Advantages and disadvantages of different joints

C

Chris

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm trying to design my first custom cue, and I don't know which type of joint to use. I'm having trouble finding general information about the characteristics of each type.

Some that I have that I have come across in research are Uni-Loc, stainless steel and wood to wood joints.

I am under the impression that wood to wood joints offer the best feel for the shot, as they most closely resemble a one piece cue. Are they durable? It would seem like the wooden female threads (assuming I'm understanding the joint properly) would be easily destroyed by the metal male threaded pin. Is this ever a problem?

Is there durable joint that will also offer good feel, or is it a one or the other sort of choice?
 
> The threads inside the shaft on a wood to wood joint might eventually wear a little,but can be fixed using a little liquid wax. Some cuemakers treat the inside of the shaft with epoxy or CA glue,then retap the threads so it stays tight longer. As far as completely destroying them,only a very inexperienced cuemaker would leave the surface finish of the pin rough enough to tear the threads,and that assumes the cuemaker is cutting his own joint screws. Most joint pins are custom-made by a large screw-making company,like Uniloc,or bought ready made from Atlas in the case of pre-threaded rods. Any premade pin you can buy or pins you have custom made will be deburred and totally smooth,so unless the pin is damaged during installation or by being dropped I doubt there would be a rough edge that eats the wood up. Some makers use a "rolled" thread on their pin,in the case of large wood screw type pins that have a 60 degree thread form,these slightly burnish and harden the interior threads. Cues like Southwest,Cognoscenti and Bender have a modified Acme type thread on their pins,in this case the wood inside the shaft rides the minor diameter or the "flat" in between the threads,because the threads are so shallow on these pins,the actual groove inside the shaft might not contact the thread on the pin tightly at all,but still screws down tight because the flat section in between the threads isn't subjected to twisting forces. I don't think there is truly a "best" overall joint,it's purely a feel thing. There are joint types that require more machining,like the Ultra joint Lambros uses,or a tight fitting piloted joint like Schon uses,but that doesn't make them better than others,that just makes them different. My personal preference is a steel joint,but I've hit with flat faced phenolic joints and piloted ivory that I've liked as well. The only disadvantage to using the original Uniloc is getting it installed accurately,too deep and the cue wants to unscrew during the shot,because there isn't enough thread length to lock down,not deep enough and the screw connection locks down solid,but the faces of the joint don't meet solidly. Hope this helps,Tommy D.
 
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