Advice/? on custom cue

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tropheus

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I am considering the purchase of a full splice cue from a well known maker. The cues specs are fairly common; 29" shaft, 29" butt, shaft weight is roughly 3.5 oz, butt weight is roughly 15.8 oz, balance point is 18.5".

I have only ever really played with a 58" cue but have dabbled with a shorter cue and really liked the way it felt. I am considering purchasing a second shaft from said maker (314 as I have shot exclusively with them for the last 7 - 8 yrs) and having that shaft cut down an inch or so making the total length of the cue between 56" - 57" (I am 5' 5" with average wingspan of a guy that size). Here is the question....have any of you other vertically challenged players had an existing cue shaft cut down an inch or so? How did it affect the cue (weight, balance point)? Was it a drastic change? Anything you would do differently the next time?

I know these are kind of loaded questions but would like to draw on the wealth of knowledge from you az'ers before I pull the trigger on this. Thx in advance for the advice.
 
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I am short, 5' 7" on a good day and 5' 6" if I am being really honest. :wink: Been playing with a 58 for a lot of years. I was playing around with a 57 and found after all these years I liked it. It is a proper 57 though, evenly split. I am considering shorter shafts for my JOSS just like you, except I don'y play with plywood....I mean laminated shafts.

I think the first concern is actually cutting an engineered shaft. You want to talk to somebody (a CM or repair guy) with specific experience with that.

As for the effects on balance etc, I haven't tried it yet so I am not too certain. I would say definitely try it. I am intending to.

A little history, I am a JOSS fan....so was Varner. He's short....and as far as I remember he always played a 57, or at least he did when he kicked my ass. As I recall he did OK in general with a 57.... :wink:

That is not to say I have switched or will switch...old dogs, new tricks, etc....But I am interested in experimenting with it. For the moment, any cue I acquire in any way will be a 58 if I have anything to say about it......
 
Cue

First off, the balance point would have to be in inches not oz.. And I would not fool with cutting it down, because it would lighten the cue, and it would affect the balance point and feel of the cue. BTW, I am only 5'7".
 
Thanks for the response. I was a bit concerned about cutting a laminated shaft also but this cue maker said he can do it and has done it before. He also made the comment that he is 6' 2" and has played some of the best pool of his life with a 57.5" cue. I am almost certain that I am going to do it, just looking for more input.
 
Snapshot9 said:
First off, the balance point would have to be in inches not oz.. And I would not fool with cutting it down, because it would lighten the cue, and it would affect the balance point and feel of the cue. BTW, I am only 5'7".
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Thanks for pointing that out...I goofed and corrected it. Also, I prefer a cue between 18 - 19 oz. My current player is 18.75 oz. with a balance point of 19+". Every now and then I break out my 20+ yr old meucci sneaky (17 - 18" balance point) and it feels very much like an old friend.
 
Go ahead and try it. Unless you already play perfect pool and don't want to risk upsetting perfection, what's to lose? If it doesn't work out, move on to something else -- maybe even a shorter cue. Pat Fleming is taller than you but uses (or at least used to use) a cue many inches shorter than the norm. And Earl somehow makes 70" work. Experimentation is fun.
 
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