Best Break cue < $200

[rackem]

From Google, here are some other discriptions of the wonder cue from DMI.
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"Titanium" ultimate performance pool cue.
Solid timber core permanently encapsulated in a unique combination of graphite and titanium threads
Click on the image to see more detail Price: $80.00


Item has been discontinued



# DM-MFH12


Usually leaves the warehouse within 3 - 5 business days.

Added Titanium in the tip for extra strength and power.
58" two-piece graphite cue, will not warp like wood.
Non-slip grip
Stainless steel joint
13mm tip with professional taper
Manufacturer's Warranty:

Every cue from DMI Sports is 100% guaranteed against warpage for 1 full year. Also every cue from DMI Sports is 100% guaranteed against defects in parts or workmanship for 1 full year, including cues in use. Please note that chalked cues are not covered by the warpage guarantee. The guarantee against defects is void if the cue has been abused, neglected, shopworn or scratched.

 

[DaveK]

From the link I posted :

------------
100% Titanium Shaft and Butt!
Stainless Steel Joint & Pin
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and for Joey :


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The Silver Metallic finish not only looks nice,
but commands attention!
-------------

You should try that "tin-man" look on a cue Joey, maybe the chicks will dig it !

Dave, gonna stick with his Phantom and stirring up chit

 

[Ballistic Billiards]

someone is confused here.
the cue is graphite, butt and shaft.
the only titanium is in the tip.
found this

here http://www.b2bsmartcue.com/sportec/tip.htm

 

[DaveK]

someone is confused here.
the cue is graphite, butt and shaft.
the only titanium is in the tip.
found this

here http://www.b2bsmartcue.com/sportec/tip.htm
please don't fall for this marketing scheme.

Speaking of confused, someone (um, that would be you coopdeville) is comparing apples to oranges. This is not the cue I posted about. Your cue may be graphite, but the one I'm speaking about is built out of titanium tubing (I did not take it apart so I cannot say for sure if it was seamless or welded tubing).

Dave, not Judge Smails but knows the difference between graphite, titanium, and unobtanium....

It's easy to grin
when your ship comes in
And you've got the stock market beat.
But the man worthwhile,
Is the man who can smile,
When his shorts are too tight in the seat.

 

[Ballistic Billiards]

i can't say that i believe the cue that you're speaking of is made of 100% titanium. and i only posted the picture of the titanium ferrule to show what i found when researching titanium uses in pool cues. your link is the only one that i saw boasting the 100% titanium butt & shaft. i can't find this cue anywhere else. who makes it?

 

[rackem]

Not tubing

Speaking of confused, someone (um, that would be you coopdeville) is comparing apples to oranges. This is not the cue I posted about. Your cue may be graphite, but the one I'm speaking about is built out of titanium tubing (I did not take it apart so I cannot say for sure if it was seamless or welded tubing).

Dave, not Judge Smails but knows the difference between graphite, titanium, and unobtanium....
[/I]

With all due respect you can not believe all advertising you read. Read your link again why is this tubing only warp resistant.Not only would straight tubing be to expensive, tapered tubing would be out of the question. Now just what glue are they using to glue that stainless pin to the tubing or are they welding it. Then what about the ferrule is that glued also or theaded Now yes maybe one could be made but not at Walmart prices.

 

[sixballrun]

my opinion may not count for much seen as how i am not "well known" but i'll tell you what i know.

i HAVE bought one of these "titanium" cues from wal-mart, and i HAVE cut it up.
it is NOT titanium, it is graphite.

 

[Ballistic Billiards]

and didn't take a picture?

my opinion may not count for much seen as how i am not "well known" but i'll tell you what i know.

i HAVE bought one of these "titanium" cues from wal-mart, and i HAVE cut it up.
it is NOT titanium, it is graphite.

did you buy it JUST to cut it up so that you'd know for sure?
you're that guy sbr :high five:

in all seriousness.. does anyone have experience with titanium in cuesmithery, for a pin or joint maybe, hell or both

 

[DaveK]

OK, I've never cut one up to verify it's a titanium tube ... and no, I don't believe all marketing hype ever since I used to generate that blather as a product manager. So the HALEX (in response to who makes this) may in fact be graphite even though the literature says "100% graphite and the one that I hit with seemed to be titanium tubing based on the one test I did, twacking it with my fingernail and listening to the sound it made (it rang a bit, rather than the dull 'thud' of graphite). It still broke real well in my not so humble opinion, and can be had for under $200 (hey, I try to keep these on topic). Next time I see big Barry in the pool hall I will get him to bring out that cue and I'll cut it in half to confirm it's composition. I'm hoping that at 5'6" 150 lbs I will be able to out run Barry, who is 6'2" and about 310.

Epoxy will bond titanium to stainless steel quite nicely ... heck, just last night I was bonding titanium to steel (chrome plated no less !) with epoxy ... never had a head fly off yet !

Oh ya, for those who think that tapered titanium tubing is extremely expensive, check out the (small quantity full retail) price of these tapered titanium tubes :

http://www.titaniumsports.com/shafts.html

Dave, not so confused

 

[rhncue]

OK, I've never cut one up to verify it's a titanium tube ... and no, I don't believe all marketing hype ever since I used to generate that blather as a product manager. So the HALEX (in response to who makes this) may in fact be graphite even though the literature says "100% graphite and the one that I hit with seemed to be titanium tubing based on the one test I did, twacking it with my fingernail and listening to the sound it made (it rang a bit, rather than the dull 'thud' of graphite). It still broke real well in my not so humble opinion, and can be had for under $200 (hey, I try to keep these on topic). Next time I see big Barry in the pool hall I will get him to bring out that cue and I'll cut it in half to confirm it's composition. I'm hoping that at 5'6" 150 lbs I will be able to out run Barry, who is 6'2" and about 310.

