Building a 55" cue/ shorter shaft, butt, or both?

D

dcb1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a question about building a shorter pool cue stick. My pool room in my home is a bit too small for the table. I only have 60" between the playing surface and the wall. This only leaves me with 2" of draw if I'm using a standard 58" cue and I'm hitting a perpendicular shot right off a rail.

I happen to be only 5'7" tall and based on my arm length, I'm fine with a cue as long as it's longer than 52".

So, I was thinking about getting a cue made that was around 55" long to give me some more room around my table.

My question is this...Would I do better buying a std butt (29") and putting a shorter shaft (26") on it. Or, would I do better buying a shorter butt and putting a std shaft on it? Or...should I shorten both the butt and the shaft equally? (1.5" off shaft, 1.5" off butt)

I'm not sure how the balance point and playability would be affected. Thanks for the advice.
 
I would lean towards a standard shaft. Your dimensions are way off standard, so expect your balance to be off as well, unless you can live with a heavy spot in the butt. Everything is a trade off.
 
dcb1 said:
I have a question about building a shorter pool cue stick. My pool room in my home is a bit too small for the table. I only have 60" between the playing surface and the wall. This only leaves me with 2" of draw if I'm using a standard 58" cue and I'm hitting a perpendicular shot right off a rail.

I happen to be only 5'7" tall and based on my arm length, I'm fine with a cue as long as it's longer than 52".

So, I was thinking about getting a cue made that was around 55" long to give me some more room around my table.

My question is this...Would I do better buying a std butt (29") and putting a shorter shaft (26") on it. Or, would I do better buying a shorter butt and putting a std shaft on it? Or...should I shorten both the butt and the shaft equally? (1.5" off shaft, 1.5" off butt)

I'm not sure how the balance point and playability would be affected. Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
Been there done that. Go with the short shaft. The mass of the cue is in the butt and you want to be able to play somewhat normal with the shorter cue. You will also have the advantage of just putting on a full length shaft and use the cue normally. For the record many billiard players play with very short cues, they seem to pull in their bridge hands in a bit closer to their bodies then pool players.
 
55" cue

That's interesting. I called some shaft manufacturers and I know Tiger will sell me a shorter shaft. (Predator won't) This would make it real easy because I could just use my std cue I play with now and just buy an extra "short" shaft to make the overall length shorter.

The balance point will shift closer to the butt end but that's ok because I'll be gripping it closer to the butt anyway to compensate for the shorter shaft.

The other way to think about this is if I use a std shaft and cut down the butt, the balance point will shift towards the tip. I could then, add weight to the butt to rebalance it. (It is easier to add weight to the butt than to the tip side.) Anyone have any thoughts on this idea?
 
dcb1 said:
That's interesting. I called some shaft manufacturers and I know Tiger will sell me a shorter shaft. (Predator won't) This would make it real easy because I could just use my std cue I play with now and just buy an extra "short" shaft to make the overall length shorter.

The balance point will shift closer to the butt end but that's ok because I'll be gripping it closer to the butt anyway to compensate for the shorter shaft.

The other way to think about this is if I use a std shaft and cut down the butt, the balance point will shift towards the tip. I could then, add weight to the butt to rebalance it. (It is easier to add weight to the butt than to the tip side.) Anyone have any thoughts on this idea?
Click to expand...
The balance point in terms of inches from the butt cap will not change much. It is surprising but the shaft weighs so much less then the butt it doesn't effect balance that much. If you get down on the ball and just adjust you bridge hand in towards your body the cue will feel almost the same. Get an old shaft that fits your cue and experiment. You don't even need a ferrule just cut it down and put a tip on to try it out before you go to any great expense.
 
Another option would be to pickup a good quality one piece bumper pool cue. This way it would be balanced already.
Dave
 
I've called some more cuemakers and have gotten many different opinions. Some recommend a shorter shaft, some a shorter butt, and some recommend shortening both.

I'm thinking about trying to find two really cheap, old one piece cues and experimenting and trying both methods.

So far, Predator doesn't make shortened shafts but OB and Tiger do. Viking will shorten the butt or shaft or both.
 
Here is the way I solved the problem which serves the best of all worlds; fits any situation:
 

Attachments

  • 722.jpg
    722.jpg
    51 KB · Views: 743
I personally think that anyone under 5'7" should consider trying a shorter cue anyway. I've owned several 57" and 56" cues that played quite nicely (I'm 5'8"). I'm currently using a player JB cue which I shortened by over 3" by simply cutting off the butt end and putting on a rubber bumper from a chair leg to make up some of the weight loss (now 18 oz.). It breaks great and jumps very well with the hard leather tip.
 
Dave38 said:
Another option would be to pickup a good quality one piece bumper pool cue. This way it would be balanced already.
Dave
Click to expand...

There's your solution.
The problem only exists on your home table so you really don't need a two pc. cue.
The short cue always stays home. Why does it need to be 2 pc.?
It sounds like you're trying to go from Detroit to Chicago via Florida.
Just my take on your issue. Solutions don't have to be complicated.

KJ
 
Donny Lutz said:
I personally think that anyone under 5'7" should consider trying a shorter cue anyway. I've owned several 57" and 56" cues that played quite nicely (I'm 5'8"). I'm currently using a player JB cue which I shortened by over 3" by simply cutting off the butt end and putting on a rubber bumper from a chair leg to make up some of the weight loss (now 18 oz.). It breaks great and jumps very well with the hard leather tip.
Click to expand...

Maybe he will chime in I think he reads here but didn't Pat Fleming used to play with like 52 inch cue?
I know Jimmy Reid played with a 56 inch at one time
 
A shorter shaft may give a more similar balance point, but a shorter shaft will not play the same as a standard shaft, which is what you're probably used to using. It's a compromise, pick your pros and cons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top