Best Cue Joint?

jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Looking to buy a Schmelke Sneaky Pete, R040. There are choices for the joint. Which is best, and why?

I must confess the #7 appeals to me, surgical steel into wood threads, relatively fast thread at 8TPI, wood to wood shaft to butt contact. But I really don't know much about this, and what the selection criteria are.

(BTW, there's a contradiction on the Schmelke site, the joint description for #7 on the cue page says 8TPI, but on the joint page it says 16TPI.)

https://schmelkecue.com/billiard-cues/schmelke-cues/r040-cocobola-4-prong.html

https://schmelkecue.com/joint-styles.html

joint-7.jpg


Thanks,

jv
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
jviss said:
Looking to buy a Schmelke Sneaky Pete, R040. There are choices for the joint. Which is best, and why?
...
Click to expand...
If the joint is solidly constructed, it will not affect play.

After that, the questions to ask are: Will it last? Will it be easy to use? Will it have mechanical problems?

I have had two joints from very well-known cue makers that went bad. One came partly loose and the other tightened up so that it was a struggle to get the cue together -- sandpaper came to the rescue.

I've seen multiple joints that just didn't stay tight and at some point they would start clicking. If you see a player with the habit of tightening his cue every few racks, you might ask him what kind of joint he has and then get something else.
 
Texas Carom Club

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
Dont make a difference

I like the all wood threaded shafts on carom cues just because i think its kool and it takes some skill to live thread
 
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Knels

Knels

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It’s funny, I don’t know if it’s because of extreme cold right now, but my Mezz Wavy joints (polished steel into wood) have been coming loose by just a little. I didn’t pick it up right away and it had me tearing my hair out trying to figure out why the sudden drop in my play. The ball just would not stay on line. Also I think in this particular joint the wood threads tend to get polished and shiny. I took a bit of magic eraser slightly damp, and cleaned them up a little. There seemed to be some metal gunk stuck in them. Anyone else have this experience?
 
Bob Farr

Bob Farr

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If I was looking for to go wood to wood, I would choose the 3/8 x 10 for the simple reason that they are more readily available if you want a new shaft. Either the 10 or 16 thread shaft should be fine though.
 
Andrew Manning

Andrew Manning

Aspiring know-it-all
Silver Member
You won't feel a difference in hit, although you might imagine that you do.

What Bob said about joints that come loose is a good call, although I don't really know which types are best and worst for that.

Joint weight will make a slight difference in balance point, which can make a cue feel very slightly different in your hand. A steel joint will move the balance further forward than a wood-wood one. Where you like your balance point is 100% preference though; it won't make an objective performance difference
 
JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
#7 is a bad choice.
No collars, susceptible to splitting.
Not the real radial screw either. The aftermarket shafts with radial threads will not fit it.
#3 and #4 are better options imo.
 
M

Mike81

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JoeyInCali said:
#7 is a bad choice.
No collars, susceptible to splitting.
Not the real radial screw either. The aftermarket shafts with radial threads will not fit it.
#3 and #4 are better options imo.
Click to expand...

I’ve read this before and understand that lack of collars can lead to the wood splitting but let’s say one is very careful with their stick and there is a strong epoxy finish on the cue, would it still be risky without collars? I always liked the true sneaky look and wondered if it was worth the risk not having collars?
 
JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Mike81 said:
I’ve read this before and understand that lack of collars can lead to the wood splitting but let’s say one is very careful with their stick and there is a strong epoxy finish on the cue, would it still be risky without collars? I always liked the true sneaky look and wondered if it was worth the risk not having collars?
Click to expand...

If you're not going to have collars, go with 5/16 18 with brass insert.

There is no epoxy on the shaft with wood threads and no collar. That's the piece that is susceptible to splitting along the grain.
 
Kim Bye

Kim Bye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Mike81 said:
I’ve read this before and understand that lack of collars can lead to the wood splitting but let’s say one is very careful with their stick and there is a strong epoxy finish on the cue, would it still be risky without collars? I always liked the true sneaky look and wondered if it was worth the risk not having collars?
Click to expand...

No epoxy finish in the world will stop a shaft that "wants" to split, from splitting. Have Schmelke make a thin ring atleast or use a phenolic ring/insert combo like Predator uses.
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm thoroughly confused about this now. I heard back from Dave Schmelke on this, and he says joint #7 is 3/8 x 7.5TPI, "for a radial thread." Can this really be so? What is the standard for radial cue joint threads?
 
JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
jviss said:
I'm thoroughly confused about this now. I heard back from Dave Schmelke on this, and he says joint #7 is 3/8 x 7.5TPI, "for a radial thread." Can this really be so? What is the standard for radial cue joint threads?
Click to expand...

It's not the standard Uniloc radial thread.
 
Michael Webb

Michael Webb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
jviss said:
I'm thoroughly confused about this now. I heard back from Dave Schmelke on this, and he says joint #7 is 3/8 x 7.5TPI, "for a radial thread." Can this really be so? What is the standard for radial cue joint threads?
Click to expand...


Simplify your question to Mr. Schmelke.
Is that the same radial screw offered by uni loc?
Or
Did TNS cues make you ball screws which is technically the same thread?
Or
Is the screw on joint 7 made over over seas?
 
jviss

jviss

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
jviss said:
Looking to buy a Schmelke Sneaky Pete, R040. There are choices for the joint. Which is best, and why?

I must confess the #7 appeals to me, surgical steel into wood threads, relatively fast thread at 8TPI, wood to wood shaft to butt contact. But I really don't know much about this, and what the selection criteria are.

(BTW, there's a contradiction on the Schmelke site, the joint description for #7 on the cue page says 8TPI, but on the joint page it says 16TPI.)

https://schmelkecue.com/billiard-cues/schmelke-cues/r040-cocobola-4-prong.html

https://schmelkecue.com/joint-styles.html

joint-7.jpg


Thanks,

jv
Click to expand...
Joints are generally personal preference just like cues, weights, shaft tapers, etc. - everyone prefers something different. I personally love the 2 different Mezz joints screw together - the Mezz united joint and the Mezz wavy joint. They are both totally different but as they are going together you just feel like the cue is as close to one solid 1-piece cue as you can possibly have.
 
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