Epoxy will bond titanium to stainless steel quite nicely ... heck, just last night I was bonding titanium to steel (chrome plated no less !) with epoxy ... never had a head fly off yet !

Oh ya, for those who think that tapered titanium tubing is extremely expensive, check out the (small quantity full retail) price of these tapered titanium tubes :

http://www.titaniumsports.com/shafts.html

Dave, not so confused

Dave, you don't consider 53.00 a tube as expensive? That's over 200.00 a pound and about 10 times the price of aluminum and about 80 times the price of steel. I know nothing of golf clubs so I don't know if these have a constant taper or what but to have two different tapers for a cue, (shaft and butt) it would seem that they would be more labor intense and cost more. If this cue retails for 200.00 dollars then the manufacturer must be able to make them much, much cheaper as they still have the rest of the cue to build, shipping, marketing and a profit plus the distributor needs to make a profit and then of coarse the wholesale price would be half of the retail price to the dealer. Lots of fingers in the pie.

Truthfully, I don't even know why I'm responding to this thread as I don't have any irrefutable facts and I don't really care if it's Titanium or not. It just caught my curiosity.

Dick

 

[DaveK]

Dave, you don't consider 53.00 a tube as expensive? That's over 200.00 a pound and about 10 times the price of aluminum and about 80 times the price of steel. I know nothing of golf clubs so I don't know if these have a constant taper or what but to have two different tapers for a cue, (shaft and butt) it would seem that they would be more labor intense and cost more. If this cue retails for 200.00 dollars then the manufacturer must be able to make them much, much cheaper as they still have the rest of the cue to build, shipping, marketing and a profit plus the distributor needs to make a profit and then of coarse the wholesale price would be half of the retail price to the dealer. Lots of fingers in the pie.

Truthfully, I don't even know why I'm responding to this thread as I don't have any irrefutable facts and I don't really care if it's Titanium or not. It just caught my curiosity.

Dick

I'm with ya Dick, but me and my big mouth started this titanium diversion (sorry about that) so I feel somewhat obligated to continue.

- $53 per golf shaft is not terribly expensive relative to exotic graphite golf shafts, but is exhorbitant relative to cheap steel shafts

- the Ti cue at walmart retailed for about $65 iirc.

- for comparison purposes only, in archery a Titanium broadhead is about twice the price of a stainless steel broadhead

- the various tapers present no technical issues, they simply add a bit of tooling cost at the front end of the manufacturing process, no difference in process cost imo

- you can still epoxy titanium to steel and expect a good bond

- Walmart may loose money on each cue sale, but they make it up in volume

Dave, no longer under any self-imposed obligation ... or ... that's it for now

 

[CaptainHook]

Walmart used to sell a gray titanium cue that breaks quite well and it's well below the $200. I personally use a Dufferin Phantom (sneaky pete) ... it hits like the telephone pole it is, and is also well under the $200 mark (heck both these cues are less than $100) !

Dave

Here is a picture of the Wal-Mart Titanium cue. It is made by Halex, It was 30 bucks with the tax. I use mine as a player, I had a Lepro tip put on it and it shoots really nice. I have had this cue in the trunk of my car for 3 years and it has not warped in the extreme Florida heat.

With a hard tip it would make a great break cue.

 

[DaveK]

Here is a picture of the Wal-Mart Titanium cue. It is made by Halex, It was 30 bucks with the tax.

OK Hook, ya gotta salvage what's left of my reputation around here. Go get your hack saw and cut the shaft and butt in half, then post pictures. I'm the one who thinks that your cue is a titanium tube while others think it's graphite painted in titanium-grey colour .... PLEASE ???

Dave

 

[CaptainHook]

OK Hook, ya gotta salvage what's left of my reputation around here. Go get your hack saw and cut the shaft and butt in half, then post pictures. I'm the one who thinks that your cue is a titanium tube while others think it's graphite painted in titanium-grey colour .... PLEASE ???

Dave

Sorry, I am no longer allowed to use any hand tools.

Hey...if Wal-Mart advertises it as Titanium, it has to be. All products have to pass the legal dept before sale to the public.

 

[sixballrun]

did you buy it JUST to cut it up so that you'd know for sure?
you're that guy sbr :high five:

in all seriousness.. does anyone have experience with titanium in cuesmithery, for a pin or joint maybe, hell or both

actually no, i bought it for a break cue, didn't like it, cut it up to make a jump cue, didn't like it, put a softer tip on it and sold it to someone for a tight spot in their basement.

i bought the thing assuming it was graphite, i honestly thought titanium was the brand name.

 

[Ballistic Billiards]

salvage

i'm going to buy one and cut it up.
i figure it'll weigh 3-4 lbs if it's titanium
so i'll take it to the recycler and make a
nice profit afterwards.
i'll split it with you DaveK

 

[CaptainHook]

i'm going to buy one and cut it up.
i figure it'll weigh 3-4 lbs if it's titanium
so i'll take it to the recycler and make a
nice profit afterwards.
i'll split it with you DaveK

Butt: 15.3oz
Shaft: 3.7oz