Cues ?
59in everything white is ivory
59in everything white is ivory
Looking at that chart I still have to go longer..
Recently I've been thoroughly examining earls stroke especially the comment he made about being able to cue looser than he previously did. This interested me in the fact that a lot of people say that filipinos always have that loopy loose cueing style...well, if you compare taller players and their bridge length and where they hold the cue, you will see that they are holding at the butt end of the cue and having a loose stroke is kinda hard to have due to the fact that theres no rear weight in the cue in comparison to a smaller player playing with the same size 58 inch cue such as many filipinos and you see them with a similar length bridge but where they are hold ing the cue is a good 5 inches up from the bottom of the wrap area, leaving a good amount of cue at the rear for a nice pendulum loose stroke..like a counter balance if you want to look at it like that. SOOO looking at taller players such as myself, if I want to have a nice looser stroke where I can allow the cue to do the work, I compared my height and in comparison to the cue and compared it to the height of a favorite player who is significantly shorter than me and compared his height comparison to his cue which is a standard 58 inches and the cue tip is about 2 inches from his eye while a 58 inch cue in contrast to my height showed that the cue is 7 1/2 inches away from where it would be if it was 2 inches from my eye. So I ended up having a friend make me a 7 inch extension and WOW. Cueing feels sooo unbelieveably natural. Im not going to mention how much the extension weighs or any other details but I will leave it at this...Earl is a damn genius once again.
I never really paid attention to the length of my cue, but I was watching Jimmy Reid's "No Time for Negative" and he explains the ideal weight and length of a cue for a person. Here's the actual snapshot from the video:
I don't know how tall Earl is but I'm sure he exceeds Jimmy Reid's chart, haha. I've also seen a snooker cue video where the instructor suggests that your cue comes to your shoulder when you stand it up next to you.
Recently I've been thoroughly examining earls stroke especially the comment he made about being able to cue looser than he previously did. This interested me in the fact that a lot of people say that filipinos always have that loopy loose cueing style...well, if you compare taller players and their bridge length and where they hold the cue, you will see that they are holding at the butt end of the cue and having a loose stroke is kinda hard to have due to the fact that theres no rear weight in the cue in comparison to a smaller player playing with the same size 58 inch cue such as many filipinos and you see them with a similar length bridge but where they are hold ing the cue is a good 5 inches up from the bottom of the wrap area, leaving a good amount of cue at the rear for a nice pendulum loose stroke..like a counter balance if you want to look at it like that. SOOO looking at taller players such as myself, if I want to have a nice looser stroke where I can allow the cue to do the work, I compared my height and in comparison to the cue and compared it to the height of a favorite player who is significantly shorter than me and compared his height comparison to his cue which is a standard 58 inches and the cue tip is about 2 inches from his eye while a 58 inch cue in contrast to my height showed that the cue is 7 1/2 inches away from where it would be if it was 2 inches from my eye. So I ended up having a friend make me a 7 inch extension and WOW. Cueing feels sooo unbelieveably natural. Im not going to mention how much the extension weighs or any other details but I will leave it at this...Earl is a damn genius once again.
I'm 5'11 with a wing span that's longer than my height (I have wide shoulders).
When I first started playing pool, I would try to hold the cue somewhere in the wrap, and as I got low on my shot, the 58" cue would fall out of my bridge. Since my shoulders are wide, I didn't have a long stroke at all. This would cause me to drop my elbow and have a short jerky stroke.
I started playing with an upright stance, but realized I still would have to get down, memorize the position, and get back up. It worked a little better.
I started gripping the cue down on the butt to remedy this. After buying an ob2 that was 30", the cue felt waaay better.
Recently I just picked up a 61" sneaky pete, nothing special, but this thing plays like it was born with me. There was no adjustment, I didn't have to think about my stroke, and though i'm not running racks, i feel extremely comfortable playing with it.
It's all about comfort in the end. It's similar to how people say 13mm is the standard, yet I only feel comfortable playing with 12.5mm and below.
When I first started playing pool, I would try to hold the cue somewhere in the wrap, and as I got low on my shot, the 58" cue would fall out of my bridge. Since my shoulders are wide, I didn't have a long stroke at all. This would cause me to drop my elbow and have a short jerky stroke.
I started playing with an upright stance, but realized I still would have to get down, memorize the position, and get back up. It worked a little better.
I started gripping the cue down on the butt to remedy this. After buying an ob2 that was 30", the cue felt waaay better.
Recently I just picked up a 61" sneaky pete, nothing special, but this thing plays like it was born with me. There was no adjustment, I didn't have to think about my stroke, and though i'm not running racks, i feel extremely comfortable playing with it.
It's all about comfort in the end. It's similar to how people say 13mm is the standard, yet I only feel comfortable playing with 12.5mm and below.
giocro2001
New member
60" cue
i played with a 58" for 20yrs. then one day thought about this matter
and looked at the fact that a 5'8" guy has different stroke length then
me 6'2" switched to 61" cue and can tell you that after a few weeks
play'n with it ,will not ever go back to 58" ,did you ever see most guys
hold the butt of 58" cues so what's the point of wrap? the butt of your cue should be behind your grip that's what helps your stroke if your all the way at the end! your really pushing cue not really stroking it just look at most of
greats and you'll see their stroke hand and how much of the butt is behind
thier stroke hand!!everyone can't use the same length! Reyes uses over 60"
length cue! So yes it does and yes it's much better for me good luck!
i played with a 58" for 20yrs. then one day thought about this matter
and looked at the fact that a 5'8" guy has different stroke length then
me 6'2" switched to 61" cue and can tell you that after a few weeks
play'n with it ,will not ever go back to 58" ,did you ever see most guys
hold the butt of 58" cues so what's the point of wrap? the butt of your cue should be behind your grip that's what helps your stroke if your all the way at the end! your really pushing cue not really stroking it just look at most of
greats and you'll see their stroke hand and how much of the butt is behind
thier stroke hand!!everyone can't use the same length! Reyes uses over 60"
length cue! So yes it does and yes it's much better for me good luck!
I hollowed out my Mezz cue extensions for that reason.
You want the butt and shaft equal. John managed this and kept the balance right so even with the extra weight its managable. However you will want to make sure you use a dense shaft wood to help reduce deflection/squirt.
I only know of a couple guys I would trust to make a long cue as it is not as simple as just changing the proportions. John Bender is one.