Breaking with Custom Shooter

d.p

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been playing for a good amount of time now. I use to only play with house cues then my own and so on.
Now I have several customs including custom jump breaks.

I cant seem to break well with my break cues and I've already broken one of my collarless custom SP breaking with it. My breaks are half decent when I use a shooting cue and I really don't want to have to carry around more than one cue.

My question is, does anyone else break with their custom shooters?

The cue maker said it possibly was caused by not having a collar on that shaft.
 
I break with a cheap 'minnesota fats' cue from kmart. They are normally 15 bucks a piece...but a couple weeks ago they were on sale for 7 bucks a piece for xmas.....I bought 4, took all they had. No loss if I break one and they're good 'house cues' for guests to use....if a guest wants better, they can bring their own. :) They're also perfect breakers. Maybe since I'm nowhere near any professional level when it comes to pool, I don't need a high-dollar cue just for breaks.
 
Yes, I break with my playing cues. Since I do not have a power break, I go for accuracy over power, and have been real happy with my break results.....all with my playing cue.

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk
 
The main drawback would be having to replace tips more often. Might want to go with a harder, layered tip that would last longer.
 
as of about six months ago, i use an ob break cue now, but used my player for the last 20 years with no problem and i break hard.

The only thing that made me get a break cue was that it was fraying the sides of my tip when i drug the tip on the felt , causing little strains of leather to stick out and when i got down to shoot a shot, looking down the cue, the strands of leather really started to distracted me.

I find it strange that it never bothered me in the previous 20 years.

If it wasn't for that, I would still be using a custom player to break with.
 
as of about six months ago, i use an ob break cue now, but used my player for the last 20 years with no problem and i break hard.

The only thing that made me get a break cue was that it was fraying the sides of my tip when i drug the tip on the felt , causing little strains of leather to stick out and when i got down to shoot a shot, looking down the cue, the strands of leather really started to distracted me.

I find it strange that it never bothered me in the previous 20 years.

If it wasn't for that, I would still be using a custom player to break with.

Good, I play with Talisman Hard Tips and have a very hard break, but I usually break easy with my customs. Maybe it was just a fluke that I broke it.
 
Any quality cue maker will tell you breaking is no problem. The main reasons for a break cue is to help save the tip from mushrooming and to try to not get unwanted English on the cue ball during the break. Most break cues are stiff and have a more dead hit.
 
Never....why?.......I work too hard to keep my cue tips pristine and with a nickel shape......
so why would I want to needlessly pound the tips I work so hard to maintain. Instead,
just use a house cue or a inexpensive break cue as I do to preserve the tips on my
custom cues...........all my cues have Kamui tips, except for Palmer & Stinger cues.
 
Breaking with your shooting cue isn't a problem and I have done it many times before when I am too lazy to grab a house cue.

The only time I will not break with my cue is if it has ivory joints. From my past experience with break with an ivory joint? Well, I learned the hard way and cracked the ivory.

Ivory too brittle to break with.
 
I think Ill just "soft" break with it and just have my pred sp with me when I want to do my hard breaks, thanks for the input.
 
I break with my player and its awesome. my 9 ball break is heavy and my 8 ball break is soft. I have no issues.

Lesh
 
Why?

Why would you put your custom cue through all that punishment?
Besides, IMO you want a stiff thick break shaft with a really hard tip which is not very rounded...this doesn't sound like the perfect custom playing cue. Also, you'll probably want a bit lighter break cue than what you shoot with.
My suggestion...use a good break cue and measure the speed of your break...I'm pretty sure you'll add 1-2+'mph out of a good dedicated break cue. I've tried this...I have a really good dedicated break cue, and a break rak with a radar, and I've yet to find someone who can put up numbers within 2 mph of it with their shooting cue. They can't believe it...mine is a Carmeli solid ebony with a really, really hard leather break tip. (ODEGA)
It's 18.7 oz and hits em like a Mack truck. Radar tells the story, it really does make a difference.
 
The right tool for the right job comes to mind for me... If I want to drive nails I don't grab a screwdriver... I grab a tool that was designed for the purpose....

Sure you can break with any cue but the technology of OB, Mezz and Predator Break cues pretty much guarantee better results than using a playing cue...

If you don't think it matters find someone with a good break cue and download the breakspeed app for 5 bucks or however much it is and see how much more speed a break cue generates....

Even for the guys that want a controlled break you can get the controlled break with less effort using the break cue because of the better transfer of energy they create.... Lets say you have a player and you break at 80% for a controlled break... With a good break cue you will get the same results at maybe breaking at 65-70%

I know lots of guys that break with their players... I don't think one of them would not go weak in the knees if someone else broke with it and unleashed a 27-30+ mph monster... That's a whole lot of force to put on something of value and if it's a player you might not be able to break 27 unless you are hillbilly, Nevel or Dechaine......

Food for thought,

Chris
 
The right tool for the right job comes to mind for me... If I want to drive nails I don't grab a screwdriver... I grab a tool that was designed for the purpose....

Sure you can break with any cue but the technology of OB, Mezz and Predator Break cues pretty much guarantee better results than using a playing cue...

If you don't think it matters find someone with a good break cue and download the breakspeed app for 5 bucks or however much it is and see how much more speed a break cue generates....

Even for the guys that want a controlled break you can get the controlled break with less effort using the break cue because of the better transfer of energy they create.... Lets say you have a player and you break at 80% for a controlled break... With a good break cue you will get the same results at maybe breaking at 65-70%

I know lots of guys that break with their players... I don't think one of them would not go weak in the knees if someone else broke with it and unleashed a 27-30+ mph monster... That's a whole lot of force to put on something of value and if it's a player you might not be able to break 27 unless you are hillbilly, Nevel or Dechaine......

Food for thought,

Chris

Hillbilly taught me how to get full power out of my break, and with my breaker the cb would go 4-6ft in the air, with my player it would only go a foot or two. The problem is, if I didn't hit it accurately the player would stay on the table where as the breaker would end up hitting a railbird.
 
i break/jump/play with this cue EVERYDAY. maybe not jump everyday, but usually. A collar at the joint helps the strength of the joint for sure. I've also recorded several breaks OVER 30MPH!

IMO, if you can't play, jump, and break with a cue, it isn't built tough enough. You shouldn't be afraid to attempt ANY shot with your cue. Keith is also a firm believer in this. He actually has been shooting with a sneaky with no collars, and plays, breaks, and jumps with his. (and he jumps better with that player than most do with a jumper!!! :eek: )

That being said, whatever works for you best, keep using that. I prefer to break with leather. I don't need the extra energy transfer with my break, so I prefer leather. I like milk-duds once they're broke in. The only reason I see using a break cue, is to keep ware off your tip on your player. Or to take one less shot that can blow the tip off. (I've done this several times while learning to break like I do now.)

Another thing that I don't like on break cues, is if your going to run a hard G10, or phenolic, run a 1 piece ferrule/tip. no sense in running a separate tip from ferrule to me. ESPECIALLY if they're made from the same material!
 

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